Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) Initiative

Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) Initiative is sponsored by NIH NIGMS. Aims to increase diversity in the biomedical research workforce by supporting institutions in developing innovative programs to attract and retain underrepresented students.

Expired RFA-RM-13-016: NIH Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) Initiative (U54) This notice has expired. Check the NIH Guide for active opportunities and notices. Part 1.

Overview Information Participating Organization(s) National Institutes of Health ( NIH ) Components of Participating This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is developed as a Common Fund initiative ( http://commonfund. nih. gov/ ) through the NIH Office of the Director, Office of Strategic Coordination ( http://dpcpsi.

nih. gov/osc/ ). The FOA will be administered by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities ( NIMHD ) on behalf of the NIH.

Funding Opportunity Title NIH Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) U54 Specialized Center- Cooperative Agreements Successful applicants will receive support through the Linked Specialized Center Cooperative agreement mechanism that includes a primary UL1 (Linked Specialized Center Cooperative Agreement) award, a RL5 (Linked Education Project) award and a TL4 (Linked Undergraduate Institutional Training) award.

April 03, 2018 - This RFA has been reissued as RFA-RM-18-006 . December 18, 2015 - Clarification of Allowable Student Travel Support for the BUILD Initiative Grants. See Notice NOT-GM-15-125 .

December 18, 2015 - Alteration and Renovations for the BUILD Initiative Grants: Post-Award Administration. See Notice NOT-GM-15-124 . February 11, 2014 - See Notice NOT-RM-14-008.

Notice of Correction to Award Information, Eligibility Information, and Application and Submission Information. January 10, 2014 - See Notice NOT-RM-14-003. Notice of Change in Application Due Date.

January 3, 2014 - See Notice NOT-RM-14-002. Notice of Technical Assistance Webinar. Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number Companion Funding Opportunity RFA-RM-13-015 , U54 Specialized Center-Cooperative Agreements RFA-RM-13-017 , U54 Specialized Center-Cooperative Agreements Only one application per institution is allowed, as defined in Section III.

3. Additional Information on Eligibility .

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s) Funding Opportunity Purpose The NIH encourages institutions that seek to engage undergraduate students in innovative mentored research training programs to submit applications for cooperative agreement awards through the NIH Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) initiative, one of three new Common Fund initiatives that together aim to enhance diversity in the biomedical, behavioral, clinical, and social sciences research workforce.

Addressing a major leakage point in the research workforce pipeline, BUILD awards are intended to support the design and implementation of innovative programs, strategies and approaches to transform undergraduate research training and mentorship. BUILD awards will also support institutional and faculty development to further strengthen undergraduate research training environments.

Letter of Intent Due Date(s) (Extended to March 2, 2014 per NOT-RM-14-003 ), Originally February 18, 2014 (Extended to April 2, 2014 per NOT-RM-14-003 ), Originally March 18, 2014 AIDS Application Due Date(s) (Extended to April 3, 2014 per NOT-RM-14-003 ), Originally March 19, 2014 Required Application Instructions It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in 398 Application Guide except where instructed to do otherwise (in this FOA or in a Notice from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts ).

Conformance to all requirements (both in the Application Guide and the FOA) is required and strictly enforced. While some links are provided, applicants must read and follow all application instructions in the Application Guide as well as any program-specific instructions noted in Section IV . When the program-specific instructions deviate from those in the Application Guide, follow the program-specific instructions.

Applications that do not comply with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review. Part 1. Overview Information Part 2.

Full Text of Announcement Section I. Funding Opportunity Description Section II. Award Information Section III.

Eligibility Information Section IV. Application and Submission Section V. Application Review Information Section VI.

Award Administration Information Section VII. Agency Contacts Section VIII. Other Information Section I.

Funding Opportunity Description The NIH recognizes a unique and compelling need to promote diversity in the NIH-funded biomedical, behavioral, clinical, and social sciences (collectively termed "biomedical") research workforce.

The NIH expects efforts that diversify the workforce to lead to the recruitment of the most talented researchers from all groups, improve the quality of the training environment, balance and broaden the perspective in setting research priorities, improve the ability to recruit subjects from diverse backgrounds into clinical research protocols, and improve the Nation's capacity to address and eliminate health disparities.

With this need in mind, the NIH Director requested input from the NIH Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD) regarding actions that the NIH should take to make transformative progress in this area.

