HEAL Initiative: JCOIN Phase II Economic Research Resource Center (U24 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA DA 25 061

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DA 25 061

The HEAL Initiative: JCOIN Phase II Economic Research Resource Center (U24 Clinical Trial Optional) opportunity (RFA-DA-25-061) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) cooperative agreement intended to strengthen the economic research and analytic support capacity for the Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN). JCOIN sits within the larger HEAL (Helping to End Addiction Long-term) Initiative and is designed to speed the translation of research into practice inside criminal-legal settings, where opioid use disorder (OUD) and other substance use disorders (SUD) are highly prevalent. The program is grounded in a well-documented risk pattern: many people entering jail or prison face acute opioid withdrawal during incarceration, and after release they face sharply elevated overdose risk, particularly when they did not receive medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) while detained. Because most U.S. jails still do not provide MOUD consistently or to everyone who could benefit, JCOIN supports a coordinated portfolio of studies that test real-world strategies to expand access to evidence-based OUD treatment in justice settings.

At a practical level, the grant supports an Economic Research Resource Center that can serve JCOIN Phase II by providing rigorous health economics and related analytic expertise across multiple studies. JCOIN projects commonly use hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial designs, meaning they evaluate both whether an intervention works and how to implement it in complex systems like jails, prisons, probation, parole, and community reentry services. An economic resource center in this context is meant to help the network answer questions that decision-makers routinely ask but that are often underdeveloped in implementation research, such as what it costs to start and sustain MOUD programs in correctional facilities, what resources are required to scale, what cost offsets might occur (for example, reduced emergency care or reincarceration), and how to evaluate economic value across different jurisdictions with different staffing models, vendor contracts, and healthcare financing arrangements. The "U24 Clinical Trial Optional" structure signals that the award can include clinical trial activity if needed, but it is not required; the emphasis is on coordinated infrastructure and support functions that elevate the quality, comparability, and usefulness of economic analyses across the JCOIN portfolio.

The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically means NIH will have substantial involvement beyond a standard grant, often through collaboration on priorities, milestones, and coordination across the network. The activity category is listed under education and health, and the CFDA number is 93.279. The opportunity was created on 2024-06-06, with an original closing date of 2025-01-22. While an award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided source data, applicants generally should be prepared for a competitive, network-facing award that requires strong coordination skills, demonstrated expertise in economic evaluation in healthcare and justice settings, and the ability to support multiple parallel projects with consistent methods and reporting.

Eligibility is broad across public, private, nonprofit, and certain for-profit entities, reflecting the cross-sector nature of criminal-legal and healthcare collaborations. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; other Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments); nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (other than higher education institutions); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other organizations. The announcement also highlights additional eligible applicant types such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), faith-based or community-based organizations, Hispanic-serving institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Indian/Native American tribal governments other than federally recognized, regional organizations, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), and U.S. territories or possessions. Foreign organizations (non-domestic, non-U.S. entities) are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply; however, foreign components are allowed as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, which generally means a U.S.-based applicant may include certain well-justified foreign elements as part of the project if permitted under NIH policy and aligned with program goals.

Overall, this opportunity is positioned as the HEAL initiative’s primary effort centered on justice-involved populations and criminal-legal systems, with the explicit goal of increasing delivery of and access to MOUD. By funding an economic research resource center, NIH is signaling that implementation success is not only a matter of clinical effectiveness, but also of cost, financing, sustainability, and the operational realities faced by jails and community supervision agencies. The intended outcome is more actionable evidence for policymakers, correctional leaders, healthcare partners, and communities trying to reduce overdose deaths and improve continuity of OUD care during incarceration and after release.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "HEAL Initiative: JCOIN Phase II Economic Research Resource Center (U24 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 2024-06-06.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-01-22. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• 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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