HEAL Initiative: Research to Increase Implementation of Substance Use Preventive Services (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA DA 24 066

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) What is the title and funding opportunity number for this grant?

The opportunity is titled "Research to Increase Implementation of Substance Use Preventive Services (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Optional)" and the funding opportunity number is RFA-DA-24-066.

2) Which federal agency is offering this funding opportunity?

This is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant solicitation offered under the HEAL Initiative.

3) What is the HEAL Initiative context for this opportunity?

The opportunity is positioned as part of the broader federal response to the opioid crisis. It emphasizes prevention as a way to reduce opioid misuse and opioid use disorder before they start, by making prevention services more available and reliably delivered in everyday, real-world settings.

4) What problem is this funding opportunity trying to address?

The focus is on closing the gap between prevention approaches that research shows can work and what actually gets adopted, implemented well, sustained, and scaled in practice. The opportunity highlights that effective prevention often fails to spread due to barriers like cost, staffing constraints, training burden, workflow disruption, limited infrastructure, and poor fit with local needs.

5) Is this grant mainly for inventing new prevention programs?

No. Based on the description provided, the opportunity is not primarily about creating entirely new prevention programs from scratch. It is centered on dissemination and implementation research to develop and test practical strategies that increase uptake and long-term delivery of substance use prevention services.

6) What types of research are most responsive to this announcement?

Projects that develop and test strategies to improve real-world implementation of substance use preventive services. The description emphasizes strategies that are affordable, feasible in real-world systems, sustainable over time, and designed collaboratively with end users (the organizations, providers, and communities expected to deliver prevention services).

7) What does "implementation" mean in the context of this opportunity?

Implementation here refers to how prevention services are put into routine practice in real-world settings and systems. The opportunity specifically highlights improving adoption (getting organizations to start using prevention services), the quality of implementation (delivering with fidelity and effectiveness), and sustainment (keeping services in place over time, including after initial funding or enthusiasm decreases).

8) What does "adoption" mean for a prevention service?

Adoption refers to whether organizations or systems decide to begin using a prevention service in practice. This opportunity is interested in strategies that make it more likely that real-world organizations choose to take up and start delivering prevention services.

9) What does "quality of implementation" mean?

Quality of implementation refers to how well a prevention service is delivered in practice, including fidelity to the intended approach and delivery in a way that maintains effectiveness. The opportunity notes that even effective approaches can lose impact if implementation quality is poor.

10) What does "sustainment" mean in this funding opportunity?

Sustainment refers to keeping prevention services in place over the long term, so they continue after initial efforts, pilots, or early funding periods. The announcement highlights that sustainment is critical for population-level impact.

11) What is meant by building a "prevention infrastructure"?

The opportunity describes prevention infrastructure as the tools, partnerships, training capacity, data systems, workflow supports, and organizational conditions that make prevention routine rather than exceptional. It frames infrastructure as a key ingredient for reliable and scalable delivery of prevention services.

12) Why does this opportunity emphasize real-world settings and end users?

The announcement explains that implementation often fails because strategies do not fit real-world constraints. It therefore emphasizes approaches that are practical and co-designed with end users, such as the organizations, providers, and communities responsible for delivering prevention services.

13) What kinds of barriers does NIH want applicants to address?

The description explicitly highlights barriers such as cost, staffing limitations, training burdens, workflow disruption, limited infrastructure, and lack of fit with local needs. Projects are expected to pay close attention to implementation barriers and facilitators and to system-level constraints.

14) What is the grant mechanism used for this opportunity?

This opportunity uses an R61/R33 phased innovation mechanism, which supports a stepwise pathway from early-stage development/refinement and feasibility testing to later-stage, more rigorous evaluation in real-world conditions.

15) What does the phased R61/R33 structure imply for project design?

Based on the description provided, the early phase (R61) is intended to support developing, refining, and demonstrating promise and feasibility of an implementation strategy. The later phase (R33) is intended to support more rigorous evaluation of effectiveness, scalability, or sustainability in real-world conditions.

16) Are clinical trials allowed under this funding opportunity?

Yes. Clinical trials are optional for this opportunity, as stated in the title "Clinical Trial Optional."

17) What is the main public health motivation for this opportunity?

The opportunity is motivated by the scale of opioid misuse and the idea that prevention can stop opioid misuse and opioid use disorder before they begin. The description cites national survey data indicating that in 2020 an estimated 9.5 million people ages 12 and older misused opioids in the past year.

18) How does this opportunity relate to non-opioid substance use prevention?

The announcement notes that current HEAL studies are exploring whether programs that prevent or treat non-opioid substance use disorders may also reduce opioid-related outcomes. It also states that major knowledge gaps remain around how to put prevention into practice at scale.

19) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is broad and includes many U.S.-based organizations and governmental entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, city, township, and special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled colleges and universities; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments); public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations (with or without 501(c)(3) status, other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses.

20) Are specific types of institutions and community organizations highlighted as eligible?

Yes. The opportunity also highlights eligibility for groups such as faith-based or community-based organizations; Hispanic-serving institutions; historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs); tribally controlled colleges and universities (TCCUs); Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian serving institutions; and Asian American, Native American, and Pacific Islander serving institutions (AANAPISIs).

21) Are U.S. territories and regional organizations eligible?

Yes. U.S. territories or possessions and certain regional organizations are included as eligible applicants, according to the information provided.

22) Can a foreign organization apply as the main applicant?

No. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply as the applicant institution.

23) Can a U.S. organization include work outside the U.S. as part of its application?

Non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. However, "foreign components" (as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement) are allowed, meaning a U.S. applicant may include specific, well-justified foreign elements under NIH rules even though foreign organizations cannot be the applicant institution.

24) What is the closing date for this opportunity?

The listed original closing date is January 16, 2026.

25) Are there multiple chances to apply?

Yes. The opportunity notes multiple receipt dates, which typically means applicants have more than one chance to submit an application prior to the final closing date.

26) Is an award ceiling or expected number of awards provided?

No. The source information provided states that an award ceiling and the expected number of awards are not provided in the text.

27) What funding activity categories are associated with this opportunity?

The funding activity categories listed are education and health.

28) What CFDA numbers are associated with this opportunity?

The CFDA numbers listed are 93.213, 93.279, and 93.866.

29) What outcomes is this opportunity ultimately trying to influence?

The overall purpose is to generate actionable evidence on how to increase the reach and durability of substance use preventive services, ultimately reducing opioid misuse and opioid use disorder by ensuring prevention strategies become reliably accessible in the places where people live, learn, and receive care.

30) What is the core theme reviewers will likely look for based on the description?

Based on the information provided, the core theme is pragmatic dissemination and implementation research: strategies that are feasible, affordable, sustainable, and designed with end users to overcome real-world barriers so prevention services can be adopted, delivered with quality, and sustained at scale.