Eligible institutions must have a Unique Entity ID (UEI) number and include colleges, universities, medical or nursing schools, health care systems or settings, and other fiscally responsible organizations, including for-profit corporations and startups, nonprofits, and eligible government entities within the United States. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. Foreign components, as defined in the National Institutes of Health Grants Policy Statement (NIHGPS), are allowed.
You may apply provided your visa immigration status is acceptable and you are employed by a U.S. institution.
A PI can be any individual with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed project. PIs and project teams may include individuals with varied experience in industry, academia, health care, and other settings. Applicants are encouraged to include in their project team at least one individual with previous experience with National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant application and funding processes.
Applicants from populations that are underrepresented in the artificial intelligence (AI) and technology fields as well as individuals with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply for funding.
Individuals who have previously received NIH funding may be eligible if the prior funding was for work that does not share a focus with the proposed pilot project. NIH policy prohibits overlapping support for the same research. Thus, applicants who have received previous NIH funding, such as Research Project Grants (RPGs), pilot funds, and Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards, are only eligible to apply to the a2 Pilot Awards for projects or technologies that do not overlap with research for which they have previously received any support from NIH or other federal sources.
Existing collaborations and funding are not disqualifiers, as long as (1) the project has not received prior federal funding, (2) the portion of the research to be supported by a pilot award is not already funded by another source, and (3) all potential conflicts of interest relevant to any AITC institution that may arise from existing partnerships are reported in the application.
The project team and work sites may be located anywhere in the United States. Any foreign (non-U.S.) components require clearance by the U.S. State Department.
Yes. Applicants may apply to each a2 Pilot Awards competition regardless of prior application results and may submit applications for multiple unique pilot projects in a single competition. Note that simultaneous submission of overlapping pilot projects to multiple AITCs is not allowed.
Yes, as long as no overlap exists between the projects and the PI’s overall effort across the projects and other commitments does not exceed 100 percent.
