Verified opportunity
The National Institutes of Health is accepting applications under PAR-25-143, Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health (R21 Clinical Trial Optional). The NOFO supports studies that identify, develop, and/or test strategies to overcome barriers to adoption, adaptation, integration, sustainability, scale-up, spread, and appropriate de-implementation of evidence-based interventions, practices, programs, tools, treatments, guidelines, and policies.
Next new-application deadline: October 16, 2026 at 5:00 PM local time of the applicant organization. The next renewal/resubmission/revision deadline is November 16, 2026 at 5:00 PM applicant-local time. NIH lists the NOFO expiration date as January 8, 2028.
Funding
The combined direct-cost budget for the two-year project period may not exceed $275,000, and no more than $200,000 may be requested in a single year. The maximum project period is two years. The NOFO does not require cost sharing.
Eligibility
Eligible organization classes include public/state-controlled and private institutions of higher education; nonprofit organizations; small businesses and other for-profit organizations; state, county, city/township and special-district governments; independent school districts; tribal entities; eligible federal agencies; faith- and community-based organizations; regional organizations; and other listed entities. Applicant organizations must maintain the required SAM, Grants.gov and eRA Commons registrations. Any individual with the skills, knowledge and resources necessary to conduct the proposed research may serve as PD/PI through an eligible organization.
Research and application requirements
The research must address dissemination or implementation of an evidence-based health intervention, practice, program, tool, treatment, guideline or policy, or advance dissemination/implementation methods and measures. The Research Strategy should address public-health benefit and need, the likely reach and outcomes in the selected service-delivery context, intervention resource requirements and costs, and how the study advances implementation or dissemination knowledge. Clinical trials are optional.
Applications are submitted electronically through NIH ASSIST, Grants.gov Workspace, or an institutional system-to-system solution, with eRA Commons used for tracking. NIH related notices include the January 28, 2026 removal of AIDS application due dates from affected NOFOs and the March 31, 2025 update aligning this opportunity with current agency priorities; applicants should review all current linked notices before submission.
Arkansas relevance
Arkansas has strong potential applicant classes in academic medicine, rural health, maternal health, behavioral health, telehealth, community health, school health and implementation science. A particularly strong Arkansas research profile is UAMS, where current faculty work spans implementation science, rural health, digital health, maternal health, behavioral health, telehealth evaluation and healthcare quality improvement.
Atlas fit
Atlas Opportunity Score: 96/100. The opportunity is broadly eligible, has no mandatory match, supports healthcare delivery research, and is directly relevant to Arkansas institutions working to move evidence-based interventions into rural and underserved settings.
N9+ Fit: 68/100, conditional. A legitimate Nonagon N9+ role would be as part of an already evidence-based remote-examination or telehealth care model whose adoption, integration, sustainability or scale-up is being studied. N9+ should not be positioned as a stand-alone equipment purchase or as evidence of effectiveness by itself. Applicant-led scientific justification, an appropriate evidence base, implementation outcomes, and NIH institute/center mission alignment remain controlling.
QC Healthcare / Dr. Miltie fit: Potential partner or technology-subcontract role only when the applicant’s evidence-based intervention and research design independently support it. For-profit organizations are an eligible class under the NOFO, but Atlas does not advance a direct Dr. Miltie application without a qualified PI/research team, required registrations, institutionally appropriate resources, and a scientifically responsive implementation-research plan.
Official source
NIH PAR-25-143 — Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health