Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 16 167
Apply for PA 16 167
- The HHS-NIH11 in the education, food and nutrition, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Diet and Physical Activity Assessment Methodology (R01)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.213, 93.273, 93.321, 93.393, 93.399, 93.847,.
- This funding opportunity was created on Apr 06, 2016 and posted on Apr 06, 2016.
- Applicants must submit their applications by May 07, 2019. (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 (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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Opportunity Summary:
The Diet and Physical Activity Assessment Methodology (R01) funding opportunity (PA-16-167) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grant announcement aimed at improving how researchers measure what people eat and how physically active they are. The core purpose is methodological: it supports innovative work that strengthens the accuracy, reliability, and usefulness of dietary intake and physical activity assessments, recognizing that weak or biased measurement can limit progress in nutrition and physical activity science, obscure true relationships with health outcomes, and reduce the effectiveness of interventions and public health guidance.
This FOA invites R01 applications that push beyond standard self-report tools and conventional monitoring approaches. It emphasizes the development of novel assessment methods as well as stronger ways to evaluate and validate existing instruments. Projects can focus on creating entirely new tools or improving the performance of current ones, including efforts to make measures more sensitive to real-world behavior, more feasible for large studies, and better aligned with how diet and activity actually occur across the day and across settings.
A major theme is ensuring assessments work well for culturally diverse populations and for different age groups, particularly children and older adults. That can include adapting tools to different languages and cultural eating patterns, accounting for varying literacy or numeracy, and designing approaches that fit the realities of caregivers reporting for children or older adults experiencing cognitive or functional limitations. The announcement is also receptive to research that tests whether commonly used instruments perform differently across groups and then refines those instruments to reduce inequities in measurement quality.
Technology is another central priority. The FOA encourages improved technologies or new applications of existing technologies that can reduce burden and measurement error. This can include mobile or web-based dietary assessment platforms, image-assisted food recording, wearable sensors for physical activity and sedentary time, passive data collection, and other digital systems that capture behavior in more objective or time-stamped ways. Importantly, the interest is not only in inventing gadgets, but in demonstrating that technology meaningfully improves measurement quality and can be implemented effectively in research contexts.
The announcement also highlights the need for better statistical methods and modeling approaches to improve assessment and to address measurement error and bias. This includes developing calibration techniques, combining multiple imperfect measures to estimate true intake or activity, creating models that adjust for systematic underreporting or overreporting, and designing analytic strategies that account for within-person variability over time. Because diet and physical activity data are often noisy, episodic, and affected by reactivity or recall limitations, the FOA signals strong interest in methods that quantify and correct these issues rather than simply accepting them as unavoidable.
Another encouraged direction is research that treats diet and physical activity as multidimensional behaviors rather than single numbers. The FOA points to pattern analysis and integrated measurement approaches, such as examining dietary patterns instead of individual nutrients, linking eating occasions with activity bouts, or assessing how behaviors cluster and change together. It also encourages work that incorporates environmental context, acknowledging that where people live, work, and socialize can shape both diet and activity. Examples of contextual integration could include linking assessments with neighborhood features, food environments, built environments, time-use patterns, or momentary context captured through ecological approaches.
Administratively, this is a discretionary grant opportunity using the NIH R01 mechanism. It was posted April 6, 2016, with an original and current closing date of May 7, 2019. The sponsoring agency is listed as HHS-NIH11, and the opportunity is associated with multiple CFDA numbers (93.213, 93.273, 93.321, 93.393, 93.399, 93.847), reflecting participation across NIH components and related public health research areas. The listing does not specify an award ceiling or expected number of awards in the provided text, which typically means applicants need to consult the full FOA and relevant institute guidance for budget expectations and program priorities.
Eligibility is broad and includes state, county, and local governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments 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; small businesses; and other applicants as allowed under the FOA’s additional eligibility language. In practical terms, this wide eligibility is meant to encourage cross-sector teams, including academic researchers, public agencies, community-focused organizations, and technology or analytics partners, as long as the proposed work addresses the central goal of improving measurement methodology for diet and physical activity.
Overall, the opportunity is best understood as support for the measurement science underlying nutrition and physical activity research. Strong applications would typically propose a clear methodological innovation or improvement, demonstrate how the approach will be tested and validated, explain how it reduces bias or captures behavior more accurately in real-world settings, and show why the improved measurement will matter for understanding health, evaluating interventions, or advancing population research across diverse groups and life stages.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Diet and Physical Activity Assessment Methodology (R01) (PA-16-167)
What is this funding opportunity?
This is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grant announcement titled "Diet and Physical Activity Assessment Methodology (R01)" (PA-16-167). It supports research projects that improve how dietary intake and physical activity are measured in research settings.
What is the main purpose of PA-16-167?
The core purpose is methodological improvement. The opportunity is focused on strengthening the accuracy, reliability, and real-world usefulness of diet and physical activity assessment methods, because biased or weak measurement can limit progress in nutrition and physical activity research and weaken conclusions about health outcomes and interventions.
What grant mechanism is used?
