Limited Competition: BRAIN Initiative: Promoting Health for All Through BRAIN Technology Partnerships

The National Institutes of Health, within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, forecasts a limited competition under the Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies BRAIN Initiative. The opportunity is titled Limited Competition: BRAIN Initiative: Promoting Health for All Through BRAIN Technology Partnerships, opportunity number RFA-NS-28-005. The BRAIN Initiative is a collaboration of Federal and non-Federal partners led by NIH. The forecast is associated with Assistance Listings 93.372, 21st Century Cures Act - Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies, and 93.853, Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders. The funding instrument is a grant and the stated category of funding activity is Health. The planned opportunity is intended to accelerate the scientific impact and broad research adoption of BRAIN Initiative-relevant neurotechnologies at institutions with limited NIH Research Project Grant funding. Awards are expected to enable integration of these neurotechnologies into the research and/or training programs of investigators at qualifying institutions while also expanding dissemination of BRAIN Initiative technologies. NIH expects the awards to support two-way knowledge transfer between investigators and BRAIN technology disseminators so that the neurotechnology can achieve novel and sustained integration into broader research practice. Collaborative investigations combining expertise in dissemination and training in new technologies at institutions with limited NIH Research Project Grant funding are encouraged. This is a limited competition with specific institutional eligibility requirements. Eligible applicants are limited to institutions of higher education that award undergraduate B.S. or B.A. degrees and/or graduate degrees in biomedical sciences and that meet the NIH funding threshold stated in the forecast. At the time of application, an institution must have received no more than 7.5 million dollars per year in total costs from NIH Research Project Grants in four of the seven preceding fiscal years, as calculated using NIH RePORTER. The Grants.gov eligibility listing includes public and State controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education, along with numerous broader applicant classifications, but the additional eligibility language expressly limits this particular funding opportunity to institutions of higher education satisfying the stated degree and NIH funding requirements. Non-domestic foreign institutions are also identified among the other eligible applicant information. No cost sharing or matching requirement is stated. The forecast does not provide an award floor, award ceiling, estimated total program funding, project duration, indirect cost limitation, or other detailed spending restrictions. NIH forecasts four awards. Because the opportunity remains in forecast status, applications are not currently being solicited, and the source does not provide application forms, required uploads, narrative questions, budget components, or other final submission requirements. Notice is being provided in advance so that potential applicants have sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations and responsive projects and so that investigators with relevant expertise can begin considering participation in the forthcoming Notice of Funding Opportunity. The forecast was issued September 10, 2026, and lists an estimated posting date of January 9, 2027. The estimated application due date is June 17, 2027. No letter of intent, concept paper, pre-proposal, notice of intent, or other pre-application gating deadline is identified in the provided forecast. The estimated award date is February 25, 2028, and the estimated project start date is also February 25, 2028, for fiscal year 2028. No recurring annual, biennial, quarterly, or other repeating application cycle is stated, so no recurrence should be inferred from the available source. Applications submitted under the future opportunity are expected to follow NIH standard peer-review processes. The forecast states that applications will be peer-reviewed and that only meritorious applications will be considered for funding. Beyond this statement, detailed scored review criteria or evaluation factors are not yet supplied. The source encourages investigators with expertise and insights in neuroscience resource dissemination to consider applying and specifically encourages collaborative investigations involving dissemination and training in new technologies at institutions with limited NIH Research Project Grant funding. These statements indicate that applicants should develop projects responsive to the technology dissemination, integration, collaboration, and knowledge-transfer objectives described by NIH, while recognizing that the final application requirements and review criteria will be established by the forthcoming NOFO. The listed program contact is The BRAIN Initiative Dissemination Programs, with inquiries directed by email to BRAIN_Dissemination@mail.nih.gov. No individual grant officer name or telephone number is provided. Because this is a forecast rather than an open solicitation, prospective applicants cannot yet submit applications. The current planning timeline therefore consists of advance collaboration and project development before the estimated January 9, 2027 posting, followed by an estimated June 17, 2027 application deadline and, for successful applicants, an estimated February 25, 2028 award and project start date.

Develop meaningful collaborations and responsive projects before the NOFO is posted. Align the proposed work with accelerated adoption and dissemination of BRAIN Initiative-relevant neurotechnologies, two-way knowledge transfer between investigators and BRAIN disseminators, and novel sustained integration into broader research practice. Collaborative investigations combining dissemination expertise and training in new technologies are encouraged.