Health Services Research on Minority Health and Health Disparities (R21 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 18 287

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 18 287

Health Services Research on Minority Health and Health Disparities (R21 Clinical Trial Optional) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) discretionary grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number PAR-18-287) designed to spark innovative, early-stage health services research that can improve minority health and reduce health disparities. The emphasis is on exploratory and developmental projects, meaning the program is meant to help investigators test new ideas, develop novel approaches, or generate preliminary evidence that could lead to larger, more definitive studies later. The FOA specifically targets research that operates at the level of health care systems as well as within clinical settings, focusing on how care is organized, delivered, accessed, and experienced by populations that face unequal health outcomes.

A key feature of this opportunity is its clear orientation toward practical, service-delivery impact. Rather than focusing only on biological mechanisms or individual behavior in isolation, the FOA encourages projects that examine health services and the structures around them, such as clinical workflows, provider practices, care coordination, quality improvement strategies, implementation barriers, patient navigation, language access, cultural responsiveness, and system-level policies that shape real-world outcomes. The goal is to identify and test approaches that can measurably improve care for racial and ethnic minority groups and other populations experiencing disparities, with an eye toward changes that can be adopted in clinics, hospitals, health networks, and other care delivery environments.

The funding mechanism is an NIH R21, which is typically used for exploratory research and feasibility testing. The listed award ceiling is $200,000, reflecting the smaller, pilot-style scope expected of R21 projects. Importantly, the FOA is labeled “Clinical Trial Optional,” which means applicants may propose a study that includes a clinical trial if it fits the research aims, but a clinical trial is not required. This flexibility allows applicants to propose a range of designs, from observational health services studies and methods development to pilot interventions and pragmatic clinical evaluations, as long as the work aligns with improving minority health or reducing disparities through health services research.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations and governmental entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; 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 (both with and without 501(c)(3) status, as long as they are not institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The FOA also explicitly highlights additional eligible applicant categories that align with its disparity-focused mission, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs). It also notes that faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions may apply, reflecting an intent to encourage participation from organizations that often have direct, trusted connections to communities affected by inequities.

There are important restrictions related to foreign participation. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. At the same time, the FOA allows “foreign components” as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, which generally means a U.S. applicant organization may include certain specific foreign activities or collaborations when they are well-justified and meet NIH policy requirements. In practice, that structure supports international collaboration when it strengthens the science, while keeping the applicant organization and primary grant accountability within the United States.

Administratively, the opportunity is categorized under Education and Health funding activities and is associated with CFDA numbers 93.273, 93.279, and 93.307. The NIH is the sponsoring agency. The opportunity record lists an original closing date of 2019-04-11 and a creation date of 2017-11-29, which indicates this announcement was published in that time period and had at least one due date in 2019. Even so, the core program purpose remains clear: to stimulate creative, early-stage health services research that can lead to system-level and clinical-setting improvements in care, with the explicit aim of advancing minority health and reducing persistent health disparities.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Health Services Research on Minority Health and Health Disparities (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.273, 93.279, 93.307.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-11-29.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-04-11. (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 $200,000.00 in funding.
• 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 18 287

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