Intervention Research to Improve Native American Health (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 25 379

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 25 379

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity titled "Intervention Research to Improve Native American Health (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" (PAR-25-379) supports research projects that aim to improve health outcomes in Native American populations by developing, adapting, testing, and ultimately helping communities sustain effective interventions. The focus is on reducing preventable illness and death by addressing the causes of disease and disorder, strengthening prevention efforts, improving treatment and recovery approaches, and making sure proven programs can actually be adopted and maintained in real-world Native settings. The FOA is built around the reality that many Native communities face persistent acute and chronic disease inequities, alongside distinct sociopolitical, historical, and environmental pressures that can worsen health and also change how well standard interventions work. At the same time, it emphasizes that Native communities have strengths, resilience, and community knowledge that should be treated as central resources in designing solutions.

The research scope is broad but clearly organized into four main categories. First, the FOA encourages etiologic research when there is a major gap in understanding causes or contributing factors, as long as the work directly informs how an intervention should be developed or adapted. Second, it supports studies that create, tailor, or test health promotion and disease prevention interventions, including work that evaluates efficacy (whether it works under more controlled conditions) and effectiveness (whether it works in real-world settings). Third, it funds research that tests culturally informed treatment or recovery interventions, recognizing that interventions are more likely to be acceptable, engaging, and successful when they reflect cultural values, lived experiences, and community priorities. Fourth, when there is already a strong evidence base showing that an intervention works, the FOA supports dissemination and implementation research to develop and evaluate strategies that overcome practical barriers to adoption, integration into existing systems, scaling to larger reach, and long-term sustainability.

A central theme of this opportunity is that interventions should be science-based and culturally appropriate, and they should be built with community sustainability in mind from the beginning. Rather than treating sustainability as an afterthought, applicants are expected to consider whether the intervention can realistically be maintained with the staffing, infrastructure, and resources available in the community or health system where it will be used. The FOA also highlights the value of designing interventions with enough flexibility that they can be adapted and scaled to other Native communities when culturally appropriate, instead of creating one-off programs that cannot travel beyond a single site.

For this FOA, "Native Americans" includes Alaska Natives and American Indians (as described in the announcement, including those whose ancestral lands fall at least partially within the United States). The opportunity is meant to support work that is grounded in Native community contexts and responsive to the specific stressors and risks Native populations face, while also leveraging protective factors such as community cohesion, cultural practices, and local knowledge. Overall, the intent is to move beyond documenting disparities and toward testing practical, culturally informed strategies that measurably improve health.

The funding mechanism is an NIH R01 research project grant, and clinical trials are optional under this announcement, meaning applicants may propose clinical trials if appropriate but are not required to do so. The opportunity is listed as discretionary and spans multiple NIH program areas, reflected in the many CFDA numbers included (covering a wide range of health-related institutes and topics). While the announcement does not specify an award ceiling or expected number of awards in the provided text, it does provide a key administrative detail: the original closing date is January 7, 2027, with a creation date of January 22, 2025.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based applicants and community-connected organizations. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; special districts; independent school districts; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The announcement also explicitly mentions additional eligible applicants 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, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions. Foreign organizations are not eligible to apply, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible; however, foreign components (as defined by NIH policy) may be allowed, which typically means limited parts of a project may occur outside the U.S. when well-justified and compliant with NIH rules.

In practical terms, this FOA is looking for rigorous intervention-oriented research that is deeply connected to Native communities, addresses real drivers of inequity, and produces findings that can translate into sustainable improvements in prevention, treatment, recovery, and implementation of proven programs. It supports everything from foundational cause-focused work that directly shapes intervention design, to full-scale testing of interventions, to the hard but necessary work of getting evidence-based strategies adopted, maintained, and scaled in ways that fit community realities.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, environment, food and nutrition, health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Intervention Research to Improve Native American Health (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): 93.113, 93.121, 93.173, 93.233, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.286, 93.307, 93.310, 93.313, 93.361, 93.399, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840, 93.847, 93.855, 93.865, 93.866, 93.879.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-01-22.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2027-01-07.
• 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 PAR 25 379

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