HEAL Initiative: Research to Foster an Opioid Use Disorder Treatment System Patients Can Count On (RM1 - Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA DA 23 046

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DA 23 046

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued this HEAL Initiative funding opportunity (RFA-DA-23-046) to support the creation of multi-disciplinary RM1 Research Centers focused on making opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment systems more trustworthy and dependable from a patient perspective. The core idea is to fund research centers that do more than study OUD treatment in isolation; they must be built around real-world partnerships with organizations that shape how care is paid for, evaluated, and delivered. These partnerships can include payors and health plans, state-level agencies that oversee substance use services (such as single state agencies or opioid treatment authorities), professional organizations, and other relevant entities that influence provider selection and care improvement.

A defining requirement is that the non-research partner brings a quality measurement and management strategy or system that is either already deployed or actively in development. This could be a framework, set of metrics, performance dashboard, credentialing approach, network inclusion method, or other quality management infrastructure that affects which clinicians or programs are considered "high quality" and how treatment delivery is monitored and improved. The research proposed under the RM1 is expected to substantially advance this quality system through rigorous evaluation and refinement, with the goal of making quality assessment meaningful and actionable for OUD treatment rather than purely administrative.

The activities supported under the award are not limited to technical validation of measures. The FOA emphasizes implementation-relevant outcomes: the quality measurement and management system should be acceptable to patients, clinicians, and providers; it should be feasible to run in routine practice settings; and it should have a clear pathway to scalability and long-term sustainability. Another central theme is equity, meaning the system should not inadvertently disadvantage certain populations, communities, or types of providers, and it should help ensure fair access to high-quality OUD care. In practice, applicants are expected to consider how quality measurement influences provider selection, referral patterns, network participation, and treatment improvement in ways that could either reduce or worsen disparities.

The mechanism is an RM1 Research Center award, and clinical trials are optional under this announcement (projects may include clinical trials, but they are not required). The opportunity is categorized as a discretionary grant in the health and education activity areas and is associated with CFDA numbers 93.213, 93.273, and 93.279. The award ceiling listed is $1,500,000, and the original closing date for applications was February 2, 2023.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based applicants: state, county, and local 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 and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits (both with and without 501(c)(3) status); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The announcement also explicitly notes additional eligible applicant types such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions.

Foreign eligibility is limited. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply as applicants. However, foreign components are allowed when they meet the NIH definition in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, meaning a U.S. applicant can include certain foreign project elements if they are justified and structured as an allowable foreign component rather than as a foreign applicant organization.

Overall, this FOA is aimed at building research centers that can strengthen the real-world infrastructure patients rely on when seeking OUD care: how "quality" is defined, measured, used to choose providers, and translated into continuous improvement, with strong attention to adoption in practice, durability over time, and equitable impact.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "HEAL Initiative: Research to Foster an Opioid Use Disorder Treatment System Patients Can Count On (RM1 - 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.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-07-06.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-02-02. (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 $1,500,000.00 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.

Apply for RFA DA 23 046

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: