Developmental Centers for Interdisciplinary Research in Benign Urology (P20 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA DK 18 028

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DK 18 028

The Developmental Centers for Interdisciplinary Research in Benign Urology (P20, Clinical Trial Not Allowed) funding opportunity from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), listed as RFA-DK-18-028 under CFDA 93.847, is designed to strengthen and expand research in benign genitourinary diseases and disorders. The core idea is to help institutions build interdisciplinary teams and shared research capacity that can push the field forward, especially in areas where new tools, shared datasets, methods, and cross-cutting collaborations are needed. Rather than supporting large multi-project centers, this mechanism funds a focused “developmental center” that is organized around one main project, but still includes required center-like infrastructure to make the work collaborative, scalable, and broadly useful to the research community.

The program emphasizes team science. Applicants are expected to assemble investigators with complementary expertise (for example, urology, nephrology, pelvic floor medicine, epidemiology, bioengineering, imaging, data science, genetics, immunology, microbiome science, health services research, or other relevant fields) and use integrative approaches to tackle questions in benign urology. The funded work can take one of two general forms. One option is a Resource Development Project, where the central deliverable is an innovative resource that fills a gap in the field, such as a new shared protocol, model system, repository, dataset, analytic pipeline, or other enabling capability. The other option is a Scientific Research Project, where the focus is a new research study that applies interdisciplinary methods to answer a question relevant to benign genitourinary conditions, while also generating resources that can benefit others.

A key boundary for this FOA is that NIH-defined clinical trials are not allowed. In practical terms, the center cannot be built around a study that prospectively assigns human participants to interventions to evaluate health outcomes in the way NIH classifies as a clinical trial. At the same time, the FOA clearly encourages research involving human subjects, human biospecimens, and human-derived tissues when appropriate. This makes the opportunity well-suited to mechanistic human studies, observational and cohort-based work, secondary analyses of existing data, studies using patient specimens, and other designs that advance understanding without crossing into NIH clinical trial territory.

Resource sharing is treated as a central program expectation rather than an optional add-on. Resources produced through Resource Development Projects are expected to be shared once they are validated, meaning the center should plan for quality control, documentation, and a realistic pathway for distributing the resource to other investigators. For resources that arise within Scientific Research Projects, sharing is expected by the end of the award (or at termination, if earlier), in a way that matches the project’s timeline and remains consistent with the overarching goal of accelerating benign urology research across the broader community.

Structurally, each Developmental Center must include two required components in addition to the single main project: an Administrative Core and an Educational Enrichment Program. The Administrative Core is meant to provide the coordination needed for a functioning interdisciplinary center, such as project management, oversight of milestones, communication across team members, budgeting, and facilitation of any internal review or advisory processes. The Educational Enrichment Program is intended to strengthen the pipeline and skill base in benign urology research by supporting activities like seminars, workshops, visiting speakers, cross-disciplinary training, mentoring structures, or other enrichment efforts that build capacity beyond the immediate project aims.

NIH also positions this P20 program as part of a larger ecosystem to expand and enhance benign urology research within the Division of Kidney, Urologic and Hematologic Diseases (DKUH). The FOA notes active partnership with the George M. O’Brien Urology Cooperative Research Centers Program (U54) and the Multidisciplinary K12 Urologic Research Career Development Programs (KURe and UroEpi). This signals an expectation that P20 centers will coordinate, align, or connect with existing national infrastructure and career development pathways, helping promising investigators, ideas, and resources transition into larger collaborative networks or future independent programs.

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based organizations and governmental entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local 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 and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education where specified); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The FOA explicitly highlights inclusion of 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, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), as well as faith-based and community-based organizations and eligible federal agencies, reflecting a desire to broaden participation and build capacity in a diverse set of settings.

Foreign participation is restricted in a specific way. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply as the applicant organization. However, “foreign components” as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement are allowed, meaning a U.S. applicant can include certain scientifically justified international elements (for example, a specific collaboration, assay, dataset, or expertise located outside the U.S.) if it meets NIH policy requirements and is well supported in the application.

From the funding details provided, the opportunity is a discretionary grant mechanism with an award ceiling listed at $200,000, and the original closing date was April 10, 2019. While the posted dates indicate this specific announcement cycle is historical, the summary captures the essential design: a single-project P20 developmental center in benign urology that builds interdisciplinary teams, requires administrative and educational components, avoids NIH-defined clinical trials while encouraging human-based research, and places strong emphasis on creating and sharing validated resources that can lift the whole field.

• The National Institutes of Health in the food and nutrition, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Developmental Centers for Interdisciplinary Research in Benign Urology (P20 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): 93.847.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-01-29.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-04-10. (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 $200,000.00 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 DK 18 028

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: