FY17 Announcement of the Anticipated Availability of Funds for Conferences on Research Integrity | IR ORI 17 003

Opportunity Information: Apply for IR ORI 17 003

The FY17 Announcement of the Anticipated Availability of Funds for Conferences on Research Integrity (Funding Opportunity Number IR ORI 17 003) is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, through the Office of Research Integrity (ORI). It was created on January 5, 2017, with an original application closing date of March 31, 2017. The program sits within the Health, Science and Technology, and other Research and Development activity area and is associated with CFDA number 93.085. In plain terms, ORI is offering relatively small conference grants to bring the right people together to strengthen the research integrity ecosystem and improve how institutions prevent, detect, and respond to research misconduct.

The central purpose of the funding is to support conferences that do two things. First, ORI wants meetings that intentionally build multi-disciplinary networks, meaning conferences should not be siloed within a single field or profession. The idea is to connect researchers, administrators, research integrity professionals, legal experts, and other stakeholders in ways that build on what is already known from evidence-based research, while also pushing toward new, creative, and practical strategies for preventing misconduct and promoting integrity. This emphasis on evidence-based foundations plus innovation signals that ORI is not just looking for general awareness events; it is looking for conferences that can move the field forward by sharing data-driven approaches, identifying gaps in current practice, and accelerating better methods, tools, or policies.

Second, ORI is specifically interested in conferences that provide a forum to collectively address real-world concerns faced by Research Integrity Officers (RIOs) and institutional counsel. This includes the challenges that come up during research misconduct proceedings and the administrative steps that follow those proceedings. In practice, this focus often covers topics like managing allegations, conducting fair and timely inquiries and investigations, handling confidentiality and due process issues, navigating institutional and federal requirements, documenting decisions, communicating outcomes, and implementing corrective actions after findings are made. By calling out both RIOs and institutional counsel, ORI is highlighting the intersection between compliance, policy, and legal considerations, and it is encouraging conferences that tackle those issues in a grounded, operational way rather than purely theoretical discussion.

A notable priority in this announcement is ORI's interest in conferences that lead to extramural grant applications aligned with ORI research goals on preventing and detecting research misconduct. The announcement explicitly points to ORI-IR-17-001 and ORI-IR-17-002 as the relevant research goal frameworks. That means ORI is looking for conferences that can act as a launching pad for future funded work, such as forming collaborations, developing shared research agendas, refining study designs, and producing competitive proposals that directly address the science of research integrity, including practical strategies for prevention and improved approaches for detection. In other words, this conference funding is not only meant to support a one-time convening; it is also meant to generate momentum toward longer-term, externally funded research projects and infrastructure.

In terms of funding scale and competitiveness, the opportunity lists an award ceiling of $50,000 per award and anticipates making about four awards. This indicates a program designed for focused, well-scoped conferences with clear objectives and tangible outcomes rather than large, multi-year events. The limited number of expected awards suggests applicants would need to clearly show how their conference design, participant mix, and planned deliverables will advance ORI's goals under 42 C.F.R. Part 93, the federal regulation governing Public Health Service policies on research misconduct and institutional responsibilities.

Eligibility is limited to public and state-controlled institutions of higher education. That means the primary applicants are public universities and similar state-run higher education entities, which aligns with ORI's interest in strengthening institutional capacity and practice in the environments where federally funded research is commonly conducted. Overall, this opportunity is best understood as targeted support for convenings that build networks, address the practical and legal realities of misconduct proceedings, and catalyze new, fundable research efforts aimed at reducing research misconduct and strengthening research integrity across the scientific enterprise.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health in the health, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY17 Announcement of the Anticipated 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 Jan 05, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 31, 2017 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: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

Apply for IR ORI 17 003

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