FDA SMALL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE PROGRAM (R13/U13) | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The FDA Small Scientific Conference Program (R13/U13), listed under Funding Opportunity Number RFA-FD-08-003, was a discretionary grant program from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration intended to support high-quality scientific conferences and meetings that align with the FDA's scientific mission and broader public health goals. In this context, the FDA used a broad definition of "conference/scientific meeting," covering organized, formal gatherings such as symposia, seminars, workshops, and other structured events where participants come together to coordinate efforts, exchange findings, disseminate information, and clarify or advance understanding in a specific subject area, problem space, or field of knowledge. The overall emphasis was on meetings that meaningfully contribute to science and public health in ways relevant to FDA priorities.

A key feature of this opportunity is that FDA support was explicitly tied to the fiscal and programmatic interests of the agency's individual Centers, and applicants were expected to ensure their proposed meeting fit those priorities, which were linked through the FDA grants and broader FDA web resources. Because of this Center-driven approach, the program required applicants to secure advance permission before submitting. Specifically, every conference grant application needed to include a letter from the appropriate FDA staff member (referenced through an FDA contacts list) documenting that advance permission had been granted. The notice strongly encouraged prospective applicants to contact the relevant FDA staff well ahead of the application deadline, and it also made clear that permission to submit an application was not a promise of funding.

From a funding standpoint, the announcement listed an estimated total funding amount of $200,000, with individual award amounts ranging from a floor of $5,000 to a ceiling of $50,000. The program did not require cost sharing or matching funds. While the record shows "ExpectedAwards: 0," the presence of total available funding and defined award ranges suggests funding was contingent and dependent on FDA priorities, availability of funds, and meritorious applications rather than a guaranteed number of awards.

Eligibility was fairly broad and included many organization types that commonly host scientific meetings. Eligible applicants included public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, state governments, federally recognized Native American tribal governments, other Native American tribal organizations, for-profit organizations (excluding small businesses), and nonprofit organizations both with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding higher-education institutions in those nonprofit categories where specified). The funding instrument type was a grant, and the program was associated with CFDA number 93.103 (Food and Drug Administration Research). The activity categories were wide-ranging and reflected the FDA's cross-cutting mission areas, including health, science and technology, food and nutrition, consumer protection, environment, education, agriculture, disaster prevention and relief, and other research and development-related areas.

Administratively, the opportunity was posted on December 5, 2008, with an original and final application closing date of July 15, 2011, and an archive date of August 14, 2011. The announcement also included a time-specific application instruction noting that, as of May 7, 2011, an Adobe forms template package was set to expire and applicants were required to use the Adobe Forms B1 template package to submit applications by the final receipt date. For applicants who had trouble accessing the full announcement, the listed point of contact was Marc Pitts, Senior Grants Management Specialist at the FDA, with phone number (301) 827-7162 and email Marc.Pitts@FDA.HHS.GOV.

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