Centers on the Demography and Economics of Aging, Including Alzheimer's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease-Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) (D and E Centers) (P30 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA AG 25 007

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA AG 25 007

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), through the National Institute on Aging (NIA), is soliciting applications under Funding Opportunity Number RFA-AG-25-007 to establish or renew Centers on the Demography and Economics of Aging (D and E Centers) using the P30 Research and Development Center mechanism (clinical trial optional). The program is designed to strengthen population-based social science research on aging by building sustained center infrastructure that can generate pilot data, launch new projects, and expand the research community working on the demographic and economic dimensions of aging. A key feature of this opportunity is that it explicitly includes research with a focus on Alzheimer`s disease and Alzheimer`s disease-related dementias (AD/ADRD), as long as the work is grounded in demography, economics, and closely related interdisciplinary social science approaches.

The core purpose of these P30 Centers is to act as research incubators and connectors. Rather than primarily funding a single large research project, the Center structure is meant to support shared resources, administrative coordination, and a pipeline of pilot studies that can mature into larger, independently funded research programs. In practice, applicants are expected to propose a set of Center-identified themes in population-based social science aging research and then describe how the Center will provide the infrastructure and pilot support needed for investigators to develop rigorous, competitive studies aligned with those themes. The Center may be built around investigators within one institution and/or structured to work across multiple domestic institutions, emphasizing collaboration and the ability to catalyze new work that would be difficult to launch without a dedicated hub.

The NOFO highlights three main objectives. First, the Centers should seed new and innovative lines of aging research in demography, economics, and related population-based social science fields. This signals an emphasis on creativity and forward-looking questions, such as new ways to measure aging-related economic risk, changing family and household structures, migration and caregiving dynamics, labor force participation at older ages, retirement and savings behavior, or policy impacts on health and well-being over the life course. Second, Centers are expected to integrate approaches that directly address the disproportionate distribution of health within and across populations. This includes, but is not limited to, research that aligns with Health Disparity Priority Populations described in the NIA Health Disparities Research Framework. In other words, the program is looking for Centers that take health equity seriously as a research driver, not as an afterthought, and that build methods, data resources, partnerships, and pilot funding strategies that help explain and ultimately reduce disparities in aging outcomes. Third, Centers must incorporate intentional strategies to identify and engage scholars across disciplines, career stages, and institutions. That means fostering interdisciplinary work (for example, connecting economists, demographers, sociologists, epidemiologists, gerontologists, and data scientists), while also creating on-ramps for early-career investigators and expanding participation beyond the traditional set of institutions and networks.

AD/ADRD is included as an explicit area of interest, but the framing matters: these Centers are not being positioned primarily as biomedical or clinical hubs. Instead, they are intended to advance social science and population-level understanding of AD/ADRD, such as the economic burden on families and public programs, disparities in diagnosis and care, long-term services and supports, caregiving labor and its labor-market consequences, financial vulnerability, insurance coverage, and how policy and community contexts shape dementia risk, detection, and outcomes. The “clinical trial optional” designation indicates that the award mechanism can accommodate clinical trials if relevant, but the main thrust is still the development of an integrated Center environment that supports aging research in demography and economics, including dementia-related work when it fits the Center`s population-based social science themes.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations: state, county, and city governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments; other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses, among others. The NOFO also calls out additional eligible applicant categories that reflect a strong interest in inclusive participation and capacity building across diverse institutions and communities, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), as well as faith-based or community-based organizations and eligible federal agencies. At the same time, there are clear geographic and organizational limits: non-U.S. (foreign) organizations are not eligible to apply, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. However, “foreign components” as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement are allowed, meaning a U.S. applicant may, under NIH rules, include certain foreign collaborations or elements if appropriately justified and compliant with policy.

Administratively, this is a discretionary grant opportunity in the health domain (CFDA 93.866) offered by NIH, with an original closing date of 2024-11-01 and a creation date of 2024-10-04. While the excerpt does not specify an award ceiling or the expected number of awards, the overall structure signals a competitive NIH center program where reviewers will likely look for a coherent scientific vision, strong leadership and governance, clear plans for pilot funding and resource cores, evidence that the Center will genuinely add value beyond existing projects, and credible strategies for building an inclusive, cross-disciplinary community of aging researchers. The strongest applications will typically make a clear case that the proposed Center infrastructure will produce measurable spillover benefits: better data resources, stronger methods, faster project development, broader collaboration, and a steady stream of fundable, high-impact research addressing demographic and economic aspects of aging, including AD/ADRD and health disparities.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Centers on the Demography and Economics of Aging, Including Alzheimer's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease-Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) (D and E Centers) (P30 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-10-04.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-11-01. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for RFA AG 25 007

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