NIH-DOD-VA Pain Management Collaboratory Pragmatic and/or Implementation Science Demonstration Projects ((UG3/UH3) Clinical Trial Required) | RFA AT 22 006

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA AT 22 006

The NIH-DOD-VA Pain Management Collaboratory Pragmatic and/or Implementation Science Demonstration Projects funding opportunity (RFA AT 22 006) supports large-scale research projects that test and help roll out nonpharmacologic approaches to pain management for U.S. military personnel, veterans, and their families. The goal is to move evidence-based, non-drug pain strategies into real-world care settings in a way that is practical, scalable, and directly useful to major health care systems serving these populations, particularly within the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs environments. In addition to pain itself, the opportunity explicitly recognizes that pain often overlaps with other conditions, so projects may also address pain-related comorbidities when designing and evaluating interventions.

This program uses a UG3/UH3 phased cooperative agreement structure, meaning it is designed as a two-stage project with strong collaboration between awardees and the federal program team. The UG3 phase generally functions as a time-limited planning, start-up, and readiness period where investigators finalize protocols and operational details, demonstrate feasibility, and meet predefined milestones. If those milestones are achieved, the project transitions to the UH3 phase, which supports full implementation of the pragmatic clinical trial and/or implementation science demonstration in the health care system. The listing states that a clinical trial is required, and the emphasis on pragmatic trials means the research is expected to be embedded in routine practice, using real-world clinical workflows, patient populations, and outcomes that matter to health systems and patients, rather than tightly controlled laboratory-like conditions.

A defining feature of the opportunity is that projects are conducted within the infrastructure of the NIH-DOD-VA Pain Management Collaboratory (PMC). The PMC includes a Coordinating Center that provides technical expertise and national leadership for health care system-focused research. In practical terms, applicants are expected to leverage this Coordinating Center support for common challenges in embedded research, such as designing pragmatic protocols, selecting feasible outcome measures, navigating multi-site operations, addressing regulatory and ethics requirements in complex systems, managing stakeholder engagement, and strengthening implementation strategies so the tested approaches have a realistic path to adoption and sustainment.

The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which signals substantial programmatic involvement from NIH and partners compared to a standard research grant. This is consistent with the complexity of conducting embedded pragmatic and implementation-focused clinical trials in large federal health care systems. The activity category is health (CFDA 93.213), and the sponsoring agency is the National Institutes of Health.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations. Eligible applicants include state, county, city, township, and 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 that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education when specified); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The FOA also highlights additional categories of eligible applicants such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions, Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, and eligible federal agencies, as well as U.S. territories or possessions.

Foreign participation is restricted in important ways. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-domestic foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. However, foreign components as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement are allowed, meaning a primarily U.S.-based applicant may include certain foreign elements in the project when justified and compliant with NIH policy, even though foreign institutions cannot serve as the applicant organization.

Key dates and administrative details included in the source are an original closing date of March 15, 2022, and a creation date of December 14, 2021. The announcement does not provide an award ceiling or expected number of awards in the excerpted fields, so applicants would typically need to confirm funding levels, budget expectations, and project period details in the full FOA text and any associated NIH guidance.

Overall, this opportunity is geared toward teams that can run real-world clinical trials in operational military and veteran health care settings, focusing on nonpharmacologic pain management and implementation strategies that make successful interventions easier to adopt, integrate, and sustain at scale. The built-in PMC infrastructure and Coordinating Center support are intended to reduce barriers that commonly slow pragmatic and implementation trials, while the UG3/UH3 phased structure creates a clear pathway from rigorous start-up and feasibility work to full demonstration and impact in everyday clinical care.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIH-DOD-VA Pain Management Collaboratory Pragmatic and/or Implementation Science Demonstration Projects ((UG3/UH3) Clinical Trial Required)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.213.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-12-14.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-03-15. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• 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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