Intervention Research to Improve Native American Health (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 23 298

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 23 298

The NIH funding opportunity titled "Intervention Research to Improve Native American Health (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" (PAR-23-298) supports research projects that design, adapt, test, and ultimately help spread interventions aimed at improving health outcomes in Native American populations. The FOA is framed around the reality that Alaska Native and American Indian communities face major inequities in both acute and chronic diseases, and that these inequities are shaped not only by clinical or behavioral factors but also by unique sociopolitical, historical, environmental, and structural stressors. At the same time, the announcement emphasizes community strengths, cultural assets, and resilience as essential foundations for developing solutions that are both scientifically sound and culturally grounded.

The types of projects NIH is looking for fall into four main categories. First, the FOA allows etiologic research when there is a meaningful gap in knowledge and the work will clearly and directly inform intervention development or adaptation; in other words, basic cause-and-mechanism questions are in scope when they are tightly linked to building better interventions. Second, it encourages research that develops, adapts, or tests health promotion and disease prevention interventions, including studies that evaluate efficacy or real-world effectiveness. Third, it supports culturally informed treatment or recovery interventions, which can include approaches addressing behavioral health, substance use, chronic disease management, or other conditions where treatment outcomes may depend on cultural fit and community context. Fourth, when an intervention already has a solid evidence base, the FOA explicitly invites dissemination and implementation research focused on overcoming the practical barriers that keep effective interventions from being adopted, integrated into systems, scaled up, and sustained over time.

A consistent theme across the announcement is that interventions should be built with communities rather than simply delivered to them. The FOA stresses leveraging community knowledge, local resources, and cultural practices in ways that respect tribal sovereignty and the lived realities of Native communities. It also signals a preference for projects that do not treat interventions as one-off pilots, but instead plan for sustainability from the start. That includes thinking through who will deliver the intervention in the long term, what infrastructure is needed, how it will be financed or maintained, and how the approach could be adapted for other Native communities while still honoring cultural specificity. Flexibility and scalability are highlighted as important, but only when culturally appropriate and community-aligned.

This is an R01 grant mechanism, with clinical trials allowed but not required ("clinical trial optional"). The listed award ceiling is $500,000, and the opportunity remains open with an original closing date of 2027-01-07. The FOA sits within NIH and is connected to multiple CFDA program areas, reflecting that projects may span a wide range of health topics (for example, chronic disease, mental health, substance use, prevention, nutrition, or other determinants of health) as long as they are intervention-focused and relevant to Native American health improvement.

Eligibility is broad and includes many U.S.-based organizations and government entities, such as federally recognized tribal governments, tribal organizations (including those other than federally recognized governments), state and local governments, public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) and small businesses, public housing/Indian housing authorities, and school districts. The FOA also calls out a range of institutions and organizations that may apply or participate, including Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, AANAPISI institutions, Hispanic-serving institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. Foreign institutions and non-U.S. entities are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible; however, foreign components may be included when they meet NIH policy definitions and are justified within the overall project.

Overall, this opportunity is designed to move beyond documenting disparities and toward testing practical, culturally grounded solutions that can measurably reduce morbidity and mortality in Native communities. NIH is signaling interest not only in whether an intervention works, but also in whether it fits community priorities, can be delivered in real settings, and can be sustained and scaled in ways that respect and build on Native strengths and self-determination.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, environment, food and nutrition, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Intervention Research to Improve Native American Health (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): 93.113, 93.121, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.286, 93.307, 93.313, 93.361, 93.393, 93.399, 93.846, 93.847, 93.855, 93.879.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-09-11.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2027-01-07.
• 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 23 298

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