OpenResearch announcementOpportunity PAR-27-074

Limited Competition: Small Grant Program for Mentored Research Career Development Award Recipients (R03) (Clinical Trials Not Allowed)

National Institutes of Health · Department of Health and Human Services

At a glance

Limited Competition: Small Grant Program for Mentored Research Career Development Award Recipients (R03) (Clinical Trials Not Allowed) is an open federal grant opportunity from the National Institutes of Health (Department of Health and Human Services). Applications are due July 16, 2029. Applicant types listed as eligible include state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, independent school districts and 10 more. Cost sharing is not required. It is funded under Assistance Listing 93.846 (Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Research).

Summary assembled from the official notice's fields. The official notice governs.

Key facts

May 28, 2026Posted
Jul 16, 2029Application deadlinenext date
Jul 1, 2026 (est.)Est. award date
Sep 14, 2029Archived

Posted: May 28, 2026
Close date: Jul 16, 2029
Archive date: Sep 14, 2029
Est. award date: Jul 1, 2026
Award floor: Not specified
Award ceiling: Not specified
Est. total funding: Not specified
Expected awards: Not specified
Cost sharing: Not required
Funding instrument: Grant
Opportunity category: Discretionary

Typical awards for this program (SAM.gov listing for ALN 93.846, not this notice): Research Grants: $1 to $1,937050/Average Size: $361,815 National Research Service Awards: $5,496 to $691,170/Average Size: $157,706; SBIR: Phase 1 awards -- approximately $271,375; Phase II awards --approximately $859,296; STTR: Phase 1 awards -- approximately $273,335; Phase II awards --approximately $811,438.

Who can apply

State governments
County governments
City or township governments
Special district governments
Independent school districts
Public colleges & universities
Federally recognized tribal governments
Public & Indian housing authorities
Native American tribal organizations
501(c)(3) nonprofits
Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status
Private colleges & universities
For-profit organizations (not small businesses)
Small businesses
Others (see notice)

Additional information on eligibility (from the notice)

Refer to Section III. Eligibility Information in the NOFO for additional information on eligibility.Foreign Organizations/International Collaborations:Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) are not eligible to apply.Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply.Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed.

Can your organization apply?

A quick check against the listed applicant types — other requirements in the notice still apply.

Based on the published notice. Review the official notice for complete eligibility requirements.

What it funds

Official synopsis as published by the agency, formatted for readability.

The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) announces a program that provides NIAMS-supported K01, K08, K23, and K25 recipients the opportunity to apply for the Small Grant (R03) during the second to fourth year of their K award, as well as to provide support to recipients of significant career development awards from federal or non-federal organizations that are focused on the NIAMS' mission areas. Through this mechanism, which allows up to $50,000 direct costs per year for up to two years, the NIAMS is seeking to enhance the capability of scientists to conduct research as they transition to fully independent investigator. The R03 grant mechanism allows support of different types of projects, including pilot and feasibility studies; secondary analysis of existing data; small, self-contained research projects; development of research methodology; and development of new research technology. In addition to the existing career development awards, the R03 is intended to support short term research projects to enable opportunities for a subsequent R01, or equivalent, application. Clinical trials of any phase will not be supported by this NOFO.This is a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for a Limited Competition that will invite application(s) from eligible organization(s) to apply. Please see Section III. Eligibility for additional information. In accordance with NIH standard peer-review processes, the application(s) will be peer-reviewed, and only meritorious application(s) will be considered for funding.

Full announcement & documents

The full announcement has the complete rules — page limits, required attachments, evaluation criteria and any letter-of-intent dates. Files download directly from Grants.gov.

PAR-27-074-Full-Announcement.htmlFull Announcement · PAR-27-074-Full-Announcement.htmlHTML · 115 KB

How to apply

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Read the full announcement (NOFO)Eligibility, evaluation criteria, page limits and required attachments are in the full notice on Grants.gov. Open ↗
Confirm eligibility and fitCheck your organization type above; no cost sharing is required.
Register (or renew) in SAM.gov and get a UEIFree. New registrations can take several weeks; registrations must be renewed every year. Open ↗
Set up Grants.gov accessCreate a Grants.gov account and make sure someone has the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) role. Open ↗
Open the application packageUse opportunity number PAR-27-074 on Grants.gov (Grants.gov Workspace). Open ↗
Prepare narrative, budget and attachmentsFollow the notice's format exactly — page limits and required forms are common reasons applications are rejected.
Ask the agency contact any questions earlyNational Institutes of Health · NIAMS_NOFOs@mail.nih.gov Open ↗
Submit before July 16, 2029Submit a few days early and keep your Grants.gov confirmation and validation emails.

Assistance Listing

What is an ALN?

93.846Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases ResearchProgram →

Reported obligations under ALN 93.846

Historical data · not a prediction

FY20

$506M

FY21

$509M

FY22

$500M

FY23

$548M

FY24

$546M est.

FY25

$542M est.

Source: SAM.gov Assistance Listing 93.846. Program-wide totals, not awards from this specific opportunity.

Agency contact (as published)

National Institutes of Health
NIAMS_NOFOs@mail.nih.gov
301-402-2541

Quick answers

When is the deadline for this opportunity?

According to the official notice, applications are due July 16, 2029. Confirm the deadline and submission time on Grants.gov before applying.

Who is eligible to apply for this opportunity?

The official notice lists these applicant types as eligible: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public colleges & universities, Federally recognized tribal governments, Public & Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations, 501(c)(3) nonprofits, Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status, Private colleges & universities and 3 more. Additional restrictions may apply; review the full notice.

How do I apply for this opportunity?

Applications are submitted through the official source, not through GrantsJunction. Open the official notice on Grants.gov (opportunity PAR-27-074), and review the full announcement and application package. Organizations applying through Grants.gov generally need an active SAM.gov registration and a Grants.gov account, which can take several weeks to set up.

Matched on shared Assistance Listings, agency, categories and eligible applicant types.

ForecastedResearchALN 93.313, 93.846