Building Sustainable Software Tools for Open Science (R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA OD 24 010

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA OD 24 010

Building Sustainable Software Tools for Open Science (R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) discretionary grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-OD-24-010) focused on making research software more durable, usable, and broadly impactful for the scientific community. The central idea is to strengthen the long-term sustainability of software tools used in research by encouraging applicants to adopt proven best practices and sound design principles in software development, while also taking advantage of ongoing advances in computing. In practical terms, this NOFO is aimed at helping teams move research software beyond short-lived, grant-dependent prototypes and toward well-engineered tools that can be maintained, extended, and reliably used by others over time.

A major emphasis of the opportunity is on improving how research software is built and supported, not simply adding new features. Projects are expected to incorporate modern development approaches that increase robustness and longevity, such as clearer architecture, better testing and quality control, improved documentation, reproducible builds, and maintainable codebases. The NOFO also highlights the importance of active collaboration between the people who create software and the people who depend on it. By encouraging partnerships between developers and users, NIH signals that strong community engagement, feedback loops, and real-world usability are key factors in whether a tool becomes truly sustainable and valuable.

Another core goal is the promotion of FAIR practices for research software, meaning approaches that make software more Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. The intent is to maximize the research value of software by ensuring others can discover it, understand how to run it, integrate it with other tools and data, and reuse it appropriately. This aligns with broader open science priorities, where software is treated as a first-class research output and where transparent, well-described, and reusable tools help accelerate discovery, reduce duplication of effort, and improve reproducibility.

The award mechanism listed in the title is R03, and the NOFO explicitly states that clinical trials are not allowed under this opportunity. That restriction matters for applicants working in health-related domains, because it clarifies that the funding is meant for software tool sustainability and development activities rather than clinical intervention studies that meet the NIH definition of a clinical trial. The activity categories associated with this opportunity span multiple public mission areas (including education, environment, health, food and nutrition, and social services), reflecting the broad applicability of sustainable research software across NIH-supported science.

Eligibility is wide and includes a range of government, academic, nonprofit, and private-sector organizations. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding higher education institutions when specified in the categories); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The NOFO also calls out additional eligible applicant types such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions.

At the same time, the opportunity includes clear restrictions related to foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign organizations) are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. These constraints mean that while collaborations may be scientifically valuable, the applicant organization itself must be domestic and structured in a way that complies with the stated limitations.

Key administrative details provided include the NIH as the sponsoring agency, a creation date of July 17, 2024, and an original closing date of December 4, 2026. The NOFO is associated with multiple CFDA numbers (now commonly referred to under Assistance Listings), indicating that it is relevant across a broad set of NIH institutes, centers, and program areas. The award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided source data, which typically means applicants should consult the full announcement for budget guidance, R03 limits, and programmatic expectations.

Overall, this grant opportunity is best understood as an NIH effort to professionalize and stabilize the research software ecosystem by funding targeted work that improves engineering quality, community fit, and long-term maintainability, while advancing open science goals through FAIR-aligned software practices and strong developer-user partnerships.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, environment, food and nutrition, health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Building Sustainable Software Tools for Open Science (R03 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): 93.113, 93.121, 93.172, 93.173, 93.213, 93.233, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.286, 93.307, 93.310, 93.396, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840, 93.846, 93.847, 93.853, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867, 93.879.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-07-17.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-12-04. (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 OD 24 010

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