Stimulating T4 Implementation Research to Optimize Integration of Proven-effective Interventions for Heart, Lung, and Blood Diseases and Sleep Disorders into Practice (STIMULATE) (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA HL 19 014

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA HL 19 014

The STIMULATE funding opportunity (RFA-HL-19-014) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 grant program focused on late-stage T4 translation and implementation research. The central goal is to generate generalizable, practice-relevant knowledge that speeds up the real-world uptake, adaptation, and long-term, high-fidelity delivery of interventions that are already proven effective for preventing, treating, or controlling heart, lung, blood, and sleep (HLBS) conditions. In other words, it is not aimed at discovering new clinical interventions or testing whether something works for the first time, but at understanding how to get interventions that already work into routine care and community practice in ways that last.

A key emphasis of the FOA is on implementation at the system level, using multi-level strategies that address more than one layer of the environment where care is delivered. Projects are expected to look beyond individual behavior change alone and instead consider how organizations, clinics, health systems, community settings, and policy or reimbursement environments influence whether an effective HLBS intervention is actually adopted and used consistently. The FOA encourages research that examines both adoption and adaptation, meaning investigators can study how interventions may need to be modified to fit local contexts while still maintaining the core components that make them effective. Sustained use is a major theme, so approaches that only demonstrate short-term rollout without credible attention to long-term maintenance are less aligned with the intent.

Another defining feature is the expectation that applicants will clearly describe and evaluate workflow, workforce, and trade-off considerations tied to the system-level changes being tested. This includes practical details such as how tasks move through a clinic or organization, what staffing roles or training are required, what burdens are placed on personnel, what costs or opportunity costs arise, and what compromises might be necessary when implementing an intervention at scale. The FOA also asks that these findings be reported in a way that helps others understand how the work was done and what it would take to reproduce or adapt it elsewhere. The intent is to produce contextually informed lessons that decision-makers and implementers can use, rather than results that only apply to a single site without enough operational detail to be useful.

Cultural and organizational context is not treated as a side issue in this announcement. Applicants are expected to account for how local values, organizational culture, and community factors shape feasibility and flexibility, including whether an intervention can be implemented with fidelity while still being adaptable and sustainable. This makes the FOA well suited for studies that explicitly assess contextual determinants of implementation success, barriers and facilitators, and the conditions under which implementation strategies work best across different settings serving diverse populations.

The mechanism is an R01 (research project grant), and the announcement specifies "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," indicating that applications cannot propose a clinical trial as defined by NIH policy under this FOA. The activity category is Health, and the CFDA numbers listed include 93.233, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, and 93.840. The opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding and uses a grant funding instrument.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations and governmental units. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city/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 other than federally recognized tribal governments; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other organizations that meet NIH requirements. The FOA also explicitly highlights additional eligible applicant types such as 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), eligible federal agencies, faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions.

Foreign participation is explicitly restricted. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-U.S. institutions are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible. In addition, foreign components as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement are not allowed, which means the research activities and organizational components must be fully domestic under NIH definitions.

Administrative details in the source information list an original closing date of 2019-08-27, a creation date of 2018-03-05, and an award ceiling of $485,000. The number of expected awards is not specified in the provided data. Overall, the FOA is best understood as an implementation-focused R01 opportunity aimed at closing the gap between evidence and routine practice for HLBS conditions by rigorously studying strategies for adoption, adaptation, fidelity, and sustainability, while making the operational and contextual realities of implementation transparent and transferable.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Stimulating T4 Implementation Research to Optimize Integration of Proven-effective Interventions for Heart, Lung, and Blood Diseases and Sleep Disorders into Practice (STIMULATE) (R01 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): 93.233, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-03-05.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-08-27. (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 $485,000.00 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 RFA HL 19 014

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