Firearm Injury and Mortality Prevention Research (R01Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 21 192

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 21 192

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity titled "Firearm Injury and Mortality Prevention Research (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" (Funding Opportunity Number PAR-21-192) supports research aimed at reducing firearm-related injuries and deaths in the United States. The announcement is grounded in the public health reality that nearly 40,000 people in the U.S. die each year from firearm-related causes, with the majority of deaths occurring through suicide (about 60 percent) and a large share through homicide (about 37 percent). Beyond fatalities, NIH highlights the broader burden of non-fatal firearm injuries, including injuries that are intentional (such as assaults) and unintentional (such as accidents), and the lasting physical, mental, and social impacts these events can have on individuals, families, and communities.

This opportunity was spurred by direction from Congress in the Joint Explanatory Statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260), which provided funding for NIH to conduct firearm injury and mortality prevention research and urged a comprehensive approach. NIH frames the work as covering both the underlying causes of firearm injury and practical, evidence-based methods to prevent it, explicitly including crime prevention as part of the prevention landscape. At the same time, NIH notes that funded projects must operate within specific legislative mandates and limitations governing what NIH can support, citing NIH policy notices NOT-OD-21-058 and NOT-OD-21-056 as guardrails for allowable research activities.

The research scope NIH encourages is broad but clearly prevention-oriented. Priority areas include improving understanding of the determinants of firearm injury (the factors that contribute to risk and occurrence), improving identification of individuals at risk (including both potential victims and potential perpetrators), developing and rigorously evaluating innovative interventions designed to prevent firearm injury and mortality, and studying strategies that improve real-world adoption and implementation of interventions that already have evidence behind them. The "clinical trial optional" designation means applicants may propose studies that include clinical trials when appropriate, but a clinical trial is not required for all applications; the emphasis is on strong, methodologically sound research that can generate actionable knowledge for prevention.

The funding mechanism is an NIH R01 research project grant, categorized as a discretionary grant under federal assistance listings that include multiple CFDA numbers (93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.307, 93.313, 93.865, 93.866). Eligible applicants span a wide range of organizations, reflecting NIH's interest in supporting multidisciplinary and community-relevant work. Eligible entities 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; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (outside higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other applicant types as permitted by NIH policy. The announcement also calls out additional eligible applicant categories such as 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 (AANAPISISs), as well as faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, and eligible federal agencies, signaling an intent to include institutions and groups that are deeply connected to affected communities.

There are important restrictions on foreign involvement. While the opportunity mentions "non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities" in the broader applicant listing, it explicitly states that non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply. It also bars non-domestic components of U.S. organizations from applying and does not allow foreign components as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. In practical terms, this means projects must be led by eligible U.S.-based applicants without foreign components, even if the scientific questions involve globally informed methods or literature.

Administratively, the sponsoring agency is NIH, the original closing date listed is April 30, 2021, and the posting creation date is March 5, 2021. The notice does not provide an award ceiling or expected number of awards in the provided summary fields, so applicants would typically need to consult the full funding announcement and NIH institute-specific guidance for budget expectations, application cycles, review considerations, and any institute participation details. Overall, the program is designed to build a stronger evidence base for preventing firearm injury and death by supporting rigorous research that clarifies who is at risk, why risk concentrates where it does, what interventions work, and how proven approaches can be implemented effectively at scale.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Firearm Injury and Mortality Prevention Research (R01Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.307, 93.313, 93.865, 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-03-05.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-04-30. (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.

Apply for PAR 21 192

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