Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA MH 22 175
The Emergency Award HEAL Initiative funding opportunity (RFA-MH-22-175) is an NIH R01 grant competition under the Helping to End Addiction Long-Term (HEAL) Initiative focused on improving how real-world service delivery systems care for people with opioid use disorder (OUD) who also have other serious, complicating needs. The core idea is that many effective programs for OUD are not single treatments; they are bundled, multi-component service packages that might include medication treatment, care coordination, peer support, behavioral health services, case management, housing or employment supports, overdose prevention, and other wraparound elements. This RFA aims to make those packages more efficient and more impactful by figuring out what actually drives improvements, what is redundant, and what can be streamlined without losing benefit. A central emphasis is on people with OUD and co-occurring conditions, explicitly including suicide risk, which is often intertwined with substance use, mental health disorders, and gaps in care.
The research purpose is two-fold. First, NIH is looking for studies that test the overall effectiveness of multi-component interventions for OUD and co-occurring conditions in pragmatic, practice-relevant settings. Second, NIH wants investigators to examine the relative contribution of the individual components that make up those interventions, rather than only evaluating the bundle as a black box. In practical terms, the goal is to move beyond asking "Does this big program work?" to also asking "Which pieces of this program are responsible for the improvement, and which pieces are not pulling their weight?" That kind of component-level evidence can help health systems and community providers deploy service models that are easier to implement, less costly, and more scalable, while still improving outcomes for complex, high-risk populations.
The opportunity supports studies that are designed to be highly pragmatic and responsive to time-to-practice urgency. That means NIH is signaling that applicants should prioritize designs that can produce actionable results under real-world constraints, while still maintaining scientific rigor. The announcement highlights outcomes and performance domains that matter to service systems, including access to care, continuity and retention, quality of care, value (including efficiency and resource use), and patient-centered clinical outcomes. Because suicide risk is explicitly included, competitive proposals would typically be expected to address identification of suicide risk, linkage to appropriate interventions, and measurement of suicide-related outcomes or validated proxies, in ways that fit routine care workflows.
The RFA describes two main research directions. One direction is to take a service delivery intervention that has already demonstrated effectiveness as a bundled package and then identify which constituent components are driving improvements in the targeted outcomes. This "optimization" approach is meant to clarify the active ingredients so that service packages can be simplified and still remain effective. The second direction applies to popular or widely implemented service delivery packages that do not yet have strong evidence of effectiveness as a whole. In that case, the RFA encourages studies that simultaneously test the overall effectiveness of the full package and the effectiveness of its subcomponents. This is essentially an invitation to generate evidence that can either validate common practice models or help redesign them based on which elements contribute meaningful benefit.
Administratively, this is a discretionary NIH grant using the R01 mechanism, with clinical trials listed as optional, meaning applicants may propose clinical trials if appropriate but are not required to do so. The opportunity lists an award ceiling of $12,500,000, signaling that NIH anticipates some large, complex projects, potentially including multi-site pragmatic evaluations or optimization designs that can isolate component effects. The original closing date listed for the opportunity was March 18, 2022, and it was created January 21, 2022. Multiple CFDA numbers are associated with the announcement (93.213, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.846, 93.865, 93.866), reflecting NIH institutes and program areas that commonly contribute to HEAL-related funding across substance use, mental health, and health services research portfolios.
Eligibility is broad and includes many types of domestic organizations that commonly implement or study service delivery interventions. 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; Native American tribal governments (federally recognized); tribal organizations other than federally recognized governments; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The announcement also explicitly mentions additional eligible applicant types such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions, Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, eligible federal agencies, faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, Indian/Native American tribal governments other than federally recognized, and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, the RFA is clear about foreign involvement restrictions: non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities 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.
Taken together, the opportunity is essentially a call for pragmatic optimization research that can sharpen and modernize the service delivery "playbook" for OUD in the real world, especially for people whose recovery is complicated by co-occurring mental and physical conditions and by suicide risk. The expected payoff is clearer guidance for clinics, health systems, community programs, and policymakers about which components of multi-part care models are worth the time, staffing, and cost because they actually improve access, continuity, quality, value, and patient outcomes, and which components can be removed or redesigned to make high-quality care easier to deliver at scale.Apply for RFA MH 22 175
- The National Institutes of Health in the education, health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Emergency Award HEAL Initiative: Optimizing Existing Evidence-Based Multi-Component Service Delivery Interventions for People with Opioid Use Disorder, Co-Occurring Conditions, and/or Suicide Risk (R01 Clinical Trials Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.213, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.846, 93.865, 93.866.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2022-01-21.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-03-18. (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 $12,500,000.00 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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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is the Emergency Award HEAL Initiative funding opportunity (RFA-MH-22-175)?
This opportunity is an NIH R01 grant competition under the Helping to End Addiction Long-Term (HEAL) Initiative. It focuses on improving real-world service delivery systems for people with opioid use disorder (OUD), especially when OUD is complicated by other serious needs such as co-occurring mental and physical conditions and suicide risk.
2. What is the main goal of this RFA?
The main goal is to strengthen multi-component, real-world service packages for OUD by determining what actually drives improvement, what is redundant, and what can be streamlined without losing benefit. The intent is to produce component-level evidence that helps systems deliver care that is easier to implement, less costly, and more scalable while still improving outcomes for complex, high-risk populations.
3. What kinds of interventions are being targeted?
The RFA targets bundled, multi-component service delivery packages rather than single treatments. Examples of components mentioned include medication treatment, care coordination, peer support, behavioral health services, case management, housing or employment supports, overdose prevention, and other wraparound elements.
