National Research Mentoring Network: The Science of Mentoring, Networking, and Navigating Career Transition Points (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA RM 18 004

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA RM 18 004

The National Research Mentoring Network: The Science of Mentoring, Networking, and Navigating Career Transition Points (U01, Clinical Trial Not Allowed) funding opportunity (RFA-RM-18-004) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) discretionary grant designed to support the second phase of the NIH National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN). NRMN is a nationwide consortium originally created to strengthen mentoring and career development for individuals from groups underrepresented in the biomedical research workforce. In this new cycle, NIH is pushing beyond simply offering mentoring programs and is specifically encouraging applicants to build and study a broader set of approaches that advance the science of mentorship, networking, and the ability to successfully navigate key career transition points in biomedical research. The overall intent is to generate evidence and scalable practices that measurably improve career outcomes and strengthen the diversity of the biomedical research enterprise.

This opportunity uses a cooperative agreement mechanism (U01), which means funded projects are expected to operate with substantial NIH involvement compared to a traditional research grant. Rather than functioning as isolated projects, awardees are meant to work as part of a coordinated NRMN effort. Program Directors/Principal Investigators will collaborate through an NRMN Coordination Center and an NRMN Resource Center, with the expectation that effective tools, curricula, models, and other resources developed by the projects will be shared and disseminated broadly. A central theme is coordination and consistency across the network, so that successful strategies can be adopted beyond the institutions that originally develop them.

The scope emphasizes three connected areas: mentoring, networking, and career transitions. Mentoring refers not just to providing guidance, but to developing and testing approaches that improve mentoring effectiveness and outcomes for trainees and early-career investigators. Networking includes structured ways to build professional connections, sponsorship, and access to opportunities that support research careers. Career transition points refers to moments where many researchers lose momentum or leave the pipeline, such as moving from undergraduate to graduate training, graduate training to postdoctoral positions, postdoctoral training to faculty or independent research roles, and other pivotal steps where mentorship and networks can influence persistence and success. NIH is looking for varied and potentially innovative strategies that are grounded in research and evaluation, not simply service delivery.

NRMN-supported research under this FOA is expected to align with the “hallmarks of success” established by the Diversity Program Consortium and the Center for Evaluation and Coordination (CEC). In practical terms, that signals that applicants should be prepared to define success in measurable ways and to evaluate progress using shared or comparable outcomes where possible. The emphasis on alignment with consortium-wide success metrics also reinforces that projects should be designed to contribute to an integrated body of evidence rather than producing results that are difficult to compare across sites or approaches.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of domestic U.S. organizations and governments. Eligible applicants listed include state, county, city/township, and special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3), other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The FOA also highlights additional eligible applicant categories commonly involved in workforce development and community-serving education, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), as well as faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and eligible federal agencies.

Foreign participation is explicitly restricted. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as NIH defines them in the NIH Grants Policy Statement) are not allowed. The activity category is Health, and the CFDA number associated with the opportunity is 93.310. The original application closing date listed is June 11, 2018, and the opportunity was created on February 16, 2018. The FOA is labeled “Clinical Trial Not Allowed,” meaning applicants should not propose clinical trials under this announcement.

In short, this NIH cooperative agreement opportunity funds coordinated, research-informed work that strengthens mentoring and networking and improves outcomes at key career transition points for underrepresented groups in biomedical research. The program is structured as a network with shared infrastructure for coordination and dissemination, and it places strong weight on evaluation and alignment with established diversity-focused measures of success so that effective practices can be scaled across institutions and contexts.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "National Research Mentoring Network: The Science of Mentoring, Networking, and Navigating Career Transition Points (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.310.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-02-16.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-06-11. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for RFA RM 18 004

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