Linked International Cooperative Agreement (UL2)

Linked International Cooperative Agreement (UL2) is sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH). Supports discrete, independent foreign awards administratively linked to domestic prime awards, facilitating international collaborations in biomedical research.

Linked International Cooperative Agreement (UL2) | Grants & Funding U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health Linked International Cooperative Agreement (UL2) To support a discrete, independent foreign award that is administratively linked to a domestic prime award.

A UL2 may only be disaggregated from a UF5, Collaborative International Cooperative Agreement application, and organizations may not apply for an UL2. NIH no longer supports traditional foreign subaward structures. Therefore, the UL2 subprojects are issued in lieu of foreign subawards.

In order to manage compliance and track international funding, the UL2 will be awarded directly to the foreign organization. The UL2 will not be used for foreign consultants, purchasing unique equipment or supplies from foreign vendors, international collaborations that do not involve NIH funding, or any foreign component that would not result in a foreign subaward.

NIH no longer accepts applications that request funds for foreign components using the traditional grant subaward/consortium structure. Disaggregating the International Projects submitted in a UF5 application into separate UL2 linked cooperative agreements facilitates an application and award structure that allows NIH to track the expenditure of federal funds at foreign components and meet federal reporting and oversight needs.

Project Director/ Principal Investigator (PD/PI) Eligibility Within the UF5 application, the leadership structure must include at least one PD/PI from the primary applicant organization, and at least one individual from each of the International Projects, who will serve as the PD/PI of the disaggregated UL2 Linked International Cooperative Agreement.

Following merit review, UF5 applications identified by an NIH Institute or Center for funding consideration will be disaggregated. The International Project components will be pulled from the UF5, and each will be provided a distinct cooperative agreement number with an UL2 activity code. The foreign organization will be considered the applicant/recipient of the Linked International Cooperative Agreement (UL2).

Just-in-Time Information (e.g., IRB Approvals, IACUC Approvals, Current and Pending (Other) Support for key personnel), will be requested from both the UF5 and UL2 organizations independently. At this point in the process, if not already completed, the UL2 applicant must verify registration in SAM. gov, Grants.

gov, and eRA Commons, to ensure accurate awarding information moving forward. Should a project be selected for funding, NIH will issue a UF5 cooperative agreement to the domestic organization and an UL2 cooperative agreement to the foreign organizations. Each organization will be responsible for ensuring the terms and conditions of their Notices of Award are met.

Note that the system disaggregation of a UF5 application should not be considered a commitment to funding. NIH has the ability to fund all, none, or some of the components of the UF5 application, based on the assessment of the technical merit, materials submitted through the JIT process, and agency priorities.

Application and Submission Information A UL2 may only be disaggregated from a UF5 application, and organizations may not apply for an UL2.

UF5 uses a multi-component application structure that includes, at a minimum, an Overall Component that addresses the project's overall objectives as a collaboration, a Research Project component that addresses the scientific and technical directions of the project, and an International Project component that addresses the foreign collaborator's role on the project.

Each funded foreign component should have a unique International Project component; therefore, an application with multiple foreign collaborators at different institutions would submit an application with multiple International Project components. Applications must include a letter from the foreign organization AOR acknowledging that they will fill the role of recipient organization for disaggregated award.

NOT-OD-25-155 : New Application Structure for NIH-Funded International Collaborations (September 12, 2025) NOT-OD-25-104 : Updated NIH Policy on Foreign Subawards (May 1, 2025) For technical issues E-mail OER Webmaster