Self-Management for Health in Chronic Conditions (R15 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PA 18 474

Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 18 474

The NIH funding opportunity "Self-Management for Health in Chronic Conditions (R15 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" (PA-18-474) is a discretionary grant program designed to strengthen the scientific foundation of self-management for people living with chronic illnesses and long-term health conditions. The central idea is to move self-management beyond a set of practical tips or programmatic tools and instead build it as a mainstream, evidence-driven area of research that can meaningfully reduce the burden of chronic disease. Projects supported under this announcement are expected to advance knowledge about how individuals manage symptoms, treatments, lifestyle changes, and the day-to-day demands of chronic conditions, with the larger goal of improving health outcomes and quality of life while potentially reducing healthcare utilization and associated costs.

This opportunity uses the NIH R15 mechanism, which is commonly associated with the Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) program. In practice, that means it is structured to support smaller-scale research projects that are often well-suited for institutions that may have more limited NIH research funding histories and that can also involve students and early-stage investigators in meaningful research experiences. The FOA is explicitly labeled "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," so applicants must design studies that do not meet NIH's definition of a clinical trial (for example, they cannot prospectively assign human participants to an intervention to evaluate effects on health-related outcomes). That said, many kinds of rigorous, human-centered research can still fit, such as observational studies, secondary analyses of existing datasets, measurement development and validation, qualitative and mixed-methods research, or studies aimed at understanding mechanisms, behaviors, contexts, and implementation-related factors without assigning participants to an intervention.

From an administrative standpoint, the program is offered by the National Institutes of Health and is categorized under education and health-related funding activities. It is associated with CFDA numbers 93.361 and 93.866. The funding instrument is a grant, and the listed award ceiling is $300,000, which signals the maximum amount that can be requested under the terms summarized in the source information. The original closing date shown in the provided record is January 7, 2021, and the record creation date is December 18, 2017, which is useful context if someone is trying to track down the status of the announcement or locate any reissued or updated versions.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations and government entities. Examples 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; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; and Native American tribal organizations that are not federally recognized tribal governments. The opportunity is also open to nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education, since those are listed separately), for-profit organizations that are not small businesses, and small businesses. In addition, the FOA highlights several "other eligible applicants" that NIH is explicitly encouraging or recognizing, including 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; Indian/Native American tribal governments that are not federally recognized; and U.S. territories or possessions.

Foreign eligibility is handled with specific constraints. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities, including foreign organizations and foreign institutions, are not eligible to apply directly, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. However, "foreign components" as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement are allowed, meaning a U.S. applicant organization can include certain foreign activities or collaborations when they meet NIH's definition and justification requirements. This distinction matters for applicants planning international data sources, collaborations, or specialized analyses that require work to be performed outside the U.S., because it affects how the project must be structured and who can serve as the applicant organization.

Taken together, the FOA is aimed at building stronger, more generalizable scientific knowledge about self-management in chronic conditions while keeping the work within a non-clinical-trial research framework. It provides a moderate funding cap, accommodates a wide range of applicant types (including community-based and minority-serving institutions), and allows some international collaboration through permitted foreign components, while still requiring that the applicant organization itself be U.S.-based.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Self-Management for Health in Chronic Conditions (R15 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.361, 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-12-18.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-01-07. (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 $300,000.00 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.

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