In 2012, the ACD Working Group on Diversity in the Biomedical Research Workforce explored ways to improve the recruitment of individuals from diverse backgrounds underrepresented in biomedical research and prepare them for successful biomedical research careers. (These individuals include persons from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, people with disabilities, and people from disadvantaged backgrounds; see http://www. nsf.

gov/statistics/showpub. cfm? TopID=2&SubID=27 , and the latest NSF report on Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering, http://www.

nsf. gov/statistics/women/ ). The Working Group provided recommendations, endorsed by the ACD, about how to develop and support individuals from diverse backgrounds across the lifespan of a research career, from undergraduate study to acquisition of tenure in an academic position or the equivalent in a non-academic setting.

In response to these recommendations, NIH has established the Common Fund Program "Enhancing the Diversity of the NIH-Funded Workforce (see http://commonfund. nih. gov/diversity/ ).

This Common Fund program is envisioned as a national collaborative through which awardee institutions, in partnership with the NIH, will develop and implement novel and innovative programs to engage individuals from diverse backgrounds and help them prepare for and succeed in biomedical research careers.

This program is being developed in the context of existing programs through which NIH and other entities have made significant investments to engage scientists using a variety of training and mentoring approaches.

Although existing programs may show positive outcomes for trainees and participants, progress towards achieving a more diverse NIH-funded workforce is still This program provides an opportunity to understand and address multi-dimensional factors (e.g., at institutional, social, and individual levels) that may strongly influence student success, professional development, and persistence within biomedical research career paths.

It will build upon and move beyond existing programs and paradigms to support transformative approaches to student engagement, research training, mentoring, faculty development, and infrastructure development.

Transformative approaches are ultimately expected to supplant less-effective practices and methods to have a broad and sustained impact on the diversity of the NIH-funded biomedical questions for this funding opportunity include, but are not limited to: What are the hallmarks of a successful biomedical research career at each phase of the training process?

What motivates students to enter biomedical research career paths, and what factors contribute to their sustained participation? What factors (e.g., institutional, social, and individual) influence emerging scientists, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds, to enter, exit, or sustain a biomedical research career, and how can these factors be addressed?

What must happen during different training stages to ensure that trainees and participants, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds, develop the skills, knowledge, and competencies essential to success in biomedical research careers and careers in the NIH-funded research workforce? How do institutional structures and resources facilitate successful research training and professional development activities?

How can approaches be designed so that their impact continues beyond the period of NIH funding? The program will consist of three highly integrated initiatives, in which awardees will work together as the Diversity Program Consortium: Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) Initiative: Various approaches to increase undergraduate student persistence in the STEM-related fields have been implemented (Graham et al.

, Science, 341 , 1455-1456). Student participation in research experiences has been associated with improved academic performance and sustained interest in research careers in the basic and biomedical sciences (for example, see Fechheimer et al. , CBE-- Life Sciences Education, 10, 156-163 and Russell et al.

, Science, 316 (5824), 548-549). BUILD awards should emphasize research opportunities for students in a multi-pronged approach to enhance diversity in the NIH research workforce. Institutions are encouraged to consider additional innovative methods to engage and prepare students for success.

Flexibility to innovate is a hallmark of the BUILD initiative. Applicants are encouraged to think creatively about how to address identified needs at their institutions and develop visionary approaches that encompass institutional, social, and individual-level factors. National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) Initiative: Lack of adequate mentoring is consistently described as a problem for trainees from all backgrounds.

The NRMN initiative will develop a highly networked set of motivated and skilled mentors from various disciplines linked to mentees across the country both from BUILD institutions and elsewhere for individuals from the undergraduate to early career faculty level.

In addition to linking individuals to mentors, the NRMN will develop best practices for mentoring, provide training opportunities for mentors, and provide networking and professional opportunities for mentees. The NRMN is expected to contribute substantially to the attainment of hallmarks of successful research career progression for each career stage.

Coordination and Evaluation Center (CEC): The CEC will coordinate consortium-wide activities and evaluate BUILD and NRMN programs. The CEC will facilitate the development of consortium-wide hallmarks, including core competencies, of successful biomedical research career progression, and examination of the impact of BUILD and NRMN programs according to these hallmarks.

These consortium-wide development activities will be established through consensus in Executive Steering Committee meetings facilitated by the CEC, (see Section VI for details about the Executive Steering Committee.) The CEC will coordinate the collection and reporting of data from BUILD and NRMN awardees.

