Foreign-Specific Programs 

In general, foreign institutions and international organizations, including public or private non-profit or for-profit organizations, are eligible to apply for research project grants. Foreign institutions and international organizations are generally not eligible to apply for Kirschstein-NRSA institutional research training grants, program project grants, center grants, resource grants, SBIR/STTR grants, or construction grants. However, some activity codes, such as program project grants (P01), may support projects awarded to a domestic institution with a foreign component.

Activity Codes/Types of Programs:

Each Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is associated with one or more activity codes, which represent different types of grant programs (e.g. D43, G11, R01, R03). A comprehensive list of activity codes is at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/ac_search_results.htm.

• Many activity codes, including the R01 for single research project awards, are available to either foreign or domestic applicants, but there are some exceptions. For more general information about activity codes, see: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/funding_program.htm

The following activity codes do NOT allow foreign applicants:

• R13/U13 - Support for Conferences and Scientific Meetings  (the meeting may be held at an international location, but the grantee must be a U.S.-based Institution)
• R41/42 - Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards
• R43/44 - Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awards
• K awards (except K99) - Career Development awards

The following activity codes almost never allow foreign applicants:

• P awards - Research Program Projects and Centers
• T awards - NRSA Institutional Training Programs
• F awards - NRSA Fellowship Programs

The following activity codes were designed specifically for foreign applicants/ international collaborations:

• D43 - AIDS International Training and Research Program
• F05 - International Research Fellowships
• G11 - International Extramural Associates Research Development Awards (IEARDA)
• T37 - Minority International Research Training Grants
• U2R/ U2G - International Cooperative Agreements (e.g. training, capacity building, HIV/AIDS prevention and care).

Selected Special Programs for Foreign Applicants (R awards)

• Fogarty International Research Collaboration Award (FIRCA) - This program allows NIH-supported scientists to establish collaborations with scientists in developing countries, using an R03 activity code.

• Global Research Initiative Program for New Foreign Investigators (GRIP) - This R01 program is designed for NIH-trained foreign investigators (postdoctoral or recent graduates) establishing research programs in their home country.

• International Research in Infectious Diseases including AIDS (IRIDA) - This R01 program is designed for researchers in developing countries studying infectious diseases that are of interest to that country.

• International Research Collaboration on Drug Abuse and Addiction Research - This program uses the R01, R03, and R21 activity codes for researchers interested in setting up collaborations between the U.S. and other countries to study drug abuse and addiction.

Selected Special Programs for Foreign Applicants (D43, G11, U2R awards)

• AIDS International Training and Research Program (AITRP) - This D43 program provides U.S.-based training for scientists from institutions in low and middle income countries to strengthen HIV-related research and public health capacities at their institutions. Applicants must apply through an AITRP program that offers support to their country: http://www.fic.nih.gov/programs/training_grants/aitrp/countries.htm.

• Global Infectious Disease Research Training Program Award - This D43 program trains or expands the capabilities of scientists and health professionals from developing countries to engage in infectious diseases (excluding HIV/AIDS) research.

• Informatics Training for Global Health (ITGH) - This D43 program funds training programs in Informatics for Global Health to address the needs of low and middle income country (LMIC) institutions for experts in information technologies and associated sciences to conduct and contribute to biomedical and behavioral research.

• Millennium Promise Awards: Non-communicable Chronic Diseases Research Training Program  - This D43 research training program is designed to build research capacity in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in the fields related to cancer, cerebrovascular disease including stroke, lung disease including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)  and environmental factors including indoor air pollution, and obesity and lifestyle factors related to these conditions as well as genetics of non-communicable diseases.

• International Extramural Associates Research Development Awards (IEARDA) - This G11 program provides funds to produce a cadre of trained academic research administrators in countries with limited resources to facilitate and/or develop the appropriate administrative infrastructure in their home institutions for the implementation of a more rigorous research program.

• PHASE II Comprehensive ICOHRTA AIDS/TB (International Training Cooperative Agreement) - This U2R program solicits competing renewal and new Phase II applications in the International Clinical, Operations and Health Services Research Training Award for AIDS and TB (ICOHRTA AIDS TB) program. The applications from a Research Training Unit, composed of a Phase I ICOHRTA AIDS TB (planning grant) recipient and the U.S. partner institution chosen by the Phase I recipient, must propose, in an integrated manner, a comprehensive training program that will strengthen the capacity in the foreign country to conduct clinical research and implementation science, including operations and health services research focused on HIV infection, TB, and, where relevant, HIV/TB co-infection prevention, care and treatment.

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