Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The NIH recognizes a need to modernize the NIH-funded biomedical data science ecosystem. The NIH Office of Data Science Strategy (ODSS), located within the Office of the Director, provides leadership and coordination on a broad range of NIH-wide data science activities to realize NIH’s vision for a modernized and integrated biomedical data ecosystem. ODSS is working across NIH to share information, adopt best practices, and leverage lessons learned from similar efforts, including the CFDE. As ODSS is responsible for NIH-wide data science efforts, the CFDE is focused on making Common Fund data more usable and useful to maximize the impact of Common Fund-supported programs. This focus aligns with the concept approved by the NIH Council of Councils to establish the CFDE as an infrastructure investment for Common Fund data sets. However, Common Fund programs are intended to create data sets that are useful to a very broad community. Common Fund data sets are usually related to other data sets supported by NIH Institutes/Centers or other entities. They may share data types or user communities such that a given user may want to access Common Fund data and non-Common Fund data together. The CFDE is working to create technology to prepare for a future of data sharing with other data ecosystems internal or external to the NIH. Participating Common Fund Data Coordinating Centers are invited to include collaborations with related data sets/platforms as they engage with the CFDE.

For more details on NIH-wide efforts, please see the NIH Strategic Plan for Data Science.

NIH Office of Data Science Strategy (ODSS) located within the Office of the Director, provides leadership and coordination on a broad range of NIH-wide data science activities to realize NIH’s vision for a modernized and integrated biomedical data ecosystem. ODSS is working across NIH to share information, adopt best practices, and leverage lessons learned from similar efforts, including the CFDE. As ODSS develops solutions for trans-NIH data challenges, such as the need for single sign-on to access multiple data sets, the CFDE will pilot the solutions, provide feedback, and ultimately adopt standard approaches.

The Common Fund participates in the ODSS Technical Implementation Working Group and is also working with ICs to develop and demonstrate interoperability across data platforms. The Common Fund recognizes the importance of coordination across NIH to achieve long-term goals and will continue to align with these other efforts.

Common Fund programs produce a wide variety of data types, including but not limited to genomic, epigenomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic, imaging, and clinical data. The data and tools for each program are stored, managed, and made available through that program’s Data Coordinating Center or equivalent. The data include both raw and processed data, along with associated metadata and tools. The CFDE will not replicate or otherwise serve as a repository for these data sets; it will instead work with the individual program Data Coordinating Centers to provide access to the data through the CFDE portal as a way for users to gain access to multiple data sets simultaneously.

Since individual Common Fund programs are supported for a maximum of ten years, the CFDE will support ongoing data storage and maintenance costs so that data from programs that have ended continue to be accessible.

The CFDE-CC is identifying opportunities to support data sets and resources developed by Common Fund programs. The CFDE-CC is currently developing:

• A portal for researchers to locate Common Fund data.
• A dashboard to provide data owners and Program Leadership information about data use
• A portal for researchers to locate Common Fund data
• A standardized data manifest to facilitate searchability across data sets and data harmonization
• A set of training materials
• A number of standards and tools for assessing FAIRness of data assets

Recognizing that active engagement by Data Coordinating Centers (or their equivalents) is essential for the creation of an ecosystem of data, the NIH Council of Councils cleared a concept for DCC Engagement Awards at their May 2019 meeting. The Engagement Opportunity Announcement (EOA) was released on January 29, 2020 and rolling submissions will be accepted through May 2021. These awards are intended to provide flexible support to enable DCCs to collaborate with the CFDE-CC and with each other to work toward interoperability. The EOA will support collaborations among DCCs that establish the CFDE in any or all of the three key areas listed below:

• Area 1. Enabling access to, and computation across, multiple data sets in a cloud environment.
• Area 2. Facilitating set-up and ramp-down of Common Fund DCCs.
• Area 3. Enabling end-users to compute on data in the cloud.

Each DCC may not elect to participate in all three key areas however, each DCC is expected to actively collaborate with the CFDE-CC in Area 1. Since interoperability depends on the questions to be addressed by combining data sets, the DCCs will work together to identify the types of questions that users are likely to be interested in and will work with the CFDE to enable interoperability to ensure relevant queries are possible. The DCCs will also be asked to identify challenges that they face in making their data sets FAIR and will be supported to collaborate with the CFDE to solve those challenges. For DCCs of programs that are just beginning to generate data, the DCCs will be able to collaborate with the CFDE-CC to incorporate lessons learned from earlier DCCs, thereby lowering barriers to the creation of new data sets. For DCCs of programs that are coming to an end, the DCC will be able to collaborate with the CFDE-CC to ensure sustainability of the data generated through the program.

On January 29, 2020 the NIH released an Engagement Opportunity Announcement (EOA) for DCCs to support their participation in the CFDE. The EOA includes a list of Common Fund programs that may participate. Additionally, Common Fund programs that take advantage of STRIDES, are expected to engage with the CFDE in the near future. If a program wishes to leverage STRIDES but has not yet engaged with the CFDE, please contact Lora Kutkat at CFDE@od.nih.gov  to initiate CFDE engagements.

