HEAL Initiative: JCOIN Phase II Clinical Research Hubs (UM1 Clinical Trial Required) | RFA DA 25 025

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DA 25 025

The HEAL Initiative: JCOIN Phase II Clinical Research Hubs (UM1 Clinical Trial Required) funding opportunity (RFA-DA-25-025) is a National Institutes of Health cooperative agreement designed to expand and strengthen research infrastructure that helps move evidence-based opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment into routine practice within criminal-legal settings. The opportunity sits under the HEAL (Helping to End Addiction Long-term) Initiative and is specifically tied to JCOIN, the Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network. Its central purpose is to address the overdose crisis among people who are jailed, incarcerated, on probation or parole, or otherwise justice-involved, recognizing that this population has disproportionately high rates of substance use disorder (SUD) and OUD, faces a high likelihood of acute opioid withdrawal at the time of incarceration, and experiences elevated overdose risk after release, especially when medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) were not started or continued during detention.

The program is grounded in the reality that many U.S. jails and similar facilities still do not offer MOUD broadly to everyone who could benefit, even though MOUD is widely recognized as a standard, evidence-based treatment for OUD. JCOIN is positioned as a research-to-practice effort rather than a purely academic exercise, emphasizing practical implementation in real-world justice settings and the community systems that intersect with them. The broader JCOIN research portfolio supports hybrid effectiveness-implementation trials, meaning studies are expected to evaluate both clinical outcomes (such as treatment engagement, retention, relapse, and overdose) and the real operational factors that determine whether interventions can be adopted, delivered with quality, and sustained in the environments where justice-involved people receive care. In this context, Phase II Clinical Research Hubs are intended to serve as organizing centers that can run and support clinical trials and implementation research aimed at overcoming barriers to MOUD access and delivery for justice-involved populations.

This opportunity is notable because it is described as the only HEAL initiative with a primary focus on justice-involved populations and criminal-legal systems. In practice, that makes its mission narrower and more specialized than other HEAL efforts, concentrating on the specific policies, workflows, resource constraints, and public safety-health interfaces that shape care in jails, prisons, courts, probation/parole systems, and reentry pathways. The cooperative agreement mechanism (UM1) also signals substantial NIH involvement beyond a standard grant, typically meaning NIH scientific staff will have an active partnership role in coordinating, aligning, or guiding aspects of the program to ensure consistency with JCOIN network goals. The listing also specifies that a clinical trial is required, so applicants should expect that the hub is not simply for planning or capacity-building; it is expected to be positioned to conduct clinical research as part of the network agenda.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations that can realistically partner with justice and health systems. 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, private institutions of higher education, federally recognized Native American tribal governments, tribal organizations (including those other than federally recognized tribal governments), public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education in those categories), for-profit organizations other than small businesses, and small businesses. The notice also highlights additional eligible applicant types such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs). Faith-based and community-based organizations and eligible federal agencies are also included, reflecting the program’s expectation that successful hubs may depend on deep local partnerships and service-delivery capacity rather than being limited to academic medical centers.

On the other hand, the opportunity draws clear boundaries around foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign organizations) are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. However, foreign components as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement are allowed, which typically means a U.S. applicant may include certain foreign elements in the project when they are well-justified and meet NIH policy requirements, even though the applicant organization itself must be domestic.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity is categorized as discretionary and uses the cooperative agreement funding instrument. It falls under the Education and Health activity category and is associated with CFDA number 93.279. The posting indicates an award ceiling of $5,000,000, suggesting the NIH anticipates large, multi-component hub efforts that can support extensive coordination, trial operations, stakeholder engagement, and implementation work across justice and community settings. The original closing date is January 22, 2025, and the opportunity was created on June 6, 2024.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "HEAL Initiative: JCOIN Phase II Clinical Research Hubs (UM1 Clinical Trial Required)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.279.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-06-06.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-01-22. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $5,000,000.00 in funding.
• 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.

Apply for RFA DA 25 025

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: