Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 15 288
Apply for PAR 15 288
- The National Institutes of Health in the education environment health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Direct Phase II SBIR Grants to Support Extended Development, Hardening, and Dissemination of Technologies in Biomedical Computing, Informatics, and Big Data Science (R44)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.113 Environmental Health 93.172 Human Genome Research 93.279 Drug Abuse and Addiction Research Programs 93.350 National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences 93.351 Research Infrastructure Programs 93.393 Cancer Cause and Prevention Research 93.394 Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research 93.395 Cancer Treatment Research 93.396 Cancer Biology Research 93.399 Cancer Control 93.846 Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Research 93.853 Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders 93.855 Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research 93.856 Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Research 93.859 Biomedical Research and Research Training 93.866 Aging Research.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jun 30, 2015 and posted on Jun 29, 2015.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 5, 2017. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Eligible applicants include: Small businesses.
- Other Eligible Applicants include the following Non domestic (non U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are not eligible to apply. Non domestic (non U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply. Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, may be allowed.
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Opportunity Summary:
This NIH funding opportunity (PAR 15-288) is a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Direct Phase II grant mechanism (R44) focused on taking existing biomedical software beyond the early proof-of-concept stage and turning it into something that is robust, well-tested, maintained, and ready for broader real-world use. Rather than funding brand-new ideas that still need a Phase I feasibility study, this program is aimed at small businesses that already have a working concept that has effectively cleared the Phase I-type milestone through other, non-SBIR support. The central goal is to accelerate the maturity of biomedical computing, informatics, and big data science tools so they can be reliably adopted by the wider biomedical research community.
The work NIH is looking to support is the extended development and "hardening" of software, meaning the practical engineering needed to make software dependable and scalable. That includes activities like improving code quality and architecture, expanding features, fixing bugs, increasing performance, strengthening security where relevant, adding documentation and training materials, setting up installation and deployment pathways, conducting rigorous testing and evaluation, and establishing longer-term maintenance plans. Dissemination is also a key expectation, so applicants are generally expected to show how the software will be packaged and shared so it can reach and serve more users, rather than remaining a one-off prototype used by a small internal team.
From a scientific standpoint, NIH positions this program within major needs across biomedical and behavioral research, emphasizing enabling technologies that can apply broadly across many NIH Institutes and Centers and across many disease and organ-system areas. The FOA highlights themes such as collaborative computing environments, data integration, advanced analysis and modeling methods, and novel computer science or statistical approaches that help researchers handle modern biomedical questions. A big driver here is the increasing availability of large, complex datasets; NIH is explicitly encouraging tools that help the research community take advantage of that data explosion in practical, reproducible ways.
Importantly, this is a discretionary grant opportunity administered by the National Institutes of Health, and it spans many NIH-related program areas (as reflected by the multiple CFDA numbers listed, including environmental health, genomics, drug abuse, translational sciences, research infrastructure, cancer-focused programs, aging, infectious disease, neuroscience, and more). That breadth reinforces the idea that NIH is not looking for niche software built for a single lab, but for well-engineered technologies that can generalize and have sustained value across a wide range of biomedical research settings.
Eligibility is limited to small business concerns. Non-U.S. (foreign) organizations cannot apply as applicants, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible. However, foreign components, as NIH defines them in its Grants Policy Statement, may be permitted in some cases, which can matter for teams that collaborate internationally but keep the applicant organization and primary performance base in the United States. The FOA states there is no cost sharing or matching requirement, which typically makes participation more feasible for small companies that might not be able to commit substantial non-federal matching funds.
Administratively, the opportunity was posted in late June 2015 and had an original and final closing date of April 5, 2017, with an archive date in May 2017. While that means this specific announcement is not current for new submissions today, it still clearly illustrates NIHs intent for this class of SBIR support: helping small businesses professionalize, validate, and broadly distribute biomedical software that already demonstrated early promise, using solid, proven software engineering practices and a clear plan to serve the larger biomedical research ecosystem. For reference, the full announcement was hosted at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-15-288.html (spacing and punctuation may vary depending on how the link is copied).
FAQs: NIH SBIR Direct Phase II (R44) for Biomedical Software Hardening (PAR-15-288)
What is PAR-15-288?
PAR-15-288 is an NIH funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Direct Phase II grant mechanism, using the R44 activity code. It focuses on advancing existing biomedical software beyond early proof-of-concept into robust, well-tested, maintainable, and broadly usable tools.
What is the main purpose of this funding opportunity?
