Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 16 249

  • The HHS-NIH11 in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Innovative Approaches to Studying Cancer Communication in the New Media Environment (R01)" and is now available to receive applicants.
  • Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.393,.
  • This funding opportunity was created on May 10, 2016 and posted on May 10, 2016.
  • Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 13, 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).
Apply for PAR 16 249

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Opportunity Summary:

The Innovative Approaches to Studying Cancer Communication in the New Media Environment (R01) funding opportunity (PAR 16-249) is a discretionary NIH research grant from HHS (listed under CFDA 93.393) focused on pushing cancer communication research into the realities of today s digital and data-rich media landscape. The program is designed for projects that study how people find, interpret, share, and act on cancer related information across the full cancer control continuum, including prevention, early detection and screening, diagnosis, treatment decision making, survivorship, and end of life issues. The core idea is to support rigorous, methodologically creative research that can better explain and improve communication processes that ultimately influence cancer outcomes and public health impact.

A central feature of this FOA is its emphasis on innovative methodologies, especially those suited to new media and rapidly evolving communication channels. Applicants are encouraged to build studies around advanced analytic approaches and nontraditional data sources such as social media data mining, Natural Language Processing (NLP) to analyze large volumes of text, online social network analysis to understand how information and influence move through digital communities, and the use of crowdsourcing platforms (for example, mTurk) to rapidly test messages or measure perceptions in diverse online samples. It also highlights the value of online search data as a window into information seeking and emerging concerns, Ecological Momentary Assessment to capture real time experiences and exposures as people go about daily life, neuroscience and biobehavioral approaches that can measure attention, emotion, stress, or other physiological and cognitive responses to messages, and geographic information systems to examine how place, environment, and local context shape communication exposure and effects. In practice, the FOA is looking for research that does more than rely on standard surveys or controlled lab studies alone, instead leveraging digital traces, computational methods, and real world measurement strategies to answer cancer communication questions with greater scale, speed, and ecological validity.

The outcomes of interest are clearly tied to cancer prevention and control, and the FOA provides a broad menu of relevant endpoints. Projects can focus on changes in knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and perceived risk, as well as how communication affects decision making related to screening and treatment. The announcement also points to the importance of studying information inequalities, meaning who gets access to credible information, who is reached by interventions, and how digital environments may widen or narrow disparities. Other priority outcomes include social support dynamics (including support exchanged online), shared decision making between patients and clinicians or within families, persuasion and message effectiveness, caregiving communication needs, behavioral intentions and actual preventive behaviors, and even policy support where communication influences public acceptance of cancer related policies. Taken together, the FOA signals interest in both individual level outcomes (like a person choosing screening) and broader social outcomes (like community norms or policy attitudes) that can be shaped by media and communication.

Because it uses the R01 mechanism, the opportunity is meant for substantial, hypothesis driven or theory advancing research projects with enough scope to develop, test, and validate methods or interventions, or to generate robust evidence about how communication works in new media settings. The FOA is open to a wide range of eligible applicants, including state, county, and local governments; public and private institutions of higher education; independent school districts; tribal governments and tribal organizations; public housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status; and for profit organizations (including small businesses). This broad eligibility reflects the interdisciplinary and cross sector nature of modern communication research, where expertise may sit in public health schools, communication departments, computer science labs, medical centers, nonprofit research groups, or industry aligned teams working on platforms and data tools.

Key administrative details in the source information include the original and current closing date of June 13, 2019, and posting and creation dates of May 10, 2016, indicating this was a time bounded FOA cycle rather than an open ended standing announcement. The listing does not specify an award ceiling or the expected number of awards in the provided fields, so applicants would typically rely on the full FOA text and NIH Institute guidance for budget expectations, project period norms, and review considerations. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as NIH support for cutting edge cancer communication research that matches the complexity of the modern information ecosystem, with a strong preference for studies that combine methodological innovation with clear relevance to measurable cancer prevention and control outcomes.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the "Innovative Approaches to Studying Cancer Communication in the New Media Environment (R01)" opportunity?

This is an NIH discretionary research grant funding opportunity from HHS focused on advancing cancer communication research in today’s digital, data-rich media environment. It is identified as PAR 16-249 and is listed under CFDA 93.393.

What is the main purpose of this funding opportunity?

The purpose is to support rigorous, methodologically creative research that explains and improves how cancer-related communication works in modern media environments, with the goal of influencing cancer outcomes and public health impact.

