Funder: National Institutes of Health
Due Dates: November 16, 2026 (Resubmission/revision) | February 16, 2027 (New) | March 16, 2027 (Resubmission/revision) | June 16, 2027 (New) | July 16, 2027 (Resubmission/revision) | October 16, 2027 (New) | November 16, 2027 (Resubmission/revision) | January 7, 2028 (Closing date)
Funding Amounts: $225,000 award ceiling listed on Grants.gov; NOFO permits $450,000 total direct costs over up to three years
Summary: Supports innovative, non-clinical-trial pilot research to improve mental health services access, quality, outcomes, and scalability.
Key Information: Clinical trials and projects primarily providing direct services are not eligible.
Description
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of NIH, supports exploratory pilot research that informs high-quality, continuously improving mental health services for people with, or at risk for, mental illness or autism spectrum disorder. This R34 opportunity targets strategic, understudied areas with potential for substantial public health impact, rather than studies immediately preceding the development and testing of service interventions.
Supported approaches include non-trial natural experiments, surveys, mixed methods, clinical epidemiology, methods and measures development, and large-data analyses using advanced computational approaches. Priorities include identifying modifiable barriers to care, improving implementation and sustainability, reducing service disparities, and evaluating financing and delivery models. NIMH encourages research-practice partnerships, deployment-focused designs, and use of existing infrastructure to produce findings useful in routine care.
