Development of Psychosocial Therapeutic and Preventive Interventions for Mental Disorders (R33) | RFA MH 17 606

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA MH 17 606

The NIH funding opportunity "Development of Psychosocial Therapeutic and Preventive Interventions for Mental Disorders (R33)" (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-MH-17-606; CFDA 93.242) is designed to move new psychosocial mental health interventions from promising ideas into rigorous, decision-ready pilot testing. The central aim is to support relatively fast, well-controlled studies that can tell the field something definitive about whether an intervention is worth pursuing further. Instead of funding broad, exploratory trials that may be hard to interpret, this FOA emphasizes an experimental therapeutics approach, meaning applicants are expected to identify a specific, hypothesized target or mechanism and then test whether the intervention actually engages that target and whether changes in that target are linked to meaningful clinical improvement or prevention outcomes.

A key feature of this program is its focus on novelty in either the intervention target, the intervention strategy, or both. The target can be behavioral, cognitive, affective, or interpersonal processes that are plausibly modifiable and connected to the onset, maintenance, or course of a mental disorder. It can also include neural circuits or patterns of neural activity tied to specific behaviors or cognitive operations, as well as other neurobiological mechanisms that are believed to contribute to risk, causation, or persistence of mental illness. In practice, the FOA is encouraging projects that are explicitly mechanism-driven: applicants should be able to articulate what process they are trying to change, how the intervention will change it, and how they will measure that change in a way that supports strong conclusions.

The interventions themselves must be psychosocial in nature and can be delivered in person or with technology-assisted formats (for example, digital tools, remote delivery platforms, or other tech-enabled methods), as long as what is being tested is genuinely innovative in target and/or strategy. The FOA supports these approaches both as stand-alone treatments (monotherapies) and as add-ons that augment standard care. It covers both therapeutic interventions for people currently experiencing mental disorders and preventive interventions for individuals at elevated risk, and it allows work across the lifespan, explicitly including adults and children.

Study design expectations are unusually explicit: trials must be built so that their results are high-utility regardless of whether outcomes are positive or negative. In other words, the research should not only be capable of showing benefit; it should also be capable of producing an interpretable "no" that clarifies why an approach should be stopped, revised, or redirected. This is why the FOA stresses go/no-go decision making. Applicants are expected to generate evidence that can guide the next development step, such as whether to scale to a larger efficacy trial, refine the intervention components, adjust the target, or discontinue the approach based on lack of target engagement or lack of linkage between target change and clinical benefit.

The award structure supports up to three years of funding, with an emphasis on replicating prior findings of target engagement and then demonstrating the relationship between target or mechanism change and clinical outcomes. The underlying rationale is translational speed: NIH is using this mechanism to shorten the path from basic science discoveries about mechanisms and processes involved in mental disorders to practical interventions that can reduce symptoms, restore functioning, or prevent disorder onset in at-risk populations. The FOA is therefore positioned as a bridge between mechanistic insights (from cognitive science, affective neuroscience, behavioral research, interpersonal and developmental science, and related domains) and early-stage clinical testing that is rigorous enough to justify larger investments.

Eligibility is broad and includes a wide range of public, private, nonprofit, and for-profit entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) as well as small businesses; and various Native American tribal governments and organizations (including federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations). The FOA also highlights additional eligible applicant types 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 (AANAPISIs), along with faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and even non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations). This breadth signals an interest in drawing innovation from many settings, including community and culturally specific institutions that may be well positioned to develop and test new intervention ideas.

Administratively, this is a discretionary grant funding opportunity in the health category administered by the National Institutes of Health. The original closing date listed for the competition was November 14, 2017, with a creation date of December 13, 2016. While the listing does not provide an award ceiling or expected number of awards in the provided fields, the substantive takeaway is that the program is aimed at tightly designed, mechanism-focused pilot trials of novel psychosocial interventions, with clear measurements of target engagement and a strong logic for deciding what should happen next based on the results.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Development of Psychosocial Therapeutic and Preventive Interventions for Mental Disorders (R33)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.242.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2016-12-13.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-11-14. (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.

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