The CEC will also facilitate consortium-wide discussions of approaches, progress, and lessons learned, and will serve as the focal point for dissemination of information to the broader research training and mentoring communities.

The overarching goal of the Diversity Program Consortium is to enhance the diversity of well-trained biomedical research scientists who can successfully compete for NIH research funding and/or otherwise contribute to the NIH-funded and NRMN initiatives are not intended to support replication or expansion of existing programs at applicant institutions.

For example, simply increasing the number of participants in current NIH-funded research training or mentoring programs would not be responsive to this funding announcement. Promising practices and principles derived from the literature or from pilot programs may be leveraged to inform applicants' approaches and/or expansion of existing efforts in novel ways.

These initiatives are intended to allow institutions to develop and pilot novel approaches to biomedical research training and mentoring and disseminate successful approaches.

Through this FOA, the BUILD initiative targets the loss of promising students, including the disproportionate loss of those from underrepresented backgrounds, that occurs in the scientific pipeline during undergraduate training and at the decision point to continue training at the The BUILD initiative's primary purpose is to provide opportunities and resources for eligible institutions to implement transformative, broad-based approaches to the training of students to undertake biomedical and behavioral research in matters relating to the cause, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases.

Through the BUILD initiative, eligible institutions will design and implement new models of biomedical and behavioral research training for students that emphasize attainment of hallmarks of success. Participating institutions should collectively consider all of the factors that are likely to prepare students to be successful in the NIH-funded workforce.

BUILD institutions should develop a variety of approaches to engage and train students and to examine the efficacy of those approaches. While completion of undergraduate and graduate science degrees are requisite milestones for career progression, other predictors of success in research careers should also be considered and addressed.

BUILD applicants should consider the substantial literature that addresses these factors and design their approaches with these in mind. It is expected that BUILD resources will be used to devise strategies to address various challenges at the institutional, social, and individual levels.

In addition, BUILD awards will support faculty and staff enrichment in novel ways to further enhance the research BUILD awards are intended to stimulate creative new approaches for training undergraduate students with a broad range of biomedical and behavioral research interests.

Accordingly, BUILD institutions are expected to cast a wide net for student participants and offer innovative research training and mentorship activities across a broad range of relevant disciplines. Applicant institutions may, at their discretion, partner with other institutions to broaden the potential pool of participating students and maximize opportunities for research training and faculty and staff development.

The applicant (Primary) institution will have responsibility for the conduct and oversight of the award, along with the flexibility to determine the optimal configuration with its partners (if applicable) to have the maximum impact. Partnerships involving the Primary institution and one or more additional institutions among the types described below are encouraged, but not required.

Primary Institutions - Baccalaureate degree-granting colleges and universities that receive less than $7. 5M annually in NIH funding (total costs) through Research Project Grants and that have relatively high proportions of students from low-income backgrounds (see Eligibility Section for further details).

These institutions typically emphasize undergraduate training and may be ideally poised to encourage students from disadvantaged backgrounds to enter Pipeline Partner Two- or four-year undergraduate institutions with student populations that will enrich and expand the pool of students engaged in BUILD activities.

Primary Institutions and Pipeline Partners are expected to co-develop and implement programs that enable students to master the coursework necessary to enter research careers, in addition to participating in research and mentoring activities. They are also expected to address institutional, social, and individual-level factors that may influence movement into research careers from Pipeline Partner Institutions.

Research Partner - Research-intensive institutions with investigators who are committed and able to serve as effective mentors. Research Partners are intended to expand training, research and mentorship opportunities available to participating students, as well as engage faculty at Primary Institutions through collaborations and/or training opportunities.

These partner institutions are expected to provide a scientifically rich environment, expanding the pool of potential faculty mentors to include additional actively funded investigators, and expanding the available curricula and hands-on research experiences. Partnerships may also enhance student interactions between partner institutions through joint courses, shared laboratory or field experiences, or other activities.

In addition to academic research universities, partnerships with industry, NIH intramural research laboratories, or other research institutions may be established. Graduate/Medical Partner Institutions - Medical and graduate institutions that do not have undergraduate programs but do have research-active faculty and doctoral-level students engaged in research or planning a research career, and that receive less than $7.

