NIH Seeks Ideas for Potential Common Fund Programs

By: Yvette Seger
Thursday, July 28, 2022
On July 20, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Strategic Coordination issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking ideas for potential new Common Fund programs that may be supported in fiscal year 2025 or beyond. The purpose of the Common Fund is to support bold scientific programs that catalyze discovery across all biomedical and behavioral research. Common Fund programs typically have impact across NIH Institutes and Centers and require interdisciplinary teams to solve a scientific challenge, develop a new resource, or address systemic issues faced by the research enterprise.

Common Fund programs are large and complex, with most having budgets of $25–50 million per year over five to ten years. The budget and timelines for these projects reflect the need for a trans-NIH, coordinated approach. Thus, NIH is eager to hear from the research community regarding what it views as the greatest opportunities or challenges in biomedical research that could be best addressed through the Common Fund program. Comments must be submitted by September 30 to be considered.