As of May 2020, applications to the OTA-20-005 Engaging Common Fund Data Coordinating Centers to Establish the Common Fund Data Ecosystem have moved to rolling submissions. Please read the guidance below for details on the Common Fund Data Ecosystem (CFDE) Process for Rolling Submission of Engagement Opportunity Award Plans.

Background

On January 29, 2020, the NIH Common Fund posted OTA-20-005 Engaging Common Fund Data Coordinating Centers to Establish the Common Fund Data Ecosystem. This announcement invites Engagement Plans from Common Fund Data Coordinating Centers (DCCs) to engage with the Common Fund Data Ecosystem Coordinating Center (CFDE-CC) and with each other to establish the CFDE. The original announcement provided dates for two rounds of Engagement Plan submissions and review.

Based on lessons learned from the first round of Engagement Plan submission and review, and to maintain maximum flexibility in the face of the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic, the NIH Common Fund has switched to rolling submission of Engagement Plans, effective May 2020. This change means that the dates for the second round of Engagement Plan submission are no longer in effect. Engagement Plans will be accepted through May 2021.

Changes to Engagement Plan Submission and Review

Phase 1: Engagement Overview

DCC Principal Investigators (PIs) from eligible DCCs who wish to participate in the CFDE must submit an Overview of their proposed engagement plans. The requirements for this Overview and submission instructions are described in OTA-20-005 and remain the same under the new rolling submission process. The review of Overviews will also remain the same; NIH will review Overviews and reach out to PIs within 2 weeks of receipt to provide feedback, if needed, and discuss next steps for developing Detailed Plans.

Phase 2: Detailed Engagement Plans

The requirements, submission instructions, and review process for Detailed Engagement Plans remain the same as described in OTA-20-005, with the following exceptions:

• Proposed partnering activities with other DCCs should be described as tentative plans, pending delivery of a detailed description of activities, milestones, timeline, and budget to be developed in collaboration with partner DCC(s) post-award. Applicant DCCs should reach out to potential partner DCCs during the development of their Detailed Engagement Plans to gauge their interest in proposed joint activities.
• Unless otherwise approved by NIH Common Fund staff in advance, initial proposed budgets should only include support for efforts to engage with the CFDE-CC and to develop detailed collaboration plans with DCC partners. Budgets for proposed DCC-DCC collaborative activities will be discussed with NIH as part of the detailed collaboration plans developed post-award. Once plans for DCC-DCC collaborative activities are established, support for these activities will be provided.
• Budgets may be submitted in any format as long as they address the requested information described in OTA-20-005. Proposers may want to use this recommended budget format. Budgets can be uploaded as a separate attachment and do not count against the page limit.
• Starting in Year 2, budgets should include travel for a yearly CFDE meeting, at least 2 different consortium sites for information exchange, 2 training workshops, and 1 cross-pollination workshop.
• Review discussions of the Detailed Plans will take place via video-conference, and will include the PI(s) from the applicant DCC and key personnel (up to a total of 4 individuals), the CFDE-CC PI and Training Director, relevant NIH staff, and external experts. Proposed partnering DCC PIs will not need to participate in the review discussion.
• Detailed Plan review discussions are expected to occur within 1 month of receiving the Detailed Plans.
• Following the Detailed Plan review discussion, NIH anticipates initiating Other Transaction award negotiations within 2 weeks, and issuing awards within 5 weeks.

The Financial/Agreements Officer is Linda Shariati, linda.shariati@nih.gov