Building Sustainable Software Tools for Open Science (R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

The Building Sustainable Software Tools for Open Science (R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) grant opportunity is offered by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through the Office of Data Science Strategy (ODSS) and in collaboration with multiple NIH institutes and centers. This initiative seeks to address the ongoing challenges in research software development by supporting the adoption of robust software engineering practices and leveraging emerging computing technologies to enhance sustainability, interoperability, and scalability of biomedical, clinical, behavioral, and health-related research tools. This funding opportunity aims to enable researchers to improve existing software tools using established best practices and design principles while fostering collaborative partnerships between developers and the research community. The grant aligns with the NIH Strategic Plan for Data Science and builds upon prior software development supplements issued by ODSS. By supporting projects that refine and advance software tools through methods such as adding APIs, implementing community standards, refactoring for cloud-readiness, and enhancing usability, the program contributes to the creation of a resilient and efficient data infrastructure for open science. Applications should propose projects that significantly enhance the utility and impact of existing research software. These may include making software cloud-compatible, optimizing performance, improving documentation, enhancing testing protocols, and disseminating tools through open-source channels. Applicants are expected to outline a thorough development strategy, identify collaborative stakeholders, and provide a clear plan for community engagement and software dissemination. Clinical trials are not permitted under this funding opportunity. Eligible applicants include a broad range of entities such as higher education institutions, nonprofits, for-profit organizations, and various government entities. However, foreign organizations and foreign components of U.S. institutions are not eligible to apply, though foreign components may participate. Cost sharing is not required. All applicants must be registered with SAM, Grants.gov, eRA Commons, and meet other federal registration requirements before submitting an application. Applications are accepted on a semi-annual basis with upcoming deadlines on December 4, 2024, and June 4, 2025. Letters of intent should be submitted 30 days before each application due date. Funding decisions will follow peer review and advisory council review stages, with awards expected approximately four months after submission. The earliest project start dates are in July 2025 for the December 2024 round. Up to $6 million in total funding is expected to be distributed among 20 to 24 awards, each offering a maximum of $300,000 in direct costs over a two-year period. Applicants must include travel for annual meetings and demonstrate a strong dissemination plan. The evaluation criteria focus on significance, investigator qualifications, innovation, approach, and institutional environment, with additional consideration for sustainability, community impact, and software reusability. Contact emails and phone numbers for technical and scientific queries are provided for various participating NIH entities.