Ensuring Research Integrity - Program Development and Evaluation Program (PDE) | IR ORI 25 003

Opportunity Information: Apply for IR ORI 25 003

The Ensuring Research Integrity - Program Development and Evaluation Program (PDE) is a discretionary grant opportunity from the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health. Its focus is practical and outcomes-driven: supporting the development, implementation, and evaluation of new approaches that strengthen research integrity and help prevent research misconduct. ORI is looking for projects that translate evidence into action, including interventions informed by empirical findings (such as prior ORI-funded research) and tools that can help identify individuals, labs, or environments that may be at higher risk for misconduct or other harmful research practices.

The opportunity is designed around three main project directions, and applicants can propose work that covers one, two, or all three. The first area is educational resource development. This can include creating new online training modules that go beyond static content by using interactive scenarios to teach research integrity principles in realistic situations. It also includes designing engaging in-person or classroom-based programs that reinforce responsible conduct of research, reduce the likelihood of misconduct, and encourage appropriate reporting when misconduct is suspected. A key expectation is evaluation: projects should assess whether these training and educational resources actually work, not just whether they were produced.

The second area is the creation of risk assessment tools intended for real-world administrative use. ORI is interested in tools that principal investigators, department chairs, research administrators, or similar leaders can use to assess risk for individuals, laboratories, or research programs engaging in misconduct or detrimental research practices. This category also covers tools that assess institutional research culture, norms, or operational practices that may contribute to misconduct risk. As with the education track, development is not enough on its own; applicants are expected to design, test, and evaluate the effectiveness and usefulness of the resulting assessment tool(s).

The third area is implementation and testing of intervention programs that can be piloted in research settings. Examples highlighted include interventions to improve lab data management and record-keeping, paired with pre- and post-assessments to measure changes related to research integrity. Another example is mentorship and leadership training programs intended to build an ethical, responsible research culture from the top down and within day-to-day supervision. Here again, evaluation is central: ORI is looking for evidence that an intervention measurably improves practices, culture, or integrity-related outcomes.

From an intellectual property and data rights standpoint, recipients generally retain copyright for materials they develop under the award. However, consistent with federal grant regulations (45 C.F.R. 75.322), HHS keeps a royalty-free, nonexclusive, irrevocable right to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use those materials for federal purposes, and to authorize others to do the same. Similarly, the federal government retains broad rights to obtain and use data produced under the award for federal purposes and to authorize others to use those data. In practical terms, awardees can still own what they create, but they should plan for government reuse and sharing for public benefit.

The anticipated project structure is up to 24 months total, organized into two 12-month budget periods. After the first year, recipients must submit a non-competing continuation (NCC) application to receive the second year of support. Continuation depends on funds availability, satisfactory progress, responsible financial stewardship, and alignment with government interests. Funding for later periods is generally expected to match the initial amount, though it can be adjusted if there are unused funds carried over from the prior period.

Funding details in the posting indicate an award ceiling of $75,000, with an expectation of making about two awards. The application deadline listed is April 10, 2025. The program is listed under CFDA 93.085, and the activity category aligns with education and research and development in science and technology-related areas.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S. and tribal government entities, public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofits (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)), for-profit organizations (including small businesses), independent school districts, special district governments, and public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities. ORI also indicates that universities, hospitals, laboratories, other public or private institutions, and individuals may apply. Faith-based organizations, community-based organizations, and American Indian/Alaska Native/Native American organizations are explicitly included. Foreign organizations and foreign components of domestic organizations may also be eligible when the project provides a domestic benefit, such as improving research integrity among Public Health Service (PHS)-funded institutions in the U.S. and abroad.

Overall, this grant is aimed at producing usable integrity infrastructure: training that changes behavior, tools that help leaders detect and reduce risk, and interventions that measurably improve research practices and culture, all within a relatively short, evaluation-heavy two-year window and with an expectation that outputs and data can be leveraged for broader federal and public purposes.

• The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health in the education, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Ensuring Research Integrity - Program Development and Evaluation Program (PDE)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.085.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-07-31.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-04-10. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $75,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 candidate(s).
• 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.

Apply for IR ORI 25 003

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