Opportunity Information: Apply for PAS 07 387
Apply for PAS 07 387
- The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Harmonization of Longitudinal Cross National Surveys of Aging (R21)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.866 Aging Research.
- This funding opportunity was created on Dec 5, 2008 and posted on Jun 21, 2007.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Multiple Receipt Dates See Link to Full Announcement for details.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $200,000.00 in funding.
- Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification) Private institutions of higher education Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education For profit organizations other than small businesses Public and State controlled institutions of higher education Small businesses State governments.
- Foreign institutions are eligible to apply.
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Opportunity Summary:
The Harmonization of Longitudinal Cross National Surveys of Aging (R21) opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number PAS 07-387) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) discretionary grant program focused on improving the comparability of major aging surveys across countries and over time. Its central goal is to support projects that align, or "harmonize," data from nationally representative longitudinal (panel) surveys on aging with the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (HRS), or with international studies that already use survey instruments harmonized with the HRS. In practice, this is meant to make it easier for researchers to do credible cross-national analyses of aging, retirement, health, disability, family structure, and economic well-being by ensuring that key concepts and measures are comparable across datasets.
The FOA invites exploratory and developmental research applications under the NIH R21 mechanism. R21 awards are typically used for early-stage, proof-of-concept, or pilot work where the main value is demonstrating feasibility, developing methods, creating new resources, or producing a harmonized dataset that unlocks future research. Within this announcement, applicants are encouraged to propose either ex ante harmonization or ex post harmonization. Ex ante harmonization generally refers to aligning survey design going forward, such as improving questionnaires, response categories, measurement protocols, and field procedures so that future waves of a survey are directly comparable to HRS-style measures. Ex post harmonization refers to work done after data collection, such as mapping variables across studies, creating crosswalks, reconciling differences in coding schemes, adjusting for differences in question wording or recall windows, and building harmonized files and documentation that allow analysts to use multiple surveys together with fewer comparability problems.
Funding is capped at an overall program level of up to $1 million per year in total costs, across all projects supported under the FOA, for a two-year period. Individual awards can vary in size and duration within the R21 framework, depending on the scope and ambition of the harmonization effort. The announcement makes clear that the number of awards and the final amounts depend on the quality of applications received as well as the requested budgets and project lengths. While the listing shows an award ceiling of $200,000, the broader funding language emphasizes that awards will vary and that total costs across all awards are constrained by the annual program cap.
Eligible applicants include a wide range of organizational types: public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (with the usual caveat that some nonprofit categories are eligible as specified), for-profit organizations other than small businesses, small businesses, and state governments. A notable feature is that foreign institutions are eligible to apply, reinforcing the cross-national focus and making it feasible for non-U.S. survey teams or international research centers to lead harmonization activities.
The funding activity category is health, and the program is tied to aging research under CFDA 93.866. There is no cost-sharing or matching requirement, meaning applicants are not required to provide non-federal matching funds as a condition of the award. The FOA was posted on June 21, 2007, and it used multiple receipt dates (rather than a single deadline), with details provided in the full NIH program announcement. The archived program information indicates an archive date of August 16, 2010, which matters mainly for historical context and for understanding the lifecycle of this specific announcement.
In terms of what successful projects likely deliver, the emphasis is on practical harmonization outputs that make cross-study comparisons more valid and more efficient. That can include harmonized variables and datasets, methodological reports documenting equivalence decisions and limitations, metadata and user guides, and potentially recommendations for future survey waves to improve alignment with HRS. The underlying logic is that better harmonization strengthens the evidence base for international comparisons in aging research, helps distinguish real population differences from measurement artifacts, and supports more reliable policy-relevant findings on how different social and health systems shape aging outcomes.
The full announcement was hosted by NIH at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAS-07-387.html, and the contact route for access or technical issues was through the NIH Office of Extramural Research (OER) webmaster (FBOWebmaster@OD.NIH.GOV).
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is the Harmonization of Longitudinal Cross National Surveys of Aging (R21) opportunity?
This is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) discretionary grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number PAS 07-387) that supports projects to improve the comparability of major aging surveys across countries and over time. The focus is on making data from different longitudinal (panel) studies more directly comparable so cross-national research findings are more credible and easier to produce.
2. What is the main goal of this funding opportunity?
The central goal is to support projects that align (or "harmonize") data from nationally representative longitudinal surveys on aging with the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (HRS), or with international studies that already use survey instruments harmonized with the HRS. The intent is to enable stronger cross-national analyses of aging-related outcomes by improving measurement comparability across datasets.
3. What types of research does this FOA aim to enable?
The harmonization supported by this FOA is intended to make cross-national analyses more credible in areas such as aging, retirement, health, disability, family structure, and economic well-being. By improving comparability of key concepts and measures, researchers can better distinguish real population differences from differences caused by measurement or survey design.
4. What NIH grant mechanism is used for this opportunity?
This announcement invites exploratory and developmental research applications under the NIH R21 mechanism.
5. What is an R21 award generally used for in this context?
Within this announcement, R21 awards are described as supporting early-stage, proof-of-concept, or pilot work where the main value is demonstrating feasibility, developing methods, creating new resources, or producing a harmonized dataset that unlocks future research.
6. What does "harmonization" mean in this FOA?
Harmonization refers to aligning measures across surveys so that key concepts are comparable across countries and over time. In practice, that may involve aligning question content and response categories, reconciling coding differences, or creating documentation and harmonized files so analysts can combine or compare multiple surveys with fewer comparability problems.
