Data Coordinating and Operations Center for the ECHO IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network - 3 (U24 Clinical Trial RequiredInfrastructure) | RFA OD 24 009

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA OD 24 009

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), through the Office of the Director (OD), is seeking applications for a cooperative agreement to serve as the Data Coordinating and Operations Center (DCOC) for the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network (ECHO ISPCTN). This opportunity is focused on organizations located in Institutional Development Award (IDeA)-eligible states and is meant to create the central hub that coordinates, standardizes, and operationally supports a network of pediatric clinical trial sites. The DCOC and separately funded Clinical Sites (solicited under a companion clinical sites announcement running in parallel) together make up the ECHO ISPCTN, which is described as the intervention arm of the broader ECHO Program and aligns with ECHOs mission of improving childrens health over the long term.

The DCOC is expected to enable the design and execution of roughly five multicenter pediatric clinical trials during the award period. These trials must focus on prevention and/or treatment interventions and align with ECHOs five priority child health outcome areas: (1) pre-, peri-, and postnatal outcomes, (2) upper and lower airways, (3) obesity, (4) neurodevelopment, and (5) positive health. Collectively, the planned trials are expected to cover at least two of these five areas, meaning the overall portfolio should not be limited to a single outcome domain. A central purpose of structuring the network this way is to produce results that are valid and generalizable by using rigorous methods and by recruiting and retaining participant numbers large enough to justify multicenter trial designs.

A defining emphasis of this network is reaching children and families in rural or underserved communities within IDeA states. The DCOC is expected to support clinical sites in ways that make high-quality trials feasible in these settings, while also strengthening long-term pediatric clinical trial capacity across IDeA-state institutions. In addition to technical coordination, the DCOC is also expected to promote meaningful engagement with interested parties such as community members, nonprofit organizations, and professional societies. The intent is to improve trial impact and real-world usefulness by strengthening rigor, feasibility, transferability, and the relevance of research questions and intervention approaches to participating communities.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement mechanism (U24), which typically means NIH will have substantial programmatic involvement in how the center and network operate compared with a standard grant. The funding opportunity number is RFA-OD-24-009, and the original application closing date listed is 2024-06-14. The activity is categorized under areas including education, health, income security, and social services, and it is associated with CFDA numbers 93.279, 93.310, 93.859, and 93.865. The award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided listing, but the description makes clear that the DCOC budget is intended to support coordination for an approximately five-trial multicenter portfolio.

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based domestic organizations, but the announcement specifically targets participation from entities in IDeA-eligible states for this DCOC role. Eligible applicants include various levels of government (state, county, city/township, special districts), independent school districts, public and private institutions of higher education, federally recognized tribal governments and certain tribal organizations, public housing authorities, nonprofits (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), and small businesses. The notice also highlights categories of other eligible applicants such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and certain Indian/Native American tribal governments that are not federally recognized. At the same time, it clearly excludes non-U.S. applicants and foreign involvement: non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components are not allowed as defined by NIH policy.

In practical terms, an applicant proposing to be the DCOC would be positioning itself as the networks operational backbone: the group responsible for the coordinated infrastructure that allows multiple clinical sites to run harmonized pediatric intervention trials, enroll and retain adequate numbers of participants across diverse and often hard-to-reach communities, ensure consistent and high-quality data collection and trial operations, and support dissemination of findings. The overarching goal is to generate strong evidence about interventions that can improve child health outcomes, with particular attention to the needs and realities of families in rural and underserved IDeA-state communities.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Data Coordinating and Operations Center for the ECHO IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network - 3 (U24 Clinical Trial RequiredInfrastructure)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.279, 93.310, 93.859, 93.865.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-01-19.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-06-14. (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 OD 24 009

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