Biomedical Research Facilities (C06 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PAR 23 306

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 23 306

The Biomedical Research Facilities (C06 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) funding opportunity (PAR-23-306) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant program designed to help eligible U.S. academic and research institutions upgrade their physical research environment by modernizing existing biomedical research space or building new facilities. The central purpose is to strengthen the nations biomedical research capacity by improving the infrastructure that supports research programs over the long term. Rather than funding individual research projects or clinical trials, this program focuses on bricks-and-mortar and major facility improvements that expand or enhance an institutions ability to conduct high-quality biomedical research.

This NOFO emphasizes institution-wide impact through shared resources. The intended uses of funding are projects like constructing or renovating core facilities and developing other shared research infrastructure that serves a broad community of investigators across an institution, not a single lab or narrow research group. In practical terms, that often means spaces and platforms that multiple departments and research teams rely on, such as centralized core facilities, shared instrumentation areas, specialized research support space, and other common-use biomedical research environments. NIH frames these projects as infrastructure investments expected to provide durable, long-lasting improvements in research capability, meaning the work should measurably strengthen the institutional research ecosystem for years beyond the award period.

Eligibility is geared toward U.S.-based public and private nonprofit institutions that contribute to biomedical research and training. Eligible applicants include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, and nonprofit organizations (including both 501(c)(3) nonprofits and certain nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status, as applicable under the opportunity). NIH also signals strong interest in applications from a wide variety of institutional contexts, explicitly encouraging proposals from both research-intensive institutions and Institutions of Emerging Excellence (IEE) in biomedical research. The language also highlights that applications are welcomed from both highly resourced and low-resourced institutions and from all geographic regions across the United States, reflecting a goal of broadening and strengthening national research infrastructure capacity rather than concentrating support in only a few established hubs.

The NOFO specifically calls out several categories of institutions that may apply, reinforcing an intent to include institutions that serve historically underrepresented or underserved communities. These include 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), and Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs). This emphasis aligns with NIHs broader interest in ensuring that the benefits of strengthened research infrastructure are distributed across many types of institutions that play important roles in educating and training the biomedical workforce and in contributing to regional and national research capacity.

There are clear restrictions related to foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities, foreign institutions, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. In addition, foreign components, as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed. In other words, the work supported under this program must be based in the United States and cannot include foreign components or foreign organizational participation in the way NIH defines and regulates those arrangements.

Administratively, this is a discretionary grant opportunity in the health funding activity category under CFDA 93.352. The opportunity was created on October 5, 2023, and lists an original closing date of January 25, 2024. The title also makes clear that clinical trials are not allowed under this mechanism, reinforcing that the award is intended for facilities and infrastructure improvements rather than human subjects intervention studies. The award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided source data, so prospective applicants would typically need to consult the full NOFO text and NIH guidance for details on budget limits, cost principles for construction and renovation, allowable and unallowable costs, required matching (if any), and review criteria.

Overall, the program can be understood as NIH support for major, shared, institution-level biomedical research facility projects that modernize the physical and technical infrastructure needed to run strong research programs. The expected outcome is not a single research finding, but a strengthened institutional platform that enables multiple investigators and programs to perform better science, expand capability, and remain competitive and productive over the long term.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Biomedical Research Facilities (C06 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): 93.352.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-10-05.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-01-25. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, 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, Others.

Apply for PAR 23 306

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