BRAIN Initiative: Standards to Define Experiments Related to the BRAIN Initiative (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA MH 20 128

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA MH 20 128

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity titled "BRAIN Initiative: Standards to Define Experiments Related to the BRAIN Initiative (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" (FOA number RFA-MH-20-128) supports projects that create shared standards for describing experimental protocols used across the BRAIN Initiative research community. The central idea is to make it easier for different labs and programs to communicate what they did, how they did it, and how their data were collected, so results can be compared, combined, reproduced, and reused more reliably. This is an R01 grant mechanism, and it specifically does not allow clinical trials, meaning applicants should focus on standards development and related community-driven, research-enabling activities rather than testing clinical interventions in humans.

A key expectation of this FOA is that standards are not developed in isolation. NIH signals strongly that successful projects will actively involve the broader community throughout the entire lifecycle of the standard, from early planning and requirements gathering through drafting, testing, refining, and final release. In practical terms, that means applicants should plan for structured community input such as workshops, working groups, open comment periods, pilots with multiple labs, and transparent decision-making about how terms and fields are defined. The FOA also recommends that one of the earliest steps in standards development should be data sharing among multiple key groups in the experimental community. The purpose of that early data exchange is to make sure the emerging standard reflects how different groups actually collect data in real-world settings, rather than encoding the habits or constraints of a single laboratory, platform, or subfield.

The outputs are expected to be broadly useful and widely available. While the notice does not spell out a specific distribution method in the text provided, the intent is clear: the resulting standard should be accessible to the research community at large, supporting consistent documentation of protocols and improving interoperability across datasets and tools. Applicants would typically be expected to think about adoption barriers and usability, such as providing clear documentation, examples, reference implementations, templates, and guidance that help other groups implement the standard without needing to reinvent it. The goal is a standard that can travel across institutions and research teams, not a local schema that only works within one project.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations as well as certain non-U.S. entities. Eligible applicants listed include state, county, city, and township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and additional categories captured under "Others." The FOA also explicitly highlights additional eligible groups such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities/foreign organizations, and Indian/Native American tribal governments that are not federally recognized. This broad eligibility reflects the reality that standards work often benefits from participation across many sectors, including universities, nonprofits, government, and technical organizations.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant opportunity under NIH, using the grant funding instrument. The activity categories associated with the listing include Education, Health, Income Security and Social Services, and it is linked to multiple CFDA numbers (93.173, 93.213, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.286, 93.853, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867), which signals alignment with several NIH program areas that can intersect with BRAIN-related methods and infrastructure. The original closing date shown for the opportunity was 2021-09-02, and the record indicates a creation date of 2020-02-24. The provided excerpt does not list an award ceiling or expected number of awards, so applicants would normally look to the full FOA for budget limits, project period expectations, review criteria, and any required milestones or deliverables.

Overall, the opportunity is aimed at strengthening the foundations of BRAIN Initiative science by funding the behind-the-scenes work that makes experiments easier to describe consistently across the community. It is less about generating a single new dataset or tool for one group, and more about creating shared language and structure for protocol description that helps many groups align their experimental reporting and data practices over time.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BRAIN Initiative: Standards to Define Experiments Related to the BRAIN Initiative (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.173, 93.213, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.286, 93.853, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-02-24.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-09-02. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• 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.

Apply for RFA MH 20 128

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