Data Sharing for Demographic Research Infrastructure Program

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has released a forecasted funding opportunity under the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). This opportunity is titled Data Sharing for Demographic Research Infrastructure Program, and it is issued under opportunity number RFA-HD-27-005. The initiative is intended to support the continuation of the Data Sharing for Demographic Research (DSDR) repository, which serves as a centralized archive for datasets generated through NICHD’s Population Dynamics Branch and other divisions within the agency’s extramural research programs. The DSDR is widely recognized as a critical component of NICHD’s data sharing ecosystem, ensuring compliance with NIH data sharing requirements and providing archiving and dissemination services not available elsewhere. The DSDR repository currently houses over 3,000 datasets encompassing more than 1.5 million variables. These datasets include unique contributions from qualitative studies, unstructured data sources, and research covering sensitive topics. The repository is also listed in the National Library of Medicine’s Open Domain-Specific Data Sharing Repositories, highlighting its importance and accessibility to researchers. Through this program, the grantee will be tasked with offering resources and guidance on best practices for archiving data, including approaches to managing sensitive and qualitative datasets. These services extend beyond NIH’s minimum requirements for data sharing, emphasizing the program’s value in advancing robust, transparent, and ethical data practices in demographic research. Under this initiative, the recipient institution will be expected to manage a substantial workload to ensure the ongoing usefulness and relevance of the DSDR repository. This includes processing between 20 and 40 new or updated datasets annually, disseminating 135 datasets and associated documentation, reviewing and overseeing approximately 30 data use agreements, and facilitating more than 700,000 downloads of datasets, documentation, and other resources each year. Additionally, the grantee will maintain a comprehensive guide to archived NICHD Population Dynamics Branch data, including data housed in external repositories. The grantee will also provide technical assistance and support services to a user base of 1,500 to 2,000 individuals annually. Funding for this opportunity is forecasted at $600,000, with only one award expected. The award ceiling and floor are both listed as $600,000, confirming that the entire program budget will be allocated to a single grantee. Funding is provided through assistance listing 93.865, which is associated with Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research. No cost sharing or matching requirements are included for this program, ensuring accessibility for a wide range of eligible applicants. Acceptable uses of the funding are directly tied to the scope of services required for archiving, curating, and disseminating demographic data as outlined in the program description. Eligibility for this opportunity is broad, including independent school districts, tribal governments, state and local governments, nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status, higher education institutions, for-profit organizations, housing authorities, and small businesses. In addition, regional organizations, U.S. territories, faith-based and community-based organizations, non-domestic entities, and federal agencies are also eligible to apply. This wide eligibility scope ensures that the program is accessible to institutions with the technical expertise and infrastructure necessary to sustain and expand a national-level data sharing repository. The anticipated timeline for this program begins with a forecasted posting date of March 20, 2026. Applications will be due by July 22, 2026, with awards expected to be announced by April 1, 2027. Funded projects will officially start on the same day, April 1, 2027. As this opportunity is currently forecasted rather than active, prospective applicants should monitor Grants.gov for updates regarding final application requirements, detailed submission instructions, and any adjustments to dates or eligibility provisions. The program contact for this opportunity is Randolph Capps, who can be reached by phone at 240-619-9856 or by email at Randy.Capps@NIH.gov for questions related to eligibility, scope, or submission processes.