This agreement provides funds to the Indian Health Service (IHS) for the support of the Native American Research Centers for Health (NARCH) program. The NARCH initiative supports partnerships of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) Tribes, tribal organizations, or non-profit national or area Indian Health Boards, with institutions that conduct intensive academic-level biomedical and behavioral research;these partnerships are called Native American Research Centers for Health. The objectives of the NARCH initiative are to: encourage competitive research linked to reducing health disparities;develop a cadre of AI/AN scientists and health professional engaged in biomedical, clinical, and behavioral research that is competitive to National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding;and increase the capacity of both research-intensive institutions and AI/AN organizations to work in partnership to increase trust by AI/AN communities and people toward research.
