Translational Research for the Prevention and Control of Diabetes and Obesity (R18) | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): NIH PAR-06-532 - Translational Research for the Prevention and Control of Diabetes and Obesity (R18)

1) What is the purpose of NIH PAR-06-532 (R18)?

PAR-06-532 supports translational research that takes diabetes and obesity interventions already proven effective in clinical trials and tests how to implement them successfully in real-world settings. The emphasis is on practical adoption and long-term maintenance in clinics, health systems, and communities rather than creating brand-new clinical treatments.

2) What does "translational research" mean in this funding opportunity?

In this context, translational research means moving evidence-based interventions from controlled clinical trial environments into routine practice. The goal is to learn what it takes for proven approaches to work in typical, everyday settings and to generate models that can be broadly disseminated.

3) What is the R18 mechanism and what is it designed to fund?

The R18 mechanism is an NIH Research Demonstration and Dissemination Projects grant. It is designed to support demonstration and dissemination studies, meaning projects should move beyond showing efficacy and instead focus on implementation in routine practice, with an eye toward scalability and broader spread.

4) Is this grant intended to fund new clinical treatments for diabetes or obesity?

No. The opportunity is not aimed at inventing brand-new clinical treatments. It is focused on translating interventions that have already been shown to work into practical, cost-effective, and sustainable programs that real-world sites can adopt.

5) What kinds of settings are considered "real-world" for these projects?

The announcement emphasizes routine practice environments such as clinics, health systems, and community settings. Projects should be designed for everyday conditions rather than highly controlled research clinics.

6) What does the NIH mean by "demonstration and dissemination" in this announcement?

"Demonstration" refers to showing how an evidence-based intervention can be implemented effectively in typical practice settings. "Dissemination" refers to creating approaches and models that can be spread broadly across multiple clinical sites or communities, rather than remaining limited to a single controlled research context.

7) What makes a project "scalable" under this funding opportunity?

Projects should be designed so that, if successful, they can be expanded to many practice sites and reach individuals and communities at risk. The announcement highlights practical considerations tied to scalability, such as staffing, training needs, fit with workflows, costs, and long-term maintenance.

8) What topic areas are included in the scientific scope?

The opportunity includes several priority topic areas: (1) improving health care delivery for people with diabetes or at risk of developing diabetes; (2) strengthening diabetes self-management in ways that work outside specialty research clinics; (3) promoting healthy lifestyles to reduce diabetes risk; (4) supporting lifestyle change to prevent or reverse overweight and obesity in community or health care settings; and (5) developing and testing new, cost-effective ways to identify individuals with prediabetes or undiagnosed diabetes (practical screening and case-finding at scale).

9) What types of projects fit under "improving health care delivery" for diabetes?

The announcement describes this area as including care processes, team-based approaches, clinic systems, coordination, and strategies that measurably improve quality of care for people with diabetes or those at risk.

10) What does the grant mean by "diabetes self-management" interventions?

Diabetes self-management includes interventions that help patients manage medications, glucose monitoring, nutrition, physical activity, and problem-solving, particularly in ways that can work in routine settings outside specialty research clinics.

11) Are obesity prevention and control efforts included, or is this only about diabetes?

Obesity is explicitly included. The opportunity supports approaches that support lifestyle change to prevent or reverse overweight and obesity, with an expectation that programs can be adopted in everyday community or health care settings.

12) Does the announcement include work on screening for prediabetes or undiagnosed diabetes?

Yes. A highlighted topic area is the development and testing of new, cost-effective ways to identify individuals with prediabetes or undiagnosed diabetes, including practical screening and case-finding approaches that can be deployed at scale.

13) Which NIH organizations sponsor this funding opportunity?

This announcement is sponsored by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), along with the National Institute of Nursing Research and the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research. This reflects emphasis on health care delivery, behavior change, and population-level impact.

14) How is this R18 opportunity related to the companion R34 planning grant?

PAR-06-532 (R18) is linked to a companion planning grant announcement with the same scientific scope that uses the R34 mechanism (PAR-06-358). The R34 is typically used to plan and pilot key elements before a larger implementation effort, while the R18 is positioned for full demonstration and dissemination studies.

15) When would an applicant consider the R18 rather than the R34?

Based on the description, applicants considering the R18 should be ready to propose a well-developed real-world implementation project grounded in evidence-based interventions, along with evaluation plans addressing effectiveness in typical settings and feasibility of broader dissemination. The R34 is described as a planning and pilot step for earlier-stage preparation.

16) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based organizations and government entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, city, township, and special district governments; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public and private institutions of higher education; independent school districts; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3), excluding those classified as institutions of higher education); small businesses and other for-profit organizations (including small businesses explicitly); and certain eligible federal agencies.

17) Are faith-based or community-based organizations allowed to apply?

Yes. The announcement explicitly states that faith-based and community-based organizations are eligible to apply.

18) Are minority-serving institutions specifically encouraged or included?

The announcement highlights inclusion of institutions such as HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, tribally controlled colleges and universities, and Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian serving institutions.

19) Are foreign institutions eligible to apply?

No. Foreign institutions are not eligible to apply under this opportunity.

20) Can an applicant submit more than one application?

Yes. Applicants may submit more than one application as long as each application is scientifically distinct.

21) Is there a cost sharing or matching requirement?

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

22) What broad activity areas does this opportunity fall under?

The administrative details place the program in the education and health activity areas.

23) What CFDA numbers are associated with this opportunity?

The CFDA numbers listed are 93.847 (Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research) and 93.361 (Nursing Research).

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

The opportunity was originally posted on August 22, 2006. It uses multiple receipt dates, with the last listed closing date being May 7, 2009, and an archive date of June 7, 2009.

25) Which agency administers this opportunity and where was it published?

The sponsoring agency is the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The full announcement was made available through the NIH grants guide at the link provided in the original posting.