Population Health Interventions: Integrating Individual and Group Level Evidence (R21) - Clinical Trials Optional | PA 18 407

Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 18 407

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity titled "Population Health Interventions: Integrating Individual and Group Level Evidence (R21) - Clinical Trials Optional" (Funding Opportunity Number: PA 18 407) is designed to push health research beyond traditional clinical or biological settings and into real-world, population-level environments. The core idea is that major drivers of illness and poor health outcomes are often rooted in broader conditions such as social disadvantage, economic instability, and environmental exposures. This announcement supports research that does not just treat disease after it appears, but tests interventions that change the upstream conditions that shape health across communities, systems, and entire populations.

This FOA specifically emphasizes multilevel and transdisciplinary population health interventions. In practice, that means projects are expected to connect evidence across individual and group levels, and to bring together expertise from different fields (for example, public health, medicine, behavioral science, sociology, economics, education, urban planning, environmental science, policy, and implementation science). The interventions supported are meant to operate across multiple layers of influence, such as individuals, families, schools, workplaces, neighborhoods, health systems, and local or regional policy environments. The aim is to generate actionable evidence for strategies that can measurably improve health outcomes and reduce disease burden when applied at scale, particularly by addressing the social, economic, and environmental conditions that drive risk.

The mechanism is an R21, which generally signals exploratory or early-stage research intended to develop and test innovative ideas, generate preliminary data, or evaluate new approaches that may lead to larger follow-on studies. The FOA is labeled "Clinical Trials Optional," meaning applicants may propose studies that include clinical trials if appropriate, but a trial is not required. This flexibility allows projects to range from intervention development and pilot testing to pragmatic community-based evaluations, natural experiments, or other designs suited to population health research, as long as the work aligns with the FOA's focus on multilevel interventions and integration of individual- and group-level evidence.

The opportunity is listed as a discretionary grant within the Education and Health activity categories, and it references CFDA numbers 93.173, 93.279, and 93.399. The award ceiling is stated as $200,000, which indicates a cap on the maximum award amount under the announcement as provided in the source data. The original closing date shown is 2019-05-07, and the creation date is 2017-11-22, which is important for applicants to note because it suggests the listing reflects a specific application window in the past; anyone interested would need to confirm whether the FOA is still active, has been reissued, or has moved to a newer announcement.

Eligibility is broad and is intentionally inclusive of many organization types that are positioned to carry out or partner on population health work. Eligible applicants 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; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; Native American tribal organizations that are not federally recognized tribal governments; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in that nonprofit category); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The FOA also highlights additional eligible applicants 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 government agencies; regional organizations; Indian/Native American tribal governments other than federally recognized; U.S. territories or possessions; and non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities, meaning foreign organizations may also be eligible under the terms indicated.

Overall, this grant opportunity is aimed at accelerating practical, scalable research that improves health outcomes by intervening on the conditions that shape health for groups and communities, not only for individuals. It is a good fit for teams that can demonstrate strong partnerships across sectors, a clear multilevel intervention strategy, and a plan to produce evidence that can inform policy, systems change, or community-level implementation in ways that meaningfully reduce health disparities and population disease burden.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Population Health Interventions: Integrating Individual and Group Level Evidence (R21) - Clinical Trials Optional" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.173, 93.279, 93.399.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-11-22.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-05-07. (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 $200,000.00 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 PA 18 407

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