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OpenOpportunity RFA-HL-27-004

Limited Competition: Small Grant Program for NHLBI K01/K08/K23/K25 Recipients (R03 Clinical Trial Optional)

National Institutes of Health · Department of Health and Human Services

At a glance

Limited Competition: Small Grant Program for NHLBI K01/K08/K23/K25 Recipients (R03 Clinical Trial Optional) is an open federal grant opportunity from the National Institutes of Health (Department of Health and Human Services). Applications are due November 7, 2028. Individual awards are listed as up to $85K, with about 29 awards expected and $3.9M in total estimated funding. 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 93.233 (National Center on Sleep Disorders Research) and 4 other listings.

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

Key facts

Posted
May 12, 2026
Close date
Nov 7, 2028
Archive date
Jan 6, 2029
Est. award date
Oct 1, 2026
Award floor
Not specified
Award ceiling
$85,000
Est. total funding
$3,900,000
Expected awards
29
Cost sharing
Not required
Funding instrument
Grant
Opportunity category
Discretionary

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)

Only the following NHLBI K01, K08, K23, and K25 awardees are eligible to apply for this funding opportunity.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 not allowed.

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.

This is a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for a Limited Competition that invites applications from eligible organizations to apply. Please see Section III. Eligibility for additional information. In accordance with NIH standard peer-review processes, the applications will be peer-reviewed, and only meritorious applications will be considered. The purpose of this NOFO is to solicit current or recently completed NHLBI K01, K08, K23, and K25 awardees for small grant support to expand their current research objectives or to branch out to a new study emerging from their K award research. This NOFO is intended to facilitate the transition to research independence for these NHLBI K awardees. Current NHLBI K01, K08, K23, and K25 awardees may apply for this R03 support starting in the third year of their K award Project Period. Recently completed NHLBI K01, K08, K23, and K25 award recipients are eligible to apply or resubmit A1 applications if the earliest potential R03 award start date is within two years of the end of their K award Project Period.The R03 grant mechanism supports research projects that can be completed within two years and with limited resources. These projects are expected to generate preliminary data to bolster a subsequent R01-equivalent application. Eligible projects include, but are not limited to, pilot or feasibility studies; proof of concept studies; secondary analysis of existing data; small, self-contained research projects; development of new research methodologies or technologies, or creation of novel experimental model systems.Applicants are required to maintain a minimum of 40% protected research effort during the R03 award period. This requirement can be fulfilled through a combination of effort on the proposed R03 project and other research projects, irrespective of funding source.For current and former K23 awardees, the research proposed in the R03 application may or may not include patient-oriented research.

Assistance Listings

What is an ALN?

Reported obligations under ALN 93.233

Historical data · not a prediction
FY24$105M
FY25$116M
FY26— est.
Source: SAM.gov Assistance Listing 93.233. Program-wide totals, not awards from this specific opportunity.

Agency contact (as published)

National Institutes of Health
NHLBI_R03@nih.gov
301-402-2541

Quick answers

When is the deadline for this opportunity?

According to the official notice, applications are due November 7, 2028. 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 much funding is available through this opportunity?

Per the notice, individual awards are listed as up to $85k, total estimated program funding is $3,900,000 and the agency expects to make about 29 awards.

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 RFA-HL-27-004), 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.