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PROBLEM: The global community has made great strides in reducing mortality around the world over the last 50 years, but progress in developing countries lags far behind that seen in developed countries. Every year an estimated 303,000 women die during pregnancy and childbirth, 5.9 million children die, and an even greater number become infected with life-threatening diseases like HIV/AIDS, malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia, and TB, among others. The vast majority of deaths due to these largely preventable causes occur in developing countries where access to health services is often poor. Outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases like Ebola and Zika only serve to further compound these health challenges, taxing already stressed health systems and elevating the risk of disease epidemics of global proportions.

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to solicit R01 applications on the influence and intersection of sex and gender in health and disease including: (1) research applications that examine sex and gender factors and their intersection in understanding health and disease; and (2) research that addresses one of the five objectives from Strategic Goal 1 of the new 2019-2023 Trans-NIH Strategic Plan for Women's Health Research "Advancing Science for the Health of Women." The awards under this FOA will be administered by NIH ICs using funds that have been made available through the Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) and the scientific partnering Institutes and Centers across NIH.

The Prevention of Lower Urinary tract Symptoms (PLUS) Research Consortium will use qualitative and quantitative strategies to conduct collaborative, transdisciplinary studies to establish the scientific basis for future intervention studies to promote bladder health and prevent lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and associated bladder conditions such as bladder infections, urinary incontinence, voiding dysfunction, overactive bladder and interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome in adolescent and adult women across the life course. This FOA is to invite applications for Clinical Research Centers to build on foundational work to establish a longitudinal cohort study with the intent of identifying plausible targets for future intervention studies. The consortium will also conduct a range of additional studies to facilitate the success of future intervention and implementation studies.

The Prevention of Lower Urinary tract Symptoms (PLUS) Research Consortium will use qualitative and quantitative strategies to conduct collaborative, transdisciplinary studies to establish the scientific basis for future intervention studies to promote bladder health and prevent lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and associated bladder conditions such as bladder infections, urinary incontinence, voiding dysfunction, overactive bladder and interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome in adolescent and adult women across the life course. The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to invite applications for the Scientific and Data Center to build on foundational work to establish a longitudinal cohort study with the intent of identifying plausible targets for future intervention studies. The consortium will also conduct a range of additional studies to facilitate the success of future intervention and implementation studies.

EMPOWER is a five-year program with the goal of preventing new Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infections in targeted populations in PEPFAR priority districts in Malawi. EMPOWER will strive to increase use of proven, high impact, HIV prevention interventions by high-risk and underserved populations. A further objective is to identify undiagnosed HIV-infected persons (HIV case-finding) and link them to life-saving antiretroviral treatment (ART). Through EMPOWER, USAID plans to award up to five cooperative agreements to implement four related HIV prevention components: (1) Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC); (2) DREAMS Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) Services and HIV Case-Finding (3) Comprehensive Condom Programming (CCP). Up to two awards are anticipated to implement component 1 and one or more each to implement components 2, and 3. Multiple components could be combined under one larger award.

The primary purpose of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is to support and facilitate multidisciplinary approaches towards the development of new and/or improved contraceptive methods for both men and women through the formation of a Contraceptive Research Development Center. This FOA also allows the inclusion of translational studies to facilitate the pre-clinical to clinical transition and increase the likelihood of clinical success. Additionally, it allows for behavioral and social science research projects to study contraceptive use and non-use of marketed products or products in clinical development. The Center will serve as a national resource for development of early stage investigators electing to pursue careers in contraceptive research.

The SBIR program, as established by law, is intended to meet the following goals: stimulate technological innovation in the private sector; strengthen the role of small business in meeting Federal research or research and development (R/R&D) needs; increase the commercial application of Federally-supported research results; foster and encourage participation by socially and economically disadvantaged small business concerns and women-owned business concerns in the SBIR program; and improve the return on investment from Federally-funded research for economic and social benefits to the Nation.

