NIH Collaborative International Research Project (Parent PF5 Clinical Trial Optional)

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) seeks to advance its mission by maintaining strong, productive, and secure international research collaborations in support of the NIH mission. The NIH Collaborative International Research Project (PF5) is specifically designed to support funded international collaborations between a domestic (U.S.-based) prime organization and foreign organizations. As described in NOT-OD-25-104, this funding opportunity is structured to support collaborative projects such as those that had previously been awarded as domestic awards with one or more consortia/subawards to foreign organizations.

Each PF5 application should support research project(s) in a scientific area that represents the investigators' specific interests and competencies and that fall within the mission of participating NIH ICOs.

As further described in Section IV. Application and Submission Information, each PF5 application must include at a minimum the following components: Overall, Research Project, and International Project.

The Overall component should provide a broad overview of the proposed PF5 including the goals of the program, why an international collaboration is critical for addressing these goals, and how the project will be coordinated across international sites.

The Research Project component(s), led by the domestic applicant organization, should provide sufficient details of the significance, innovation, and approach of the project to allow an assessment of the scientific and technical merit.

The International Project component(s) should describe the scope of work, unique attributes, and contributions of the foreign organization(s). It is expected that the scope of the International Project supports the aims identified in the Overall and Research Project components. Should the PF5 project be selected for funding consideration, the International Project(s) will be disaggregated from the PF5 and assigned their own grant number (i.e., RF2 Linked International Research Project); therefore, it is critical that each International Project has a clearly described scope of work and demonstrated ability to manage the administrative aspects of an award. See Section V.2. Review and Selection Process for more information on the disaggregation process. 

In addition to the required components described above, the PF5 applicant has the option of including Core(s) and/or Institutional Career Development and Training components. These optional components are intended for international collaborations that will pursue complex activities such as NIH program projects (e.g., P01s), centers (e.g., P50), and institutional training programs (e.g., K12). Before utilizing these more complex structures, applicants are strongly encouraged to discuss their plans with their intended IC Program Officers. 

New applications must not include elements of resubmission or renewal including but not limited to progress reports or mention of a prior application or award history of the project.

This funding opportunity is specifically designed to support funded international collaborations between a domestic prime organization and foreign organizations. This NOFO should not be used for foreign consultants, purchasing unique equipment or supplies from foreign vendors, foreign collaborations that do not involve NIH funding, or any other foreign component that would not result in a foreign subaward.