The funding mechanism is an NIH R01 research project grant.
Which agency is sponsoring the opportunity?
The sponsoring agency is NIH (listed as HHS-NIH11).
When was the opportunity posted and when did it close?
It was posted on April 6, 2016. The original and current closing date listed is May 7, 2019.
Is this opportunity primarily about nutrition and exercise interventions?
No. The emphasis is on measurement science (assessment methodology), not on running interventions themselves. Projects should center on how diet and physical activity are assessed, validated, calibrated, modeled, and improved.
What kinds of projects are encouraged?
The announcement invites R01 applications that go beyond standard self-report tools and conventional monitoring. Encouraged projects include developing novel assessment methods and improving, evaluating, and validating existing dietary intake and physical activity instruments.
Does the FOA support creating entirely new tools?
Yes. It encourages development of new assessment methods and tools, as well as approaches that make measures more sensitive to real-world behavior and more feasible for large studies.
Does the FOA also support improving existing assessment instruments?
Yes. A major focus is strengthening evaluation and validation of current tools, including identifying performance problems and refining instruments to reduce measurement error and bias.
Why is improving measurement such a priority in this program?
The FOA highlights that weak or biased measurement can obscure true relationships between diet/activity and health outcomes, slow scientific progress, and reduce the effectiveness of interventions and public health guidance.
Are culturally diverse populations and different age groups a priority?
Yes. The announcement emphasizes ensuring assessments work well for culturally diverse populations and across age groups, with particular attention to children and older adults.
What types of adaptations for diverse populations are included?
Examples described include adapting tools to different languages and cultural eating patterns, accounting for differences in literacy or numeracy, and designing approaches that work when caregivers report for children or when older adults face cognitive or functional limitations.
Does the FOA encourage checking whether instruments work differently across groups?
Yes. It is receptive to research that tests whether commonly used instruments perform differently across populations and then refines those instruments to reduce inequities in measurement quality.
How important is technology in this opportunity?
Technology is a central priority. The FOA encourages improved technologies and new applications of existing technologies that reduce participant burden and measurement error, while demonstrating that the technology meaningfully improves measurement quality and can be implemented in research contexts.
What are examples of technology-enabled assessment approaches mentioned?
Examples include mobile or web-based dietary assessment platforms, image-assisted food recording, wearable sensors for physical activity and sedentary time, passive data collection, and other digital systems that capture behavior in more objective or time-stamped ways.
Is the goal simply to develop new gadgets?
No. The FOA emphasizes that technology should be tied to better measurement quality and practical implementation for research, not just technology development for its own sake.
Does the opportunity encourage statistical methods and modeling research?
Yes. It highlights the need for improved statistical methods and modeling approaches to address measurement error and bias in diet and physical activity data.
What types of statistical or modeling improvements are within scope?
Examples include calibration techniques, methods that combine multiple imperfect measures to estimate true intake or activity, models that adjust for systematic underreporting or overreporting, and strategies that account for within-person variability over time.
Why does the FOA emphasize measurement error and within-person variability?
The FOA notes that diet and physical activity data are often noisy, episodic, and affected by reactivity or recall limitations, so it encourages methods that quantify and correct these issues rather than treating them as unavoidable.
Does this FOA support analyzing diet and activity as patterns rather than single metrics?
Yes. It encourages research that treats diet and physical activity as multidimensional behaviors, including pattern analysis and integrated measurement approaches.
What are examples of integrated or multidimensional measurement mentioned?
Examples include examining dietary patterns instead of individual nutrients, linking eating occasions with activity bouts, and assessing how behaviors cluster and change together over time.
Is environmental or contextual data considered relevant?
Yes. The FOA encourages incorporating environmental context, acknowledging that where people live, work, and socialize can shape both diet and physical activity.
What are examples of environmental/contextual integration described?
Examples include linking assessments with neighborhood features, food environments, built environments, time-use patterns, or momentary context captured through ecological approaches.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is broad and includes state, county, and local governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments 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; small businesses; and other applicants as allowed under the FOA's additional eligibility language.
Does the broad eligibility suggest partnerships are allowed?
Yes. The description indicates the wide eligibility is meant to encourage cross-sector teams, such as academic researchers, public agencies, community-focused organizations, and technology or analytics partners, as long as the project addresses the goal of improving assessment methodology.
Is an award ceiling or number of awards stated in the provided information?
No. The provided text does not specify an award ceiling or the expected number of awards, suggesting applicants would need to consult the full FOA and relevant institute guidance for budget expectations and priorities.
Which CFDA numbers are associated with this opportunity?
The opportunity is associated with multiple CFDA numbers: 93.213, 93.273, 93.321, 93.393, 93.399, and 93.847, reflecting participation across NIH components and related public health research areas.
What would a strong application generally include, based on the description provided?
Based on the provided description, strong applications would typically propose a clear methodological innovation or improvement, explain how the approach will be tested and validated, show how it reduces bias or improves real-world accuracy, and clarify why the improved measurement matters for understanding health, evaluating interventions, or advancing population research across diverse groups and life stages.
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