Limited Competition: Building Partnerships and Broadening Perspectives to Advance Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) Research (BBAER) Program (UM1), Clinical Trial Optional | RFA HG 24 026

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA HG 24 026

The Limited Competition: Building Partnerships and Broadening Perspectives to Advance Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) Research (BBAER) Program is a National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) funding opportunity designed to expand who is leading and shaping ELSI research connected to advances in human genetics and genomics. The core idea is to bring in a wider range of institutions, disciplines, and community perspectives that have historically been underrepresented in NHGRI-funded ELSI work, and to build lasting local capacity to do this research well over time. The award mechanism is a UM1 cooperative agreement, which typically means the project is carried out by the recipient organization but with active involvement from NIH program staff as partners in coordinating, guiding, and overseeing key elements of the work. Clinical trials are optional under this opportunity.

This is a limited-competition NOFO (RFA-HG-24-026) aimed specifically at domestic U.S. organizations and U.S. territory-based organizations that have received less than 30 million dollars per year in total NIH funding across the past three fiscal years. NHGRI is explicitly trying to reach institutions that do not usually receive large amounts of NIH support and that are less represented in the ELSI portfolio, so the eligibility threshold is a major feature of the program. Eligible applicant types are broad and include public and private higher education institutions, nonprofit organizations (with or without 501(c)(3) status), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), small businesses, and multiple levels of government (state, county, city/township, special district), along with federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations. The NOFO also highlights interest in applications from institutions and organizations such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, AANAPISIS, faith-based or community-based organizations, and regional organizations, reflecting the program emphasis on broadening perspectives and partnerships. Non-U.S. (foreign) organizations cannot apply, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply, but foreign components (as NIH defines them in its Grants Policy Statement) are allowed in some circumstances.

Programmatically, the BBAER/BPAER initiative is structured around four integrated expectations. First, it supports transdisciplinary ELSI research that tackles timely, complex, and understudied questions arising from genetics and genomics. Transdisciplinary here is not just a buzzword; applicants are expected to bring together at least two different fields of knowledge and to use multiple research approaches, which could include combinations of empirical social science methods, legal analysis, ethical theory, policy analysis, implementation research, community-based participatory research, or other relevant frameworks depending on the topic. The intent is to address real-world genomics-related ELSI challenges in a way that a single discipline could not fully capture.

Second, the NOFO requires the creation of research teams that meaningfully include representatives of relevant communities, defined as communities affected by and interested in the research. This is framed as active involvement across all phases of the project rather than one-time consultation. In practical terms, NHGRI is signaling that community members and stakeholders should help shape research questions, methods, interpretation, dissemination, and translation, and that their participation should be substantive, appropriately supported, and integrated into governance and decision-making where feasible. This emphasis aligns with the broader NIH trend toward community-engaged research, but here it is positioned as a central requirement rather than an optional enhancement.

Third, the program prioritizes research capacity building so that participating institutions can develop, conduct, and sustain ELSI research beyond the lifetime of a single award. Capacity building is expected to be grounded in a needs assessment, meaning applicants should not default to generic training plans. Instead, they should identify local gaps and opportunities (for example, gaps in expertise, mentoring structures, research administration support, community partnership infrastructure, IRB experience with ELSI protocols, data governance knowledge, dissemination channels, or evaluation capability) and then propose targeted activities to address those needs. The point is to leave the institution and its partners stronger and more self-sustaining in ELSI research after the cooperative agreement ends.

Fourth, the NOFO places strong emphasis on workforce development, particularly opportunities for early-career scholars as well as research staff and team members. This can include structured mentoring, skills training, leadership development, and role progression within the project. Given the ELSI focus, workforce development may also reasonably include training in responsible community engagement, ethics and regulatory issues, legal/policy fluency, and methods for studying social impacts of genomics in diverse settings. The overall intent is to broaden the pipeline of people equipped to do rigorous, community-connected ELSI research.

Because the program is intentionally complex (mixing research, partnership building, institutional capacity work, and workforce development), NHGRI requires several cross-cutting management elements. Applicants must provide a strategic management plan describing how the project will be led, coordinated, and governed, including how different partners will work together and make decisions. They must also provide an evaluation plan that explains how progress and outcomes will be measured for both the research aims and the capacity/workforce aims. In addition, a sustainability plan is required to explain how key partnerships, infrastructure, and research momentum will continue after the award period, which is especially important given that the program is meant to broaden the field long-term rather than fund isolated projects.

From an administrative standpoint, this opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding and uses the cooperative agreement funding instrument (UM1) under the health activity category, CFDA 93.172. The listed award ceiling is 850,000 dollars. The posting shows an original closing date of 2026-08-02. While the opportunity summary does not specify the exact number of expected awards in the provided text, the ceiling and the cooperative agreement structure suggest NHGRI is aiming for well-supported, multi-component projects where research and capacity building are tightly linked and can be actively stewarded in partnership with the institute.

Overall, the BBAER program is best understood as a combined research-and-field-building initiative. It is not only looking for compelling ELSI questions in genomics, but also for projects that build durable community-engaged research teams at institutions that have not typically had large NIH portfolios. Successful applications will likely be those that tightly connect (1) a strong transdisciplinary ELSI research agenda, (2) authentic and continuous involvement of affected communities, and (3) realistic, needs-based plans to build institutional capacity and develop the next generation of ELSI researchers and practitioners, supported by clear management, evaluation, and sustainability structures.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Limited Competition: Building Partnerships and Broadening Perspectives to Advance Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) Research (BBAER) Program (UM1), Clinical Trial Optional" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.172.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-07-10.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-08-02. (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 $850,000.00 in funding.
• 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 HG 24 026

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