Federal Education Grants

This funding opportunity supports innovative, early-stage research involving human participants to advance biomedical and clinical science, targeting a wide range of eligible applicants including universities, nonprofits, and small businesses.

This funding opportunity is designed for U.S. small businesses to develop and commercialize innovative health-related technologies through clinically informed research projects that include a clinical trial.

This grant provides funding to support postdoctoral researchers from diverse backgrounds as they transition into independent faculty positions in biomedical research.

This funding opportunity supports U.S. colleges and universities with limited research funding to assess their biomedical research capabilities and develop strategic plans to enhance their research infrastructure and capacity.

The U.S. Department of States Consulate General of the United States in Hyderabad announces an open competition to implement a program, Countering Disinformation Training for Vernacular Language Journalists, in four consular regions and the embassy region. Based on funding availability, this project will provide 20 to 25 journalists in five regional languages of Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Bengali, and Hindi from media outlets and digital platforms in Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, and New Delhi with 18-month-long, hands-on training in countering disinformation, consulting multiple sources, and utilizing fact checking resources. This project will build skills among local language journalists to verify news, views, photos, and videos prior to release. This project will also help build a network of responsible journalists in India who will advocate for fact checking, and recognize that the need to build audience trust outweighs being first to break the news.

A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION The U.S. Embassy Kuwait City, Kuwait, Public Affairs Section (PAS) of the U.S. Department of State is pleased to announce its Public Diplomacy Small Grants Program. This is an Annual Program Statement, outlining our funding priorities, the strategic themes we focus on, and the procedures for submitting requests for funding. Please carefully follow all instructions below. Purpose of Small Grants: PAS Kuwait invites proposals for programs that strengthen people-to-people ties and advance our shared goals of climate resilience, economic well-being, and a safe and secure world. Proposals should model fair practices. Special consideration will be given to proposals that highlight the diversity of the United States and programs whose participants come from diverse backgrounds. Additionally, projects must address one or more of the priority areas listed below. Examples of PAS Small Grants Program programs include, but are not limited to: - Academic and professional lectures, seminars and speaker programs; - Artistic and cultural workshops, joint performances and exhibitions; - Cultural heritage conservation and preservation programs; - Professional and academic exchanges and programs; If you have any questions about the grant application process in its entirety, please email to PASKuwaitM@state.gov. Program Priority Areas: - Strengthening and expanding U.S.-Kuwait people-to-people partnerships to enhance regional stability and security, encompassing education, arts, freedom of speech, and fortifying U.S.-Kuwait ties. - Enhancing national security through political reform, economic development, and an improved legal framework. This includes advancing women's empowerment in politics and economics, addressing gender-based violence, and promoting cybersecurity and responsible AI use. - Engaging individuals with disabilities and promoting disability research and advocacy in Kuwait. - Promoting U.S.-Kuwait economic cooperation by emphasizing economic development, entrepreneurship, and environmental preservation in Kuwait, addressing both economic prosperity and climate change. Projects Examples: - Conference on emerging technologies, in collaboration with civil society leaders to advance digital transformation research. - Project with civil society to heighten environmental awareness regarding air quality, addressing the impact of climate change on Kuwait's environment. Activities may include awareness conferences, a workshop on investigative reporting on climate issues, or designing a digital media campaign supporting STEM in environmental protection. - Project in collaboration with civil society and/or academia that would provide training to Kuwaiti women in leadership skills, legal principles, and political etiquette. Training would aim to empower women with stronger social and legal knowledge, fostering increased participation in political careers. - Project to support the administration and management of volunteer work in Kuwait, collaborating with civil society to enhance youth engagement and foster creative community service and corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects led by both the private sector and the government. - Project to advance disability rights research in collaboration with academia and civil society. - Training program for sports arbitrators to equip them with required skills in sports arbitration principles. - Webinar series in collaboration with civil society to train young and aspiring business leaders on digitizing businesses using AI and IT solutions to enhance overall business activities. - Project to empower Kuwaiti women through art and environmental awareness in collaboration with local civil society via workshops that cover nature art, recycling, and climate change. Inviting women environmentalists, organizing field trips, and concluding with an exhibition The Following Program Categories Are Not Eligible for Funding: - Programs relating to partisan political activity; - Charitable or development activities; - Construction programs; - Programs that support specific religious activities; - Fund-raising campaigns; - Lobbying for specific legislation or programs; - Scientific research; - Programs intended primarily for the growth or institutional development of the organization; or - Programs that duplicate existing programs. Authorizing Legislation, Type and Year of Funding: Funding authority rests in the Smith-Mundt Act. The source of funding is FY2024 Public Diplomacy