Drug Abuse Prevention Intervention Research (R21) | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Drug Abuse Prevention Intervention Research (R21) - PA 08-218

1) What is the Drug Abuse Prevention Intervention Research (R21) opportunity (PA 08-218)?

PA 08-218 is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) discretionary funding opportunity using the Exploratory/Developmental Grant (R21) mechanism. It supports early stage, exploratory, and developmental research intended to move the field of drug abuse prevention forward by generating new ideas, testing promising concepts, and building evidence or tools needed for larger-scale prevention studies.

2) What is the overall goal of this funding opportunity?

The overall goal is to improve prevention of drug abuse and dependence and reduce related harms at the population level. This includes reducing social consequences (such as violence, criminal involvement, and lost productivity) and health consequences (including co-occurring mental health issues and infectious diseases linked to drug use such as HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C).

3) What kinds of research does the R21 mechanism support in this program?

This program emphasizes early stage, high-potential projects that may not yet have the level of preliminary evidence typically expected for larger R01 projects. It is designed to seed exploratory, developmental work, including proof-of-concept activities and early testing needed to justify larger, later-phase studies.

4) What are the main scientific priority areas for PA 08-218?

The opportunity describes four core scientific priority lanes: (1) development of novel prevention approaches; (2) testing novel interventions and adapted interventions; (3) research on real-world selection, adoption, implementation, sustainability, and financing of evidence-based interventions; and (4) development of new methodologies to strengthen prevention research design, measurement, and analysis.

5) What does "novel prevention approaches" mean in the context of this announcement?

It refers to new strategies or models intended to prevent drug use initiation, escalation, or relapse, or to reduce drug-related harms before they become entrenched.

6) Does this opportunity support adapting existing prevention programs?

Yes. In addition to testing novel interventions, the announcement supports adapted interventions, including modifying an existing prevention program to work better for a different setting, population, delivery system, or risk environment.

7) Is implementation research included, or is it only about creating interventions?

Implementation-oriented research is explicitly emphasized. The announcement highlights understanding how evidence-based interventions are selected and taken up in real-world contexts, including adoption, adaptation, implementation, sustainability over time, and financing. It recognizes that even strong interventions may have limited impact if they are not feasible, affordable, scalable, or integrated into community systems.

8) What kinds of methods research are encouraged?

The announcement invites creation of new methodologies that improve prevention research design and analysis, including better measurement strategies, improved analytic techniques, or innovative study designs suited to prevention questions and real-world constraints.

9) How is this R21 opportunity related to the R01 and R03 versions mentioned?

PA 08-218 (R21) is described as running in parallel with announcements of the same scientific scope that use other NIH mechanisms: PA 08-217 for the Research Project Grant (R01) and PA 08-219 for the Small Research Grant (R03). The scientific topics and overall goals are aligned across all three, while the mechanisms differ in scale and typical maturity of the proposed work.

10) When might an applicant consider the R01 or R03 instead of the R21?

Based on the description, applicants with more mature ideas or who need more resources might look to the R01 version, while smaller, more limited projects could align with the R03. The R21 is positioned for exploratory and developmental work that is earlier in the research pathway than a typical R01.

11) What is the award ceiling for this opportunity?

The listed award ceiling is $200,000.

12) Is the number of awards fixed?

No. The announcement indicates that both the total amount awarded and the number of awards depend on the applications received, including their quality, duration, and requested budgets.

13) Does this grant require cost sharing or a matching contribution?

No. The opportunity states that there is no cost sharing or matching requirement.

14) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is broad. Eligible applicants include public and private institutions of higher education; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); small businesses; and multiple levels of government (state, county, city/township, and special district governments), as well as independent school districts and public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities.

15) Are community-based and faith-based organizations eligible?

Yes. The eligibility list explicitly includes faith-based and community-based organizations.

16) Are tribal entities and tribally controlled institutions eligible?

Yes. The list includes federally recognized tribal governments, other tribal entities, and tribally controlled colleges and universities (TCCUs).

17) Are minority-serving institutions (MSIs) eligible?

Yes. The eligibility list explicitly includes Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, and Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions.

18) Are U.S. territories or possessions eligible to apply?

Yes. U.S. territories or possessions are included in the eligibility list.

19) Are non-U.S. (foreign) organizations eligible?

Yes. Non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations) are listed as eligible in the provided information.

20) Are federal agencies eligible to apply?

Yes. The excerpt indicates that eligible federal agencies are included among eligible applicants.

21) What is the CFDA number associated with this program?

The opportunity is tied to CFDA number 93.279 (Drug Abuse and Addiction Research Programs).

22) Who is the sponsoring agency for this opportunity?

The sponsoring agency is the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

23) When was this opportunity posted and when did it close?

It was posted on July 28, 2008. The original and current closing date listed is September 7, 2011. The archive date is October 8, 2011.

24) Where was the full announcement hosted?

The full announcement was hosted through the NIH grants guide.

25) Who is the listed contact in the provided excerpt?

The source data points to the NIH Office of Extramural Research (OER) webmaster for access or linking issues, rather than providing a program-specific scientific contact in the excerpt provided.

26) What kinds of harms and outcomes does the opportunity emphasize reducing?

The opportunity emphasizes reducing both social harms (such as violence, criminal involvement, and lost productivity) and health harms (including co-occurring mental health issues and infectious diseases associated with drug use, such as HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C).

27) How does this opportunity view the gap between evidence and real-world impact?

It explicitly recognizes that interventions can be effective in controlled settings but still fail to have meaningful impact if they are not feasible, affordable, scalable, or well integrated into community systems. For that reason, it prioritizes work on adoption, implementation, sustainability, and financing.

28) Is drug-related HIV prevention within scope?

Yes. The description notes that the opportunity was structured to seed innovative drug abuse prevention and drug-related HIV prevention research, including work addressing infectious diseases linked to drug use.