National Institutes of Health · United States

NIH Director's New Innovator Award (DP2 Clinical Trial Optional)

Forecast — expected to open 15 Mar 2027

National Institutes of Health expects to make 30 awards of $475,000 each, from a total budget of $22.7 million. This is a forecast: the funder has announced the opportunity but it is not open yet; posting is expected around 15 Mar 2027 and the estimated deadline is 19 Aug 2027. Eligible applicant types include county governments, nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities and 12 more.

Deadline: Estimated 19 Aug 2027 (not yet confirmed)
Opens: 15 Mar 2027
Grant amount: $475,000 per project
Total budget: $22.7 million
Funding rate: No mandatory cost sharing stated; funding percentage not stated
Total budget: $22.7 million
Expected awards: 30
Cost sharing: Not required
Likely applicant types: Public bodies, Non-profits, Universities & research, SMEs / start-ups, Companies From source categories or programme rules; the call decides.
Funder: National Institutes of Health
Reference: RFA-RM-28-002
Assistance listing: 93.310 Trans-NIH Research Support
Last checked: 15 Nov 2026

Open the official call ↗

About this call

The NIH Director's New Innovator Award supports exceptionally creative early-stage investigators pursuing bold, innovative research with the potential to transform important areas of science relevant to the NIH mission. Applications are welcome across all fields relevant to NIH. The award complements other NIH programs that support early-stage investigators and is part of the NIH Common Fund's High-Risk, High-Reward Research Program .

Who can apply

County governments
Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
City or township governments
For profit organizations other than small businesses
Private institutions of higher education
Small businesses
Special district governments
Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
Independent school districts
Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
State governments
Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

Applicant categories are a starting point. The official call decides eligibility.

Topics

Health

How to apply

Read the full notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) linked from the official page: eligibility, cost sharing and evaluation criteria.
Make sure your organisation has an active SAM.gov registration and Unique Entity ID (UEI); registration can take several weeks.
For NIH: the organisation and the principal investigator also need eRA Commons accounts; applications are usually submitted through Grants.gov (for example with ASSIST).
Prepare the required forms, narrative, budget and attachments exactly as the NOFO specifies.
Submit before the deadline and keep the tracking number. Check for amendments before you submit.

From the call text

Who can apply: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Company stage: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Single applicant or consortium: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Where applicants must be based: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Where to apply: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page

Contact

NIH Director's New Innovator Award Program · NewInnovatorAwards@mail.nih.gov · Please contact via e-mail.

Where these facts come from

Fact	Value	How we know	Taken from the source
Deadline	19 August 2027	official data field	15 Nov 2026
Amount per applicant	$475,000	official data field	15 Nov 2026
Total budget	$22.7 million	official data field	15 Nov 2026
Funding rate	No mandatory cost sharing stated; funding percentage not stated	read from the official text	15 Nov 2026
Who can apply	County governments; Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education; Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; Native American tribal organizations (other…	official data field	15 Nov 2026
Where to apply	Unknown — not stated in the source we hold	unknown	—

Official sources

Official call page

Facts on this page come from the funder’s official data, taken on 15 Nov 2026. The funder's own documents, including later amendments, always take precedence.