What kinds of cancer communication topics are in scope?

Projects can study how people find, interpret, share, and act on cancer-related information across the full cancer control continuum, including prevention, early detection and screening, diagnosis, treatment decision making, survivorship, and end-of-life issues.

Does the opportunity focus only on digital or social media?

The emphasis is on the realities of today’s digital and rapidly evolving communication landscape, including new media channels and data-rich environments. The opportunity encourages approaches that move beyond standard surveys or controlled lab studies alone, especially by leveraging real-world digital traces and computational methods.

What research approach or grant mechanism does this use?

It uses the NIH R01 mechanism, which is intended for substantial research projects that are hypothesis-driven or theory-advancing, with enough scope to develop, test, and validate methods or interventions, or to generate robust evidence about communication in new media settings.

What kinds of methodologies are especially encouraged?

The opportunity strongly emphasizes innovative methods suited to new media, including social media data mining, Natural Language Processing (NLP) for large-scale text analysis, online social network analysis, crowdsourcing platforms (for example, mTurk), online search data analysis, Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA), neuroscience and biobehavioral approaches (such as attention, emotion, stress, and related measures), and geographic information systems (GIS) to examine how place and local context shape exposure and effects.

Can projects rely on traditional surveys or lab studies?

The description signals a preference for studies that do more than rely on standard surveys or controlled lab studies alone. Projects are encouraged to incorporate computational methods, nontraditional data sources, and real-world measurement strategies to improve scale, speed, and ecological validity.

What are "nontraditional data sources" in the context of this opportunity?

Examples listed include social media data, online search data, digital traces of communication behavior, crowdsourcing-generated responses, and other data streams that can be analyzed with advanced analytics to understand cancer communication in real-world settings.

What types of outcomes are considered relevant?

The opportunity provides a broad set of endpoints tied to cancer prevention and control, including changes in knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, perceived risk, decision making related to screening and treatment, behavioral intentions and preventive behaviors, persuasion and message effectiveness, social support dynamics (including support exchanged online), shared decision making among patients and clinicians or within families, caregiving communication needs, and policy support influenced by communication.

Does the opportunity include a focus on health disparities or information inequalities?

Yes. It highlights the importance of studying information inequalities, such as who has access to credible information, who is reached by interventions, and how digital environments may widen or narrow disparities.

Is this opportunity limited to individual behavior change outcomes?

No. The description indicates interest in both individual-level outcomes (for example, a person choosing screening) and broader social outcomes (for example, community norms or policy attitudes) shaped by media and communication.

Who is eligible to apply based on the information provided?

The opportunity is open to a wide range of applicants, including state, county, and local governments; public and private institutions of higher education; independent school districts; tribal governments and tribal organizations; public housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status; and for-profit organizations (including small businesses).

Does the opportunity support cross-sector or interdisciplinary teams?

The broad eligibility reflects the interdisciplinary and cross-sector nature of modern communication research, where relevant expertise may be found in public health, communication, computer science, medical centers, nonprofit research organizations, or industry-aligned teams working on platforms and data tools.

What is the closing date for this funding opportunity?

The listing states an original and current closing date of June 13, 2019.

When was this opportunity posted and created?

The listing includes posting and creation dates of May 10, 2016.

Is this an open-ended opportunity or a time-bounded funding cycle?

Based on the provided dates and the stated closing date, it is described as a time-bounded FOA cycle rather than an open-ended standing announcement.

Is there an award ceiling or expected number of awards listed in the provided information?

No. The provided fields do not specify an award ceiling or an expected number of awards.

How should applicants determine budget expectations or project period norms if not listed here?

Because the provided information does not include budget ceilings, number of awards, or project period norms, applicants would typically rely on the full FOA text and NIH Institute guidance for those details, as well as for review considerations.

What makes a project a strong fit for this opportunity based on the description?

A strong fit is research that pairs methodological innovation (for example, computational analytics, real-world digital measurement, or advanced methods like NLP, EMA, or GIS) with clear relevance to measurable cancer prevention and control outcomes across the cancer control continuum.

What is the overall takeaway of this grant opportunity?

Overall, it is NIH support for cutting-edge cancer communication research designed to match the complexity of the modern information ecosystem, with a strong preference for innovative methods and a clear line of sight to cancer prevention and control outcomes and public health impact.

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