Developing Interventions for Health-Enhancing Physical Activity (R21/R33 - Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 18 307

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 18 307

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity titled "Developing Interventions for Health-Enhancing Physical Activity (R21/R33 - Clinical Trial Optional)" (PAR-18-307) supports the creation and early testing of innovative physical activity intervention programs that are designed for real-world impact. The central emphasis is on interventions that can increase health-enhancing physical activity among people or groups who stand to benefit, while also being designed in a way that makes them practical to scale and sustain for broad adoption across the United States. Unlike narrow, single-setting programs, NIH is looking for approaches that can hold up outside of a tightly controlled research environment and that have a credible path to being maintained over time by the communities, systems, or organizations that would ultimately deliver them.

A key feature of this FOA is the requirement that the intervention be "multi-level" and operate on at least two levels of the socioecological model. In practical terms, this means applicants should go beyond individual behavior change alone and address physical activity through multiple layers of influence. Those layers can include individual factors (knowledge, motivation, skills), interpersonal influences (family and peer support), organizational settings (schools, workplaces, healthcare systems), community environments (neighborhood safety, access to parks or trails, transportation infrastructure), and policy-level levers (institutional policies or local regulations). NIH is signaling that lasting increases in physical activity usually require coordinated changes across more than one level, such as combining individual coaching with environmental modifications, system workflows, or organizational policies that make being active easier and more routine.

The grant uses a phased R21/R33 mechanism. The first phase (R21) provides up to two years of support focused on planning and early development work, including research planning activities and feasibility studies. This period is meant for refining the intervention concept, establishing partnerships, testing procedures, and generating early evidence that the approach is workable in the intended settings and populations. If the R21 phase demonstrates success against clearly defined, applicant-proposed milestones, the project may transition to the second phase (R33), which provides expanded support to optimize the intervention and run larger-scale feasibility studies. The R33 phase is not automatic; it depends on meeting the milestones laid out in the application, as well as NIH program priorities and the availability of funds at the time of transition. This structure is meant to encourage ambitious innovation while still requiring a disciplined path from idea to a more mature, field-ready intervention.

Clinical trials are described as optional, meaning applicants can propose clinical trial activities if appropriate, but they are not required. This gives flexibility for projects that may focus on intervention development and feasibility without necessarily meeting the definition of a clinical trial, while still allowing more formal testing when that is the right fit for the research question and intervention design.

Eligibility is broad and includes a wide range of organizations that can contribute to public health intervention development and implementation. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or 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; other Native American tribal organizations; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The FOA also explicitly notes other eligible applicant types 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 agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, it clearly restricts foreign involvement: non-U.S. (foreign) organizations and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement are not allowed.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary NIH grant opportunity in the education and health activity categories, associated with CFDA numbers 93.213, 93.273, 93.279, 93.393, and 93.866. The opportunity was created on October 10, 2017, and the original closing date listed in the source data is May 7, 2021. The provided listing does not specify an award ceiling or the expected number of awards, which typically means applicants should consult the full FOA and NIH institute-specific guidance for budget expectations and portfolio fit.

Overall, NIH is using this FOA to push the field toward interventions that are both scientifically grounded and implementation-ready: programs that tackle physical activity barriers and supports at multiple levels, demonstrate feasibility and practicality in real settings, and are intentionally built for long-term sustainment and expansion rather than one-off successes confined to a single study site.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Developing Interventions for Health-Enhancing Physical Activity (R21/R33 - Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.213, 93.273, 93.279, 93.393, 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-10-10.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-05-07. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• 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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