Research Grants to Develop or Identify Effective Strategies to Prevent Overdose Involving Illicit Stimulants and Polysubstance Use Involving Stimulants | RFA CE 21 002

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA CE 21 002

The CDCs National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) is offering discretionary research grant funding under RFA CE 21 002 to support investigator-initiated studies focused on preventing both fatal and nonfatal overdoses tied to illicit stimulants such as methamphetamine and cocaine, including overdoses that involve stimulants in combination with other substances (polysubstance use). The main emphasis is on producing evidence that can be applied in real-world settings at the state, community, or broader systems level, meaning the work should be positioned to inform policies, programs, and implementation strategies that public health and partner systems can actually put into practice.

The opportunity is structured around two possible research directions, and applicants are expected to align their proposal with one of them. Objective 1 centers on evaluating interventions: researchers may propose a process and outcome evaluation of a new strategy or an adapted strategy, program, or policy intended to reduce illicit stimulant use or reduce overdose involving illicit stimulants, including stimulant-involved polysubstance overdose. In practice, this objective is about testing what works, for whom, and under what implementation conditions, with attention to how strategies are carried out (process evaluation) and whether they lead to measurable improvements in outcomes (outcome evaluation). Objective 2 is more etiologic and foundational, supporting studies that assess risk factors and protective factors associated with illicit stimulant use, stimulant use disorder, and overdose. The expectation is that findings under Objective 2 should directly inform the development of new interventions or the adaptation of existing ones, helping practitioners understand which levers to target to prevent use escalation and overdoses.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of organizations that could reasonably conduct or partner on applied public health research. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3), excluding IHEs in those categories as specified); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The listing indicates the competition is essentially open to a wide range of entity types, subject to any additional eligibility clarifications contained in the full announcement.

In terms of funding scale and competitiveness, the award ceiling is $725,000, and CDC anticipated making about 8 awards. The CFDA (now often referenced as Assistance Listing) number associated with this opportunity is 93.136, and the funding instrument type is a grant within the health funding activity category. The opportunity was posted February 11, 2021, with an original application closing date of April 12, 2021, reflecting a defined review cycle.

While a letter of intent (LOI) is not required and does not affect peer review scoring, CDC encouraged prospective applicants to submit one to help the agency plan the review workload. The LOI requested a descriptive project title, a clear indication of whether the project addresses Objective 1 or Objective 2, a one to two paragraph overview of the proposed research including the objective, the name and contact details of the PD/PI, key personnel, participating institutions, and the funding opportunity number. The LOI was directed to the CDC scientific review official, Mikel Walters, PhD, at NCIPC in Atlanta, with the provided email contact mwalters@cdc.gov.

Overall, the grant is aimed at strengthening the evidence base for preventing stimulant-involved overdoses by either rigorously evaluating implementable interventions and policies in real-world systems (Objective 1) or by clarifying the risk and protective factors that should shape intervention design and adaptation (Objective 2). The throughline across both objectives is practical public health impact: producing findings that can guide state and local decision-makers, community implementers, and cross-sector systems in reducing harms from illicit stimulants and stimulant-involved polysubstance use.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - ERA in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Research Grants to Develop or Identify Effective Strategies to Prevent Overdose Involving Illicit Stimulants and Polysubstance Use Involving Stimulants" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.136.
• This funding opportunity was created on Feb 11, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 12, 2021 Although a letter of intent is not required, is not binding, and does not enter into the review of a subsequent application, the information that it contains allows CIO staff to estimate the potential review workload and plan the review. By the date listed in Part 1. Overview Information, eligible applicants are asked to submit a letter of intent that includes the following information Descriptive title of proposed research Whether the application will address either Objective 1 or Objective 2 Description (one-two paragraphs) of the proposed research including a description of the proposed research objective Name, address, and telephone number of the contact PD/PI Names of other key personnel Participating institutions Number and title of this funding opportunity ampnbsp The letter of intent should be sent to Mikel Walters, PhD Scientific Review Official Extramural Research Program Operations National Center for Injury Prevention and Control Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 4770 Buford Hwy. NE, Mailstop F-63 Atlanta, GA 30341 Email mwalters@cdc.gov ampnbsp. (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 $725,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 8 candidate(s).
• 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, Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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