7. What is the difference between ex ante and ex post harmonization?
Ex ante harmonization generally refers to aligning survey design going forward (for example, improving questionnaires, response categories, measurement protocols, and field procedures so future waves are directly comparable to HRS-style measures). Ex post harmonization generally refers to work done after data collection (for example, mapping variables across studies, creating crosswalks, reconciling coding schemes, adjusting for differences in question wording or recall windows, and building harmonized files and documentation).
8. Does the FOA prefer ex ante or ex post harmonization?
Applicants are encouraged to propose either ex ante harmonization or ex post harmonization, based on the needs and feasibility of the specific surveys and harmonization tasks involved.
9. What kinds of outputs are expected from successful projects?
The emphasis is on practical harmonization outputs that make cross-study comparisons more valid and efficient. Examples mentioned include harmonized variables and datasets, methodological reports documenting equivalence decisions and limitations, metadata and user guides, and recommendations for future survey waves to improve alignment with the HRS.
10. How much funding is available under this FOA?
At the program level, funding is capped at up to $1 million per year in total costs across all projects supported under the FOA, for a two-year period.
11. Is there an award ceiling for individual projects?
The listing shows an award ceiling of $200,000. However, the funding description also states that individual awards can vary in size and duration within the R21 framework depending on project scope, and that final amounts depend on application quality, requested budgets, and project lengths, subject to the overall program cap.
12. How many awards will NIH make?
The number of awards is not fixed in the provided description. It depends on the quality of applications received, as well as the requested budgets and project durations, within the limits of the overall program funding cap.
13. How long can projects run under this opportunity?
The FOA references a two-year period for the program-level funding cap and indicates that individual awards can vary in duration within the R21 framework depending on the scope of the harmonization effort.
14. What is the funding activity category for this opportunity?
The funding activity category is health.
15. What CFDA program is associated with this opportunity?
The program is tied to aging research under CFDA 93.866.
16. Which organizations are eligible to apply?
Eligible applicants include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (with eligibility depending on the specified categories), for-profit organizations other than small businesses, small businesses, and state governments.
17. Are foreign institutions eligible to apply?
Yes. Foreign institutions are eligible to apply, which supports the cross-national intent of the program and enables non-U.S. survey teams or international research centers to lead harmonization activities.
18. Is cost-sharing or matching required?
No. There is no cost-sharing or matching requirement, meaning applicants are not required to provide non-federal matching funds as a condition of the award.
19. When was this FOA posted?
The FOA was posted on June 21, 2007.
20. Is there a single application deadline?
The opportunity used multiple receipt dates rather than a single deadline, with details provided in the full NIH program announcement.
21. What does it mean that the FOA is archived?
The archived program information indicates an archive date of August 16, 2010. This is primarily relevant for historical context and understanding the lifecycle of this specific announcement.
22. Where can applicants find the full announcement?
The full announcement was hosted by NIH at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAS-07-387.html
23. Who should be contacted for access or technical issues with the announcement page?
The contact route listed for access or technical issues was the NIH Office of Extramural Research (OER) webmaster at FBOWebmaster@OD.NIH.GOV.
24. Why does NIH emphasize harmonization for cross-national aging research?
The stated logic is that better harmonization strengthens the evidence base for international comparisons in aging research, helps separate true population differences from measurement artifacts, and supports more reliable policy-relevant findings about how different social and health systems shape aging outcomes.
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Applicants who have applied for this opportunity (PAS 07 387) also looked into and applied for these:
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| Young Children with Mild to Severe Hearing Loss (R01) Apply for PA 07 399 Funding Number: PA 07 399 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Young Children with Mild to Severe Hearing Loss (R21) Apply for PA 07 400 Funding Number: PA 07 400 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: $200,000 |
| Screening and Brief Alcohol Interventions in Underage and Young Adult Populations (R01) Apply for PA 07 406 Funding Number: PA 07 406 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Screening and Brief Alcohol Interventions in Underage and Young Adult Populations (R21) Apply for PA 07 407 Funding Number: PA 07 407 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: $200,000 |
| Screening and Brief Alcohol Interventions in Underage and Young Adult Populations (R03) Apply for PA 07 408 Funding Number: PA 07 408 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Bridges to the Doctorate Program (R25) Apply for PAR 07 410 Funding Number: PAR 07 410 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program (R25) Apply for PAR 07 411 Funding Number: PAR 07 411 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| NIDCR Small Grant Program for New Investigators (R03) Apply for PAR 07 418 Funding Number: PAR 07 418 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Research on Alcohol Related Public Policies such as Those Detailed in the Alcohol Policy Information System (R01) Apply for PA 07 427 Funding Number: PA 07 427 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Research on Alcohol Related Public Policies such as Those Detailed in the Alcohol Policy Information System (R21) Apply for PA 07 428 Funding Number: PA 07 428 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: $200,000 |
| Research on Alcohol Related Public Policies such as Those Detailed in the Alcohol Policy Information System (R03) Apply for PA 07 429 Funding Number: PA 07 429 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| NIGMS Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) R25 Apply for PAR 07 432 Funding Number: PAR 07 432 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Research on Interventions for Child Abuse and Neglect (R01) Apply for PA 07 437 Funding Number: PA 07 437 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Epidemiology and Prevention in Alcohol Research (R01) Apply for PA 07 448 Funding Number: PA 07 448 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Epidemiology and Prevention in Alcohol Research (R21) Apply for PA 07 449 Funding Number: PA 07 449 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: $200,000 |
| Epidemiology and Prevention in Alcohol Research (R03) Apply for PA 07 450 Funding Number: PA 07 450 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
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