Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 17 132
Public Policy Effects on Alcohol-, Marijuana-, and Other Substance-Related Behaviors and Outcomes (R21) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) discretionary grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number PA-17-132; CFDA 93.273) that supports short, exploratory research projects focused on how public policies shape substance-related behaviors and downstream health and social outcomes. The central goal is to strengthen what is known about public policy as a practical lever for improving public health and welfare, specifically through its influence on alcohol, marijuana, and other drug use patterns and the consequences that follow. The announcement is framed around generating evidence that can matter in real-world decision-making, with an emphasis on innovative questions and designs that can detect meaningful population-level changes tied to policy action.
The FOA is meant for studies that directly test the effects of policies, rather than simply describing trends. It explicitly encourages causal analyses of one policy or multiple interacting policies, recognizing that substance-related outcomes are often shaped by layered rules and environments (for example, combined effects of pricing/taxation, availability restrictions, enforcement practices, advertising limits, retail regulations, minimum legal age rules, impaired driving laws, prescription monitoring requirements, decriminalization/legalization frameworks, or treatment and harm-reduction policies). Alongside causal policy impact studies, the FOA invites evaluations of how effective specific policy tools are at improving public health through changes in behaviors and outcomes. It also supports methodological and measurement research that improves how policy exposure is defined, quantified, and linked to behavioral and health outcomes, since policy research often hinges on accurately timing policy implementation, measuring enforcement intensity, and capturing heterogeneous exposure across places and subpopulations.
Because this is an R21 mechanism, the program is oriented toward early-stage, developmental, and potentially high-impact projects that can open up new lines of inquiry, test novel approaches, or generate strong preliminary evidence that may later justify larger confirmatory studies. In practice, that often means leveraging natural experiments, quasi-experimental designs, policy discontinuities, differences-in-differences frameworks, interrupted time series, synthetic controls, instrumental variables, or other approaches suited to real-world policy variation. The FOA is also a natural fit for work that improves policy surveillance data, builds stronger policy datasets or indices, refines measures of policy implementation and enforcement, or develops better outcome measurement strategies across health, safety, and social domains.
Eligibility is broad and includes many types of applicants across government, academia, nonprofit, and private sectors. Eligible applicants listed 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; Native American tribal governments (federally recognized) and tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments); public housing authorities/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. The FOA also highlights additional eligible applicant categories such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions; Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI); Hispanic-serving Institutions; Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs); faith-based or community-based organizations; eligible federal agencies; U.S. territories or possessions; regional organizations; and even non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations), reflecting an intent to attract diverse institutional perspectives and policy settings.
Key administrative details from the source information include an award ceiling of $200,000 and an original closing date listed as September 7, 2020 (with a creation date of January 25, 2017). Overall, the opportunity is designed to fund rigorous, policy-relevant research that clarifies which public policies work, under what conditions, and for whom, while also strengthening the scientific toolkit used to evaluate policy impacts on alcohol-, marijuana-, and other substance-related behaviors and their health and societal consequences.Apply for PA 17 132
- The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Public Policy Effects on Alcohol-, Marijuana-, and Other Substance-Related Behaviors and Outcomes (R21)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.273.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2017-01-25.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-09-07. (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 $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.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the name of this grant opportunity?
The opportunity is titled Public Policy Effects on Alcohol-, Marijuana-, and Other Substance-Related Behaviors and Outcomes (R21).
Which agency is offering this funding opportunity?
This is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) discretionary grant opportunity.
What is the Funding Opportunity Number (FOA number)?
The Funding Opportunity Number listed is PA-17-132.
What is the CFDA number associated with this opportunity?
The CFDA number provided is 93.273.
What is the main purpose of this R21 opportunity?
The central goal is to support short, exploratory research projects that strengthen evidence on how public policies shape substance-related behaviors (alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs) and the downstream health and social outcomes that follow, with an emphasis on evidence that can inform real-world decision-making.
What types of substances are in scope?
The scope explicitly includes alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs (other substances), focusing on behaviors and related outcomes influenced by policy.
What kinds of research projects does this FOA prioritize?
