HEAL Initiative: JCOIN Phase II Innovation Hubs (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA DA 25 062

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DA 25 062

The HEAL Initiative: JCOIN Phase II Innovation Hubs (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) funding opportunity (RFA-DA-25-062) is an NIH grant that supports research aimed at reducing opioid-related harm among people who are involved with the U.S. criminal-legal system. The core problem it targets is well documented: people entering jails and prisons have disproportionately high rates of substance use disorder (SUD) and opioid use disorder (OUD), many experience acute opioid withdrawal soon after incarceration, and their overdose risk rises sharply after release, especially when they were not offered medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) during detention. Despite strong evidence for MOUD, many U.S. jails still do not provide these medications broadly to everyone who could benefit, creating a major gap between what works clinically and what is routinely delivered in justice settings.

This program sits within the Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN) and emphasizes translation of research into practice in real-world criminal-legal environments. In practical terms, the funded work is meant to help justice systems and their community partners increase access to and delivery of evidence-based OUD treatment, particularly MOUD, by tackling on-the-ground barriers that prevent implementation. JCOIN-supported projects typically use hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial approaches, meaning they evaluate both clinical outcomes (for example, MOUD uptake, retention, overdose events, relapse, continuity of care) and implementation outcomes (for example, feasibility, fidelity, acceptability, sustainability, workflow integration, staffing and training needs, reimbursement and policy barriers). The opportunity highlights that JCOIN is the only HEAL Initiative effort with a primary focus on justice-involved populations and criminal-legal systems, underscoring its specialized mission and setting.

The award mechanism is an R01 (Clinical Trial Optional), which signals flexibility: applicants may propose studies that include a clinical trial component, but they are not required to. The activity category is listed under Education and Health, and the CFDA number is 93.279. The opportunity is administered by the National Institutes of Health, created on June 6, 2024, with an original closing date of January 22, 2025. The listed award ceiling is $2,250,000, indicating the maximum amount expected per award under this announcement.

Eligibility is broad and intentionally spans the types of organizations that can influence or partner with justice settings. Eligible applicants include state, county, city/township, and 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 other than federally recognized tribal governments; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in those nonprofit categories); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other organizations. The announcement also explicitly calls out additional eligible applicant types such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions.

At the same time, the opportunity places clear limits on foreign participation. 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 are allowed as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, which generally means a U.S.-based applicant can include certain specific foreign elements or collaborations if they meet NIH policy definitions and justification requirements, even though the applicant organization itself must be domestic.

Overall, this grant opportunity is geared toward building and advancing “innovation hubs” in Phase II of JCOIN, where teams can test and scale practical strategies that make MOUD access more routine in jails, prisons, courts, probation/parole contexts, and the community reentry continuum. The central expectation is that funded projects will generate actionable evidence about what it takes to implement and sustain evidence-based OUD treatment for justice-involved people, with the broader HEAL goal of reducing overdose deaths and closing treatment gaps in one of the highest-risk populations in the country.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "HEAL Initiative: JCOIN Phase II Innovation Hubs (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" 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 $2,250,000.00 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 25 062

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