Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 10 137
Apply for PAR 10 137
- The National Institutes of Health in the education environment health income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Behavioral and Social Science Research on Understanding and Reducing Health Disparities (R21)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.113 Environmental Health 93.121 Oral Diseases and Disorders Research 93.173 Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders 93.213 Research and Training in Complementary and Integrative Health 93.242 Mental Health Research Grants 93.279 Drug Abuse and Addiction Research Programs 93.361 Nursing Research 93.393 Cancer Cause and Prevention Research 93.846 Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Research 93.865 Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research 93.866 Aging Research 93.867 Vision Research 93.879 Medical Library Assistance.
- This funding opportunity was created on Nov 3, 2010 and posted on Mar 18, 2010.
- Applicants must submit their applications by May 11, 2013. (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: Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized) State governments Independent school districts Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments) City or township governments Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities For profit organizations other than small businesses Special district governments Private institutions of higher education Public and State controlled institutions of higher education Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification) Small businesses Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education County governments.
- Other Eligible Applicants include the following Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government Faith based or Community based Organizations Hispanic serving Institutions Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized) Non domestic (non U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) Regional Organizations Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs) U.S. Territory or Possession.
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Opportunity Summary:
The Behavioral and Social Science Research on Understanding and Reducing Health Disparities (R21) funding opportunity (PAR 10 137) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) exploratory/developmental grant program designed to stimulate behavioral and social science research that explains why health and disability disparities persist in the United States and, importantly, how to reduce them. The opportunity is grounded in the public health reality that certain groups experience systematically worse health outcomes than the overall U.S. population, with particular focus on disparities affecting racial and ethnic populations, people with lower socioeconomic status, and rural residents. The overall aim is not simply to document inequities, but to generate actionable knowledge about causes and solutions that can shrink health gaps between groups.
The announcement highlights three broad arenas where research is especially encouraged: public policy, health care, and disease/disability prevention. In the public policy arena, applicants might examine how laws, regulations, eligibility rules, funding priorities, social services, housing, education, labor policies, or other upstream decisions shape unequal exposures and opportunities that translate into different health trajectories. In the health care arena, the emphasis is on understanding and improving the ways health systems contribute to or can help eliminate disparities, including issues such as access, quality, communication, discrimination or bias, care coordination, workforce distribution, insurance design, or system-level barriers that disproportionately affect underserved populations. In disease and disability prevention, the opportunity encourages research on prevention strategies and programs that can reduce differential risks, address social and behavioral determinants of health, and prevent avoidable illness or disability in populations that bear a disproportionate burden.
A defining feature of this opportunity is its encouragement of research designs that reflect the complexity of disparities. Applications are particularly welcomed if they are interdisciplinary (bringing together perspectives such as sociology, psychology, economics, epidemiology, communication science, demography, health services research, and related fields), examine multiple levels of influence (for example, individual behavior alongside family context, neighborhood conditions, institutional practices, and policy environment), or incorporate a life course perspective (how conditions and experiences at different life stages accumulate to shape later health). The FOA also explicitly encourages innovative methods, including system science approaches (such as modeling complex interacting determinants over time) and community-based participatory research, where community members and researchers collaborate in defining questions, selecting methods, interpreting findings, and translating results into locally relevant action.
The mechanism of support is the NIH R21, which is intended for exploratory and developmental projects. R21 awards are commonly used to support early-stage, high-potential ideas, proof-of-concept studies, pilot work, new measures, new analytic approaches, or innovative interventions that need preliminary testing before a larger-scale effort. This FOA is described as running in parallel with an R01 announcement (PAR 10 136) that has the same scientific scope, with the key difference being the grant mechanism and typical project scale. The listed award ceiling is $200,000, reflecting the smaller, exploratory nature of R21 funding relative to many R01 projects.
The total funding level and the number of awards were not fixed in advance and were expected to vary depending on the number of applications received, their scientific quality, and the proposed project durations and budgets. In other words, the program was structured to fund the strongest proposals within the available pool rather than committing to a predetermined number of awards.
Eligibility is broad and includes many types of domestic and non-domestic organizations. Eligible applicants include public and private institutions of higher education; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations (including small businesses and other for-profits); local, county, and state governments; independent school districts; special district governments; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; and Native American tribal governments and tribal organizations. The opportunity also explicitly includes a wide range of special 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, faith-based and community-based organizations, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, eligible federal agencies, and foreign organizations. No cost sharing or matching was required.
From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity was posted March 18, 2010, with an original and final closing date of May 11, 2013, and an archive date of June 11, 2013. The funding opportunity sits across multiple NIH-related program areas as reflected in the CFDA numbers listed (covering topics such as environmental health, oral health, communication disorders, mental health, substance use, nursing research, cancer prevention, arthritis and skin diseases, child health and development, aging, vision research, and medical library assistance), which signals that the research scope is intentionally broad and relevant to many disease areas and populations where disparities are documented.
In practical terms, a strong application under this FOA would typically propose a well-justified, behaviorally and/or socially grounded study aimed at identifying modifiable drivers of health disparities or testing promising strategies to reduce them, ideally with a clear path toward real-world impact. The FOA’s priorities strongly favor projects that move beyond single-cause explanations, take context seriously, and use creative, rigorous methods to produce insights that can inform policy, improve care delivery, or strengthen prevention efforts for populations that have historically experienced unequal health outcomes.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the Behavioral and Social Science Research on Understanding and Reducing Health Disparities (R21) opportunity (PAR 10-137)?
PAR 10-137 is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) exploratory/developmental funding opportunity that uses the R21 grant mechanism to stimulate behavioral and social science research focused on understanding why health and disability disparities persist in the United States and how to reduce them.
What is the main goal of this FOA?
The goal is to generate actionable knowledge about both the causes of health disparities and practical solutions that can shrink health gaps between groups, not simply document inequities.
Which populations or communities are specifically highlighted in the announcement?
The FOA highlights disparities affecting racial and ethnic populations, people with lower socioeconomic status, and rural residents, reflecting the public health reality that some groups experience systematically worse outcomes than the overall U.S. population.
What kinds of research topics are encouraged?
Research is encouraged that explains drivers of health and disability disparities and tests or develops strategies to reduce them, especially where the results can inform real-world action in policy, health care, or prevention.
What are the three main arenas where research is especially encouraged?
The FOA particularly encourages research in (1) public policy, (2) health care, and (3) disease/disability prevention.
What does the FOA mean by the "public policy" arena?
In the public policy arena, applicants might examine how upstream decisions such as laws, regulations, eligibility rules, funding priorities, and policies related to social services, housing, education, or labor shape unequal exposures and opportunities that translate into different health trajectories.
What does the FOA emphasize in the "health care" arena?
In health care, the emphasis is on understanding and improving the ways health systems contribute to disparities or can help eliminate them, including access, quality, communication, discrimination or bias, care coordination, workforce distribution, insurance design, and system-level barriers that disproportionately affect underserved populations.
What does the FOA encourage in the "disease and disability prevention" arena?
The FOA encourages research on prevention strategies and programs that reduce differential risks, address social and behavioral determinants of health, and prevent avoidable illness or disability in populations with a disproportionate burden.
What types of study designs does this FOA especially welcome?
Applications are particularly welcomed if they are interdisciplinary, examine multiple levels of influence, or incorporate a life course perspective. The FOA also encourages innovative methods, including system science approaches and community-based participatory research.
What does "interdisciplinary" mean in the context of this FOA?
Interdisciplinary projects bring together perspectives from multiple fields, such as sociology, psychology, economics, epidemiology, communication science, demography, health services research, and related disciplines, to better capture the complexity of health disparities.
What does it mean to examine "multiple levels of influence"?
It means studying how factors at different levels interact, for example individual behavior alongside family context, neighborhood conditions, institutional practices, and the policy environment, rather than relying on a single-level explanation.
What is a "life course perspective" and why is it relevant here?
A life course perspective considers how conditions and experiences across different life stages accumulate and shape later health outcomes, which can help explain how disparities emerge, persist, and potentially can be reduced over time.
What innovative methods are explicitly encouraged?
The FOA explicitly encourages system science approaches (such as modeling complex interacting determinants over time) and community-based participatory research (CBPR).
What is community-based participatory research (CBPR) in this announcement?
CBPR is described as a collaborative approach where community members and researchers work together to define research questions, select methods, interpret findings, and translate results into locally relevant action.
What is the NIH R21 mechanism and what is it typically used for?
The R21 mechanism supports exploratory and developmental projects, commonly used for early-stage, high-potential ideas, proof-of-concept studies, pilot work, new measures, new analytic approaches, or innovative interventions needing preliminary testing before larger-scale efforts.
How does PAR 10-137 (R21) relate to PAR 10-136 (R01)?
This FOA (PAR 10-137) is described as running in parallel with an R01 announcement (PAR 10-136) that has the same scientific scope. The key difference is the grant mechanism and typical project scale, with R21 generally supporting smaller, exploratory work.
What is the award ceiling for this R21 opportunity?
The listed award ceiling is $200,000, reflecting the smaller, exploratory nature of R21 funding relative to many R01 projects.
Was the total amount of funding or the number of awards predetermined?
No. The total funding level and number of awards were not fixed in advance and were expected to vary based on the number of applications received, their scientific quality, and the proposed project durations and budgets.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is broad and includes many types of domestic and non-domestic organizations, including higher education institutions, nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status), for-profit organizations (including small businesses), local/county/state governments, independent school districts, special district governments, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal governments, and tribal organizations.
Are foreign organizations eligible under this FOA?
