Administrative Supplements to Promote Diversity in Research and Development Small Businesses SBIR/STTR (Admin Supp Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PA 24 255

Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 24 255

The opportunity titled "Administrative Supplements to Promote Diversity in Research and Development Small Businesses SBIR/STTR (Admin Supp Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" (Funding Opportunity Number PA-24-255) is a discretionary NIH funding notice, in partnership with CDC, aimed at small businesses that already hold active SBIR or STTR grants. The central purpose is to provide administrative supplement funds that help strengthen diversity in the biomedical and health-related research workforce connected to SBIR/STTR-funded projects. Rather than supporting entirely new, stand-alone projects, these supplements are meant to expand or enhance the existing, parent award by adding people and support structures that broaden participation in research and product development.

At its core, the supplement is designed to help SBIR/STTR small business concerns recruit and support trainees and investigators from groups that have been shown to be nationally underrepresented in health-related research or specifically underrepresented in the SBIR and STTR programs. The announcement explicitly highlights support for students, postdoctoral scholars, and other eligible investigators, with the idea that supplement funds can be used to create meaningful research and development experiences that build skills, mentoring relationships, and career momentum in the context of an ongoing small business R&D effort. In other words, the supplement is a mechanism for a company to bring additional people onto an existing SBIR/STTR project and give them substantive, structured roles that contribute to both the project outcomes and workforce development goals.

A second, distinct use case is also included: the supplement can support PD(s)/PI(s) on research grants who are or become disabled and require additional resources to accommodate a disability in order to continue working on the funded project. This portion of the notice recognizes that maintaining continuity in leadership and participation sometimes requires practical accommodations, and the supplement mechanism can be used to provide that added support without changing the scientific scope of the parent award.

A key constraint is that all requested supplement activities must remain within the scope of the original SBIR or STTR project. That means applicants cannot use the supplement to introduce a fundamentally new line of work, a major shift in aims, or an unrelated development effort. The expectation is that the added personnel support and any related costs directly advance the currently funded objectives, while simultaneously promoting diversity and inclusion (or enabling disability accommodations) within the established project framework.

This particular NOFO is also defined by what it does not allow regarding clinical trials. It is intended for applicants whose proposed supplement work does not involve leading an independent clinical trial, a clinical trial feasibility study, or an ancillary study to a clinical trial. However, there is an important nuance: the supplement may include a research experience that takes place in a clinical trial setting as long as the clinical trial itself is led by a mentor or co-mentor, rather than by the supplement-supported individual as the independent trial lead. Practically, this keeps the supplement focused on training and research participation rather than clinical trial leadership or launching new trial activities under the supplement.

Eligibility is limited to small businesses (small business concerns) with relevant SBIR/STTR awards, and the agency listed is the National Institutes of Health. The notice also makes clear that non-U.S. (foreign) organizations cannot apply, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. At the same time, it notes that "foreign components," as that term is defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, may be allowable in some circumstances, which typically means certain well-justified activities or collaborations conducted outside the U.S. could be permitted under NIH rules, even though foreign entities themselves are not eligible applicants.

Administratively, this is a grant mechanism categorized under broad activity areas including health and related public service domains, and it is associated with multiple CFDA numbers (93.xxx series) reflecting its applicability across many NIH/CDC program areas. The opportunity was created on 2024-09-10, and the listed closing date is 2027-10-13, indicating a multi-year window in which eligible SBIR/STTR awardees can seek these supplements, subject to the detailed submission dates, requirements, and institute-specific guidance described in the full funding announcement. The award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided source data, which is common for supplement announcements where the amount and volume can vary by institute, parent grant status, available funds, and the specifics of each supplement request.

Overall, PA-24-255 is best understood as a targeted add-on funding pathway for existing SBIR/STTR projects: it helps small businesses bring in and support underrepresented students and researchers (and/or provide disability accommodations for key personnel) while keeping the work aligned to the approved aims of the parent award, and while avoiding supplement activities that would constitute leading new clinical trials.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, environment, food and nutrition, health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Administrative Supplements to Promote Diversity in Research and Development Small Businesses SBIR/STTR (Admin Supp 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): 93.113, 93.121, 93.143, 93.172, 93.173, 93.213, 93.233, 93.242, 93.262, 93.273, 93.279, 93.286, 93.307, 93.350, 93.351, 93.361, 93.394, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840, 93.846, 93.847, 93.853, 93.855, 93.859, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867, 93.879.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-09-10.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2027-10-13.
• Eligible applicants include: Small businesses.

Apply for PA 24 255

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