Funding. B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION Length of performance period: 1 to 12 months Number of awards anticipated: Varies (dependent on amounts) Award amounts: Awards may range from a minimum of $5,000 to a maximum of $25,000. Total available funding: $125,000 Type of Funding: Fiscal Year 2024 Smith-Mundt Public Diplomacy Funding Anticipated program start date: October 1, 2024 (for a maximum of one year) This Notice Is Subject to Funding Availability. Funding Instrument Type: Grant, Fixed Amount Award (FAAs), or Cooperative agreement. Cooperative agreements and some FAAs are different from grants in that PAS staff are more actively involved in the grant implementation. (Note: If a cooperative agreement or an FAA that includes substantial involvement is used, PAS will include a description of the substantial involvement. Program Performance Period: Proposed programs should be completed in 12 months or less. Optional: PAS will entertain applications for continuation grants funded under these awards beyond the initial budget period on a non-competitive basis subject to availability of funds, satisfactory progress of the program, and a determination that continued funding would be in the best interest of the U.S. Department of State. C. ELIGILIBITY INFORMATION 1. Eligible Applicants (in the Following Eligibility Order): PAS encourages applications from Kuwait based: - Registered not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks and civil society/non-governmental organizations. - Non-profit educational institutions - Individuals For-Profit or Commercial Entities Are Not Eligible to Apply. 2. Cost Sharing or Matching: Cost share is not required but is encouraged and will be evaluated positively during the merit review; it will be used to break ties among applications with equivalent scores after evaluation against all other factors. 3. Other Eligibility Requirements: To be eligible to receive an award, all organizations must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number issued via www.SAM.gov as well as a valid registration on www.SAM.gov. Please see Section D.3 for more information. Individual applicants are not required to have a UEI or be registered in SAM.gov. Applicants are encouraged to only apply for one proposal per organization. If more than one proposal is submitted from an organization, only the most competitive proposal from that organization will be considered for funding. D. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION 1. Address to Request Application Package Application forms required below are available at c https://kw.usembassy.gov/grant-application-forms/ 2. Content and Form of Application Submission Please follow all instructions below carefully. Proposals that do not meet the requirements of this announcement or fail to comply with the stated requirements will be deemed ineligible. Content of Application Please ensure: - The proposal shall be clearly reflect the goals and objectives of this funding opportunity. - All documents shall be in English. - All budgets shall be in U.S. dollars. - All pages shall be numbered. - All documents shall be formatted to 8 x 11 paper, and - All Microsoft Word documents shall be single-spaced, 12 point Calibri font, with a minimum of 1-inch margins. The following documents are required: 1. Mandatory application forms - SF-424 (Application for Federal Assistance organizations) or SF-424-I (Application for Federal Assistance -- individuals) - SF424A (Budget Information for Non-Construction programs) - SF424B (Assurances for Non-Construction programs) - Completed Grant Proposal Form 2. Summary Coversheet: Cover sheet stating the applicant name and organization, proposal date, program title, program period proposed start and end date, and brief purpose of the program. 3. Proposal (5 pages maximum): The proposal should contain sufficient information that anyone not familiar with it would understand exactly what the applicant wants to do. Please see the attached document for complete details of the Annual Program Statement. 3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM.gov) Required Registrations: Please see the attached document for complete details of the Annual Program Statement. 4. Submission Dates and Times Applications may be submitted for consideration at any time before the closing date of May 31, 2024. No applications will be accepted after that date. 5. Funding Restrictions Award funds cannot be used for construction, vehicle purchases, etc. 6. Other Submission Requirements All application materials must be submitted by email to PASKuwaitM@state.gov. E. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION 1. Criteria Each application will be evaluated and rated on the basis of the evaluation criteria outlined below. The criteria listed are closely related and are considered as a whole in judging the overall quality of an application. Organizational capacity and record on previous grants 20 points: The organization has expertise in its stated field and PAS is confident of its ability to undertake the program. This includes a financial management system and a bank account. Quality and Feasibility of the Program Idea 20 points The program idea is well developed, with detail about how program activities will be carried out. The proposal includes a reasonable implementation timeline. Goals and objectives 15 points: Goals and objectives are clearly stated and program approach is likely to provide maximum impact in achieving the proposed results. Embassy priorities 10 points: Applicant has clearly described how stated goals are related to and support U.S. Embassy Kuwaits priority areas or target audiences. Budget 10 points: The budget justification is detailed. Costs are reasonable in relation to the proposed activities and anticipated results. The budget is realistic, accounting for all necessary expenses to achieve proposed activities. Monitoring and evaluation plan 15 points: Applicant demonstrates it is able to measure program success against key indicators and provide milestones to indicate progress toward goals outlined in the proposal. The program includes output and outcome indicators, and shows how and when those will be measured. Sustainability 10 points: Program activities will continue to have positive impact after the end of the program. 2. Review and Selection Process A review committee will evaluate all eligible applications. 