5M annually in NIH funding (total costs) through Research Project Grants. Primary Institutions and Graduate/Medical Partner Institutions will work collaboratively to provide programs for undergraduate and graduate students at the respective institutions. (See Eligibility Section for further details.)

The BUILD Primary Institution and its partners should draw from the relevant literature to collectively consider all the factors, including institutional, social, and individual, that are likely to influence a student’s persistence in biomedical research career paths.

BUILD awards will provide extensive flexibility to participating institutions to tailor approaches to their individual communities, building from existing strengths while enabling new approaches to be developed and assessed. It is expected that each BUILD award will be unique, reflecting unique student and faculty communities.

Nevertheless, applicants should consider the following issues as all core activities are developed: Innovation: BUILD awards will enable institutions to try novel or promising approaches to enhance student engagement and research training, and/or to adapt strategies that have been piloted on a small scale to implement institution-wide.

Institutions should also explore innovative ways to enhance faculty development and strengthen institutional research training infrastructure and capacity.

Innovation domains may include, but are not limited to, novel student engagement in the sciences and outreach strategies, curricula and faculty development, incorporation of lab and field work into the curriculum, scholarly activity in teaching and research training methodologies, research, collaboration rooms, and/or other activities that the institution considers fundamentally important for its ability to better prepare and support students for research careers.

Although institutions have high levels of flexibility to innovate, leveraging approaches based on previous pilot activities or on successful approaches described in the literature are encouraged. Innovation in approach - and the potential that the approaches will achieve a transformative impact - will be key review criteria for each of the Mentoring: Effective research mentoring is a critical component of successful career progression.

Each BUILD award is expected to include activities that will enhance the mentoring that students receive within and among participating institutions. Institutions will have flexibility to design novel mentoring strategies with emphasis on innovation and promoting sustainable change at the institutional level.

These strategies should focus on enhancing student persistence in biomedical research training pathways, and exposing and equipping students with the knowledge and skills needed to become successful researchers. Mentor/mentee interactions are essential for institutional change; therefore mentors must be adequately equipped to prepare students for success.

BUILD awardees are also expected to collaborate with the NRMN to provide access to external mentors. Student financial support: BUILD awards will afford flexibility to structure and distribute student financial support for research training. Applicants are encouraged to consider how provision of tuition and paid research experiences may be used most effectively to engage students.

The nature and duration of BUILD participant activities should be determined by the needs of individual participants. While the BUILD initiative specifically seeks to enhance diversity among scientists with doctoral training engaged in NIH-funded biomedical research, training activities for all aspects of the research enterprise are encouraged. (See http://commonfund.

nih. gov/workforce/ for related discussion of training for multiple career options.) New models of training are expected to build from extant research demonstrating efficacy of proposed approaches, and to extend from such research, identifying new methods for engaging students, including those from underrepresented backgrounds.

Applications may propose an initial ramp-up period of up to 12 months during the first budget period to develop the organizational capacity and strategy deemed necessary to enable an effective transition from the institutions' current state to the transformative state.

Activities during this initial phase could include, but are not limited to: increasing outreach to/recruitment of students; identifying gaps and opportunities for improving student outcomes above current baseline indicators; implementing innovative strategies through facilitated collaborations between senior administrators, faculty, outside experts, and community via focus groups and/or workshops; implementing plans for innovative curricula and laboratory training activities and putting them in place; and/or strengthening research training infrastructure.

Use of the ramp-up period is optional. Applicant institutions that consider themselves ready to immediately implement the novel strategies and approaches necessary for achieving BUILD objectives may propose to begin student engagement, research, mentoring, faculty development, and other proposed activities at the start of the project period.

Successful BUILD projects are expected to yield tangible advances in three key areas: institutional development, faculty development, and student development. Expected outcomes must be described in the application.

Examples of advances in each area could include, but are not 1) Institutional Development Enhanced institutional capacity to engage students, particularly those who express an early interest in science but then exit the biomedical research training pathway, in biomedical research training and sustain their interest in research through innovations in course structure or curricula, student advising, group learning, and teaching methods.

Enhanced institutional commitment and capacity to sustain transformative student research training and mentorship activities beyond the Strengthened infrastructure for research training and mentoring at participating institutions.

Enhanced opportunities for faculty at participating institutions to incorporate more laboratory or field work activities into existing undergraduate courses, or develop new course offerings that emphasize original research.

