Limited Competition: Revision Application for the Human Islet Research Network Coordinating Center (U01) | RFA DK 17 501

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DK 17 501

This opportunity is a limited-competition NIH grant announcement from the Department of Health and Human Services (NIH), specifically tied to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). It calls for a Revision application to an existing cooperative agreement (U01) for the Human Islet Research Network Coordinating Center (HIRN-CC). The Coordinating Center was originally funded in 2014 and is structured as a single U01 award that coordinates multiple basic science consortia working in human islet research. The central idea behind HIRN is that it is meant to be a flexible, evolving network that can quickly adapt to scientific advances and new research opportunities in the human islet field, rather than staying fixed in membership, scope, or activities over time.

The reason for the revision is straightforward: the HIRN program has expanded in both size and complexity since it began, and the existing Coordinating Center needs added capacity to keep up with the network's growing coordination, collaboration, and resource demands. NIDDK is therefore offering a way for the current HIRN-CC award to be revised, with peer review, to support a more substantial increase in activities and funding than would typically be handled through routine administrative changes. In practice, this means the revised award is expected to help the Coordinating Center do more than it could under the original setup, reflecting the reality that the network now includes changing numbers and types of consortia and may take on new scientific directions as the field moves.

A major emphasis of the supplemental support is on two things. First, it is intended to fund additional pilot projects designed to spark new and innovative collaborations across the network. These pilots are meant to act as seed funding: small, targeted investments that help researchers test ideas, establish partnerships, and generate early results that can grow into larger efforts. Second, the opportunity is meant to expand the development of new shared resources that HIRN investigators and the broader research community rely on. While the announcement does not enumerate specific resource types, in a coordinating-center context this commonly involves shared datasets, standardized methods, collaborative platforms, common tools, or other network-wide infrastructure that improves consistency and accelerates multi-site work.

The funding mechanism is a cooperative agreement (U01), which matters because it signals substantial programmatic involvement by NIDDK staff. In other words, this is not a hands-off grant; it is structured for projects where NIH program staff have meaningful input, oversight, and partnership in guiding the work. The announcement also clarifies the boundary between minor and major changes: some expansions or redirects that stay within the original aims might be approved administratively, but bigger shifts in direction and budget increases require peer review, which is why this revision application process is being used.

Key administrative details include the funding opportunity number RFA-DK-17-501, categorized as a discretionary opportunity under the Health activity area (CFDA 93.847). The estimated award ceiling is $4,737,500, and NIH expects to make one award, reinforcing that this is a limited competition aimed at the existing Coordinating Center rather than an open call for new coordinating centers. The opportunity was created on December 8, 2016, with an original closing date of March 15, 2017. Eligibility is broadly listed across many organization types (state and local governments, tribes and tribal organizations, public and private higher education institutions, nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status, for-profit entities, and small businesses), but the "limited competition" framing and the nature of a revision application strongly indicate it is effectively restricted to the current HIRN-CC awardee seeking to expand the scope and budget of the already-funded U01 to meet the network's increased needs.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health in the food and nutrition, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Limited Competition: Revision Application for the Human Islet Research Network Coordinating Center (U01)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.847.
• This funding opportunity was created on Dec 08, 2016.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 15, 2017. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $4,737,500.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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