The infant mortality rate (IMR) is a widely used indicator of the nation's health. In 2012, the United States ranked 25th among 29 industrialized nations, with an overall IMR of 5.98/1,000 live births.1 Most notable, the IMR for infants born to non-Hispanic black mothers was 11.19/1,000, more than double the non-Hispanic white IMR of 5.04/1,000.2 State public health departments lead infant mortality reduction efforts within their states with support of the Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant Program.3 At the local level, Healthy Start grants are provided to communities with high annual rates of infant mortality (i.e., at least 1½ times the U.S. national average) and high rates for other adverse perinatal outcomes (e.g., low birthweight, preterm birth, maternal morbidity and mortality) in order to address the needs of high-risk women and their families before, during, and after pregnancy. To advance the mission of Healthy Start and contribute to state infant mortality reduction efforts, this announcement solicits applications for the Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network on Infant Mortality (IM CoIIN).

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages applications to improve health outcomes for women, infants and children, by stimulating interdisciplinary research focused on maternal nutrition and pre-pregnancy obesity. Maternal health significantly impacts not only the mother but also the intrauterine environment, and subsequently fetal development and the health of the newborn.

The primary purpose of this announcement is to support and facilitate multidisciplinary approaches to the development of new and/or improved contraceptive methods for both men and women through the formation of Contraceptive Research Centers. This FOA also allows the inclusion of behavioral and social science research projects to inform on contraceptive use and non-use of marketed products or products in clinical development. The Centers will serve as a national resource for development of early stage investigators electing to pursue careers in contraceptive research.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) plans to provide up to $40 million in total USAID funding over a period of five-years. The purpose of the activity is to increase utilization of FP services through universal health coverage. It will be accomplished through: 1) strengthening capacity to more effectively train medical providers and community health workers in FP in both the public and private sectors; and, 2) focusing and expanding public sector FP information and services to high need groups such as adolescents, youth, newlyweds, and postpartum girls and women. The results this activity will achieve include: 1. Increased qualified FP workforce in public and private sectors, and 2. Increased availability of public sector FP outreach contacts and services, particularly for adolescents and youth.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages collaborative research applications on drug abuse and addiction that take advantage of special opportunities that exist outside the United States. Special opportunities include access to unusual talent, resources, populations, or environmental conditions in other countries that will speed scientific discovery. Projects should have relevance to the mission of NIDA and where feasible should address NIDAs international scientific priority areas(http://www.drugabuse.gov/international/research-priorities). While the priorities will change from year to year, in FY15 priority areas include: linkages between HIV/AIDS and drug abuse; prevention, initiation, and treatment of nicotine and tobacco use (especially among vulnerable populations such as children, adolescents, pregnant women, and those with co-morbid disorders); the neuroscience of marijuana and cannabinoids; and the effect of changes in laws and policies on marijuana and its impact. The NIH R03 activity code supports discrete, well-defined projects that realistically can be completed in two years and that require limited levels of funding. The R03 activity code supports different types of projects including pilot and feasibility studies; secondary analysis of existing data; small, self-contained research projects; development of research methodology; and development of new research technology.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages collaborative research applications on drug abuse and addiction that take advantage of special opportunities that exist outside the United States. Special opportunities include access to unusual talent, resources, populations, or environmental conditions in other countries that will speed scientific discovery. Projects should have relevance to the mission of NIDA and where feasible should address NIDA's international scientific priority areas (http://www.drugabuse.gov/international/research-priorities). While the priorities will change from year to year, in FY15 priority areas include: linkages between HIV/AIDS and drug abuse; prevention, initiation, and treatment of nicotine and tobacco use (especially among vulnerable populations such as children, adolescents, pregnant women, and those with co-morbid disorders); the neuroscience of marijuana and cannabinoids; and the effect of changes in laws and policies on marijuana and its impact.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages collaborative research applications on drug abuse and addiction that take advantage of special opportunities that exist outside the United States. Special opportunities include access to unusual talent, resources, populations, or environmental conditions in other countries that will speed scientific discovery. Projects should have relevance to the mission of NIDA and where feasible should address NIDAs international scientific priority areas (http://www.drugabuse.gov/international/research-priorities). While the priorities will change from year to year, in FY15 priority areas include: linkages between HIV/AIDS and drug abuse; prevention, initiation, and treatment of nicotine and tobacco use (especially among vulnerable populations such as children, adolescents, pregnant women, and those with co-morbid disorders); the neuroscience of marijuana and cannabinoids; and the effect of changes in laws and policies on marijuana and its impact. The R21 activity code is intended to encourage exploratory and developmental research projects by providing support for the early and conceptual stages of these projects. These studies may involve considerable risk but may lead to a breakthrough in a particular area, or to the development of novel techniques, agents, methodologies, models, or applications that could have a major impact on a field of biomedical, behavioral, or clinical research. Projects of limited cost or scope that use widely accepted approaches and methods within well-established fields are better suited for the R03 small grant activity code.

