Ending the HIV Epidemic: Focus on Justice Populations with SUD (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Required) | RFA DA 24 015

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DA 24 015

This funding opportunity, titled "Ending the HIV Epidemic: Focus on Justice Populations with SUD (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Required)" (RFA-DA-24-015), is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant led by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) under the federal Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) initiative. The core aim is to improve HIV prevention and treatment outcomes for people who are involved in the criminal legal system and who also have substance use disorder (SUD). The opportunity is part of a broader, coordinated effort to build an "HIV/Justice Research Network" that tests practical, scalable ways to strengthen HIV and SUD services for justice-involved populations, a group that often faces disrupted care, high unmet health needs, and elevated risks related to HIV acquisition and transmission.

The larger network is designed as a set of interlocking components, and this specific FOA funds one of those components: multiple Regional Research Hubs (RRHs). NIDA released separate, related announcements for the other two required network pieces: a single Data Coordination and Dissemination Center (RFA-DA-24-023) and a single Patient Engagement Resource Center (PERC, RFA-DA-24-022). Applicants are expected to review the full set of related FOAs because the RRHs are not intended to operate in isolation. The RRHs are expected to coordinate with the network infrastructure so that studies, data practices, patient engagement approaches, and dissemination plans line up across regions, producing results that are comparable and useful beyond one local setting.

The RRH awards use a phased cooperative structure (R61/R33), which generally signals a two-stage process: an initial phase focused on planning, preparation, and early feasibility work, followed by a second phase that expands into more rigorous testing once predefined milestones are met. The FOA explicitly requires clinical trials, and the scientific work is expected to include pilot studies as well as hybrid implementation-effectiveness trials. In practical terms, this means the hubs are not only supposed to test whether an intervention works, but also study how to implement it in real-world criminal legal and service-delivery environments, including barriers, facilitators, fidelity, reach, adoption, sustainability, and equity in outcomes.

A central expectation is partnership and multi-site reach. Each Regional Research Hub is expected to work closely with the criminal legal system (for example, jails, prisons, probation/parole, courts, or reentry systems, depending on the region) and with HIV and SUD service providers. The work must span at least three communities, reflecting the intent to move beyond a single local pilot and instead generate evidence across multiple settings. The service delivery models being tested should be innovative and designed to better engage justice-involved individuals across the HIV and SUD care continua, including HIV prevention, HIV treatment, SUD prevention, SUD treatment, recovery supports, and harm reduction. The emphasis is on improving engagement and continuity of care, which often breaks down during transitions such as arrest, incarceration, release, and community reentry.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations and governments. Eligible applicants listed include state, county, and 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; Native American tribal organizations (including those other than federally recognized tribal governments); public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); small businesses; and other entities. The announcement also highlights additional eligible categories such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs), as well as faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. Foreign organizations and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible. However, "foreign components" as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement are allowed, meaning certain discrete international elements may be permitted under NIH rules even though the applicant organization must be eligible and primarily U.S.-based.

From an administrative and funding details perspective, this is a discretionary grant in the Education and Health activity category, listed under CFDA number 93.279. The opportunity was created on 2023-04-19, with an original closing date of 2023-08-16. The listed award ceiling is $750,000. While the record excerpt does not specify the exact number of expected awards in the field shown, the program description makes clear that NIDA intends to fund multiple Regional Research Hubs as part of the network. Overall, the FOA is geared toward building a coordinated, multi-community research effort that can produce actionable evidence on how to deliver HIV and SUD services more effectively for justice-involved populations, while aligning those efforts with shared data, dissemination, and patient engagement supports across the HIV/Justice Research Network.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Ending the HIV Epidemic: Focus on Justice Populations with SUD (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Required)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.279.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-04-19.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-08-16. (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 $750,000.00 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 DA 24 015

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