The central goal is to accelerate the maturity of biomedical computing, informatics, and big data science software so the wider biomedical research community can reliably adopt it. The emphasis is on practical engineering and readiness for real-world use, not on early feasibility exploration.
What does "SBIR Direct Phase II" mean in this context?
This FOA is aimed at projects that have already achieved Phase I-type feasibility milestones through other, non-SBIR support. In other words, NIH is not looking to fund brand-new ideas that still require a Phase I feasibility study under this announcement.
What types of projects are a good fit for this FOA?
Projects that already have a working biomedical software concept and need extended development to become dependable, scalable, and usable by a broader audience. NIH is looking for software that can move beyond internal prototype use and become something the community can install, learn, and use reliably.
What types of work does NIH expect applicants to do?
The FOA emphasizes extended development and "hardening" of software, including practical engineering activities such as improving code quality and architecture, expanding features, fixing bugs, increasing performance, strengthening security where relevant, adding documentation and training materials, creating installation and deployment pathways, conducting rigorous testing and evaluation, and establishing longer-term maintenance plans.
What does "software hardening" mean here?
Software hardening in this FOA refers to the engineering work needed to make software reliable and scalable in real-world settings. It includes improving robustness, test coverage and evaluation, maintainability, documentation, usability, performance, and (when applicable) security, along with clear plans for installation, deployment, and ongoing support.
Is this FOA meant to fund brand-new biomedical software ideas?
No. This FOA is positioned for software that has already moved past early proof-of-concept and effectively cleared Phase I-type milestones through non-SBIR support.
How important is dissemination and sharing under this opportunity?
Dissemination is a key expectation. Applicants are generally expected to explain how the software will be packaged and shared so it can reach more users, rather than remaining a one-off prototype used by a small internal team.
What kinds of biomedical research needs does NIH connect to this program?
NIH frames this FOA around broad needs across biomedical and behavioral research, including enabling technologies that apply across many NIH Institutes and Centers and across many disease and organ-system areas. Themes highlighted include collaborative computing environments, data integration, advanced analysis and modeling, and novel computer science or statistical approaches that help researchers handle modern biomedical questions.
How does "big data" relate to this FOA?
A major driver is the increasing availability of large, complex datasets. NIH explicitly encourages tools that help the research community take practical advantage of this data growth in reproducible ways.
Is NIH looking for niche tools built for a single lab?
The description emphasizes generalizable, well-engineered technologies with sustained value across a wide range of biomedical research settings, rather than software limited to one lab or a narrow internal use case.
What grant mechanism is used?
This is an SBIR Direct Phase II award under the R44 mechanism.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is limited to small business concerns.
Can a non-U.S. (foreign) organization apply?
No. Non-U.S. (foreign) organizations are not eligible to apply as applicants under this FOA.
Are non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations eligible?
No. Non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible under this FOA.
Are foreign components allowed at all?
Foreign components, as defined by NIH in its Grants Policy Statement, may be permitted in some cases. This may matter for teams that collaborate internationally while keeping the applicant organization and primary performance base in the United States.
Is cost sharing or matching required?
No. The FOA states there is no cost sharing or matching requirement.
Is this a current, open opportunity?
No. The FOA was posted in late June 2015, had an original and final closing date of April 5, 2017, and an archive date in May 2017. That means PAR-15-288 itself is not current for new submissions today.
What does it mean that this was a discretionary NIH grant opportunity?
Based on the description provided, the opportunity is administered by the National Institutes of Health as a discretionary grant program supporting NIH priorities for broadly useful biomedical software tools.
Does this FOA span multiple NIH program areas?
Yes. It spans many NIH-related program areas, reflected by multiple CFDA listings (including areas such as environmental health, genomics, drug abuse, translational sciences, research infrastructure, cancer, aging, infectious disease, neuroscience, and more). The breadth reinforces the focus on widely applicable tools.
What kinds of software improvements are explicitly called out?
The FOA calls out improvements such as code quality and architecture upgrades, feature expansion, bug fixes, performance increases, security strengthening where relevant, better documentation and training materials, installation and deployment pathways, rigorous testing and evaluation, and longer-term maintenance planning.
Where can I find the original announcement?
The full announcement was hosted by NIH at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-15-288.html
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| Innovative Basic Research on Adducts in Cancer Risk Identification and Prevention (R21) Apply for PAR 15 309 Funding Number: PAR 15 309 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education Environment Health Funding Amount: $200,000 |
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| Exploratory Collaborations with National Centers for Biomedical Computing (R21) Apply for PAR 08 183 Funding Number: PAR 08 183 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education Environment Health Funding Amount: $200,000 |
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