Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 20 124

The NARMS Cooperative Agreement Program to Strengthen Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance in Retail Food Specimens (U01) is a discretionary funding opportunity from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), specifically the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), under the Department of Health and Human Services. It is designed to reinforce and grow the retail food arm of the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS), a national surveillance program launched in 1996 as part of broader U.S. efforts to address the public health threat posed by antimicrobial (antibiotic) resistance. The core public health purpose of this announcement is to protect consumers by improving the nation’s ability to monitor, detect, and understand antibiotic resistance patterns in bacteria found in retail food products.

This program uses a cooperative agreement mechanism (U01), which typically means FDA expects to have an active role in the funded work rather than simply issuing a grant and receiving periodic reports. In practical terms, awardees should anticipate close coordination with NARMS program objectives, surveillance protocols, sampling plans, laboratory methods, data standards, and reporting expectations. The “Clinical Trials Not Allowed” designation indicates that supported projects must not include clinical trial activities; the work is focused on surveillance and monitoring in retail food specimens, not interventional studies in humans or animals.

The main program focus is strengthening antibiotic resistance surveillance in retail food specimens. That includes improving how well the system detects resistant bacteria associated with food commodities, increasing the quality and consistency of sampling and testing, and expanding capacity so surveillance can be sustained over time. A key element highlighted in the opportunity is expansion to new sites, which is meant to broaden the geographic reach and overall scope of retail sampling. By adding sampling locations and strengthening the surveillance network, the program aims to produce a more complete picture of resistance trends tied to food products available to consumers.

The announcement emphasizes measurable outcomes aligned with NARMS objectives. While the specific objectives are not listed in the excerpt, the intent is clear: projects should produce concrete, trackable improvements in surveillance performance, such as increased coverage of retail food commodities, improved detection and characterization of resistance, stronger data quality and comparability across sites, and timely reporting that can support public health decision-making. In essence, FDA is seeking partners that can help NARMS maintain a robust, standardized surveillance pipeline from retail food sampling through laboratory analysis to usable surveillance data.

Administrative details in the listing include the funding opportunity number PAR 20 124 and the CFDA number 93.876. The opportunity was created on March 6, 2020, with an original closing date of May 3, 2022. The listed award ceiling is $200,000, and the opportunity anticipated up to 50 awards, suggesting FDA intended to support a relatively broad network of partners rather than a small number of large projects. Eligibility is noted as “Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification),” which implies that eligibility may extend beyond the most common applicant categories, but applicants would need to consult the full announcement for the precise eligible entity types and any restrictions.

Overall, this FOA is about sustaining and expanding a national, coordinated surveillance effort that tracks antibiotic resistance in bacteria from retail foods. The goal is not basic research for its own sake, but applied surveillance capacity that supports early detection, trend monitoring, and public health protection by strengthening the retail food component of NARMS.

  • The Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration in the agriculture, consumer protection, food and nutrition sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NARMS Cooperative Agreement Program to Strengthen Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance in Retail Food Specimens (U01) Clinical Trials Not Allowed" and is now available to receive applicants.
  • Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.876.
  • This funding opportunity was created on Mar 06, 2020.
  • Applicants must submit their applications by May 03, 2022. (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.
  • The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 50 candidate(s).
  • Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
Apply for PAR 20 124

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