Simulation Modeling and Systems Science to Address Health Disparities (R01-Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PAR 18 331

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 18 331

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity titled "Simulation Modeling and Systems Science to Address Health Disparities (R01-Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" (Funding Opportunity Number PAR 18 331) supports research that uses simulation modeling and systems science methods to better understand, explain, and ultimately reduce minority health issues and persistent health disparities. The core aim is to fund investigative and collaborative projects that develop, refine, and evaluate modeling approaches capable of capturing complex, real-world drivers of inequities in health outcomes. The FOA is positioned for work that treats health disparities as products of interconnected systems (social, economic, environmental, policy, healthcare delivery, and behavioral), rather than isolated factors, and it encourages research teams to use rigorous modeling to test hypotheses, compare strategies, and inform decisions about what kinds of interventions or policy changes are most likely to move the needle on equity.

This opportunity uses the R01 grant mechanism, meaning it is intended for substantial, hypothesis-driven research projects with clearly articulated aims, strong methodological justification, and a plan for generating generalizable knowledge. The notice explicitly states "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," which means applicants should not propose studies that meet NIH's definition of a clinical trial (for example, prospectively assigning human participants to an intervention to evaluate effects on health-related outcomes). Instead, the focus should be on modeling and systems science research, which may include building or integrating simulation models, using existing datasets to parameterize models, validating model behavior against observed patterns, and running simulated scenarios to compare intervention options. In practice, this could include approaches such as system dynamics modeling, agent-based modeling, discrete event simulation, network modeling, microsimulation, hybrid models that combine multiple techniques, and other systems science frameworks that can represent feedback loops, time delays, non-linear relationships, and heterogeneity across populations and places.

A key thread running through the FOA is the emphasis on minority health and health disparities, meaning proposals should be grounded in populations and contexts where inequities are well documented and meaningful. Competitive projects would typically make a clear case for the disparity being addressed, identify the system-level mechanisms that plausibly generate or sustain it, and explain why simulation modeling is the right tool to study the problem. The expectation is not just to produce a model, but to demonstrate how modeling can clarify leverage points, compare tradeoffs, anticipate unintended consequences, and support smarter, equity-focused decisions in public health or healthcare systems. Collaboration is highlighted, which often implies partnerships across disciplines (for example, public health, medicine, economics, sociology, data science, engineering, and policy) and, where appropriate, engagement with community, clinical, or governmental stakeholders who can help ensure the modeled questions align with real decision needs.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations and governmental entities. Eligible applicants listed in the source information include state, county, city or township governments, special district governments, and independent school districts, as well as public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education. Tribal eligibility includes federally recognized Native American tribal governments and tribal organizations that are not federally recognized tribal governments. The FOA also allows public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), and small businesses. It also specifically 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, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, it draws a bright line on foreign eligibility: non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. However, "foreign components" as defined under the NIH Grants Policy Statement are allowed, which generally means a U.S. applicant can include certain well-justified international elements within the project if they meet NIH policy requirements, even though a foreign institution cannot be the applicant organization.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant program under NIH, and it is categorized under education and health. Multiple CFDA numbers are associated with the opportunity (93.173, 93.233, 93.242, 93.279, 93.307, 93.399, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840, 93.866, 93.879), reflecting that NIH activity can span several institutes, centers, or authorities tied to different catalog listings. The original closing date shown in the source data is 2019-09-07, and the record creation date is 2017-10-20. The listed award ceiling is $250,000, which signals an upper bound presented in the opportunity summary; in NIH contexts, applicants would still need to follow the specific budgeting rules and any referenced NIH policy or FOA instructions about budgets, project periods, and whether modular or detailed budgets are required. The expected number of awards is not specified in the provided source data.

Overall, the opportunity is meant for teams that can use advanced modeling to translate complexity into actionable insight about inequity: identifying the structural and upstream contributors to disparities, testing intervention scenarios that cannot easily be tested in the real world, and generating evidence that helps policymakers, health systems, and communities choose strategies with the strongest likelihood of improving outcomes for populations that have historically been underserved or harmed by unequal systems.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Simulation Modeling and Systems Science to Address Health Disparities (R01-Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.173, 93.233, 93.242, 93.279, 93.307, 93.399, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840, 93.866, 93.879.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-10-20.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-09-07. (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 $250,000.00 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.

Apply for PAR 18 331

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