3. Responsibility/Qualification Information in SAM.gov (formerly, FAPIIS) Please see the attached document for complete details of the Annual Program Statement. 4. Anticipated Announcement and Federal Award Dates: July 31, 2024 F. FEDERAL AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION Please see the attached document for complete details of the Annual Program Statement. G. FEDERAL AWARDING AGENCY CONTACTS If you have any questions about the grant application process, please contact PAS at: PASKuwaitM@state.gov Note: We do not provide any pre-consultation for application related questions that are addressed in the NOFO. Once an application has been submitted, State Department officials and staff both in the Department and at embassies overseas may not discuss this competition with applicants until the entire proposal review process is completed. H. OTHER INFORMATION Please see the attached document for complete details of the Annual Program Statement.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONThe Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for a cooperative agreement to develop and implement a Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Regional Workshop on Advanced Media Literacy for Digital Creators pending the availability of funding. Please carefully follow all instructions below. This notice is subject to the availability of funding.Priority Region: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Timor-Leste.Program Objectives:YSEALI (yseali.state.gov) is the U.S. governments signature initiative to engage emerging leaders in Southeast Asia. The program aims to create a network of young Southeast Asian leaders who work across national borders to solve common problems. Through a variety of programs and engagements, YSEALI seeks to build the leadership capabilities of youth in the region, strengthen ties between the United States and Southeast Asia, and nurture a community of leaders who work across borders to solve shared issues.YSEALI is open to young leaders ages 18-35 who are both citizens and residents of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries (Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) or Timor-Leste. Responding to priorities from youth in the ASEAN region, YSEALI programs focus on four themes (Civic Engagement, Economic Empowerment and Social Entrepreneurship, Education and Environmental Issues).One component of YSEALI is the annual Regional Workshops held across Southeast Asia on strategic topics.This regional workshop on Advanced Media Literacy for Digital Creators will advance the YSEALI theme of Civic Engagement and the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines priority to support emerging leaders as democratic vanguards and promote media literacy.This regional workshop will convene around 100 emerging content creators, journalists, and advocates from ASEAN member nations and Timor-Leste for a five-day workshop in the Philippines. The workshop will advance participants knowledge and skills in critical media literacy. The workshop will include sessions on strategic and data-based content ideation, responsible content creation, effective audience engagement, identifying and countering mis/dis-information, and impact of AI on social media. The workshop will also include virtual webinars and exercises on wellness and self-care, combatting copyright or digital theft and tools to promote media literacy to fellow creators. Leveraging the wide knowledge base of Filipino and regional talent, the workshop will feature in-depth discussions and experiential learning sessions led by experts from Southeast Asia and the United States.The workshop will also create and sustain a virtual network of emerging content creators to provide a safe space for exchanges of best practices and solutions to challenges. At the workshops finale, participants may compete for small grants to implement projects and/or campaigns to promote media literacy to fellow emerging leaders across the region and celebrate International Youth Day in August 2025.The proposal should include workshop follow-on activities such as virtual collaborative work, projects funded through small seed grants, or ongoing mentorship. A follow-on activity may also be implemented to report on project successes and challenges and produce a toolkit with best practices on cross-border collaboration. The follow-on activity should be included in the monitoring and evaluation plan.The proposal should include a pre and post workshop survey to measure the overall effectiveness of the workshop as well as any changes to the participants knowledge of the workshop topic.The concepts of leadership, giving back, and strengthening a Southeast Asian/ASEAN identity based on shared values and shared challenges should be integrated into the program.The grantee is expected to develop syllabus materials and an event program with participant and speaker biographies, as well as design banners, backdrops, and other printed materials. The grantee is expected to design a digital engagement strategy for workshop participants and social media audiences, including live video or live online engagement during the program.No new website specific to the event should be created or launched. Domain, hosting and build costs will not be covered.The workshop will be conducted in English.Participants and Audiences:Participants will be content creators, journalists, and media literacy advocates from ASEAN member nations and Timor-Leste. Participants should demonstrate commitment to develop and sustain their projects. Participants should also be registered YSEALI members (before or during application via http://yseali.state.gov).The grantee will create an online application process and coordinate with the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines and other U.S. Embassies in the region to recruit and select participants from all ASEAN member countries and Timor-Leste. All participants must be proficient in written and spoken English. Participants must be citizens and residents of an ASEAN member country or Timor-Leste.The grantee will be responsible for arranging and using cooperative agreement funds to cover all elements related to participant and staff travel including international and domestic flights, visas, travel to and from airports, visas, accommodations, per diem, meals during the program, and insurance.