Enhanced opportunities for faculty to engage in biomedical research; this may include opportunities for sabbatical (or similar) research experiences, protected time to develop research projects or manuscripts for publication, and other research-related opportunities.

Increased scholarly productivity as reflected in publications in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at national and/or international Increased participation in mentoring activities and enhanced efficacy as mentors; this may include structured activities which engage experienced mentors to train the next generation of biomedical research mentors.

Enhanced pursuit of biomedical research-related undergraduate Enhanced transition of undergraduate students to accredited doctoral training programs. Enhanced student perceptions and attitudes toward biomedical research careers and improved understanding of the requirements for success in Improved readiness for biomedical research careers as determined by measures of success that the Diversity Program Consortium will develop.

Enhanced student engagement in research as reflected by authorship on peer-reviewed papers and presentations at scientific conferences. Enhanced student participation and competitiveness in applying for and receiving research fellowships, scholarships, or other awards.

BUILD awardees will be expected to collaborate with the CEC on an ongoing basis throughout the project period to assess the efficacy of approaches developed through the BUILD award. Specific approaches may need to be adapted following discussion with the Executive Steering Committee to enable evaluation.

Required data may be modified based on early findings and recommendations of the Diversity Program Consortium that will guide activities across the BUILD, NRMN and CEC. In addition, the NIH may request information from CEC and other databases, PD(s)/PI(s) and BUILD participants. (See Section VI.

3, Coordination among the CEC, BUILD, and NRMN programs for data collection and evaluation will be established after awards are made. Therefore, it is not necessary for a BUILD application to include collaborations with specific CEC or NRMN applicants.

Technical Assistance Webinars Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to participate in one or more pre-application Technical Assistance webinars, which will provide an opportunity to clarify expectations for the FOA so applicant organizations can present their strongest case for support. The webinar is scheduled for January 2014. Additional information will be posted on the Common Fund website at http://commonfund.

nih. gov/diversity /. Cooperative Agreement: A support mechanism used when there will be substantial Federal scientific or programmatic involvement.

Substantial involvement means that, after award, NIH staff will assist, guide, coordinate, or participate in project activities.

Application Types Allowed Glossary and the PHS 398 Application Guide provide details on these Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards The NIH Common Fund intends to commit $30 million to fund approximately ten awards, contingent on the number of meritorious applications received and availability of funds. Applications may request up to $3. 0 million (total costs) in the first year.

Applications may propose budget increases in year 2 through year 4 to support additional BUILD students, not to exceed $5. 3 million (total costs) in any one year. Because the nature and scope of the proposed projects may vary among institutions, it is anticipated that the size of each award will also vary.

The project period may not exceed 5 years. Grants Policy Statement will apply to the applications submitted and awards made in response to this FOA. Section III.

Eligibility Information Higher Education Institutions Public/State Controlled Institutions of Higher Education Private Institutions of Higher Education The following types of Higher Education Institutions are always encouraged to apply for NIH support as Public or Private Institutions of Higher Education: Hispanic-serving Institutions Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs) Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Applicant Primary Institutions are limited to domestic baccalaureate-granting colleges/universities that receive less than $7.

5 million (total costs) of NIH research project grant (RPG) funding annually and have an award-eligible pool of undergraduate students, at least 25% of whom are supported by Pell grants. These eligibility requirements are intended to target funds to relatively underresourced institutions with a demonstrated commitment to students from financially disadvantaged backgrounds.

These requirements are based on the recognition that (1) many students from low-income backgrounds are also nationally underrepresented in biomedical research, and (2) institutional commitment to these students often comes at the expense of investments in For the purposes of determining eligibility as a Primary Institution, the annual level of NIH RPG funding received will be the average level calculated over the preceding three fiscal years (FY 2011, FY 2012 and FY 2013), excluding SBIR/STTR funding and RPGs received through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) as reported on the NIH RePORT website under NIH Awards by Location & Organization (http://projectreporter.

nih. gov/reporter. cfm).

The percentage of undergraduates with Pell grants will be based on 2012 student financial aid data for the applicant institution, as reflected in the National Center for Education Statistics IPEDS Data Center website, http://nces. ed. gov/ipeds/datacenter/Default.

aspx . See Section IV. 2, Content and Form of Application Submission, for instructions on certification of eligibility.

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement , are allowed. For the purposes of this FOA, foreign component involvement is restricted to participation of students from the applicant institution in research training activities and/or research projects at foreign sites.

