Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA NS 17 015
The BRAIN Initiative: Exploratory Targeted BRAIN Circuits Projects - eTargetedBCP (R21) opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-NS-17-015) is a discretionary NIH grant program under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is designed to fund early, exploratory research that pushes forward understanding of how brain circuit activity produces mental experiences and behaviors. The core idea is to support projects that are ambitious in concept and innovation but appropriately limited in scope, so they can generate the kind of proof-of-principle evidence needed to justify a larger, later-stage project.
This funding announcement specifically emphasizes innovative, methodologically integrated approaches. In practice, that means applicants are encouraged to combine tools and perspectives in ways that are not routine for the field, such as linking circuit manipulations or recordings with behavioral readouts, computational strategies, or other complementary methods that allow a clearer interpretation of how circuit dynamics relate to cognition, emotion, perception, or action. The goal is not simply to collect more data about the brain, but to establish a credible and technically sound bridge between circuit activity and meaningful functional outcomes. The FOA is framed around exploratory work, so it is well suited for ideas that are promising but still need feasibility testing, validation, or other qualifying results before they can be scaled up.
A key feature of this R21 opportunity is that it is meant to serve as a launchpad for a subsequent R01 application under the companion Targeted Brain Circuits Projects - TargetedBCP program (referenced as RFA-NS-17-014). In other words, this mechanism supports the early phase where teams can demonstrate that an approach is workable, that measurements are reliable, that manipulations produce interpretable effects, or that an integrated methodological pipeline can actually answer the proposed circuit-level question. The application is expected to keep aims tight and realistic for an exploratory award, focusing on generating the specific enabling evidence that would strengthen a future, more comprehensive R01 proposal.
From an administrative standpoint, the program is offered by NIH and was created on December 2, 2016, with an original closing date of March 8, 2017. The award ceiling is listed as $200,000, and the NIH anticipated making about 10 awards under this announcement. The funding activity category is listed under Education, Health, Income Security and Social Services, and the program is associated with multiple CFDA numbers (93.173, 93.213, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.286, 93.853, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867), reflecting its placement within NIH and related federal assistance catalogs.
Eligibility is broad and includes many organization types that commonly participate in NIH research funding. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; 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 and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in those nonprofit categories as specified); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and additional eligible entities as clarified in the FOA’s eligibility text. This wide eligibility range indicates NIH’s intent to draw strong ideas from universities, research institutes, companies, and public-sector organizations, provided the proposed work fits the exploratory, circuit-focused, methodologically integrated goals of the program.
Overall, eTargetedBCP (R21) is best understood as targeted seed funding for high-impact neuroscience questions where the missing piece is not the importance of the question but the early technical or conceptual demonstration that an integrated approach can work and will produce interpretable, decision-making evidence. The most competitive proposals under a program like this typically make a clear case for why understanding a specific circuit-behavior or circuit-experience link matters, why the proposed integrated methods are uniquely positioned to answer it, and what concrete feasibility or validation milestones will be achieved during the exploratory project period to de-risk a larger follow-on R01 effort.Apply for RFA NS 17 015
- The Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health in the education, health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BRAIN Initiative: Exploratory Targeted BRAIN Circuits Projects - eTargetedBCP (R21)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.173, 93.213, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.286, 93.853, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867.
- This funding opportunity was created on Dec 02, 2016.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 08, 2017. (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 10 candidate(s).
- 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 (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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| Administrative Supplements for Research on Sexual and Gender Minority (SGM) Populations (Admin Supp) Apply for PA 17 098 Funding Number: PA 17 098 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $100,000 |
| BRAIN Initiative: Exploratory Team-Research BRAIN Circuit Programs - eTeamBCP (U01) Apply for RFA NS 18 008 Funding Number: RFA NS 18 008 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| BRAIN Initiative: Exploratory Research Opportunities Using Invasive Neural Recording and Stimulating Technologies in the Human Brain (U01) Apply for RFA NS 18 010 Funding Number: RFA NS 18 010 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| BRAIN Initiative: Exploratory Team-Research BRAIN Circuit Programs - eTeamBCP (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for RFA NS 18 029 Funding Number: RFA NS 18 029 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
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| BRAIN Initiative: Team-Research BRAIN Circuit Programs - TeamBCP (U19 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for RFA NS 19 003 Funding Number: RFA NS 19 003 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| HEAL Initiative: Back Pain Consortium (BACPAC) Research Program: Phase 2 Clinical Trials (UG3/UH3 Clinical Trial Required) Apply for RFA AR 19 029 Funding Number: RFA AR 19 029 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $200,000 |
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| Limited Competition for Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study - Coordinating Center (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for RFA DA 20 004 Funding Number: RFA DA 20 004 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Limited Competition for Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study - Linked Research Project Sites (Collaborative U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for RFA DA 20 002 Funding Number: RFA DA 20 002 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Data Coordinating and Operations Center for the ECHO IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network - 2 (U24 - Clinical Trial Required -Infrastructure) Apply for RFA OD 19 025 Funding Number: RFA OD 19 025 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| HEAL Initiative: Pragmatic and Implementation Studies for the Management of Pain to Reduce Opioid Prescribing (PRISM) (UG3/UH3, Clinical Trials Optional) Apply for RFA AT 20 004 Funding Number: RFA AT 20 004 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| BRAIN Initiative: Exploratory Team-Research BRAIN Circuit Programs - eTeamBCP (U01 Clinical Trials Optional) Apply for RFA NS 20 029 Funding Number: RFA NS 20 029 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Martin Delaney Collaboratory for Pediatric HIV Cure Research (UM1 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for RFA AI 20 036 Funding Number: RFA AI 20 036 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $3,500,000 |
| BRAIN Initiative: Theories, Models and Methods for Analysis of Complex Data from the Brain (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for RFA EB 20 002 Funding Number: RFA EB 20 002 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $250,000 |
| Emergency Awards: Automatic Detection and Tracing of SARS-CoV-2 (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for RFA OD 20 014 Funding Number: RFA OD 20 014 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $300,000 |
| Emergency Awards RADx-RAD: Screening for COVID-19 by Electronic-Nose Technology (SCENT) (U18 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for RFA OD 20 017 Funding Number: RFA OD 20 017 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| BRAIN Initiative: Targeted BRAIN Circuits Projects- TargetedBCP (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for RFA NS 21 013 Funding Number: RFA NS 21 013 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
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