This grant provides funding to nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, and government entities to develop innovative solutions that improve access to legal resources and services for underserved rural communities across the United States.

This grant provides funding to U.S.-based nonprofit organizations and educational institutions to design and implement international exchange programs for foreign leaders, fostering mutual understanding and collaboration between the U.S. and other nations.

This grant provides funding to higher education institutions and nonprofit organizations to develop doctoral programs that train leaders in special education and early intervention, addressing the shortage of qualified administrators for services supporting children with disabilities.

This funding opportunity provides financial support for small-scale research projects in various fields, aimed at institutions and organizations that can complete the work within two years without conducting clinical trials.

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to support innovative population-based research that can contribute to identifying and characterizing pathways and mechanisms through which work or occupation influences health outcomes and health status among populations with health and/or health care disparities, and how work functions as a social determinant of health.The main objective of this initiative is to determine the extent and mechanisms by which work as a SDOH both contributes to, and helps ameliorate, health and health care disparities. A recent workshop on September 28-29, 2020 organized by NIMHD (https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/news-events/conferences-events/hd-workshop.html) highlighted key ideas for furthering research on work as a SDOH that include conceptualizing work as a social class marker, as a source of exposures and risk factors, and as a source of beneficial social and economic resources such as income and wealth, neighborhood conditions, health care access, education, and social networks. Some key questions include: What are the specific and modifiable mechanisms by which work explains health disparities? To what extent does work as a social class marker, source of exposures and risk factors and/or source of beneficial social and economic resources explain health disparities? Which health disparities does work as a SDOH explain? Of particular interest are projects designed to examine pathways and mechanisms using conceptual model(s) grounded in minority health and health disparities theories that recognize that health disparities arise by multiple and overlapping contributing factors acting at multiple levels of influence (See the NIMHD Research Framework, https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/about/overview/research-framework.html). Studies must examine NIH-designated U.S. health disparity populations, e.g. racial and ethnic minority populations, sexual and gender minority groups, underserved rural populations, and socioeconomically disadvantaged populations of any race or ethnicity (https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/about/overview/). Studies involving primary data collection with human participants are strongly encouraged to incorporate SDOH measures from the Core and Specialty collections that are available in the Social Determinants of Health Collection of the PhenX Toolkit (www.phenxtoolkit.org). Of interest are intersectional approaches that consider different social identities and the embeddedness of individuals within families, households, and communities. Life course approaches that consider the role of work in shaping cumulative processes and critical transitions including periods of unemployment, under-employment, and unpaid and informal work arrangements, are also encouraged. Also, of interest is considering the role of work at the household level with influences on the health of partners and extended families, and the intergenerational transmission to children and their health. In addition, exploring the role of inequity-generating mechanisms that constrain choices around work and health such as racism and discrimination by sex, age, marital status, immigration status, social class, and other power structures is also encouraged. Additionally, of interest are projects that explore whether work can explain the health or health care disparities seen within diseases or conditions (e.g., COVID-19, opioid use disorder, mental/behavioral health, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, asthma, and maternal and infant health ) as well as disparities in co-morbidities and general indicators of health such as greater global burden of disease, quality of life, and daily functioning. Projects that utilize a syndemics lens (i.e., multiple disease states that