HEAL Initiative: HEAL Data2Action Innovation Projects (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA DA 22 051

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DA 22 051

The HEAL Initiative: HEAL Data2Action (D2A) Innovation Projects (R61/R33, Clinical Trial Optional) funding opportunity from the National Institutes of Health, led by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), is designed to help communities and service systems make better, faster use of data to prevent and respond to the opioid overdose crisis and to improve care for opioid use disorder (OUD) and pain. The central idea is practical: many useful data sources already exist across healthcare, behavioral health, public health, social services, justice systems, and community programs, but they are often siloed, delayed, or underused. This program aims to synthesize and apply those existing data in real-world settings so decision-makers can predict risk, spot emerging trends, and act quickly to improve service delivery.

These Innovation Projects are part of a larger, coordinated HEAL D2A Program that is intentionally structured as a set of interconnected initiatives. Alongside this specific opportunity (RFA-DA-22-051), NIH released companion funding announcements to build shared supports for the entire program, including a Data Infrastructure Support Center (RFA-DA-22-052), a Research Adoption Support Center (RFA-DA-22-050), and an Economics and Modeling Resource Center (RFA-DA-22-049). Applicants are expected to understand how their proposed project would fit within this broader ecosystem, since the overall program is meant to function as a coordinated network rather than isolated standalone projects.

Programmatically, the Innovation Projects focus on closing gaps in the delivery of evidence-based practices across the four pillars of the HHS Overdose Prevention Strategy: primary prevention, harm reduction, treatment of opioid use disorder, and recovery support. In practice, that means projects should use data to help improve how evidence-based interventions are targeted, implemented, monitored, and adapted in real operating environments. The emphasis is on service delivery improvement and real-time or near-real-time responsiveness, such as strengthening the ability of local systems to anticipate surges in overdoses, identify individuals or communities at elevated risk, improve linkage to treatment and recovery resources, or monitor whether proven practices are reaching the people who need them.

The award uses a phased R61/R33 mechanism, which generally supports an early, time-limited phase to establish feasibility and momentum (R61), followed by a subsequent phase to expand, validate, and more fully implement the approach (R33) once predefined milestones are met. This structure is intended to push projects toward deliverable, measurable progress rather than open-ended exploration. Clinical trials are optional, meaning applicants may propose clinical trial components if appropriate, but the opportunity is not limited to clinical trial designs and can support other applied, implementation-oriented approaches focused on data-driven action.

A key feature of the solicitation is its focus on local efforts, either within a single system (for example, a statewide health system, a county public health department, a Medicaid program, or a hospital network) or through cross-sector partnerships (for example, collaborations that connect healthcare providers with emergency medical services, harm reduction organizations, behavioral health agencies, recovery community organizations, housing services, or justice-related partners). The common expectation is that applicants will improve the utilization of data in ways that enable prediction and proactive responses to overdoses, rather than relying only on retrospective reporting. Projects are expected to be grounded in real-world operational constraints and to produce outputs that can inform decisions, workflows, and policy or program adjustments as conditions change.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations and governmental entities. 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; Native American tribal governments (federally recognized) and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The announcement also explicitly calls out additional eligible groups such as faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and several categories of minority-serving institutions, including 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). At the same time, foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as NIH defines them) are not permitted.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant opportunity under NIH, with activity areas tied to education and health, and CFDA numbers 93.213 and 93.279. The funding opportunity number is RFA-DA-22-051, and the original closing date listed is March 10, 2022, with a creation date of January 3, 2022. While the summary material does not specify an award ceiling or the expected number of awards, the intent statement makes clear NIH planned to support multiple Innovation Projects as part of the broader D2A program framework.

Overall, this opportunity is aimed at applicants who can take existing, often fragmented data streams and turn them into practical tools, decision supports, and coordinated operating approaches that measurably improve prevention, harm reduction, OUD treatment, and recovery support. The strongest fit is for organizations that can show they have access to relevant data, strong cross-sector relationships (or a credible plan to build them), and a clear pathway from analytics to action in day-to-day service delivery.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "HEAL Initiative: HEAL Data2Action Innovation Projects (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.213, 93.279.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-01-03.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-03-10. (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.

Apply for RFA DA 22 051

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