Detecting Cognitive Impairment, Including Dementia, in Primary Care and Other Everyday Clinical Settings for the General Public and in Health Disparities Populations (UG3/UH3) | RFA NS 17 012

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA NS 17 012

This National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant opportunity, titled "Detecting Cognitive Impairment, Including Dementia, in Primary Care and Other Everyday Clinical Settings for the General Public and in Health Disparities Populations (UG3/UH3)," is focused on a practical public health problem: many people with early cognitive impairment or dementia are not identified in everyday medical care until the condition is more advanced. The goal is to fund research projects that create and test real-world clinical approaches for spotting cognitive impairment in large, diverse groups of patients who are seen in primary care settings across the United States. A key point is that the screening or detection process is meant to happen when there is a concern raised by the patient, a family member, or a care provider, rather than as broad, universal screening of everyone regardless of symptoms or concern.

The program emphasizes solutions that actually fit into the pace and workflow of primary care. Applicants are expected to propose clinical paradigms that rely on tools that are simple, standardized, and quick to administer, ideally taking five minutes or less. In plain terms, NIH is looking for approaches that a busy clinic could realistically use without requiring specialized staff, long testing sessions, or complicated equipment. The underlying idea is that if detection tools are too time-consuming or complex, they will not be adopted widely, and the gap in early identification will remain.

A major theme of the announcement is inclusion and equity. The NIH explicitly calls for approaches that work well not only in the general public but also in health disparities populations, meaning groups that experience unequal burdens of disease or unequal access to high-quality care. This can include communities facing barriers related to income, geography, race and ethnicity, language, education, disability, or systemic inequities in healthcare. The intent is to push the field toward detection methods that are valid and useful across many populations, rather than tools that perform well only in narrow or highly resourced clinical environments.

The grant uses a cooperative agreement mechanism and a phased UG3/UH3 structure. In NIH programs, this kind of structure typically supports an initial, milestone-driven planning or early implementation phase (UG3) followed by a later phase (UH3) that supports expanded testing or broader clinical evaluation, assuming early milestones are met. A cooperative agreement also generally means there is substantial involvement from NIH staff during the project, such as coordination, oversight, and collaboration around milestones and progress, rather than a hands-off model.

Eligibility is broad and is designed to allow many types of organizations to participate. Eligible applicants include different levels of government (state, county, city or township, and special districts), independent school districts, public and state-controlled colleges and universities, private institutions of higher education, and a range of nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)). For-profit organizations (other than small businesses) and small businesses are also eligible. The announcement also highlights additional eligible applicants such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI), Hispanic-serving institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, and tribal governments or organizations including those that are not federally recognized. U.S. territories or possessions can also apply. However, the opportunity draws clear boundaries around foreign involvement: non-U.S. institutions cannot apply as the primary applicant, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. At the same time, "foreign components" as defined by NIH policy are allowed, which generally means limited international collaboration can be included when justified, even though the main applicant organization must be based in the United States.

Administrative details in the source information show this is a discretionary funding opportunity from NIH, listed under funding opportunity number RFA-NS-17-012 and categorized under health-related research activities. The CFDA numbers associated with it are 93.853 and 93.866. The original closing date listed is May 9, 2017, and the expected number of awards is four. The award ceiling is not specified in the provided data, which usually means applicants would need to consult the full FOA text for budget expectations, allowable costs, and any project period limits.

Overall, the opportunity is about developing and validating detection approaches that are realistic for primary care and everyday clinical settings, with a strong emphasis on simplicity, standardization, speed, and effectiveness in diverse and underserved populations. The broader public-facing takeaway is that NIH aimed to support projects that could make earlier recognition of cognitive impairment more routine in typical healthcare settings, which can open the door to earlier evaluation, better planning, support services, and more appropriate medical management for patients and families.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Detecting Cognitive Impairment, Including Dementia, in Primary Care and Other Everyday Clinical Settings for the General Public and in Health Disparities Populations (UG3/UH3)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.853, 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-03-07.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-05-09. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 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, Others.

Apply for RFA NS 17 012

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