Behavioral Interventions for Prevention of Opioid Use Disorder or Adjunct to Medication Assisted Treatment-SAMHSA Opioid STR Grants (R21/R33) | RFA AT 18 002

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA AT 18 002

The grant opportunity titled "Behavioral Interventions for Prevention of Opioid Use Disorder or Adjunct to Medication Assisted Treatment - SAMHSA Opioid STR Grants (R21/R33)" (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-AT-18-002) is a discretionary NIH grant focused on testing how well specific behavioral interventions work when they are implemented as part of a state’s strategy for using SAMHSA State Targeted Response (STR) opioid grant funds. Those STR funds were authorized under the 21st Century Cures Act, and the central idea behind this announcement is to generate practical, evidence-based findings that can directly inform how states design, deliver, and refine opioid-related prevention and treatment services in real-world settings.

The research emphasis is on behavioral interventions that can either prevent opioid use disorder (OUD) before it starts (primary prevention), reduce escalation or relapse among people already at risk (secondary prevention), or strengthen outcomes when paired with medication assisted treatment (MAT) for people who already have OUD. The FOA explicitly encourages studies examining approaches such as mindfulness meditation, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and multidisciplinary rehabilitation, but it is not limited to those examples as long as the intervention fits the behavioral focus and is tested within the context of state STR-funded activities. A particularly high-interest area is addressing the overlap between OUD and chronic pain, reflecting how frequently these conditions co-occur and how pain management needs can complicate OUD prevention and treatment. In practice, that means proposals that integrate behavioral pain management strategies with OUD prevention or MAT support, or that specifically target patients navigating both chronic pain and opioid-related risk, align well with the stated priorities.

The mechanism is R21/R33, which generally signals a phased award structure: an initial exploratory or developmental phase (R21) followed by a second phase (R33) intended to support expansion or continuation if predefined milestones are met. In this FOA’s context, that structure fits studies that may start with early feasibility, adaptation, pilot testing, or implementation planning inside state systems, and then move into a more robust evaluation once early targets are achieved. The activity category is health, and the CFDA number listed is 93.213. The posting identifies NIH as the agency and indicates an original closing date of January 18, 2018, with a creation date of November 16, 2017. An award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided details.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of domestic organizations that could realistically partner with state STR efforts. 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 other than federally recognized tribal governments; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in those nonprofit categories); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other entities. The FOA also calls out additional eligible applicant types such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, it clearly limits foreign participation: non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement are not allowed. In other words, the work must be fully domestic in terms of applicant organization and project components.

Overall, this opportunity is aimed at building actionable evidence about behavioral strategies that can be embedded into state-led opioid response infrastructures funded through SAMHSA STR. The strongest fit is research that is closely tied to how states are already planning or deploying STR resources, and that can produce outcomes relevant to policy and service delivery decisions, especially in areas where OUD and chronic pain intersect and where behavioral care can either reduce OUD risk or improve MAT engagement and effectiveness.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Behavioral Interventions for Prevention of Opioid Use Disorder or Adjunct to Medication Assisted Treatment-SAMHSA Opioid STR Grants (R21/R33)" 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 2017-11-16.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-01-18. (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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