Early Intervention to Promote Cardiovascular Health of Mothers and Children (ENRICH) Multisite Resource and Coordinating Center (U24 Clinical Trial Required) | RFA HL 22 008

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA HL 22 008

The Early Intervention to Promote Cardiovascular Health of Mothers and Children (ENRICH) Multisite Resource and Coordinating Center (U24 Clinical Trial Required) funding opportunity, RFA-HL-22-008, is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) cooperative agreement aimed at supporting a central resource and coordinating function for the ENRICH research program. The overarching purpose is to enable rigorous, multisite clinical trial work focused on early interventions that can improve cardiovascular health outcomes for mothers and children. In practice, this means funding a dedicated center that can help organize, align, and support the scientific and operational needs of a coordinated set of studies, with an emphasis on consistent methods, strong trial conduct, and reliable data generation across participating sites.

This opportunity is structured to run in parallel with a companion funding announcement, RFA-HL-22-007, and it is explicitly designed to operate alongside another companion announcement that supports a Data Coordinating Center (DCC). Together, these parallel awards are intended to create an integrated infrastructure for a multisite research effort, where the resource and coordinating center role complements the DCC role so the overall program can function smoothly. The cooperative agreement format signals substantial NIH involvement during the project, which typically includes active collaboration on planning, oversight of milestones, and coordination expectations that go beyond a standard research grant.

A key feature of the program is its use of a bi-phasic, milestone-driven UG3/UH3 framework. The first phase (UG3) functions as a time-limited planning and readiness stage that can last up to two years. During this period, awardees are expected to complete feasibility studies and pilot clinical trial activities that demonstrate the intervention approach and trial procedures can be executed successfully. The second phase (UH3) is the larger-scale implementation phase that may extend up to five additional years, but it is not automatic. Transition from UG3 to UH3 depends on meeting predefined scientific and operational milestones and satisfying all UG3 award requirements. This structure is designed to reduce risk by requiring concrete proof of readiness before investing in full implementation.

Applications must cover both phases from the start, meaning applicants need to lay out a coherent end-to-end plan that begins with feasibility and pilots and then clearly scales into implementation if milestones are achieved. The FOA emphasizes that applicants must provide detailed plans for project management and governance, along with practical strategies for participant recruitment and retention. Because this is a clinical trial-required opportunity, the application is expected to show that the team can conduct a high-quality trial, including specifying the study design, how randomization will be performed where applicable, and how sample size and statistical power are justified. It also requires clear descriptions of the intervention approach, what will be measured, how outcomes and data elements will be collected, and how statistical analyses will be performed to interpret results.

Milestones are central to both phases, and they are expected to be performance-based rather than aspirational. In other words, the application should define measurable benchmarks and decision points that demonstrate progress, such as successful site activation, recruitment thresholds, data quality targets, adherence to protocol, completion of pilot endpoints, and readiness indicators for launching the full implementation phase. These milestones serve as the basis for NIH’s go/no-go decisions about whether the work is on track and whether a UG3 project can transition to UH3 support.

From an eligibility standpoint, the FOA is broadly open to many organization types, including state, county, and local governments; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) as well as small businesses; and other entities as clarified in the full announcement. The sponsoring agency is the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through NIH, and the activity falls under health-related funding categories associated with CFDA numbers 93.307, 93.313, 93.837, and 93.840. The announcement lists an expected single award, reflecting a centralized coordination model where one funded center provides shared resources and coordination for the broader ENRICH program.

Administratively, the opportunity was created on February 22, 2021, with an original closing date of June 11, 2021, and it is issued as a cooperative agreement rather than a traditional grant, reinforcing the expectation of close collaboration with NIH program staff. While an award ceiling is listed as 0 in the provided data fields (often indicating that a specific cap is not stated in that summary field), applicants would normally need to consult the full FOA text for budget expectations, scope assumptions, and any cost limitations or justifications required. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as funding the organizing backbone for a milestone-driven, multisite clinical trial effort focused on early-life and maternal interventions to improve cardiovascular health trajectories.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Early Intervention to Promote Cardiovascular Health of Mothers and Children (ENRICH) Multisite Resource and Coordinating Center (U24 Clinical Trial Required)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.307, 93.313, 93.837, 93.840.
• This funding opportunity was created on Feb 22, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 11, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 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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