U.S South Africa Program for Collaborative Biomedical Research (R21) | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the U.S. South Africa Program for Collaborative Biomedical Research (R21)?

It was a National Institutes of Health (NIH) discretionary grant opportunity designed to launch and strengthen a formal program of collaboration between U.S.-based and South Africa-based researchers in priority biomedical areas. It used the NIH R21 mechanism to support early-stage, high-impact collaborative projects.

What was the main purpose of this funding opportunity?

The central aim was to support exploratory or developmental collaborative projects that could generate strong preliminary data, test new concepts, or open new research directions, specifically by leveraging binational expertise, shared resources, and complementary research settings in the United States and South Africa.

What type of NIH grant mechanism was used?

The funding used the NIH R21 mechanism, which is typically intended for exploratory or developmental research efforts that are innovative, focused, and positioned to produce preliminary findings or proof-of-concept results.

What scientific topics were emphasized in this opportunity?

The scientific scope emphasized infectious diseases and related health challenges with major public health impact in South Africa and globally. The FOA highlighted tuberculosis (TB), HIV/AIDS (across biomedical and behavioral science domains), and HIV-related comorbidities, including malignancies.

Did the opportunity allow both biomedical and behavioral research?

Yes. HIV/AIDS research was explicitly described as spanning biomedical and behavioral science domains, and the scope also allowed behavioral and implementation-oriented studies, as long as they addressed the stated priority areas.

Were HIV-related malignancies within scope?

Yes. HIV-related comorbidities, including malignancies, were specifically included. The description indicated interest in work at the intersection of infectious disease, immune dysfunction, and cancer outcomes, as well as prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment, and control strategies where appropriate.

What was the Funding Opportunity Number and title?

The Funding Opportunity Number was RFA-AI-14-010, titled "U.S South Africa Program for Collaborative Biomedical Research (R21)."

When was the opportunity posted, and what were the closing and archive dates?

It was created and posted on December 13, 2013. The original and current closing date was April 22, 2014. The announcement was archived on May 23, 2014.

Is this funding opportunity still open?

No. Based on the provided dates, the closing date was April 22, 2014, and the FOA was archived on May 23, 2014.

What was the estimated total program funding?

The estimated total program funding listed for the opportunity was $8,000,000.

What was the award ceiling?

The award ceiling was $200,000.

Was cost sharing or matching required?

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

What was the funding instrument?

The funding instrument was a grant.

What activity categories were associated with this FOA?

The activity categories spanned education, health, and income security and social services, reflecting broad public health and research training implications connected to the supported work.

What did the CFDA associations suggest about the types of projects?

The CFDA numbers linked the announcement to multiple NIH mission areas, including allergy and infectious diseases, microbiology and infectious diseases, mental health research, child health and human development, international research and research training, and multiple cancer-related categories (cause and prevention, detection and diagnosis, treatment, biology, and control). This reinforced that projects could be multidisciplinary as long as they fit the FOA priorities and the U.S.-South Africa collaborative framing.

Who was eligible to apply (in general terms)?

Eligibility was broad and included many types of U.S. domestic organizations and governments as well as foreign entities, with specific clarifications. Eligible applicants included institutions of higher education (public and private), nonprofits (with and without 501(c)(3) status), for-profit organizations (including small businesses), and a wide range of governmental entities.

Which U.S. government entities were included in eligibility?

The eligible list included state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, independent school districts, and public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities.

Were tribal governments and tribal organizations eligible?

Yes. Tribal governments (federally recognized and other than federally recognized) and tribal organizations were included, along with tribally controlled colleges and universities.

Were minority-serving institutions and community-based organizations included?

Yes. The eligibility list explicitly covered multiple minority-serving institutions and also included community-based and faith-based organizations. Examples listed included HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, AANAPISIs, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, and tribally controlled colleges and universities.

Could South Africa-based organizations apply directly?

Yes. A key international eligibility point was that non-U.S. entities from South Africa were eligible to apply, including foreign organizations and foreign institutions based in South Africa.

Are non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations eligible to apply?

No. The announcement specified that non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations were not eligible to apply.

Were foreign components allowed in applications?

Yes. The FOA noted that foreign components (as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement) were allowed, indicating that certain international collaboration elements could be included when consistent with NIH rules, even though the applicant structure had specific constraints.

What kind of collaboration was NIH trying to encourage?

The FOA signaled NIH interest in building sustained, productive research links between U.S. and South African investigators around TB, HIV/AIDS, and HIV-associated comorbidities (including cancers), using the R21 as an entry point to seed new collaborative research directions.

What practical advantages of the U.S.-South Africa partnership were highlighted?

The description emphasized taking advantage of the epidemiologic context, clinical cohorts, laboratory capacity, and implementation environments in South Africa, paired with complementary expertise and infrastructure in the United States.

Where was the official FOA posted, and where can the full announcement be found?

The official announcement was hosted on the NIH grants site. An additional information link was provided at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-AI-14-010.html.

Who should be contacted for technical issues accessing the announcement?

For access or technical issues (such as difficulties accessing the announcement electronically or linking to the funding notice), the contact listed was the NIH Office of Extramural Research (OER) Webmaster at FBOWebmaster@OD.NIH.GOV.