It prioritizes studies that directly test the effects of public policies on substance-related behaviors and outcomes, rather than projects that only describe trends. The FOA emphasizes innovative questions and designs capable of detecting meaningful population-level changes tied to policy action.
Does the FOA support descriptive studies of trends?
The FOA is framed around studies that directly test policy effects, and it explicitly notes that it is aimed at policy impact testing rather than simply describing trends.
Does the FOA encourage causal analysis?
Yes. It explicitly encourages causal analyses of one policy or of multiple interacting policies, acknowledging that outcomes are often shaped by layered policy environments.
Can applicants study multiple policies at the same time?
Yes. The FOA recognizes that substance-related outcomes can be affected by multiple interacting policies and encourages analyses that consider combined or layered policy effects.
What are examples of policy areas that could be studied under this FOA?
The FOA provides examples of policy levers and environments such as pricing/taxation, availability restrictions, enforcement practices, advertising limits, retail regulations, minimum legal age rules, impaired driving laws, prescription monitoring requirements, decriminalization/legalization frameworks, and treatment and harm-reduction policies.
Does the opportunity support evaluating the effectiveness of specific policy tools?
Yes. In addition to causal policy impact studies, the FOA invites evaluations of how effective particular policy tools are at improving public health through changes in behaviors and outcomes.
Is methodological or measurement research allowed?
Yes. The FOA supports methodological and measurement research that improves how policy exposure is defined, quantified, and linked to behavioral and health outcomes, including improved timing of policy implementation, measurement of enforcement intensity, and accounting for heterogeneous exposure across places and subpopulations.
How does the R21 mechanism shape the kind of projects NIH is looking for?
Because it is an R21, the opportunity is oriented toward early-stage, developmental projects that may be high-impact, test novel approaches, open new lines of inquiry, or generate preliminary evidence that could later justify larger confirmatory studies.
What study designs or analytic approaches are mentioned as a fit?
The FOA notes that projects may leverage real-world policy variation using approaches such as natural experiments, quasi-experimental designs, policy discontinuities, differences-in-differences, interrupted time series, synthetic controls, instrumental variables, or related methods suited to evaluating policy impacts.
Does the FOA support policy surveillance or building policy datasets?
Yes. It is described as a natural fit for work that improves policy surveillance data, builds stronger policy datasets or indices, refines measures of policy implementation and enforcement, or develops stronger outcome measurement strategies across health, safety, and social domains.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is broad and includes applicants across government, academia, nonprofit, and private sectors. The FOA lists many eligible applicant types, including various levels of government, higher education institutions (public and private), tribal governments and tribal organizations, public housing authorities/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.
Are tribal entities eligible?
Yes. The eligible applicant list includes Native American tribal governments (federally recognized) and tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments).
Are institutions of higher education eligible?
Yes. Both public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education are listed as eligible applicants.
Are nonprofits eligible, including those without 501(c)(3) status?
Yes. The FOA includes nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education) among eligible applicants.
Are for-profit organizations eligible?
Yes. The eligibility list includes for-profit organizations other than small businesses as well as small businesses.
Are faith-based or community-based organizations eligible?
Yes. The FOA highlights faith-based or community-based organizations as additional eligible applicant categories.
Are specific minority-serving institutions called out as eligible?
Yes. Additional eligible applicant categories highlighted include Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs).
Are U.S. territories or possessions eligible?
Yes. The FOA highlights U.S. territories or possessions as an eligible applicant category.
Are foreign organizations eligible to apply?
Yes. The FOA indicates that non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations) are included among eligible applicant categories.
Are federal agencies eligible to apply?
Yes. The FOA highlights eligible federal agencies among the additional eligible applicant categories.
What is the award ceiling mentioned in the provided information?
The key administrative details provided include an award ceiling of $200,000.
What is the listed closing date?
The original closing date listed is September 7, 2020.
What is the creation date listed for this opportunity?
The creation date provided is January 25, 2017.
What overall impact is this FOA trying to achieve?
The opportunity is designed to fund rigorous, policy-relevant research that clarifies which public policies work, under what conditions, and for whom, while strengthening the methods used to evaluate policy impacts on substance-related behaviors and their health and societal consequences.
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