NIDA REI: Reaching Equity at the Intersection of HIV and Substance Use: Novel Approaches to Address HIV Related Health Disparities in Underserved Racial/Ethnic Populations (R34 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA DA 23 024

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The grant opportunity "NIDA REI: Reaching Equity at the Intersection of HIV and Substance Use: Novel Approaches to Address HIV Related Health Disparities in Underserved Racial/Ethnic Populations (R34 Clinical Trial Optional)" (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-DA-23-024) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) discretionary grant run through the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). It sits within NIDA's broader Racial Equity Initiative (REI), described as a multi-year, multi-pronged effort aimed at eliminating racial inequities across NIDA's workplace, scientific workforce, and research portfolio. In practical terms, this FOA focuses on building and testing early-stage, real-world ideas that can eventually lead to larger interventions and stronger evidence on what actually reduces inequities where HIV and substance use overlap.

The core purpose of the program is to fund pilot and feasibility projects that investigate and address upstream drivers of inequity. Rather than focusing only on individual behavior change, the FOA emphasizes structural factors, organizational practices, policies, and wider social, cultural, and contextual influences that contribute to unequal HIV outcomes among underserved racial and ethnic populations, particularly in the context of substance use. The intent is to support research that can identify how inequities are produced and sustained across systems (healthcare, public health, criminal-legal settings, social services, community organizations, workplaces, education systems, and other institutions), and then test promising, equity-focused approaches that could be scaled or studied in larger trials later on.

A key theme is intersectionality. NIDA explicitly encourages projects that recognize people do not experience risk, stigma, or barriers along a single axis. Applicants are encouraged to design research that addresses multiple, intersecting dimensions of identity and social position, such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity, and to examine how these intersect with social systems and power structures. That framing signals that NIDA is looking for research questions and methods that can capture compounded disadvantage or layered barriers that emerge when HIV risk, substance use, stigma, and structural racism interact.

Mechanistically, this is an R34 opportunity, which is typically used for pilot, developmental, or feasibility work that prepares the ground for larger clinical or effectiveness studies. The FOA indicates "Clinical Trial Optional," meaning applicants may propose a study that includes a clinical trial component if it is appropriate to the pilot aims, but a clinical trial is not required. The overall emphasis remains on novel approaches and practical, testable strategies that address HIV-related disparities in underserved racial and ethnic populations affected by persistent inequities, especially where substance use is a central factor.

The award ceiling listed for this opportunity is $450,000. The original closing date provided is 2022-11-22, and the FOA record shows a creation date of 2022-08-09. The CFDA/assistance listing number associated with the opportunity is 93.279, and the activity category is listed under Education and Health, consistent with NIH public health research funding.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of domestic organizations and governmental entities. 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/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (outside of higher education); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The FOA also highlights additional eligible applicant types that align with the equity mission, including 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, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions.

At the same time, there are important restrictions related to foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign organizations/institutions) are not eligible to apply as the primary applicant, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. However, "foreign components" as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement are allowed, which generally means a U.S. applicant may include certain types of foreign collaboration or activities if they meet NIH definitions and are appropriately justified and approved, but the applicant institution itself must be domestic.

Taken together, this opportunity is essentially a targeted pilot-grant mechanism designed to move beyond documenting disparities and toward testing actionable solutions. NIDA is signaling interest in projects that take systems seriously, incorporate the lived realities of underserved racial and ethnic communities, and reflect the complexity of overlapping identities and social structures that shape HIV outcomes in the context of substance use.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIDA REI: Reaching Equity at the Intersection of HIV and Substance Use: Novel Approaches to Address HIV Related Health Disparities in Underserved Racial/Ethnic Populations (R34 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 2022-08-09.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-11-22. (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 $450,000.00 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.

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