Systems Oriented Pediatric Obesity Research and Training (SPORT) Center of Excellence (U54) | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the SPORT Center of Excellence (U54) funding opportunity?

The Systems Oriented Pediatric Obesity Research and Training (SPORT) Center of Excellence (U54) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity designed to create a single, high-impact center focused on childhood obesity using a systems science approach. The goal is to build an integrated research and training enterprise that can capture the complexity of pediatric obesity and help forecast or estimate the likely effects of environmental and policy interventions.

Which NIH Institute issued this opportunity?

The opportunity was issued by NIH through the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), in partnership with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR).

What is the central scientific idea behind the SPORT center model?

The SPORT model is based on the premise that pediatric obesity is driven by a complicated web of interacting influences, including biology, behavior, family and community context, the built environment, food systems, and broader social and policy conditions. Instead of treating these drivers as separate risk factors, the center is expected to represent these interactions explicitly using systems-based methods and systems modeling.

What does "systems science approach" mean in the context of this FOA?

In this FOA, a systems science approach refers to transdisciplinary research and methods that can explicitly represent interactions among multiple drivers of obesity across levels (biological, behavioral, environmental, and policy). It also includes systems-based methods and systems modeling intended to help understand obesity etiology and forecast or estimate the effects of interventions and policy changes.

Is this opportunity focused only on individual-level behavior change?

No. The FOA emphasizes moving beyond individual-level explanations and toward multi-level causal models. It highlights epidemiological research linking biological factors to environmental exposures and macro-social determinants.

What kinds of research activities were expected to be included in the center?

The center was expected to support an integrated program that could include (1) etiologic and observational epidemiological research connecting biological factors with environmental and macro-social determinants, and (2) design, evaluation, and testing of environmental and policy approaches to prevent childhood obesity.

What types of interventions or approaches does the FOA highlight?

The FOA highlights environmental and policy approaches such as interventions tied to schools, neighborhoods, food environments, transportation and physical activity infrastructure, marketing environments, and broader policy changes.

Does the FOA include support for pilot or early-stage projects?

Yes. The FOA highlights developmental research funding, meaning the center would provide seed support to develop and pilot new evaluations and interventions that align with the systems-oriented mission.

How important is training in the SPORT Center of Excellence model?

Training and workforce development are central to the SPORT concept. The center was expected to establish durable infrastructure for postgraduate education and research training in systems-oriented obesity and chronic disease prevention, including structured training opportunities, mentorship networks, methodological support, and cross-disciplinary learning environments.

What skills or areas of expertise were emphasized for trainees?

The FOA emphasizes preparing trainees and early-career researchers to become fluent in systems thinking, computational modeling, and integrating biological, behavioral, environmental, and policy data.

Was an international component required?

Yes. A key feature of the program is the expectation that the center would be organized as a partnership between U.S. institutions and international institutions. This structure is intended to support comparisons across countries and build shared research capacity and transferable methods.

Why does the FOA emphasize U.S.-international partnerships?

The FOA reflects the premise that understanding and preventing childhood obesity benefits from comparing contexts, policies, and environments across countries, and from building shared research capacity and methods that can be used across different settings.

What is the funding mechanism used for this opportunity?

The award uses the U54 cooperative agreement mechanism. This typically indicates substantial programmatic involvement by NIH compared with a standard research project grant.

How many awards did NIH plan to make?

NIH planned to make one award, concentrating resources into a single center of excellence.

What was the maximum project period?

The project period could be up to five years.

What was the estimated funding level for this opportunity?

The estimated total funding level was $4.25 million in FY2011.

Is cost sharing or matching required?

No. The FOA did not list any cost sharing or matching requirement.

Who was eligible to apply?

Eligibility was broad and included public and private institutions of higher education, various nonprofit organizations (including 501(c)(3) and certain non-501(c)(3) entities), and local government entities such as city/township and county governments. The FOA also listed eligible federal agencies and regional organizations.

Are local governments explicitly included as eligible applicants?

Yes. The opportunity explicitly included local government entities such as city/township and county governments among eligible applicants.

Are federal agencies and regional organizations allowed to apply?

Yes. The opportunity listed eligible federal agencies and regional organizations as additional eligible applicants, indicating flexibility in the types of institutions that could lead or participate.

What is the funding opportunity number?

The funding opportunity number is RFA-HD-10-001.

When was the FOA posted and when were applications due?

The FOA was posted on September 23, 2010, and the application due date was December 30, 2010.

Is this FOA still active?

No. The FOA was later archived on January 30, 2011.

Why are multiple CFDA numbers associated with this opportunity?

The opportunity is associated with several CFDA numbers spanning cancer-related research and child health and human development extramural research, reflecting the cross-institute nature of the scientific and public health goals described in the FOA.

What is the overall purpose of the SPORT Center of Excellence opportunity?

Overall, the SPORT opportunity sought to catalyze a coordinated, systems-driven effort to understand and prevent childhood obesity by combining systems modeling and systems methods with multi-level epidemiology, policy and environmental intervention evaluation, and a strong postgraduate training platform, all within a U.S.-international partnership and supported through a cooperative agreement structure.