are interlinked because of social, environmental, and structural conditions), to examine the role of work in disparities in co-occurring health conditions, are encouraged. Also, of interest are projects that explore how work contributes to health care disparities including but not limited to disparities in access to preventive, specialty, and emergency care, in health insurance coverage, and in quality of health care. Moreover, given the reciprocal relationship between work and health, of interest are projects that examine how health impacts access to different work opportunities, working conditions, and work benefits, and how that varies by different social identities. Projects may involve primary data collection and/or secondary analysis of existing datasets. Projects may utilize observational studies, natural experiments, quasi-experiments, simulation modeling, as well as use of large-scale longitudinal data sets, data mining techniques, registries, surveillance data, and linking to administrative data sets such as the Occupational Information Network (O*NET). Quantitative and mixed methods approaches are encouraged. Investigators are encouraged as appropriate for the research questions posed, to forge research collaborations with community partners and stakeholders in the conceptualization, planning and implementation of the research to generate better-informed hypotheses and enhance the translation of the research results into practice.

Each funding opportunity description is a synopsis of information in the Federal Register application notice. For specific information about eligibility, please see the official application notice. The official version of this document is the document published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html. Please review the official application notice for pre-application and application requirements, application submission information, performance measures, priorities and program contact information. For the addresses for obtaining and submitting an application, please refer to our Revised Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs, published in the Federal Register on December 7, 2022. Purpose of Program: The EIR program, established under section 4611 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended (ESEA), provides funding to create, develop, implement, replicate, or take to scale entrepreneurial, evidence-based (as defined in this notice), field-initiated innovations to improve student achievement and attainment for high-need students and to rigorously evaluate such innovations. The EIR program is designed to generate and validate solutions to persistent education challenges and to support the expansion of those solutions to serve substantially more students. The central design element of the EIR program is its multitier structure that links the amount of funding an applicant may receive to the quality of the evidence supporting the efficacy of the proposed project, with the expectation that projects that build this evidence will advance through EIRs grant tiers: Early-phase, Mid-phase, and Expansion. Early-phase, Mid-phase, and Expansion grants differ in terms of the level of prior evidence of effectiveness required for consideration for funding, the expectations regarding the kind of evidence and information funded projects should produce, the scale of funded projects, and, consequently, the amount of funding available to support each type of project. Early-phase grants must demonstrate a rationale (as defined in this notice). Early-phase grants provide funding for the development, implementation, and feasibility testing of a program that prior research suggests has promise, for the purpose of determining whether the program can successfully improve student achievement and attainment for high-need students. Early-phase grants are not intended to simply expand established practices or address needs unique to one particular context. Rather, the goal is to determine whether and in what ways relatively new practices can improve student achievement and attainment for high-need students. This notice invites applications for Early-phase grants only. The notices inviting applications for Mid-phase grants and Expansion grants are published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register. Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.411C.

This funding opportunity supports predoctoral students in dual-degree programs at institutions without NIH-funded training programs, helping them pursue research and clinical training to become future physician-scientists.

This grant provides funding for organizations to develop innovative educational programs that improve reading and math skills for primary school students in Uganda, particularly in vulnerable districts affected by the learning crisis.

