Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) Small Research Grant (R03) Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 20 257

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 20 257

The Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) Small Research Grant (R03) (Clinical Trial Optional) opportunity, Funding Opportunity Number PAR 20-257, is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) discretionary grant program designed to support small, self-contained research projects that examine the ethical, legal, and social implications of human genome research. The R03 mechanism is geared toward narrowly focused studies that can be completed with a limited budget and scope, making it a strong fit for single-investigator projects or small teams pursuing a clearly defined question in the ELSI space. The FOA emphasizes work that helps anticipate, clarify, or address the real-world implications of how genomic knowledge and technologies are generated, governed, interpreted, and used in research, clinical settings, public health, and society more broadly.

A central priority in this announcement is support for normative or conceptual scholarship, especially analyses that illuminate new or emerging issues created by advances in genomics. This includes, for example, focused legal analyses (such as how privacy, consent, liability, discrimination, data sharing rules, or intellectual property frameworks apply to genomic data), economic analyses (such as incentives, access, cost distribution, and market impacts of genomic testing or data infrastructures), philosophical analyses (such as questions of autonomy, fairness, identity, moral responsibility, and the ethics of communicating genomic risk), anthropological analyses (such as how communities understand heredity, ancestry, and health and how those understandings interact with genomic science), and historical analyses (such as how past practices in genetics and medicine shape current trust, governance, and ethical standards). The program is also suitable for generating preliminary data to support later, larger studies, and for secondary analysis of existing datasets, which can be especially useful when investigators want to test a new idea, explore patterns in previously collected qualitative or quantitative data, or examine policy and governance questions using existing records and resources.

The FOA is labeled “Clinical Trial Optional,” meaning an application may include a clinical trial if it is appropriate to the research aims, but a clinical trial is not required. This structure is commonly used for ELSI work because many projects are not clinical trials at all (for instance, conceptual analysis, legal research, interview studies, survey research, or policy evaluation), while some may include interventions or research designs that meet the NIH definition of a clinical trial. Applicants need to align the proposed approach with NIH requirements depending on whether the project is classified as a clinical trial.

In terms of eligibility, the program is broadly open to a wide range of applicant organizations. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or 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; Native American tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other types of organizations. The FOA also explicitly highlights additional eligible applicant categories such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions; Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI); Hispanic-serving institutions; Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs); faith-based or community-based organizations; eligible federal agencies; regional organizations; U.S. territories or possessions; Indian/Native American tribal governments that are not federally recognized; and non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign organizations). This broad eligibility is consistent with the ELSI field’s interdisciplinary and community-engaged nature, where important scholarship and applied research can occur in universities, policy organizations, community settings, and international contexts.

The award ceiling listed for this opportunity is $50,000, reflecting the R03’s role as a small grant mechanism intended for targeted projects rather than large, multi-year research programs. The activity categories associated with the opportunity include education, environment, and health, reflecting how ELSI questions in genomics often intersect with health care delivery and public health, learning and communication, and broader environmental or societal contexts of science and technology. The FOA is associated with multiple CFDA numbers (93.113, 93.172, 93.242, 93.399, 93.866, 93.989), indicating alignment with multiple NIH program and institute funding lines that can support genomics-related ELSI research. The opportunity was created on 2020-07-28, and the original closing date listed in the provided data is 2023-11-18.

Overall, PAR 20-257 is aimed at advancing practical and scholarly understanding of the ethical, legal, and social challenges raised by human genome research, with a particular interest in rigorous, discipline-based conceptual work and focused analyses of emerging issues. It is structured to help investigators move quickly on timely ELSI questions, produce publishable insights or preliminary evidence, and strengthen the foundation for future, larger-scale research or policy-relevant work.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, environment, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) Small Research Grant (R03) Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.113, 93.172, 93.242, 93.399, 93.866, 93.989.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-07-28.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-11-18. (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 $50,000.00 in funding.
• 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 PAR 20 257

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