Innovative Research to Improve Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) Health Outcomes (R34 - Clinical Trial Optional)

The Innovative Research to Improve Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander NHPI Health Outcomes R34 - Clinical Trial Optional opportunity is a forecasted federal grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the National Institutes of Health. The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities intends to publish the Notice of Funding Opportunity. The program is associated with Assistance Listings 93.307, Minority Health and Health Disparities Research, and 93.310, Trans-NIH Research Support. The opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding in the Health category and is expected to support approximately 10 awards with estimated total program funding of $3,000,000. The planned funding opportunity will support planning grants for preparatory, feasibility, and pilot activities intended to advance intervention development or solutions-oriented etiologic studies. The central objective is to improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities among Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander populations. Projects must be co-developed with community partners, making meaningful community partnership an explicit feature of the planned research. The opportunity is structured as an R34 mechanism, and clinical trials are optional. Areas of interest include formative studies designed to identify novel or understudied contributors to poor health outcomes and chronic diseases, including cancer and diabetes. The program also anticipates supporting planning, adaptation, and pilot testing of interventions for prevention, early detection, or control of maternal morbidity, infant health problems, and high-prevalence diseases. Another identified area is feasibility and acceptability testing of strategies that reduce behavioral risk factors such as physical inactivity, poor nutrition, and smoking while promoting sustained behavior change and measurable health outcomes. The forecast does not provide an award ceiling, award floor, detailed budget restrictions, indirect cost limitations, subaward limitations, or a defined period of performance. Eligible applicants are broad and include state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, independent school districts, public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities, federally recognized Native American tribal governments, other Native American tribal organizations and governments, public and state controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status, for-profit organizations other than small businesses, and small businesses. Additional eligible applicants include eligible agencies of the federal government, U.S. territories or possessions, faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, and non-domestic entities or foreign institutions. No cost sharing or matching requirement applies. The opportunity remains in forecast status rather than an active application period. The forecast was issued August 25, 2026 and was last updated on that date. The estimated posting date is December 16, 2026, which is treated as the anticipated opening of the application opportunity based on the information currently available. The estimated application due date is February 16, 2027. The source does not identify a letter of intent, concept paper, pre-proposal, notice of intent, or other pre-application gating requirement. It also does not provide application forms, narrative questions, required uploads, evaluation criteria, portal-specific submission instructions, or other detailed submission mechanics at the forecast stage. The estimated award date is September 30, 2027, and the estimated project start date is also September 30, 2027. The fiscal year is 2027. No recurring or annual application cycle is stated, so the opportunity is not treated as recurring. Scientific questions may be directed by email to the NIMHD Division of Integrative Biological and Behavioral Sciences at NIMHDDIBBSScientificTeam@mail.nih.gov. No individual grantor contact name or telephone number is provided in the forecast. Because this is a forecasted opportunity, applicants should rely on the eventual published Notice of Funding Opportunity for final application requirements, budget parameters, evaluation criteria, and submission instructions.

Projects must be co-developed with community partners. Proposed work should directly advance improved health outcomes and reduced health disparities among Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander populations and align with supported preparatory, feasibility, pilot, intervention-development, or solutions-oriented etiologic research. Relevant areas include understudied contributors to poor health outcomes and chronic disease; prevention, early detection, or control of maternal morbidity, infant health problems, and high-prevalence diseases; and feasible and acceptable strategies to reduce behavioral risk factors while promoting sustained behavior change and measurable health outcomes.