This funding opportunity is designed to support local governments, nonprofits, and educational institutions in Nebraska in providing culturally and linguistically appropriate health outreach and support services for newly arrived refugees.

This initiative seeks innovative partnership models from academic institutions to enhance collaboration with the U.S. Army on scientific and technological research, including both open and classified projects.

This grant provides funding for innovative preclinical research on radionuclide-based cancer therapies, focusing on their biological effects and potential combinations with other treatments, aimed at institutions and researchers in cancer biology and radiopharmaceuticals.

The purpose of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to support the continuation of NIDA's HIV Cohorts Program, encouraging existing and new sites to address new emerging and/or high priority research on multidisciplinary aspects of HIV/AIDS and substance abuse in alignment with NIH-HIV research priorities in order to inform policy or practice. Purpose The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) supports a program of longitudinal cohort studies that addresses the intersection of HIV and substance use. This program is a multidisciplinary platform to support basic, epidemiologic, and clinical research on HIV and HIV-associated co-morbidities and co-infections among populations with substance use and substance use disorders (SUDs) and to address research questions at the individual and population level. The purpose of this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) is to support the continuation of NIDA's HIV Cohorts Program, encouraging existing and new sites to address new emerging and/or high priority research on multidisciplinary aspects of HIV/AIDS and substance use in alignment with NIH-HIV research priorities in order to inform policy or practice. Cohort sites supported under this program are required to report to and collaborate with a NIDA funded Coordinating Center, including participating in research agendas addressing NIDA’s high priority areas. Background Since the start of the HIV epidemic, cohort studies of people living with HIV (PLWH) and key populations at risk for HIV acquisition have made important contributions to the understanding of HIV virology, seroconversion dynamics, the natural and treated histories of HIV infection, the impact of HIV-associated co-morbidities (e.g., HCV) and complications including the role of substance use and SUDs. Longitudinal cohorts of at-risk individuals can provide crucial information about acute or early phases of infection, as well as disease transmission. Cohort studies provide a continuous source of data collection with the ability to address new or emergent public health problems, changes in drug use patterns and uptake of screening, prevention, or new treatments. Cohorts can also add to the understanding of processes such as aging, co-morbidities, social dimensions of HIV and substance use epidemics, as well as structural factors such as state and local policies, health insurance, and availability of relevant services. Research Objectives and Scope Research by each site should focus on high-risk populations or PLWH, who use substances. This RFA will seek applications from investigators working with HIV populations most affected by HIV (i.e., those at highest risk or living with HIV) in the United States. These can include sexual and gender minorities, racial/ethnic minorities, people involved in the criminal justice system and sex workers. Cohort populations should reflect social and economic characteristics of affected populations. Rural and metropolitan populations are welcome. This initiative also targets priority jurisdictions identified by the Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) initiative, although other jurisdictions will be considered with an epidemiologic justification (e.g., rural counties affected by opioid epidemics). Applicants must demonstrate the capacity to: Be responsive to changes to substance use and HIV epidemics, such as new substance use patterns, introduction of new substances; emergent co-morbidities including infectious diseases such as Mpox, COVID-19 and others, changes to public health policies, or to HIV/substance use treatments or prevention strategies. Applicants are strongly encouraged to include research that focuses on HIV-associated infectious co-morbidities (e.g., HCV, other sexual-transmitted disorders [STD]) and HIV-associated non-infectious co-morbidities, such as neurocognitive or other central nervous system impairment, mental health disorders and relevant medical disorders. [Note: The main focus of research should be the intersection of HIV and Substance Use, with co-morbidities as co-factors.] Partner with the end-user of the knowledge/data that would be generated (e.g., prevention specialists, Public Health officials, health departments, justice systems, policymakers, community organizations, etc.) and should thoroughly explain how the knowledge would be used to inform decisions and implement change. The involvement of the end-user is to ensure that the proposed data and methods will be useful. The partnerships with key end-users can be existing, or new relationships initiated based on success of previous stakeholder engagement and preparation to implement proposed work in a new setting. Collect data that can be used to inform policy and practice and include collaborations with potential end-users of cohort data such as those involved in HIV planning processes (e.g., EHE, Ryan White, CDC prevention funding) as