Limited Competition: National Health and Aging Trends (NHATS) and National Study of Caregiving (NSOC) (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA AG 24 037

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA AG 24 037

This funding opportunity (RFA-AG-24-037) from the National Institutes of Health uses a cooperative agreement mechanism (U01; clinical trial not allowed) to support the continued operation of two major national longitudinal studies: the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) and the National Study of Caregiving (NSOC). The core purpose is to keep these studies running by continuing data collection, ongoing development of study content and methods, and broad dissemination of the resulting data resources so researchers can use them to understand aging, disability, and caregiving in the United States. A key emphasis of this competition is to strengthen and expand the ability of NHATS and NSOC to support research on Alzheimer's disease (AD) and AD-related dementias (ADRD), particularly in ways that connect disability trajectories, cognitive decline, and the lived experience of care.

This is a limited competition because the work cannot be done without direct access to the existing NHATS and NSOC sample frames. The awardee must be able to reach the current panel of participants for longitudinal follow-up, which requires personally identifiable information and the operational ability to contact respondents for new interviews and related data collection. Because of that, applicants must provide a formal institutional Letter of Support confirming they have access to the personally identifiable information for NHATS and NSOC panel members and can carry out participant contact for continued follow-up as well as linkages to administrative or program data. In practice, this requirement sharply narrows eligibility to teams already positioned to continue the established NHATS/NSOC infrastructure and relationships.

Programmatically, the solicitation supports a single integrated award that combines NHATS and NSOC under one coordinated project. The intent is to preserve the core elements that make these studies valuable and comparable over time, while also implementing recommendations from the NHATS Data Monitoring Committee to modernize and expand content. The planned enhancements include stronger cognitive and dementia measurement (to better characterize impairment, dementia status, and changes over time), new sensory measures (recognizing the importance of vision and hearing to functioning and dementia risk), and richer dementia care measures (capturing what care looks like, who provides it, and what needs are being met or unmet). The opportunity also calls for adding life-course measures designed to identify and explain sources of health disparities, which supports analyses of how long-run social, economic, and environmental exposures shape late-life health and dementia outcomes. Additional improvements target better residential care data (so transitions into settings such as assisted living or other supportive housing are captured more accurately) and an expanded accelerometry sample to increase objective measurement of movement and activity patterns, which are increasingly relevant to AD/ADRD-related research and to NIA dementia care priorities and milestones.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary NIH funding opportunity in the health activity category (CFDA 93.866). The closing date listed is September 29, 2023, and the notice does not specify an award ceiling or the expected number of awards in the excerpt provided, although it clearly indicates an intent for a single integrated award for NHATS and NSOC. The cooperative agreement structure signals that NIH will have substantial involvement in the project, which is typical for large, complex national data-collection efforts where the funder may coordinate on priorities, deliverables, and oversight.

Eligibility is broadly described in the standard NIH categories (state and local governments, eligible federal agencies, public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status, for-profit organizations other than small businesses, small businesses, tribal governments and organizations, and certain housing authorities), and it explicitly highlights categories such as HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, AANAPISISs, tribal colleges and universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian serving institutions, faith-based and community-based organizations, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. However, the practical gatekeeper is the requirement for access to the NHATS/NSOC sample frame and the ability to contact participants. Foreign organizations and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, foreign components are not allowed, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, aligning with the requirement to manage a U.S.-based national panel and its associated privacy and operational constraints.

Overall, the opportunity is designed to protect the continuity and scientific value of NHATS and NSOC while expanding their usefulness for disability and AD/ADRD research. It prioritizes maintaining longitudinal integrity, improving measurement in areas central to dementia and caregiving, and enhancing the dataset so it can better support research on disparities, care environments, and objective functional indicators, while keeping control of the sample and participant contact within a qualified, already-positioned team.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Limited Competition: National Health and Aging Trends (NHATS) and National Study of Caregiving (NSOC) (U01 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): 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-06-09.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-09-29. (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 AG 24 037

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