Innovative Approaches for Improving Environmental Health Literacy (R43/R44 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA ES 19 005

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA ES 19 005

The grant opportunity titled "Innovative Approaches for Improving Environmental Health Literacy (R43/R44 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" is a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding announcement from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), focused on creating practical, innovative ways to help people better understand how the environment affects health. It is listed as a discretionary grant under the environment and health activity category (CFDA 93.113) and was released under Funding Opportunity Number RFA-ES-19-005, with an original closing date of April 9, 2019. The emphasis is not on running clinical trials, but on developing and testing educational or communication innovations that can strengthen environmental health literacy in real-world settings.

The core purpose of the announcement is to support small business concerns that can bring fresh, scalable products or approaches to environmental health education and communication, ideally by partnering with environmental science researchers. The deliverables envisioned by the program include novel tools, activities, or materials that help audiences find, understand, evaluate, and use environmental health information. In practice, this could include things like digital platforms, interactive learning modules, decision-support resources, curricula, games or simulations, community-facing communication tools, professional training materials, or other creative formats that translate environmental health science into understandable and actionable knowledge.

A central feature of the opportunity is its broad target audience. Rather than limiting the work to a single group, the FOA encourages innovations that can build environmental health literacy among community members, health care and public health professionals, educators, and students across all ages. This matters because environmental health decisions happen at many levels: individuals and families making everyday choices, clinicians counseling patients, public health staff responding to community concerns, teachers shaping what students learn, and youth developing lifelong habits and awareness. The program is therefore designed to encourage approaches that meet people where they are, using communication methods and learning strategies that fit the audience's needs, culture, and context.

From a funding mechanism standpoint, the FOA supports Phase I (R43) and Fast-Track (R44) SBIR applications. Phase I generally covers early feasibility work, such as proof-of-concept development and initial testing of a prototype or approach. The Fast-Track pathway is intended for projects that are ready to move efficiently from feasibility into a more advanced development stage, bundling Phase I and Phase II planning into a single application route. While the source data does not specify an award ceiling or the expected number of awards, the structure signals that NIH is looking for early-stage innovations that can mature into deployable products, services, or programs with measurable impact.

Eligibility is centered on U.S. small businesses, consistent with SBIR rules, and the FOA is explicit about foreign eligibility limits. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. At the same time, the announcement notes that foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, may be allowed. In practical terms, that usually means the applicant organization must remain U.S.-based and eligible as a small business, but certain well-justified elements of the work might involve foreign collaboration or activities if permitted under NIH policy and clearly necessary for the project.

Overall, this opportunity is essentially a call for small businesses to partner with environmental science expertise and produce credible, user-friendly, and innovative ways to improve how different populations understand environmental risks and protections. The outcome NIH is pushing toward is better-informed communities and professionals who can interpret environmental health information accurately and use it to guide decisions, education, prevention efforts, and public health responses, without the project being framed as a clinical trial.

• The National Institutes of Health in the environment, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Innovative Approaches for Improving Environmental Health Literacy (R43/R44 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.113.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-02-08.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-04-09. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Small businesses.

Apply for RFA ES 19 005

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