Limited Competition: NEI - DOD Vision Research Collaborative (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 20 152

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 20 152

The grant opportunity titled "Limited Competition: NEI - DOD Vision Research Collaborative (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" (Funding Opportunity Number PAR-20-152) is a discretionary federal research grant issued by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), specifically through the National Eye Institute (NEI). It is designed as a joint initiative that connects NEI with the Department of Defense (DOD) Vision Research Program (VRP), with the practical goal of keeping strong vision research projects moving forward even when they cannot be supported by DOD funds. In other words, this announcement creates a bridge between the two agencies so that certain high-quality proposals that were reviewed within the DOD VRP system but ultimately not funded there may still have a pathway to support through NEI.

A key feature of this opportunity is that it is a limited competition. That means it is not a fully open call where any applicant can submit any vision-related idea. Instead, the eligible pool is restricted, generally focusing on applicants or applications that meet specific criteria tied to the DOD VRP process (the full eligibility requirements are referenced in the FOA). The summary information lists "Public and State controlled institutions of higher education" as eligible applicants, and it also notes that there are other eligible applicants beyond that category, with the details provided in the full FOA. Practically, applicants should expect that eligibility depends not only on institutional type but also on whether the proposal aligns with the collaborative NEI-DOD intent and the VRP connection described in the announcement.

From a funding mechanism perspective, this is an R01 opportunity with "Clinical Trial Optional" language. The R01 is one of NIH's main research project grant mechanisms, commonly used to support hypothesis-driven, investigator-initiated research programs that can span multiple years and include substantial, well-justified project scopes. The "Clinical Trial Optional" designation indicates that applicants may propose studies that include clinical trials, but they are not required to do so. This matters for vision research because projects in this space can range from basic and translational work (such as disease mechanisms, imaging methods, or preclinical therapeutic development) to clinical studies evaluating interventions, diagnostics, or outcomes in human participants.

The opportunity falls under the Health funding activity category and is associated with CFDA number 93.867, which corresponds to the National Eye Institute's research support. The posted record shows an original closing date of April 20, 2020, and a creation date of March 30, 2020. The listing does not provide an award ceiling or the expected number of awards in the excerpted source data, so those specifics would normally need to be confirmed in the FOA text itself or associated NIH funding details. Even without those numbers, the intent is clear: NEI is offering support specifically for meritorious vision research proposals that have already demonstrated competitiveness in the DOD VRP context but did not receive DOD funding, allowing high-priority scientific work to continue rather than being lost due to a single program's budget constraints.

Overall, this announcement is best understood as a targeted, collaborative funding pathway rather than a general-purpose vision science solicitation. It is meant to preserve and advance valuable vision research that aligns with DOD VRP interests and meets NEI standards for NIH-supported research, using the R01 grant structure and allowing (but not requiring) clinical trial components. Applicants considering this opportunity would need to pay close attention to the limited-competition eligibility rules in the FOA, since the central premise is that NEI is selectively picking up strong VRP-reviewed proposals that DOD could not fund.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Limited Competition: NEI - DOD Vision Research Collaborative (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.867.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-03-30.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-04-20. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

Apply for PAR 20 152

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