Stakeholder Engagement Innovation Center for Advancing Health Equity in Type 2 Diabetes Research (U2C - Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA DK 22 001

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DK 22 001

The Stakeholder Engagement Innovation Center for Advancing Health Equity in Type 2 Diabetes Research (SEIC-T2D) is a National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) initiative funded through an NIH cooperative agreement mechanism (U2C) under Funding Opportunity Number RFA-DK-22-001. The overall purpose is to create a national center that strengthens and accelerates equitable stakeholder engagement across the full spectrum of type 2 diabetes (T2D) research, with a clear emphasis on communities that experience diabetes-related health disparities and on the systems that shape health outcomes. The FOA is explicitly labeled "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," meaning the award is not intended to directly run clinical trials; instead, it supports the infrastructure, expertise, and coordination needed to improve how research is designed and carried out with communities and other stakeholders meaningfully involved.

At the heart of the opportunity is the idea that better diabetes research, especially research that reduces inequities, depends on more than recruiting diverse participants. The SEIC-T2D is meant to help investigators fully embed community members, patients, and other key stakeholders into research planning, implementation, and dissemination. The center is expected to provide highly specialized resources that investigators can use, such as expert consultations and training or education in community-engaged research principles and methods. In practical terms, this means the center functions as a national hub that can guide research teams on how to build trust, share decision-making, align research questions with community priorities, and use engagement approaches that are culturally responsive and appropriate for different populations and settings.

Another major component is the creation and maintenance of a broad stakeholder network focused on advancing health equity in T2D prevention and treatment. This network is intended to be diverse and multidisciplinary, bringing together researchers with expertise in T2D and community-engaged methods, community experts with lived experience of diabetes and its social impacts, and representatives from health and other organizations considered essential to addressing disparities. The inclusion of organizations beyond traditional healthcare reflects an understanding that factors like access to healthy food, safe places for physical activity, housing stability, education, and local policies can all influence diabetes risk and outcomes. By convening these groups, the center is positioned to help align research efforts with real-world needs, strengthen partnerships, and support studies that are more likely to produce usable, equitable benefits.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based entities and governments. Eligible applicants listed include state, county, 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; tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments; public housing and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other organizations. The FOA also calls out additional eligible groups such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), as well as faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal government agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply; however, foreign components are allowed as defined under the NIH Grants Policy Statement, which typically means specific project elements may occur abroad if well-justified and permitted, even though the applicant organization must be domestic.

From an administrative standpoint, the awarding agency is the National Institutes of Health, with the activity falling under the Food and Nutrition/Health category and CFDA (now Assistance Listing) number 93.847. The original closing date listed for the opportunity was October 26, 2022, and it was created on June 10, 2022. Because the mechanism is a cooperative agreement, applicants should generally expect substantial NIH programmatic involvement compared with a standard grant, often including collaborative planning, ongoing coordination, and shared expectations around deliverables and center activities. In sum, this opportunity is designed to build national capacity for community-engaged, equity-focused type 2 diabetes research by creating a centralized innovation and support center that helps research teams partner with stakeholders in deeper, more effective, and more accountable ways.

• The National Institutes of Health in the food and nutrition, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Stakeholder Engagement Innovation Center for Advancing Health Equity in Type 2 Diabetes Research (U2C - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.847.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-06-10.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-10-26. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• 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.

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