well as service providers and provider organizations (e.g., health systems, federally qualified health centers [FQHCs], harm reduction sites). Participate in the collection of common data elements and biospecimens and participate in activities related to multi-site research such as data harmonization by working in concordance with the Data Coordinating Center. All sites are expected to collaborate and share all their data at least twice a year with the Data Coordinating Center. Assess variables that reflect system and structural factors that can affect HIV acquisition, utilization of prevention or treatment services, HIV viral suppression, substance use and/or factors that can influence dissemination of emergent prevention and care interventions. Research projects should address populations and research questions not captured by other HIV studies currently funded by NIH, including those co-funded by NIDA such as the WIHS/MACS Combined Cohort Study (MWCCS), the Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) Network of Integrated Clinical Systems (CNICS) or the NIAID Limited Interaction Targeted Epidemiology (LITE) cohorts while also being able to work with these outside cohorts on research questions where complementary of age, patterns of substance use, etc., may be desirable. Common Scientific Agenda and Collaboration with Data Coordinating Center: All sites are expected to collaborate and share all their data, at least twice a year, with the Data Coordinating Center at the University of Washington which will provide technical assistance, support, and resources. Clinical data and biological samples collected via the cohort(s) are expected to be available for sharing and use by the scientific community. Sites will also be expected to participate in collaborative activities including at least one annual meeting and monthly/quarterly conference calls with the Data Coordinating Center. Common Scientific Agenda All sites are also expected to participate in a common scientific agenda. The scientific areas listed below outline high priority research areas for NIDA that should be accomplished by each site during the five-year award period. There needs to be a clear justification of the clinical assessments, specimen collections, surveys and other measures, the frequency of participant visits and sampling from the cohort studies. Applications may propose additional research areas that are contemporary and are of high significance to the cooccurring HIV and substance use epidemics. Substance use and SUDs: drug use trends, types of drug use and frequency in relation to HIV risk and outcomes, risks associated with overdose related death HIV-related co-morbidities (HCV, Neurocognitive disorders) COVID-19; MPox and other sexually transmitted disorders), medical consequences, epidemiology, prevention, treatment, and outcomes in acute and chronic HIV Implementation: HIV and SUD services, uptake, and delivery. Point-of-care rapid testing, referral, and treatment, geocoding HIV viral loads: in relation to substance use, treatment, and co-morbidities Treatment: HIV and SUD treatment uptake and adherence, linkage to care Social determinants of health: socioeconomic factors, social support, trauma/violence, stigma, discrimination, life transitions, and food insecurity and the mechanisms of action through which they may affect health outcomes among people living with or at risk of HIV acquisition Brain and CNS: behavioral and psychiatric abnormalities, neurocognitive alterations in the context of substance use and HIV Genomic and phenotypic data in the context of HIV, co-morbidities, and substance use Research Strategy: Sites funded under this RFA will serve as a national resource for research addressing the intersection of HIV and substance use in the United States. Applications should include multidisciplinary teams and should select key populations at risk for HIV acquisition or populations of PLWH. Variables should reflect substance use in the study population with particular attention to its relevance for HIV acquisition, transmission, response to HIV treatment and/or viral suppression. Studies should address variables related to policy and practice such as HIV, substance use and other health care/public health service utilization, health insurance, key HIV risk populations and PLWH, people who experience marginalized social and sexual identities. Data collection should address stigma and discrimination as well as resource constraints (e.g., food, shelter, access to reliable transportation, access to reliable and private internet connectivity), particularly those which may limit participation in public health or health care services. Data collection should reflect current best clinical and methodologic practices and can include biospecimen collection, behavioral data from surveys or interviews, electronic health records and other methods that are consistent with study aims and objectives. The research strategy should include collaborations with potential end-users of cohort data such as those involved in HIV planning processes (e.g., EHE, Ryan White, CDC prevention funding) as well as service providers and provider organizations (e.g., health systems, FQHCs, harm reduction sites) or others (prevention specialists, Public Health officials, health departments, justice systems, policymakers, community organizations, etc.). Applications must thoroughly explain how the knowledge/data would be used to inform decisions, policy, practice and/or implement change. Applications need to address NIH and NIDA’s highest priority areas of research: Research Priorities | NIH Office of AIDS