The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is offering a funding opportunity, titled "Building Sustainable Software Tools for Open Science (R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)," to support the development and improvement of research software tools in health sciences. This program is led by the NIH’s Office of Data Science Strategy (ODSS) in partnership with multiple NIH institutes, including the National Eye Institute (NEI), National Institute on Aging (NIA), National Cancer Institute (NCI), and several others. The program aims to foster the creation of robust, sustainable software tools to promote open science in biomedical, clinical, behavioral, social, and health-related research fields. With an emphasis on best practices in software design and community engagement, this funding opportunity seeks to enhance the utility and longevity of software tools used across health research domains.

The initiative targets the development of software that adheres to FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) and incorporates best practices in open-source development. Specifically, this program supports projects that focus on creating or improving software to be scalable, reusable, and portable, with applications in data management, analysis, and visualization. These tools should enhance the collaborative potential of scientific software and address key challenges in maintaining and updating research tools within rapidly advancing technological environments. This funding opportunity builds upon previous NIH efforts, including supplemental programs aimed at fostering software engineering best practices and ensuring tools are adaptable to evolving data science and computing paradigms.

Eligible applicants include public and private higher education institutions, nonprofits, small businesses, and certain government entities. The program allows foreign components but restricts non-U.S. entities from being primary applicants. Project leaders, or Principal Investigators (PIs), must demonstrate expertise in both the relevant scientific field and software development practices. NIH particularly encourages applications from underrepresented groups, aligning with its commitment to diversity and inclusion in health research.

The program will fund 20-24 awards with a budget cap of $300,000 for each two-year project. Annual funding requests cannot exceed $200,000 in direct costs. Award recipients must include travel funds in their budget to attend annual meetings related to the program. Proposals should detail a clear software development strategy, including timelines, metrics, and community engagement plans to ensure the dissemination and sustainability of the software tools created. Applications are due by December 4, 2024, and June 4, 2025, with subsequent cycles in December and June through 2026.

Review criteria for this funding opportunity will focus on the significance of the software’s potential impact, the expertise of the investigative team, the innovation enabled by the software, the feasibility of the software development plan, and the suitability of the scientific environment. Additionally, applicants must address plans for software dissemination, including open-source licensing, community accessibility, and interoperability with existing data standards and formats.

Applications must be submitted through NIH's ASSIST system, Grants.gov Workspace, or an institutional system-to-system solution, following NIH’s standard submission procedures and adhering to NIH's format and page limitations. Successful applications will demonstrate compliance with open-source practices and outline a clear resource-sharing plan to ensure software availability to the wider research community. Applicants should also register for required systems, including SAM and eRA Commons, well in advance to avoid submission delays.