The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) announces a Request for Statements of Interest (RSOI) from civil society organizations to promote and protect the human rights of marginalized populations. This request is seeking programs that take an intersectional approach to addressing violence and discrimination targeting marginalized populations, which undermine societys collective security, and programs that provide marginalized populations with tools to prevent, mitigate and recover from violence.

The purpose of this NOFO is to support a mechanism to obtain timely input from nationally representative samples of (a) healthcare providers and (b) the public on critical immunization issues of importance. The objectives of this research are (1) for each year of the project, to conduct multiple surveys of providers and the public to collect immunization-related data using scientifically sound methods with adequate response rates that produce generalizable results, and (2) to disseminate those results broadly to assist in (a) informing recommendations for new vaccines, (b) developing strategies to improve immunization coverage, and (c) instituting contingency plans to address urgent problems (e.g., vaccine supply shortages). Surveyed providers should include pediatricians, family physicians, obstetrician/gynecologists, general internists, or some combination of these physician specialties. Surveyed members of the public should be ≥18 years old and should include subpopulations of special interest for consideration of immunization-related issues such as pregnant women, parents of children aged 0 to 5 years, and persons with chronic medical conditions.

This NOFO seeks proposals to rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of primary prevention programs, policies, or practices implemented by CDC-funded Rape Prevention and Education (RPE) programs to prevent sexual violence. Research funded under this announcement is intended to expand the evidence base for sexual violence prevention in one or more of the following strategy areas identified in the STOP SV technical package: Promote Social Norms that Protect Against Violence, Provide Opportunities to Empower and Support Girls and Women, and Create Protective Environments. CDC's STOP SV: A Technical Package to Prevent Sexual Violence outlines the best available evidence for sexual violence prevention and is used by state and local health departments participating in CDC's RPE Program to develop and implement programs, policies and practices to prevent sexual violence (https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/sv-prevention-technical-package.pdf). The proposed research is expected to rigorously evaluate practice-based prevention approaches to increase the evidence for sexual violence prevention programs, policies, or practices that have traction within the field, are feasible to implement by practitioners, and acceptable to communities. The research results are expected to expand on, and not replicate or adapt, the existing evidence base in sexual violence prevention. Applicants must clearly describe each partnership or collaboration necessary to conduct the research.

Despite tremendous progress toward gender equity in the United States, bias and discrimination, harmful social norms, and practices and policies at all levels have created deep-rooted barriers to good health for women, girls, and other groups marginalized based on gender or sexual identity, and hold back society as a whole. Across the globe, nations and communities are finding ways to ensure everybody has a fair and just opportunity to live their healthiest life possible regardless of gender. From pay equity, to improved workplace conditions, reduced gender-based violence, and more, we have much to learn from the world. Through this special call for proposals (CFP), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Evidence for Action (E4A) program and Global Ideas for U.S. Solutions team seek to learn from programs, policies, and practices that are advancing gender equity around the world to understand how they can be adapted to improve health and well-being in the United States, and build a national Culture of Health.

The Nathan Cummings Foundation (NCF) Fellowship awards three individuals with up to $150,000 to turn an inspired idea in the field of social justice into a reality. The program is designed for emergent leaders who have limited access to institutional philanthropy and whose work is traditionally underfunded. NCF welcomes a diverse pool of applicants representing practitioners in a variety of fields. Applicants should demonstrate a deep understanding and clear analysis of the field in which they work. They should also have a history of success in this field but still be positioned to benefit from the Foundation' support. The topic of a Fellow's project should generally align with the Foundation's focus on climate change and inequality. It should aim to transform the systems and mindsets that hinder progress toward a more sustainable and equitable future for all people, particularly women and people of color. The Foundation is also interested in innovative approaches that cut across these areas. Applicants should have a clear idea of the project's goal(s), audience, and impact on community. They should also demonstrate an understanding of the timeline and resources needed to execute their work. Proposed projects might include the creation of a product such as a book or report; a public hearing or presentation; a launch of an initiative or nonprofit organization; an art piece; or other creative work products.

Program interests include, but are not limited to: disadvantaged youth, public health, women, the environment, the arts, the hungry and the homeless.