Multi-Site Pilot and Feasibility Studies for System-Level Implementation of Substance Use Prevention and Treatment Services (R34 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 18 223

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 18 223

The grant opportunity titled "Multi-Site Pilot and Feasibility Studies for System-Level Implementation of Substance Use Prevention and Treatment Services (R34 Clinical Trial Optional)" is an NIH discretionary grant (Funding Opportunity Number PAR-18-223) issued jointly by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) under the Collaborative Research on Addiction at NIH (CRAN) initiative. It is designed to fund early-stage, multi-site pilot and feasibility work that helps researchers and service systems figure out what it will take to implement evidence-based substance use prevention and treatment approaches at the system level, rather than only testing clinical efficacy in a single clinic or tightly controlled setting. The emphasis is on practical implementation: improving how well proven interventions, guidelines, or principles are delivered in real-world systems, how widely they are adopted, how consistently they are delivered with quality, and whether they can be sustained over time.

This FOA focuses on developing and testing interventions, models, and/or frameworks that address system-level implementation challenges. In practice, that means proposals are expected to look beyond an individual program or provider and instead tackle how organizations, networks, or service systems (for example, health care systems, community treatment networks, schools, justice settings, child welfare systems, or other coordinated service environments) can reliably put evidence-based prevention and treatment services into routine practice. Projects supported under an R34 mechanism are typically intended to generate the preliminary evidence, procedures, and operational lessons needed to justify and design a larger, more definitive follow-on study. The "Clinical Trial Optional" designation signals that applicants may propose a study that meets NIH's definition of a clinical trial, but they are not required to; either way, the work should fit the pilot/feasibility scope and be aimed at system-level implementation questions.

The funding opportunity sits within NIH’s Education and Health activity category and is associated with CFDA numbers 93.273 and 93.279. The listed award ceiling is $225,000, which indicates an upper limit on budget under the announcement as presented in the source data. The original closing date shown is 2020-11-13, and the FOA was created on 2017-11-30, which is useful context if someone is checking whether this specific solicitation is still active or has been reissued in a newer version.

Eligibility is intentionally broad and includes many types of U.S.-based applicants who operate or study prevention and treatment systems. Eligible applicants listed include state, county, and city/township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; Native American tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other eligible entities. The FOA also explicitly calls out additional eligible applicant categories such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal government agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. Taken together, this signals that NIH is encouraging applications from a wide range of community, academic, governmental, and system stakeholders, including organizations serving populations that are often underrepresented in research.

At the same time, the announcement is strict about foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-domestic (non-U.S.) institutions are not eligible to apply. Non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. In addition, foreign components (as NIH defines them in the NIH Grants Policy Statement) are not allowed. The practical takeaway is that the applicant organization and the work supported under this award must be entirely domestic in structure and performance, without foreign components.

Overall, this FOA is aimed at strengthening the pipeline from proven substance use prevention and treatment knowledge to consistent, high-quality, sustainable delivery in real settings, using multi-site pilot and feasibility studies to test implementation strategies, models, and system frameworks. It is especially relevant to teams working at the intersection of research and service delivery who need to understand what changes at the organizational or system level will actually move evidence-based practices into routine use across multiple sites.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Multi-Site Pilot and Feasibility Studies for System-Level Implementation of Substance Use Prevention and Treatment Services (R34 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.273, 93.279.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-11-30.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-11-13. (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 $225,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

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