No, STRIDES does not offer funding directly. The Common Fund purchases cloud credits through STRIDES arrangements and provides the services as in-kind support. STRIDES has established partnerships with commercial cloud service providers (CSPs) Google and Amazon Web Services (AWS) to provide favorable pricing for cloud-based costs and to bring CSP engineering expertise to health research challenges. The Common Fund is using the STRIDES partnerships to establish a new model for payment of commercial CSP costs.

To fully leverage the Common Fund's investment in STRIDES, beginning April 1, 2020, Common Fund award applicants will be asked to outline the anticipated type, direct cost, and justification for activities related to cloud computing in the Budget Justification section, including, but not limited to, data storage, computing, data movement/egress (see below), professional services, training, and related activities. To foster a cloud-centric model that minimizes data movement out of the cloud, data egress fees (i.e. charges for outgoing traffic from cloud environments) should be minimized. Any requests to support egress fees incurred by large-scale data download functionalities should have strong justification. NIH will use this cost estimate to provide in-kind services via STRIDES if the application is funded and the amount requested for cloud services will not be added to the requested budget total or count toward the direct cost limit for the award. Upon award, NIH staff will coordinate with awardees to work through logistical details associated with STRIDES accounts. For more details, please see Notice of Information: Leveraging STRIDES for Cloud Computing Activities in Common Fund Awards (NOT-RM-20-009).

For details on how to access STRIDES in-kind support, Contact CFDE (CFDE@od.nih.gov)

Beginning April 1, 2020, Common Fund award applicants who anticipate over $10,000 in direct costs for commercial cloud services from Google or Amazon Web Services in any one year are expected to request in-kind support via STRIDES rather than requesting direct support. Applicants will be asked to outline the anticipated type, direct cost, and justification for activities related to cloud computing in the Budget Justification section, including, but not limited to, data storage, computing, data movement/egress (see below), professional services, training, and related activities. To foster a cloud-centric model that minimizes data movement out of the cloud, data egress fees (i.e. charges for outgoing traffic from cloud environments) should be minimized. Any requests to support egress fees incurred by large-scale data download functionalities should have strong justification. NIH will use this cost estimate to provide in-kind services via STRIDES if the application is funded and the amount requested for cloud services will not be added to the requested budget total or count toward the direct cost limit for the award. Upon award, NIH staff will coordinate with awardees to work through logistical details associated with STRIDES accounts.

Common Fund awards made prior to April 1, 2020 may be able to leverage STRIDES, at the discretion of the NIH. For more information, awardees should contact their Program Officer.

Programs may refer to the STRIDES Recommendation Template and Common Fund STRIDES Decision Support Tool to determine program/project eligibility and whether they are ready for a launch within a cloud environment. Teams may additionally reach out to STRIDES Onboarding, CIT Team, Todd Reilly (todd.reilly@nih.gov),and Program Manager for CIT, Nick Weber (nick.weber@nih.gov) to further discuss program’s needs, STRIDES provisions, and plans. Program Officers and awardees then define the goals and needs of the program for cloud resources within the STRIDES Recommendation to submit to the Common Fund and the STRIDES team.

A benefit of the STRIDES initiative is the opportunity for Common Fund Programs to decide how funds intended for storage and compute in the cloud may be repurposed. Program Officers and Grants Managers may re-allocate funds within the same award to fit programmatic needs.

Yes, we are moving to rolling submission of proposals for CFDE Engagement Opportunity Awards, effective immediately. Engagement Plans will be accepted through May 2021.

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 current budget for this effort is planned for approximately $7.5 million over a 3-year period for up to 13 awards. However, NIH Common Fund procedures and OT mechanisms allow for significant flexibility to make adjustments necessary to pursue catalytic and transformative initiatives. Award levels may increase or decrease over time based on programmatic needs, funding availability, and recipient performance.

No, only one proposal will be accepted per program. Individual DCCs within the same program should collaborate on a single proposal in order to qualify for review. If a DCC within a program has already received an award, a supplement request could be submitted through that awardee to expand collaborations. Also refer to the last question below.

Budgets may be submitted in any format as long as they address the requested information from the Engagement Opportunity Announcement (EOA) (see Budget Details section, page 13). A recommended (not required) format for the budget can be found at: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/how-to-apply-application-guide/forms-e/gen.... Budgets can be uploaded as a separate attachment. Budgets to not count against the page limit.

No, the second workshop has been canceled.

No. After the first round of proposals, NIH only expects proposals from DCCs that do NOT already have an existing Engagement Opportunity Award. If new collaborative activities between a DCC with an existing award and a DCC submitting a new proposal are approved, the relevant existing DCC award can be modified to add the new collaborative activities.