Epidemiology of Drug Abuse (R03) | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Epidemiology of Drug Abuse (R03) (PA-11-232)

What is the Epidemiology of Drug Abuse (R03) funding opportunity (PA-11-232)?

PA-11-232 was a discretionary NIH funding opportunity run by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). It used the NIH R03 mechanism to support small, focused epidemiology studies aimed at strengthening what is known about drug use, abuse, and addiction.

What was the central goal of this program?

The central goal was to improve understanding of the nature and extent of drug-related behaviors, how these behaviors are distributed across different groups and settings, what causes them (etiology), and what short- and long-term consequences they create for individuals, families, communities, and broader populations.

What kinds of research questions was the FOA trying to answer?

The announcement emphasized studies that could clarify who is affected, how patterns change over time, what factors drive risk or protection, and how drug use intersects with health and social outcomes.

What does "multi-level and transdisciplinary epidemiology" mean in the context of this FOA?

In this FOA, multi-level and transdisciplinary epidemiology referred to moving beyond single-cause explanations to examine multiple layers of influence at once. Examples of layers mentioned include genetic vulnerability, developmental stage, family context, peer networks, neighborhood conditions, and broader social or policy environments.

Did the FOA encourage specific types of methods or approaches?

Yes. NIDA highlighted interest in novel or creative methods intended to push epidemiologic science forward, including approaches that can untangle complex causal pathways or model how social environments shape health outcomes.

Could projects integrate biological measures with environmental or social factors?

Yes. The FOA specifically described interest in designs and analyses that integrate biological measures with environmental exposures, and approaches that connect individual behavior to community-level conditions.

What community-level or environmental conditions were referenced as relevant?

The FOA gave examples of community-level conditions such as housing instability, access to services, social disadvantage, and local drug markets, as well as the broader social or policy environment.

Was new data collection required, or could researchers use existing data?

The FOA strongly emphasized cost-efficient, high-value science that leverages existing investments. It encouraged using already-collected data supported by NIH or other funders through secondary analyses, data linkages, or innovative re-use of established cohorts, surveillance systems, administrative datasets, or other existing resources.

What was the rationale for encouraging use of existing datasets?

The stated idea was that important epidemiologic questions about drug abuse could often be answered more quickly and efficiently by creatively analyzing available data rather than building an entirely new data collection effort from scratch.

What grant mechanism did this opportunity use?

This funding opportunity used the NIH R03 mechanism, which is typically designed for smaller projects, pilot studies, feasibility work, or discrete research questions that can be addressed with limited resources.

What was the award ceiling for this R03 opportunity?

The listed award ceiling was $50,000.

Was cost sharing or matching required?

No. The opportunity stated there was no cost sharing or matching requirement.

Which activity categories were associated with this opportunity?

The program fell under the "Education" and "Health" activity categories.

What CFDA number was associated with this program?

The FOA was associated with CFDA number 93.279 (Drug Abuse and Addiction Research Programs).

Who was eligible to apply?

Eligibility was described as broad. Eligible applicants included public and private institutions of higher education; nonprofit organizations (with and without 501(c)(3) status); for-profit organizations (including small businesses); and a range of government entities such as state, county, city or township governments, special district governments, and public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities.

Were tribal governments and tribal organizations eligible?

Yes. The FOA included tribal organizations and tribal governments, including federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal entities, as eligible applicants.

Were schools or school districts eligible?

Yes. The FOA included independent school districts among eligible applicants.

Were faith-based or community-based organizations eligible?

Yes. The FOA explicitly included faith-based and community-based organizations as eligible applicants.

Did the FOA name institution types that serve specific communities?

Yes. It explicitly included eligibility for many institution types such as HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, and tribally controlled colleges and universities.

Could foreign (non-U.S.) institutions apply?

Yes. The FOA stated that non-U.S. entities (foreign institutions) were eligible to apply. It also stated that non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations were eligible, and that foreign components were allowed consistent with NIH policy.

When was this funding opportunity posted?

The opportunity was posted and created on June 16, 2011.

What were the closing and archive dates, and is the FOA still active?

The original and final closing date listed was September 7, 2014. The archive date was October 8, 2014. These dates indicate the announcement is no longer active.

Where could applicants find the official historical announcement?

The FOA referenced an NIH grants webpage for PA-11-232 as the official source for historical announcement details.

Who should be contacted if the FOA link is broken or there are access issues?

For access issues or broken links, the contact provided was the NIH Office of Extramural Research (OER) webmaster at FBOWebmaster@od.nih.gov.