Applicant organizations must complete and maintain the following registrations as described in the PHS 398 Application Guide to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. All registrations must be completed prior to the application being submitted. Registration can take 6 weeks or more, so applicants should begin the registration process as soon as possible.

Policy on Late Submission of Grant Applications states that failure to complete registrations in advance of a due date is not a valid reason for a Universal Numbering System (DUNS) - All registrations require that applicants be issued a DUNS number. After obtaining a DUNS number, applicants can begin both SAM and eRA Commons registrations. The same DUNS number must be used for all registrations, as well as on the grant application.

System for Award Management (SAM) (formerly CCR) Applicants must complete and maintain an active registration, which requires renewal at least annually . The renewal process may require as much time as the initial registration. SAM registration includes the assignment of a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code for domestic organizations which have not already been assigned a CAGE Code.

Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code Foreign organizations must obtain an NCAGE code (in lieu of a CAGE code) in order to register in SAM. must have an active DUNS number and SAM registration in order to complete the eRA Commons registration. Organizations can register with the eRA Commons as they are working through their SAM or Grants.

gov registration.

eRA Commons requires organizations to identify at least one Signing Official (SO) and at least one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) account in order to Directors/Principal Investigators (PD(s)/PI(s)) All PD(s)/PI(s) must have an eRA Commons account and should work with their organizational officials to either create a new account or to affiliate an existing account with the applicant organization’s eRA Commons account.

If the PD/PI is also the organizational Signing Official, they must have two distinct eRA Commons accounts, one for each role. Obtaining an eRA Commons account can take up to 2 weeks.

Eligible Individuals (Program Director/Principal Investigator) Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) is invited to work with his/her organization to develop an application for support.

Individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply for NIH support. For institutions/organizations proposing multiple PDs/PIs, visit the Multiple Program Director/Principal Investigator Policy and submission details in the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Component of the PHS 398 Application Guide.

This FOA does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement .

Additional Information on Eligibility Only one application per institution, identified by a unique NIH will not accept any application that is essentially the same as one already reviewed within the past thirty-seven months (as described Grants Policy Statement ), except for submission: To an RFA of an application that was submitted previously as an investigator-initiated application but not paid; Of an investigator-initiated application that was originally submitted to an RFA but not paid; or Of an application with a changed grant activity code.

Student Trainees (TL4 linked training award)/Participants (RL5 Linked It is expected that eligibility for BUILD-supported activities will be open to all undergraduate students at participating institutions, and all graduate students at Graduate/Medical partner institutions. The applicant institution is responsible for selecting students who will receive BUILD financial support.

Student trainees supported through a TL4 linked training award must be U.S. citizens or non-citizen nationals or permanent residents and must be enrolled full time in academic degree programs in biomedical science fields at the applicant institution.

Student participants supported through a RL5 linked award must be U.S. citizens or non-citizen nationals or permanent residents and must be enrolled full time at the applicant institution or Pipeline Partner or Graduate/Medical Partner institutions (if applicable).

A non-citizen national is a person who, although not a citizen of the United States, owes permanent allegiance to the U.S. This is generally a person born in a land that is not a state, but that is under U.S. sovereignty, jurisdiction, or administration, e.g., American Samoa.

An individual lawfully admitted for permanent residence must possess a currently valid Permanent Resident Card (USCIS Form I-551) or other legal verification of such status prior to receiving financial benefit from or employment on the grant. Individuals on temporary visas, those seeking asylum, or refugees are not eligible for support from this program.

A limited range of enrichment activities, including research training and participation in research projects, may be offered to high school seniors who are concurrently enrolled in college bridge programs for biomedical sciences at participating institutions, but such students are not eligible to receive financial support from BUILD awards.

Other Eligibility Information Applicants are not required to be recipients of planning grants under RFA-RM-13-001 , "Planning Grants for the Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity Applicants for NRMN or CEC awards are eligible to apply to this FOA. However, the CEC awardee or its Partnering Institutions will not be eligible to receive a BUILD award. IV.

Application and Submission Information 1. Address to Request Application Package Applicants are required to prepare applications according to the current PHS 398 application forms in accordance with the PHS 398 Form of Application Submission It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in 398 Application Guide , except where instructed in this funding opportunity announcement to do otherwise.

Conformance to the requirements in the Application Guide is required and strictly enforced. Applications