HEAL Initiative: Preventing Opioid Use Disorder in Older Adolescents and Young Adults (ages 1630) (UG3/UH3 Clinical Trial Required) | RFA DA 19 035

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DA 19 035

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced this funding opportunity under the HEAL (Helping to End Addiction Long-term) Initiative to support research aimed at preventing opioid misuse and stopping opioid use disorder (OUD) before it starts among older adolescents and young adults ages 16 to 30. The emphasis is on people who are at elevated risk and on communities that are already heavily affected by the opioid crisis or showing signs that opioid-related harms are rising. In practical terms, the program is looking for projects that can identify promising prevention approaches, tailor them for real-world use in high-impact settings, and then test whether they actually reduce opioid misuse initiation and progression to OUD.

The grant uses a two-phase UG3/UH3 cooperative agreement structure and requires a clinical trial. The UG3 phase is meant for early, milestone-driven work such as developing a new intervention, adapting an existing intervention to a specific population or setting, building the implementation plan, piloting procedures, and demonstrating feasibility. If UG3 milestones are met, the project can transition to the UH3 phase, which supports the larger-scale effectiveness testing of the intervention or strategy. Because this is a cooperative agreement, awardees should expect substantial scientific and programmatic involvement from NIH staff compared with a standard investigator-initiated grant, including coordination around milestones, study design expectations, and alignment with HEAL priorities.

A central feature of the opportunity is its focus on where prevention can realistically occur for 16- to 30-year-olds who are at risk. NIH highlights a wide range of health care settings where opioid exposure and prescribing decisions often intersect with this age group, such as primary care, surgical and orthopedic clinics, dental care, emergency departments and urgent care, HIV/STI and reproductive health clinics, prenatal clinics, school-based health centers, federally qualified health centers, military medicine settings, and occupational health environments. In addition, the opportunity strongly prioritizes justice-related settings, including criminal justice, juvenile justice, and related systems like child welfare or other services that overlap with the justice system. The broader intent is to encourage prevention work that is embedded in the systems young people already touch, rather than relying only on stand-alone prevention programs that can be harder to access or sustain.

NIH also signals a clear interest in studies that include understudied and underserved at-risk groups within the 16-30 range. Examples specifically encouraged include people living in rural areas or on reservations, women, veterans, and individuals with histories of polysubstance use or co-occurring mental disorders. This reflects an expectation that applicants will not only test an intervention, but will do so in a way that improves the evidence base for populations that are often underrepresented in research, and in locations where the opioid crisis has been especially severe or is emerging.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations and government entities. Eligible applicants include 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; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits (both with and without 501(c)(3) status); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) as well as small businesses; and other organizations as permitted by NIH. The announcement explicitly names additional eligible categories such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), along with faith-based and community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, it restricts foreign involvement: non-U.S. entities are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as NIH defines them) are not allowed.

Administratively, the opportunity is listed as a discretionary NIH funding opportunity using the cooperative agreement mechanism, with the funding opportunity number RFA-DA-19-035. It falls under multiple CFDA numbers (93.213, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.865), reflecting NIH program areas that can support aspects of prevention, behavioral health, and related research. The original closing date for applications was March 13, 2019, and the funding opportunity was created December 10, 2018. Although the summary information provided does not specify an award ceiling or the expected number of awards, the overall structure and required clinical trial design indicate NIH was seeking well-planned, milestone-based projects capable of moving from development/adaptation to rigorous testing in settings with high potential public health impact.

Overall, this FOA is best understood as a targeted HEAL Initiative effort to accelerate practical, testable prevention solutions for opioid misuse and OUD among 16- to 30-year-olds. It encourages applicants to work in high-yield systems like health care and justice settings, to concentrate on communities facing the greatest opioid burden, and to generate evidence that is relevant to populations who have too often been left out of prevention research.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "HEAL Initiative: Preventing Opioid Use Disorder in Older Adolescents and Young Adults (ages 1630) (UG3/UH3 Clinical Trial Required)" 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, 93.865.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-12-10.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-03-13. (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.

Apply for RFA DA 19 035

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