4. What does NIH mean by "multi-component" or "bundled" interventions?
In this context, a multi-component or bundled intervention is a package made up of multiple service elements delivered together as part of a program or care model. The RFA emphasizes that many effective OUD programs work as service packages rather than as one standalone clinical treatment.
5. What are the two research purposes described in the announcement?
The RFA describes a two-part research purpose: (1) test the overall effectiveness of multi-component interventions for OUD and co-occurring conditions in pragmatic, practice-relevant settings, and (2) examine the relative contribution of the individual components within those interventions, rather than evaluating the bundle only as a single "black box."
6. What is meant by evaluating the "relative contribution" of components?
It means moving beyond the question "Does this whole program work?" to also answer "Which parts of this program are responsible for the improvements, and which parts are not contributing meaningfully?" The RFA is seeking evidence that separates the impact of different elements within a service package.
7. What does the RFA mean by "optimization" of service delivery packages?
Optimization refers to identifying the active ingredients in an already-effective bundled intervention so the package can potentially be simplified while remaining effective. The goal is to clarify which constituent components are driving improvements in key outcomes.
8. Are applicants expected to study service packages that are already proven, or can they study widely used models that lack strong evidence?
Both are supported. The RFA describes two directions: (1) start with a service delivery intervention already shown effective as a bundled package and identify which components drive outcomes, or (2) study popular or widely implemented service packages that do not yet have strong evidence, while testing both the overall package and the effectiveness of subcomponents.
9. What makes a study "highly pragmatic" under this opportunity?
The RFA emphasizes pragmatic, practice-relevant research designed to produce actionable results under real-world constraints while maintaining scientific rigor. The intent is to support time-to-practice urgency, meaning results should be usable by service systems and providers in routine care settings.
10. What outcomes and performance domains does NIH emphasize?
The RFA highlights outcomes and domains important to service systems, including access to care, continuity and retention, quality of care, value (including efficiency and resource use), and patient-centered clinical outcomes.
11. How is suicide risk incorporated into the focus of this RFA?
Suicide risk is explicitly included among the complicating needs that can co-occur with OUD. Competitive proposals would typically be expected to address identification of suicide risk, linkage to appropriate interventions, and measurement of suicide-related outcomes or validated proxies in ways that fit routine care workflows.
12. Does the opportunity require a clinical trial?
No. Clinical trials are listed as optional. Applicants may propose clinical trials if appropriate, but they are not required.
13. What grant mechanism is being used?
The opportunity uses the NIH R01 mechanism and is described as a discretionary NIH grant.
14. What is the award ceiling for this opportunity?
The opportunity lists an award ceiling of $12,500,000, indicating NIH anticipates that some projects may be large and complex (for example, multi-site pragmatic evaluations or optimization designs capable of isolating component effects).
15. When was the opportunity created, and what was the original closing date?
The opportunity was created on January 21, 2022. The original closing date listed was March 18, 2022.
16. What CFDA numbers are associated with this announcement?
The RFA lists multiple CFDA numbers: 93.213, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.846, 93.865, and 93.866. These reflect NIH institutes and program areas commonly involved in HEAL-related funding across substance use, mental health, and health services research portfolios.
17. Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is broad and includes many domestic U.S. organization types, including state, county, city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; Native American tribal governments (federally recognized); tribal organizations other than federally recognized governments; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses.
18. Are any specific institution categories explicitly mentioned as eligible?
Yes. The announcement explicitly mentions additional eligible applicant types such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions, Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, eligible federal agencies, faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, Indian/Native American tribal governments other than federally recognized, and U.S. territories or possessions.
19. Are foreign organizations or non-U.S. entities eligible to apply?
No. The RFA states that non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply.
20. Can a U.S. organization include a non-domestic (foreign) component in the project?
No. The RFA indicates that non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible and that foreign components (as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement) are not allowed.
21. What types of service delivery systems are implied as relevant settings?
The RFA emphasizes "real-world service delivery systems" and "pragmatic, practice-relevant settings." It also frames the expected payoff as guidance for clinics, health systems, community programs, and policymakers, implying those are key real-world contexts for the research.
22. What is the practical value NIH is trying to generate for the field?
The intended payoff is clearer guidance about which components of multi-part care models are worth the time, staffing, and cost because they improve access, continuity, quality, value, and patient outcomes, and which components can be removed or redesigned to make high-quality care easier to deliver at scale.
23. Why does this RFA emphasize moving beyond evaluating the program "as a black box"?
Because many OUD service packages include numerous elements, and not all elements may contribute equally. By identifying what is doing the work (and what is not), systems can streamline care models, improve efficiency, and reduce implementation burden while preserving or improving clinical and service outcomes.
24. Does the RFA limit the types of wraparound supports that can be included?
The RFA provides examples of possible components (such as housing/employment supports and overdose prevention) but frames them as elements that "might include" within bundled packages. The emphasis is on multi-component service delivery packages and identifying the contribution of components within those packages.
25. What populations are especially emphasized as priorities for study?
The RFA emphasizes people with OUD who also have other serious, complicating needs, including co-occurring conditions and explicitly suicide risk, which may be intertwined with substance use, mental health disorders, and gaps in care.
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| HEAL Initiative: Human Pain-associated Genes and Cells Data Coordination and Integration Center (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for RFA NS 22 021 Funding Number: RFA NS 22 021 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
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| BRAIN Initiative Connectivity across Scales (BRAIN CONNECTS): Comprehensive Centers for Mouse Brain (UM1 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for RFA NS 22 048 Funding Number: RFA NS 22 048 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
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| BRAIN Initiative Connectivity across Scales (BRAIN CONNECTS): Comprehensive Centers for Human and Non-Human Primate Brain (UM1 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for RFA NS 22 047 Funding Number: RFA NS 22 047 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
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