Fostering Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral (MEB) Health Among Children in School Settings: Opportunities for Multisite Trials of Complementary and Integrative Health Interventions (Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA AT 23 003

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA AT 23 003

This funding opportunity (RFA-AT-23-003) from the National Institutes of Health supports large, multi-site research projects in real-world school settings that aim to improve mental, emotional, and behavioral (MEB) health among children and adolescents. The focus is on testing complementary and integrative health interventions, especially approaches that combine physical and/or psychological therapeutic inputs, commonly described as "mind and body" interventions. The intent is to build stronger evidence on whether these approaches can effectively promote youth well-being and help prevent the development of MEB disorders, responding directly to the ongoing youth mental health crisis.

A defining feature of this opportunity is its emphasis on multisite clinical trials conducted across geographically diverse schools. Rather than studying a single school or a narrow region, applicants are expected to design studies that can assess how well an intervention works across different communities, student populations, and implementation conditions. The trials may evaluate efficacy (how well the intervention works under more controlled conditions) or effectiveness (how well it works under typical, real-world conditions), with the goal of producing findings that are credible and broadly useful for school-based mental health practice and policy. The announcement is labeled "clinical trial optional," meaning applications may include a clinical trial when appropriate to the research question and design, but the FOA is clearly oriented toward rigorous trial-like testing of these interventions in schools.

The award uses a phased cooperative agreement structure (UG3/UH3) with milestone-based decision points. Year one is a UG3 planning phase designed to finalize essential preparatory work such as study protocols, site readiness, recruitment and retention plans, intervention training and fidelity procedures, data systems, and other feasibility elements. Only projects that meet the required scientific milestones and demonstrate feasibility during UG3 will be allowed to transition into the UH3 phase. The UH3 phase supports the actual conduct of the trial for up to four additional years. In total, the project period can be up to five years, but continuation beyond the first year depends on meeting the predefined milestones. Because the funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, NIH is expected to have substantial involvement during the project, typically including ongoing collaboration, oversight of milestone progress, and coordination expectations that are more active than in a standard research grant.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of organizations that can realistically partner with schools and run large trials. Eligible applicants include state, county, 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 tribal governments; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other organizations that meet NIH requirements. The FOA also explicitly highlights additional eligible applicant categories 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 (AANAPISIs), as well as faith-based or community-based organizations and certain eligible federal agencies. This breadth signals that NIH is looking for strong community and educational partnerships and is open to a range of lead institutions, provided the team can execute a complex multisite study.

There are specific restrictions regarding foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply as the applicant organization. However, foreign components are allowed as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement, which generally means certain international collaborations can be included when scientifically justified, even though the main applicant must be a domestic entity.

From the administrative details provided, the opportunity is a discretionary program using a cooperative agreement funding instrument in the health category, associated with CFDA number 93.213. The original closing date listed is October 28, 2022. The award ceiling shown is $500,000, which typically indicates a maximum amount (often per year or per project, depending on the FOA specifics) that applicants should treat as an upper boundary when planning budgets. The FOA does not list an expected number of awards in the provided data, but the overall aim is to fund a set of coordinated multisite trials that collectively strengthen the evidence base for school-deliverable complementary and integrative health interventions.

In practical terms, competitive projects under this FOA would be expected to present a well-justified intervention that can be implemented with students in school contexts, a clear theory of change linking the intervention to MEB outcomes, strong measurement of mental health and behavioral outcomes, and a thoughtful plan for recruitment, consent/assent, equitable participation, implementation fidelity, and handling variability across sites. Because the FOA is explicitly aimed at prevention and promotion (not only treatment), applicants would typically need to show how the approach can support broad student well-being and reduce risk for later MEB disorders, while still using rigorous trial methods and milestone-driven project management suited to a multisite study.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Fostering Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral (MEB) Health Among Children in School Settings: Opportunities for Multisite Trials of Complementary and Integrative Health Interventions (Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.213.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-08-17.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-10-28. (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 $500,000.00 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 AT 23 003

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