Announcement of the Availability of Funds for Conferences on Research Integrity | IR ORI 19 002

Opportunity Information: Apply for IR ORI 19 002

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health and the Office of Research Integrity (ORI), announced a discretionary grant opportunity to fund conferences focused on research integrity. The program is tied directly to the federal research misconduct regulation at 42 C.F.R. Part 93, and its core purpose is to support convenings that do more than just share information. ORI is looking for conferences that create a real forum for discussion and produce tangible outcomes that can be used by the research community to strengthen integrity practices and compliance expectations.

Under this opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number IR-ORI-19-002; CFDA 93.085), ORI planned to make a small set of awards to support conference activities in the science, technology, and research and development space. The funding structure indicates an award ceiling of $50,000, with an anticipated total of about four awards. In practical terms, the grant size signals support for focused meetings, workshops, symposia, or similar gatherings where the agenda is clearly organized around research integrity problems and solutions, and where the deliverables can be documented and shared after the event (for example, published proceedings, consensus recommendations, practical toolkits, training modules, model policies, or other products that have value beyond the conference itself).

The subject matter must align with at least one of ORI's specified research integrity themes. These include responsible conduct of research (RCR) training, which can cover how institutions and mentors teach good research practices, how training is assessed, and how it is adapted to different disciplines and career stages. A second theme is fostering environments that promote research integrity, which often focuses on research culture, leadership expectations, incentives, mentoring structures, lab management practices, and institutional systems that encourage transparency and accountability. A third theme is the prevention of research misconduct, which can include risk factors, early warning signs, data management standards, authorship and collaboration practices, reproducibility, and systems that reduce opportunities for fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism. A fourth theme is the handling of research misconduct allegations, meaning conferences can address the mechanics and fairness of intake, inquiry, investigation, adjudication, documentation, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, and coordination with federal requirements under Part 93. A fifth theme is whistleblowing, which can involve safe reporting pathways, protections against retaliation, the experience of complainants and respondents, and institutional responsibilities for creating credible, trusted reporting and response systems. ORI also allows other topics, as long as the connection to research integrity and compliance with 42 C.F.R. Part 93 is clear and well-justified.

The eligible applicant category is listed broadly as "Others" with additional eligibility details referenced in the full announcement, which typically means the program may be open to a range of organizations rather than a narrow set of academic institutions only. That can include universities, nonprofits, professional societies, and other entities capable of organizing a conference and delivering the required outcomes, so long as they meet the eligibility conditions described in the full notice. Key dates in the announcement show it was created on February 22, 2019, with an original application closing date of April 26, 2019, indicating a time-limited call intended to fund conferences occurring on a schedule that would allow ORI-supported products and insights to be disseminated relatively soon after award.

Overall, the opportunity is best understood as targeted support for convening the research community around concrete integrity and misconduct-compliance challenges, with a clear expectation that the meeting will yield usable outputs. ORI is essentially funding the combination of expert discussion and practical deliverables that can strengthen responsible research behavior, improve institutional processes for addressing allegations, encourage safer reporting, and help the broader research enterprise align day-to-day practices with federal standards under 42 C.F.R. Part 93.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Announcement of the Availability of Funds for Conferences on Research Integrity" 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 Feb 22, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 26, 2019 No Explanation. (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 $50,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for IR ORI 19 002

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