Well Told Grants

Federal grant programs / Department of Health and Human Services

Vision Research (93.867)

Also known as NEI

Vision Research (Assistance Listing 93.867) is run by the National Institutes of Health, part of the Department of Health and Human Services. It awarded $3.4 billion in 3,275 grants from fiscal 2021 to 2025, about $1.0 million per award on average. 76 funding opportunities are open or forecast now.

The typical award was $752,554. Half of the 3,274 awards fell between $346,516 and $1.5 million, and they ranged from $0 to $33.2 million.

Key findings

What the program funds

The mission of the National Eye Institute is to eliminate vision loss and improve quality of life through vision research. The goal is to drive innovative research to understand the eye and visual system, prevent and treat vision diseases, and expand opportunities for people who are blind or require vision rehabilitation. Research grants and cooperative agreements 1) Support eye and vision research projects that address the leading causes of blindness and impaired vision in the U.S. These include, but are not limited to, retinal diseases; corneal diseases; cataract; glaucoma and optic neuropathies; strabismus; amblyopia; and low vision and blindness rehabilitation. 2) To increase understanding of the normal development and function of the visual system in order to better prevent, diagnose, and treat sight-threatening conditions; and, to enhance the rehabilitation, training, and quality of life of individuals who are partially-sighted or blind. 3) To encourage high quality clinical research, including clinical trials, other epidemiological studies, and health services research.

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open and forecast opportunities

51 more opportunities are listed with all open grants from Department of Health and Human Services.

Rules from the program listing

Who can apply

Eligible organizations determined at the NOFO level.

What the money can and cannot pay for

Research Grants provide funds for salaries, equipment, supplies, travel, and other expenses associated with scientific investigation relevant to program objectives.

Matching requirements

This program has no statutory formula. Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Award range and average, in the agency's words

FOR 2023: Research Grants (R): $12,400 to $2,178,277; Avg $422,981. Cooperative Agreements: $10,980 to $7,324,750; Avg $1,067,398. Centers (P): $400,718 to $949,680; Avg $677,851. K (Institutional): $183,986 to $545,160; Avg $454,904. K (Individual): $15,332 to $277,133; Avg $177,182. NRSA (Institutional): $28,815 to $272,894; Avg $142,678. NRSA (Individual): $2,500 to $78,552; Avg $47,548. SBIR Phase I: $54,475 to $350,075; Avg $270,429. SBIR Phase II: $245,829 to $1,907,135; Avg $768,574. STTR Phase I: $149,664 to $341,302; Avg $273,829. STTR Phase II: $289,895 to $537,483; Avg $402,459. SBIR/STTR Phase III: none. FOR 2024 YTD: Research Grants (R): $4,455 to $2,153,230; Avg $428,107. Cooperative Agreements: $81,518 to $8,942,823; Avg $1,283,922. Centers (P): $161,000 to $947,710; Avg $654,204. K (Institutional): $285,890 to $562,320; Avg $478,162. K (Individual): $21,767 to $280,704; Avg $175,903. NRSA (Institutional): $29,506 to $555,162; Avg $144,608. NRSA (Individual): $3,000 to $81,892; Avg $51,319. SBIR Phase I: $54,709 to $365,000; Avg $259,725. SBIR Phase II: $52,865 to $1,093,927; Avg $821,791. STTR Phase I: $180,642 to $180,642; Avg $180,642. STTR Phase II: $615,858 to $975,387; Avg $767,351. SBIR/STTR Phase III: none YTD.

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Funding history and past recipients

From fiscal 2021 to 2025, Vision Research (93.867) awarded $3.4 billion across 3,275 grant awards, an average of $1.0 million per award.

Largest recipients, fiscal 2021 to 2025
RecipientStateAwardsAmount
The Johns Hopkins UniversityMaryland137$139 million
The Leland Stanford Junior UniversityCalifornia87$96.5 million
The Regents of the University of California, San FranciscoCalifornia78$89.9 million
Duke UniversityNorth Carolina79$75.5 million
The Trustees of the University of PennsylvaniaPennsylvania57$73.9 million
University of WashingtonWashington71$72.4 million
Jaeb Center for Health Research Foundation, Inc.Florida3$70.8 million
Oregon Health & Science UniversityOregon65$69.2 million
The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New YorkNew York51$65.4 million
University of Pittsburgh - of the Commonwealth System of Higher EducationPennsylvania39$64.2 million
Baylor College of MedicineTexas43$61.5 million
The Schepens Eye Research Institute, Inc.Massachusetts52$60.4 million
University of California, Los AngelesCalifornia60$58.9 million
University of California IrvineCalifornia53$58.2 million
Massachusetts Eye and Ear InfirmaryMassachusetts39$56.8 million
University of California, San DiegoCalifornia56$54.2 million
University of RochesterNew York46$52.8 million
University of IllinoisIllinois32$52.2 million
The Children's Hospital CorporationMassachusetts47$52.0 million
Regents of the University of MichiganMichigan43$47.9 million

Top states: California ($598 million), New York ($327 million), Massachusetts ($313 million), Texas ($221 million), Pennsylvania ($188 million), Maryland ($166 million), Florida ($134 million), Illinois ($126 million), Ohio ($125 million), North Carolina ($118 million).

Who usually wins

Colleges and universities received 76% of the money, nonprofits 17% and small businesses 3.8%.

Recipient typeAwardsAmountShare
Colleges and universities2,520$2.6 billion76%
Nonprofits479$578 million17%
Small businesses178$130 million3.8%
Other92$103 million3.0%
Businesses5$4.6 million0.1%
State and local governments1$446,433less than 0.1%

By state

44 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.

Grants by recipient's state, fiscal 2021 to 2025
StateAwardsAmount
California586$598 million
New York310$327 million
Massachusetts305$313 million
Texas202$221 million
Pennsylvania145$188 million
Maryland174$166 million
Florida69$134 million
Illinois115$126 million
Ohio119$125 million
North Carolina125$118 million
Michigan98$109 million
Oregon88$85.4 million
Washington80$84.2 million
Wisconsin71$71.0 million
Tennessee72$69.1 million
Missouri63$62.0 million
Georgia72$58.8 million
Indiana53$55.7 million
Utah52$49.7 million
Connecticut54$44.6 million
Alabama47$43.0 million
Oklahoma36$33.5 million
Iowa38$32.6 million
Colorado32$28.9 million
Minnesota33$26.5 million
Virginia33$26.3 million
Kentucky25$21.6 million
Maine13$19.3 million
New Jersey15$18.3 million
West Virginia14$16.0 million
Arizona12$15.0 million
District of Columbia13$13.7 million
Rhode Island22$12.9 million
Delaware10$10.3 million
Louisiana14$9.1 million
South Carolina8$7.2 million
Nebraska9$7.1 million
New Hampshire6$6.6 million
New Mexico8$6.6 million
Nevada4$5.5 million
Idaho4$3.8 million
Arkansas5$2.5 million
Puerto Rico2$1.8 million
Mississippi3$1.3 million
Montana2$633,935
Vermont2$467,616
Kansas1$423,940

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.