(Re)Building a Kidney Coordinating Center (U01) | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the (Re)Building a Kidney Coordinating Center (U01) opportunity?

It is an NIH funding opportunity (RFA-DK-14-009) that sought applications to serve as the Coordinating Center for the Kidney Consortium. The focus is on providing central coordination and shared infrastructure for a multi-site consortium rather than conducting a single stand-alone research project.

What is the main purpose of the award?

The purpose is to keep a collaborative kidney research consortium functioning smoothly by providing centralized infrastructure, organizing consortium-wide activities, supporting consortium-generated research opportunities, and enabling effective communication and sharing across participating groups.

Is this grant intended to fund one specific research project?

No. The core purpose is not to run one independent research project, but to operate as the Coordinating Center that supports, manages, and connects consortium activities and collaborative research that emerges from the consortium.

What kinds of activities would a Coordinating Center be expected to perform?

Based on the description provided, expected activities include organizing and managing consortium-wide operations, creating efficient pathways for communication and sharing, and supporting research opportunities that arise from the consortium (including mechanisms like an "Opportunity Pool" that can fund or catalyze new collaborative projects).

What is the "Opportunity Pool" mentioned in the description?

The Opportunity Pool is described as a program element that can fund or catalyze new collaborative projects that emerge from consortium interactions. It is part of how the Coordinating Center can support research opportunities generated by the consortium.

What is the emphasis on data and results sharing?

A major emphasis is facilitating exchange of research results, data, and methods both within the consortium and outward to the broader scientific and patient/community ecosystem, so that knowledge and tools do not remain siloed.

What does the U01 cooperative agreement mechanism mean for this opportunity?

The opportunity uses an NIH cooperative agreement (U01), which generally indicates that NIH would have substantial scientific or programmatic involvement during the project period compared with a standard research grant. This structure commonly supports programs where coordination, milestones, and shared governance are important and where NIH and the awardee work together to meet consortium objectives.

Which NIH area or portfolio does this opportunity fall under?

It sits within the NIH portfolio for Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases and is associated with CFDA 93.847.

What is the funding activity category?

The funding activity category is labeled under health. The posting metadata also references food and nutrition as a broader category label in the source listing, but the opportunity itself is described as NIH biomedical research infrastructure support in kidney-related research.

What was the maximum award amount (award ceiling)?

The listed award ceiling was $1,600,000.

Was cost sharing or matching required?

No. The opportunity stated there was no cost sharing or matching requirement, meaning applicants were not required to provide non-federal matching funds as a condition of eligibility or award.

When was the opportunity posted and when were applications due?

The opportunity was posted on September 2, 2014, and the application due date was January 14, 2015.

Is this funding opportunity still open?

No. It was later archived on February 14, 2015.

Who was eligible to apply?

Eligibility was broad and included many domestic organization types and governmental entities, such as state, local, tribal, and special district governments; public and private institutions of higher education; nonprofit organizations (with and without 501(c)(3) status); for-profit organizations (including small businesses and other for-profits); independent school districts; and certain housing authorities.

Were specific institution designations explicitly included?

Yes. The eligibility language explicitly included institution types commonly referenced in NIH announcements, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), as well as faith-based or community-based organizations and regional organizations.

Could a foreign (non-U.S.) institution apply as the main applicant?

No. Non-U.S. (foreign) entities and foreign institutions were not eligible to apply as the applicant organization.

Can foreign components participate in some way?

Yes. The description states that non-domestic components of U.S. organizations could participate, and foreign components were allowed as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement. This typically means discrete parts of the work may be carried out abroad under an otherwise eligible U.S. applicant when justified.

What is meant by "non-domestic components of U.S. organizations"?

It refers to parts of a U.S.-based organization that operate outside the United States. The opportunity indicates those non-domestic components could participate even though foreign institutions could not serve as the applicant organization.

Why is a Coordinating Center important for a consortium?

The opportunity is framed as an infrastructure-and-operations award designed to strengthen and sustain a national kidney research consortium by centralizing coordination, enabling rapid initiation of shared research opportunities, and ensuring efficient communication and dissemination of data, methods, and findings.

What kind of dissemination is expected beyond the consortium?

The opportunity emphasizes sharing research results, data, and methods outward to the broader scientific community and to patient/community stakeholders so that lessons learned and tools developed are accessible beyond the consortium.

Where could applicants find the original announcement details?

NIH provided an additional information link to the full FOA on the NIH grants website.

Who was listed for technical or website-related support?

NIH listed NIH Office of Extramural Research (OER) webmaster contacts for access or technical linking issues.