FY25 Ensuring Research Integrity - Research on Research Integrity (RRI)

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through its Office of Research Integrity (ORI), is offering a funding opportunity titled "Ensuring Research Integrity – Research on Research Integrity (RRI)." This grant initiative is focused on supporting empirical research into the societal, organizational, behavioral, group, and individual factors that affect the integrity of biomedical and behavioral research. The initiative falls under the authority of 42 U.S.C. § 241 (Section 301 of the Public Health Service Act), which authorizes funding to promote responsible conduct in publicly funded scientific inquiry. This opportunity seeks to further ORI’s core mission of fostering research environments that actively prevent research misconduct and promote accountability, transparency, and best practices. The grant aims to provide financial support for projects that explore the root causes of research misconduct and the factors that support or hinder research integrity. Projects must address at least one of three focus areas: examining financial, cultural, institutional, and individual influences on research conduct; assessing the effectiveness of existing policies and training programs; or analyzing mechanisms for reporting and responding to misconduct. The intention is to produce measurable, practical outcomes—such as resources, training materials, or validated procedures—that can benefit researchers, institutions, and policy-makers. Applicants may propose projects with durations of up to 24 months, divided into two 12-month budget periods. Continuation funding for the second year will require submission of a non-competing continuation (NCC) application and will be contingent on funding availability, performance, and adherence to federal guidelines. Projects that successfully meet objectives during the initial performance period may also be considered for an additional competitive budget period aimed at ensuring post-award sustainability, although this third period is not guaranteed. The estimated total funding available is $500,000, and ORI anticipates awarding up to two grants, with individual awards ranging from $150,000 to $250,000 per year. Eligibility for this funding opportunity is broad, including universities, hospitals, nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status), for-profit organizations (including small businesses), tribal organizations, state and local governments, school districts, and individuals. No cost sharing or matching is required, though applicants may voluntarily propose such contributions. All applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov by 6:00 PM Eastern Time on July 30, 2025. A technical assistance webinar is scheduled for July 15, 2025, at 1:00 PM Eastern. Applicants are encouraged to attend and consult the ORI website for further guidance and FAQs. Proposals must follow detailed formatting and content guidelines, including a double-spaced narrative not exceeding 30 pages and appendices not exceeding 75 pages when combined with the narrative. Applications must include standard forms (SF-424, SF-424A, SF-LLL, and Project Abstract Summary), a detailed budget narrative, and a clear plan for project evaluation and dissemination of results. All documentation must be submitted in acceptable formats (preferably PDF) and adhere to file type and page size restrictions to avoid disqualification. Evaluation of proposals will be based on the clarity and feasibility of the project description, outcomes, evaluation plans, dissemination strategies, and organizational capabilities. Federal staff and an independent merit review panel will score applications according to these criteria. Award notifications will be issued no later than September 15, 2025, and funded projects are expected to begin by September 30, 2025. For further inquiries, applicants may contact Jessica Shields at OASH (Jessica.Shields@hhs.gov) for administrative issues or Armineh Ghazarian at ORI (Armineh.Ghazarian@hhs.gov) for programmatic questions:contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}.

Strict adherence to formatting rules and deadlines is essential to avoid disqualification.