Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Stakeholder Engagement Innovation Center to Advance Health Equity (U2C Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA DK 22 019

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DK 22 019

The Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Stakeholder Engagement Innovation Center to Advance Health Equity (SEIC-T1D) funding opportunity (RFA-DK-22-019) is a National Institutes of Health program run through the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). It uses a U2C cooperative agreement mechanism, meaning the awardee is expected to work in close partnership with NIH staff rather than operating entirely independently. The purpose is to create a national center focused on improving how type 1 diabetes (T1D) research engages the people and communities most affected by disparities, with an explicit emphasis on advancing health equity. Clinical trials are not allowed under this announcement, so the center is meant to build engagement infrastructure, expertise, and collaborative networks rather than testing interventions in a trial format.

At the core of the program is the idea that T1D research becomes more equitable and more useful when communities, patients, and other stakeholders are not treated as an afterthought or simply as study participants, but are actively involved throughout the full research process. The center is expected to accelerate equitable stakeholder engagement, especially among diverse communities that experience diabetes-related health disparities, and to consider the broader healthcare and social systems that shape people’s health outcomes. In practical terms, the SEIC-T1D is designed to help investigators move from traditional research models to approaches where community perspectives and lived experience inform research questions, study design, recruitment and retention strategies, interpretation of results, and dissemination of findings.

A major deliverable of the center is the provision of specialized resources and support for researchers who are conducting or planning T1D studies. The FOA highlights expert consultation and education as key services, particularly training and guidance in the principles and methods of community-engaged research. This suggests the center should function as a hub of practical know-how, helping research teams build authentic partnerships, navigate ethical and cultural considerations, create engagement plans that are meaningful (not symbolic), and develop capacity to sustain stakeholder participation over time. The center’s role is also positioned as enabling and amplifying other projects by embedding engagement expertise directly into the broader T1D research ecosystem.

Another central requirement is the creation of a network that brings together a wide range of contributors needed to address disparities in early detection and treatment of T1D. This network is intended to include multidisciplinary research investigators with both T1D and community-engagement expertise, community experts with lived experience (such as people living with T1D and caregivers), and representatives from health-related organizations and other systems that influence outcomes. The emphasis on multiple systems reflects an understanding that inequities are not only biomedical; they are often driven by access to care, trust, communication, insurance and cost barriers, education, and community resources, among other factors. By convening these groups, the center is expected to strengthen coordination, share best practices, and speed the adoption of equitable engagement approaches across studies and settings.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations and governments. Eligible applicants listed include state, county, city/township, and special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled and private institutions of higher education; Native American tribal governments (federally recognized) and tribal organizations (other than federally recognized governments); public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) as well as small businesses; and other organizations. The announcement also specifically calls out additional eligible applicant categories that align with the health equity mission, including 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 (AANAPISISs), along with faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions.

Restrictions on foreign involvement are also clearly stated. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-U.S. foreign institutions are not eligible to apply as the primary applicant, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. However, foreign components, as defined under the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed. In other words, the award must be led by an eligible domestic applicant, but limited foreign collaboration may be permitted when it fits NIH policy and project needs.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant opportunity categorized under Food and Nutrition/Health, with CFDA number 93.847 and NIH as the agency. The original closing date listed is November 17, 2022, and the opportunity was created July 22, 2022. The award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided source details. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as an NIH investment in national-level engagement infrastructure: a center that can raise the standard for stakeholder participation in T1D research, strengthen partnerships with communities experiencing disparities, and build a durable network aimed at improving equity in early detection and treatment pathways without conducting clinical trials under this mechanism.

• The National Institutes of Health in the food and nutrition, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Stakeholder Engagement Innovation Center to Advance Health Equity (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 2022-07-22.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-11-17. (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.

Apply for RFA DK 22 019

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