The Health and Retirement Study (U01) | RFA AG 18 005

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA AG 18 005

The Health and Retirement Study (HRS) (U01) funding opportunity (RFA-AG-18-005) is a National Institutes of Health cooperative agreement solicitation for the next six-year operating cycle of the HRS, widely regarded as the leading U.S. longitudinal study tracking how health, economic circumstances, and overall well-being change as people age. The HRS focuses on adults age 50 and older and produces an ongoing, nationally important dataset used by researchers and policymakers to understand aging-related trends, disparities, and needs across the country. Because this is a U01 cooperative agreement, applicants should expect substantial programmatic involvement from NIH staff compared with a typical research project grant, with shared responsibilities and active coordination around study operations, data products, and public dissemination.

The main intent of the new cycle is to keep the HRS core structure and long-running design features intact, while also modernizing and improving the study in several targeted ways. A central priority is reducing respondent burden without compromising the quality, continuity, or scientific value of the data series. In practical terms, this points to streamlining interviews and assessments, improving field procedures, and making careful choices about which measures must remain consistent across waves versus which can be updated or rotated to make participation less demanding for older respondents.

A second major goal is to establish a repository of blood samples that can support future research. This implies building the operational and ethical infrastructure for biospecimen collection, handling, processing, storage, and controlled access, along with consent procedures and long-term governance so that samples can be used in later studies as new scientific questions and technologies emerge. Relatedly, the FOA emphasizes strengthening administrative linkages and collaborations with genetics consortia. This reflects an intention to expand the value of the HRS by connecting survey data to external administrative records (where permitted and consented) and by aligning with broader genetics efforts so that the HRS can contribute to, and benefit from, large-scale genomic research and harmonized analytic frameworks.

The opportunity also places a strong emphasis on cognitive aging and dementia surveillance. Specifically, it calls for follow-up dementia assessment using the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP) in order to refresh and improve estimates of dementia prevalence, including Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD). This signals a desire for robust, comparable cognitive outcomes over time and better measurement tools to support research on incidence, progression, risk factors, and population burden, while maintaining the longitudinal strengths of the HRS design.

Beyond these content expansions, NIH highlights harmonization and usability as key deliverables. Applicants are expected to enhance harmonization with comparable population aging surveys, which supports cross-national comparisons and helps researchers study how policy environments and social systems shape aging outcomes. The FOA also calls for augmenting data dissemination and user support, meaning stronger documentation, improved data products, timely releases, user help resources, and potentially updated platforms and training that make it easier for the broad research community to use HRS data responsibly and effectively.

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based organizations, spanning many levels of government and a wide range of public and private entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township 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; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in those nonprofit categories as listed); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other eligible entities. The announcement also explicitly notes several additional categories of eligible applicants, including 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, eligible federal government agencies, regional organizations, tribal governments other than federally recognized, and U.S. territories or possessions.

At the same time, the FOA is clear about restrictions related to foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply. Non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply, and foreign components, as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed. This indicates the project must be led and carried out entirely within allowable U.S. organizational structures and locations, consistent with NIH policy for this particular solicitation.

Key administrative details from the source listing include the agency (NIH), the funding instrument (cooperative agreement, U01), the activity category (health), and CFDA number 93.866. The original closing date shown is May 16, 2017, with a creation date of February 28, 2017. The award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided record, which suggests applicants would need to consult the full FOA text and NIH grants guidance for budget expectations, cooperative agreement terms, and any anticipated funding levels or staffing requirements tied to operating a large national longitudinal study and its associated data infrastructure.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "The Health and Retirement Study (U01)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-02-28.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-05-16. (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.

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