Yes. The opportunity explicitly includes foreign organizations among eligible applicants.
Are for-profit entities allowed to apply?
Yes. For-profit organizations, including small businesses and other for-profits, are listed as eligible applicants.
Are community-based and faith-based organizations eligible?
Yes. The opportunity explicitly includes faith-based and community-based organizations.
Are specific institution types (like HBCUs or tribal colleges) explicitly encouraged or included?
Yes. The FOA explicitly includes historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, tribally controlled colleges and universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, and related categories.
Does the FOA require cost sharing or matching funds?
No. The FOA states that no cost sharing or matching is required.
When was this funding opportunity posted and when did it close?
The opportunity was posted on March 18, 2010. The original and final closing date was May 11, 2013, and the archive date was June 11, 2013.
What does it mean that the FOA is associated with many CFDA numbers?
The CFDA listings span multiple NIH-related program areas (including topics such as environmental health, oral health, communication disorders, mental health, substance use, nursing research, cancer prevention, aging, vision research, and more), signaling that the scientific scope is intentionally broad and relevant across many disease areas where disparities are documented.
What would a competitive application generally look like under this FOA?
Based on the announcement description, a strong application would propose a well-justified behavioral and/or social science study aimed at identifying modifiable drivers of disparities or testing promising strategies to reduce them, ideally using creative and rigorous methods and showing a clear path toward real-world impact in policy, care delivery, or prevention.
Does this FOA favor simple, single-cause explanations of disparities?
No. The priorities described favor projects that move beyond single-cause explanations, take context seriously, and reflect the complexity of disparities.
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Applicants also applied for:
Applicants who have applied for this opportunity (PAR 10 137) also looked into and applied for these:
| Funding Opportunity |
|---|
| Innovative Neuroscience K 12 Education (SBIR R43/R44) Apply for PAR 10 154 Funding Number: PAR 10 154 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education Environment Health Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Research on Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders (R01) Apply for PA 10 158 Funding Number: PA 10 158 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education Environment Health Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Research On Autism And Autism Spectrum Disorders (R03) Apply for PA 10 159 Funding Number: PA 10 159 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education Environment Health Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Research on Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders (R21) Apply for PA 10 160 Funding Number: PA 10 160 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education Environment Health Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $200,000 |
| International Neuroscience Fellowship (F05) Apply for PAR 10 167 Funding Number: PAR 10 167 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education Environment Health Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research Grand Challenge Developing Novel Drugs for Disorders of the Nervous System (U01) Apply for RFA NS 11 002 Funding Number: RFA NS 11 002 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education Environment Health Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Bioengineering Research Partnerships (BRP)R01 Apply for PAR 10 234 Funding Number: PAR 10 234 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education Environment Health Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Climate Change and Health Assessing and Modeling Population Vulnerability to Climate Change (R21) Apply for PAR 10 235 Funding Number: PAR 10 235 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education Environment Health Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $200,000 |
| Chronic, Non Communicable Diseases and Disorders Across the Lifespan Fogarty International Research Training Award (NCD LIFESPAN) (D43) Apply for PAR 10 257 Funding Number: PAR 10 257 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education Environment Health Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Robotics Technology Development and Deployment RTD2 (R43) Apply for PAR 10 279 Funding Number: PAR 10 279 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education Environment Health Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $100,000 |
| Limited Competition for the Global Research Initiative Program, Behavioral/Social Sciences (R01) Apply for PAR 10 280 Funding Number: PAR 10 280 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education Environment Health Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $50,000 |
| Training in Computational Neuroscience From Biology to Model and Back Again (T90/R90) Apply for RFA DA 11 005 Funding Number: RFA DA 11 005 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education Environment Health Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $500,000 |
| Training in Neuroimaging Integrating First Principles and Applications (T90/R90) Apply for RFA DA 11 006 Funding Number: RFA DA 11 006 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education Environment Health Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $400,000 |
| Limited Competition Brain Disorders in the Developing World Research Across the Lifespan (R01)) Apply for PAR 11 030 Funding Number: PAR 11 030 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education Environment Health Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Brain Disorders in the Developing World Research Across the Lifespan (R21) Apply for PAR 11 031 Funding Number: PAR 11 031 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education Environment Health Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $100,000 |
| NIH Summer Research Experience Programs (R25) Apply for PAR 11 050 Funding Number: PAR 11 050 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education Environment Health Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| International Neuroscience Fellowship (F05) Apply for PAR 11 106 Funding Number: PAR 11 106 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education Environment Health Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Blueprint for Neuroscience Research Science Education Award (R25) Apply for RFA DA 11 013 Funding Number: RFA DA 11 013 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education Environment Health Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $250,000 |
| Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in Biology and Medicine (R01) Apply for PA 11 148 Funding Number: PA 11 148 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education Environment Health Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in Biology and Medicine (R21) Apply for PA 11 149 Funding Number: PA 11 149 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education Environment Health Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $200,000 |
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