HEAL Initiative Limited Competition: Behavioral Research to Improve MAT: Ancillary Studies to Enhance Behavioral or Social Interventions to Improve Adherence to Medication Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorders (R01, Clinical Trials Optional) | RFA AT 19 007

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA AT 19 007

This funding opportunity, titled "HEAL Initiative Limited Competition: Behavioral Research to Improve MAT: Ancillary Studies to Enhance Behavioral or Social Interventions to Improve Adherence to Medication Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorders (R01, Clinical Trials Optional)" (RFA-AT-19-007), is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) discretionary grant mechanism that supports research aimed at strengthening and extending prior NIH-funded work on opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment. It sits under the broader HEAL (Helping to End Addiction Long-term) Initiative and focuses specifically on behavioral and social intervention research intended to improve adherence to medication assisted treatment (MAT) or to improve linkage to MAT for people with OUD, including individuals who have received naloxone for overdose reversal. The central idea is not to start entirely new, unrelated projects, but to expand and enhance research activities that were originally supported under earlier funding announcements (RFA-AT-18-002 and RFA-DA-18-005), with an emphasis on producing results that are more broadly applicable across settings and populations.

The core purpose of the FOA is to fund ancillary or expansion studies that build on those existing projects in ways that make findings more generalizable and therefore easier to disseminate and implement quickly if the interventions prove effective. In practical terms, the opportunity encourages applicants to scale up or broaden their ongoing work so that conclusions are not limited to one narrow context. The FOA gives concrete examples of acceptable expansion activities, including adding additional recruitment or study sites (which can help test whether an intervention works across different clinics, communities, or service systems), increasing overall sample size (which improves statistical power and confidence in results), intentionally targeting under-represented populations (to address equity gaps and ensure interventions are evaluated in groups often missing from clinical research), and extending the duration of follow-up (to learn whether improvements in MAT adherence or linkage are sustained over time rather than short-lived). The overarching goal is to accelerate translation of successful behavioral or social strategies into real-world practice, especially within systems influenced by state-level opioid response investments.

A notable feature of the scope is its explicit connection to state use of SAMHSA Opioid STR (State Targeted Response) grant funds authorized under the 21st Century Cures Act. That context signals that the interventions of interest are being evaluated in real-world environments shaped by large-scale public funding aimed at addressing the opioid crisis, rather than purely controlled academic settings. The FOA highlights two related but distinct intervention targets: (1) improving adherence to MAT among people already receiving medications for OUD, and (2) improving linkage to MAT for people with OUD who receive naloxone following overdose reversal, recognizing that overdose events can be critical intervention points for engaging individuals in treatment.

From an administrative and eligibility standpoint, this is a limited competition focused on eligible applicants such as public and state-controlled institutions of higher education. The FOA also clearly restricts foreign involvement: non-U.S. (non-domestic) entities 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. In other words, applicants must be U.S.-based and must keep the project components domestic, consistent with the FOA's eligibility requirements. The grant uses the R01 activity code and notes that clinical trials are optional, meaning an application may include a clinical trial if appropriate to the proposed expansion work, but a clinical trial is not mandatory.

Key opportunity details provided include an original closing date of March 15, 2019, a maximum award amount (award ceiling) of $400,000, and association with several CFDA numbers (93.213, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.307), reflecting NIH program areas that support addiction, behavioral health, and related research. Overall, the opportunity is designed to rapidly strengthen the evidence base for behavioral and social interventions that improve MAT adherence or speed connection to MAT after naloxone reversal, by expanding existing NIH-supported projects so their findings can be applied more confidently across diverse settings and populations.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "HEAL Initiative Limited Competition: Behavioral Research to Improve MAT: Ancillary Studies to Enhance Behavioral or Social Interventions to Improve Adherence to Medication Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorders (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, 93.307.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-12-10.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-03-15. (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 $400,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

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