Emergency Award HEAL Initiative: Developing and Optimizing Multi-Component Service Delivery Interventions for People with Opioid Use Disorder, Co-Occurring Conditions, and/or Suicide Risk (R01 Clinical Trials Optional) | RFA MH 22 176

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA MH 22 176

This NIH funding opportunity, released under the Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative, supports research projects aimed at improving how services are delivered to people with opioid use disorder (OUD) who also face other serious clinical challenges, including co-occurring mental and physical health conditions and suicide risk. The central focus is on multi-component service delivery interventions, meaning real-world care packages that bundle several supports together (for example, medication treatment plus care coordination, behavioral health services, peer support, recovery navigation, suicide-risk screening, housing or employment linkages, and other wraparound elements). NIH is looking for studies that do not just ask whether a bundled program works, but that also determine which parts of the bundle are actually responsible for better outcomes. The practical goal is to streamline and optimize service packages so patients and systems are not burdened with components that add cost and complexity without clearly improving access, continuity, quality, value, or clinical outcomes.

The research objectives are twofold. First, applicants are expected to test the overall effectiveness of multi-component interventions for OUD and co-occurring conditions (explicitly including suicide risk). Second, the studies must examine the relative contribution of the individual components that make up the intervention, so the field can identify the active ingredients. In other words, NIH is not only funding "does this program help?" but also "what within the program is doing the work?" This emphasis on component-level evidence is meant to speed translation into practice by enabling health systems and community providers to implement leaner, more scalable service models while maintaining or improving clinical impact.

The announcement describes two main types of projects it wants to fund. One category focuses on service delivery packages that have already shown effectiveness when delivered as a bundle; in those cases, the study should identify which constituent components are driving improvements in key care metrics and patient outcomes. The other category targets popular or widely implemented service delivery packages that are already in use but do not yet have strong evidence that the full bundle is effective; here, applicants are expected to simultaneously test the overall effectiveness of the package while also evaluating its subcomponents. Across both categories, the expectation is that the work will produce actionable guidance on how to redesign or refine service delivery approaches for complex, high-risk patients, rather than simply publishing explanatory findings without a clear path to adoption.

A major theme is that studies must be highly pragmatic and practice-relevant. NIH signals a preference for research designs that preserve scientific rigor while recognizing the urgency of getting effective solutions into routine care quickly. That generally implies real-world settings (such as community addiction treatment programs, primary care, emergency departments, behavioral health clinics, criminal-legal touchpoints, or other service systems), outcomes that matter to patients and providers, and methods that can operate within the constraints of typical practice environments. The funding mechanism is an R01 (clinical trials optional), which gives applicants flexibility to propose a clinical trial if appropriate, but does not require one if a different rigorous design better fits the research question and implementation context.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of domestic U.S. organizations: state, county, city, township, and special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The announcement also highlights additional eligible applicants such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, it places strict limits on foreign involvement: non-U.S. (foreign) institutions are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as defined by NIH policy) are not allowed.

From the opportunity details provided, the sponsor is the National Institutes of Health, and the program is identified as RFA-MH-22-176. The funding instrument is a grant under the discretionary category, aligned with public priorities in health and social services. The listed award ceiling is $500,000 (as provided in the source data). The original closing date shown is March 18, 2022, indicating this was time-limited and tied to the HEAL Initiative's rapid-response posture. The CFDA numbers associated with the opportunity span several NIH program areas, reflecting the cross-cutting nature of OUD, co-occurring conditions, and suicide risk across institutes and centers.

Overall, this opportunity is designed to produce clear, practice-ready evidence about how to construct and deliver effective, efficient care packages for people with OUD who often have layered clinical and social needs. NIH is explicitly pushing applicants to move beyond evaluating whole programs as black boxes and instead generate decision-relevant evidence about which components should be kept, strengthened, modified, or removed to maximize impact in real-world service settings.

• 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: Developing and Optimizing 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 $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 MH 22 176

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