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Limited Competition: Small Grant Program for the NCATS Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Program (R03 Clinical Trial Optional)

US National Institutes of Health (NIH) / National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) grant open #PAR-25-155
Response due Oct 19, 2026 · 00:00 UTC

Summary

This is a limited competition small grant program (R03) issued by the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) under the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Program. It is open only to eligible CTSA Program hub institutions. The opportunity supports small research projects related to clinical and translational science, with clinical trials optionally permitted. The program runs from December 2024 through October 2026, suggesting a multi-cycle announcement with rolling submission deadlines.

What they want

The solicitation invites limited competition applications from CTSA Program hub institutions for small grant (R03) awards to support clinical and translational science research. Clinical trials are optional under this announcement. Applicants must be affiliated with an active NCATS CTSA Program hub. The award mechanism is the NIH R03 Small Grant Program, which typically provides up to two years of funding for discrete, well-defined research projects.
Technical requirements
  • Clinical trial inclusion is optional
  • Applicants must be affiliated with an active NCATS CTSA Program hub institution
  • R03 Small Grant mechanism applies (typically up to 2 years, capped budget)

How they evaluate

Submission: Grants.gov federal grants portal (PAR-25-155)

Eligibility & certifications

Active NCATS CTSA Program hub affiliation required (limited competition eligibility)

Risks & flags

  • Limited competition — eligibility is restricted exclusively to existing NCATS CTSA Program hub institutions, effectively excluding all other applicants
  • No dollar value or budget cap is stated, limiting cost benchmarking
  • Multi-year open announcement window (Dec 2024–Oct 2026) may obscure specific submission deadlines

Market context

inferred from NAICS
Professional, Scientific & Technical Services
NAICS 541714
US market size
$2.0T
Typical award
$25K – $50M
Typical buyers
All federal civilianDoDStates
Commonly required
8(a)WOSBSDVOSBPE/PMP

Sector-level estimate — full code lookup not yet in catalog.

Limited Competition: Small Grant Program f…
Due Oct 19
Onboard ↗