Multi-Site Studies for System-Level Implementation of Substance Use Prevention and Treatment Services (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 21 022

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 21 022

The funding opportunity titled "Multi-Site Studies for System-Level Implementation of Substance Use Prevention and Treatment Services (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" (PAR-21-022) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grant announcement released under the Collaborative Research on Addiction at NIH (CRAN) initiative. It is jointly issued by three NIH institutes: the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The central aim is to fund multi-site research that develops and rigorously tests interventions, models, and/or implementation frameworks that operate at the system level, meaning they target how organizations and service systems deliver substance use prevention and treatment rather than focusing only on individual-level clinical outcomes.

The research focus is specifically on system-level implementation of evidence-based interventions, guidelines, or principles intended to improve the delivery and real-world performance of substance use prevention and treatment services. In practice, this means proposals are expected to address problems like low adoption of proven practices, inconsistent quality of care across settings, weak coordination between sectors, limited reach to underserved populations, and poor long-term sustainability after initial implementation support ends. Projects supported under this announcement are meant to generate evidence about how to increase uptake, strengthen fidelity and quality, improve service delivery workflows, and ensure practices can be maintained over time across multiple sites. The "clinical trial optional" designation indicates that applicants may propose studies that do or do not meet NIH’s definition of a clinical trial, depending on the research questions and methods.

This opportunity uses the NIH R01 mechanism, which is a standard research project grant designed for substantial, hypothesis-driven or programmatic studies. The announcement lists an award ceiling of $500,000, signaling the maximum amount expected per award under the terms provided in the source information. The opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding and aligns with the health and education activity areas, with CFDA numbers 93.273, 93.279, and 93.399, reflecting the participating NIH program areas tied to drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and related research portfolios.

A wide range of U.S.-based organizations are eligible to apply. Eligible applicants include state, county, city/township, and 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 other than federally recognized tribal governments; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education in that category); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other qualifying entities. The announcement also explicitly highlights additional eligible applicant types, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, Indian/Native American tribal governments that are not federally recognized, and U.S. territories or possessions.

There are strict limits on foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible. In addition, foreign components, as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed under this funding opportunity, which effectively confines the supported work to domestic U.S. settings and activities.

Key administrative details from the source include an original closing date of November 15, 2021, and a creation date of November 16, 2020. The funding opportunity is administered by NIH, and while the source excerpt does not specify the expected number of awards, it clearly frames the program’s intent: to support multi-site studies that produce actionable, generalizable evidence about how health, behavioral health, community, and related service systems can more effectively implement and sustain evidence-based substance use prevention and treatment approaches at scale.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Multi-Site Studies for System-Level Implementation of Substance Use Prevention and Treatment Services (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.273, 93.279, 93.399.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-11-16.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-11-15. (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 $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 PAR 21 022

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