Practice-Based Suicide Prevention Research Centers (P50 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 20 286

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 20 286

The Practice-Based Suicide Prevention Research Centers (P50 Clinical Trial Optional) opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number PAR 20 286) is a National Institutes of Health grant program designed to build research centers that can run coordinated, real-world studies aimed at reducing suicide in the United States. The core idea is to fund integrated, center-level programs that produce practical, near-term improvements in how suicide risk is identified, managed, and treated across the everyday settings where people actually receive care. The work is expected to align with National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) suicide prevention priorities and to support the broader National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention goal of lowering the national suicide rate.

A major emphasis of this FOA is practice-based research, meaning projects should be grounded in clinical and service delivery environments and focused on interventions that can be implemented and scaled in real systems. Rather than supporting a single, isolated research project, the P50 center mechanism is meant to enable multiple connected studies and shared infrastructure that would be difficult to accomplish through standard research project grants. These centers are expected to move quickly from development to refinement to rigorous testing of approaches that can be adopted by health systems, clinics, emergency departments, inpatient units, and other points of contact where suicide risk is recognized and addressed.

The FOA calls for transdisciplinary center teams, reflecting the reality that suicide prevention in health care depends on more than clinical expertise alone. Competitive centers are expected to bring together clinical and mental health services researchers, behavioral and social scientists, health information and communications technologists, health systems engineers, and decision scientists, alongside key stakeholders such as people with lived experience, family members, clinicians, and payers. This mix is intended to ensure that research questions are relevant, methods fit real operational constraints, and resulting interventions can be implemented at scale, sustained over time, and evaluated using meaningful outcomes.

Research priorities highlighted in the announcement center on key intercepts in the “chain of care.” In practical terms, that means improving what happens at the points where suicide risk is most likely to be detected or missed, and where people are most vulnerable to falling through the cracks. The FOA explicitly points to work that strengthens identification of high-risk individuals (for example, improving screening, risk detection workflows, and follow-up processes in busy clinical settings) and work that improves continuity through major care transitions, such as after a person is flagged for risk in an emergency department or after discharge from inpatient psychiatric or medical care. Centers are also expected to develop and test interventions that address risk directly, including prevention strategies and treatments for acute suicide risk, with a clear eye toward effectiveness, scalability, and real-world feasibility.

The funding instrument is a grant, categorized under health (CFDA 93.242), and it is structured as a P50 research center award with clinical trials optional, meaning applicants may propose clinical trials if they fit the center’s aims, but a clinical trial is not required. The listed award ceiling is $2,000,000, reflecting the center-scale expectation that applicants will propose substantial, coordinated programs rather than a single small study. The FOA was created on August 5, 2020, and the original closing date shown is February 18, 2022.

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based organizations and governmental entities that can carry out large, coordinated research programs. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or township governments; 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 that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); small businesses; and other eligible entities. The FOA also explicitly highlights additional eligible applicant categories 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, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (other than federally recognized), and U.S. territories or possessions.

At the same time, the FOA draws a clear boundary around foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities are not eligible to apply as applicants, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. However, “foreign components” are allowed as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, which generally means a U.S. applicant may include certain justified international elements within the project if they meet NIH requirements, even though the applicant organization itself must be eligible and U.S.-based.

Overall, this opportunity is built for teams that can partner closely with health systems and communities to produce actionable suicide prevention improvements quickly, test them rigorously, and generate evidence that can be adopted broadly. The center structure is meant to create the staffing, stakeholder engagement, data and technology capabilities, and coordinated project portfolio necessary to make meaningful progress at scale across the real-world care pathways where suicide risk emerges and where timely, continuous intervention can save lives.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Practice-Based Suicide Prevention Research Centers (P50 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.242.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-08-05.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-02-18. (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 $2,000,000.00 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.

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