Research NIDA HIV Priority Areas Sites should consider their capacity to address areas of interest such as the following: System and structural level factors that lead to HIV acquisition Social determinants of HIV and substance use, including factors that increase exposure to HIV and substance use New or emerging substance use patterns and recovery approaches Long-term HIV/substance use outcomes and medical consequences such as those associated with aging and HIV Capturing the effects of systemic interventions to increase prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, including differences in HIV testing service, utilization, etc. that occur in different settings such as community organizations, FQHCs, and health systems. In addition, sites are strongly encouraged to: Expand existing populations: Increasing the representation of PLWH, ensuring the representation of sexual and gender minorities, ethnic/racial minorities and people with lived experiences, factors that contribute to HIV risk and poor treatment outcomes such as homelessness, engaging in sex work, and criminal justice involvement. EHE priority jurisdictions should be addressed in the application with epidemiologic justification provided for non-EHE jurisdictions such as rural areas affected by opioid epidemics. Demonstrate their capacity to recruit and follow populations of adequate sample size and power (i.e., >500). Smaller sample sizes need justification with respect to local epidemiology and factors such as population and service density. Sites with established cohorts should demonstrate their capacity to, and describe plans to, refresh samples and continue to recruit participants and comply with the NIH data sharing policy. The Research Strategy should: Describe how substance use in the population will be characterized i.e., specific drugs used, level and history of use, form of administration, continuum cascade of substance use, and/or changing patterns over time including initiation. Describe methods for the recruitment, enrollment, and retention of cohort participants, describing previous experience with recruitment and retention of longitudinal samples. Describe the data collection methods and their appropriateness for the variables of interest, as well as the primary analyses of data, providing a rationale for the analytic methods selected and the statistical power for major analyses. Include specific proposed data elements, such as clinical data, summary health histories, biologic specimens, socio-behavioral data, or treatment variables that will support the study aims Given the requirement of data sharing across cohort sites, the discussion should address how proposed data elements could incorporate common or shared platforms. Provide justification of the priority research domains for the cohort study and for the approaches to achieving the study aims. The study rationale should indicate how the cohort will address gaps in current NIH-funded HIV cohort research (e.g., MWCCS, CNICS, LITE) and indicate where it might complement existing cohort research. Describe experience with participation in multi-site research, particularly where data sharing was integrated into the research. Applications also should describe the administrative and organizational structure for the project and how it will facilitate attainment of the aims and objective of the proposed research. Where biospecimens are routinely collected, applications should describe procedures for processing, storage, and sharing for use by the scientific community. Document alignment with EHE plans or other appropriate HIV service plans (e.g., CDC/Ryan White planning processes) and provide a plan for engaging local decision makers, as well as document how cohort data can inform local decisions about resource allocation and service delivery. For renewal applications, applicants should provide a rationale for continued funding including information regarding any new data collection. Renewal applicants must provide plans to demonstrate program relevance and to ensure representation of current HIV/substance use epidemic patterns. Applications Not Responsive to this NOFO include: The following types of applications will be considered non-responsive and will be returned without review: Studies that do not have the capacity to adhere to data sharing requirements and data harmonizing activities with the data coordinating center (transferring data, common data elements or biorepository data sharing) as specified above. Studies with less than 500 participants without adequate justification. Applications with a primary focus on research related to end organ or systemic disease related to comorbidities such as cardiac, liver, or chronic kidney diseases, hypertension, and bone disorders. Studies that do not focus on HIV infection and substance use and/or outcomes. Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives (PEDP) This NOFO requires a Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives (PEDP) as described in NOT-MH-21-310, submitted as Other Project Information as an attachment (see Section IV). Applicants are strongly encouraged to read the NOFO instructions carefully and view the available PEDP guidance material. The PEDP will be assessed as part of the scientific and technical peer review evaluation, as well as considered among programmatic matters with respect to funding decisions.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to organizations that offer mentoring services to children and youth affected by opioid and other substance use, helping them and their families through structured programs and supportive services.