HEAL Initiative: Limited Competition for the HEALthy Brain and Child Development Study - Research Project Sites (Collaborative U01- Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
This limited-competiion NIH cooperative agreement renews previously funded HEALthy Brain and Child Development research project sites to conduct a nationwide longitudinal study of child brain and behavioral development, especially prenatal substance exposure outcomes.
RESTRICTED TO: SINGLE NAMED INSTITUTION
⚑ Limited competition: only organizations (or subrecipients) previously funded under RFA-DA-21-020 or RFA-DA-21-021 may apply. · Cooperative agreement with substantial NIH scientific involvement. · Clinical trials not allowed. · Foreign organizations, non-domestic components, and foreign components are allowed per notice.
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| IPPRA | 5 none | limited competition — a named institution holds this |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 5 none | not openly competed |
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 5 none | limited competition — a named institution holds this |
Description
This is a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for a Limited Competition that will invite applications from eligible organizations to apply. Please see Section III. Eligibility, for additional information. In accordance with NIH standard peer-review processes, the applications will be peer-reviewed, and only meritorious applications will be considered for funding. This NOFO will renew the HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Research Project Sites.The HBCD Study is a nationwide, multi-site, longitudinal study that follows children from birth through childhood. The study examines brain and behavioral development, with a focus on how prenatal substance exposure affects health outcomes.The HBCD Consortium consists of three highly integrated components: (1) a set of linked Research Project Sites, (2) a single overall Consortium Administrative Core (HCAC); and (3) a single central Data Coordinating Center (HDCC). As such, this NOFO runs in parallel with a companion NOFO that solicits applications for the HCAC and the HDCC (RFA-DA-27-014). It is expected that investigators, upon funding, will work jointly with NIH scientific staff to assist, guide, coordinate, and participate in project activities.
Eligibility
Only organizations (or their subrecipients) previously funded under RFA-DA-21-020 or RFA-DA-21-021 are eligible to apply. Refer to Section III. Eligibility Information in the NOFO for additional information on eligibility.Foreign Organizations/International Collaborations:Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) are eligible to apply.Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are eligible to apply.Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed.
Apply
View on Grants.gov → CONTACT: National Institutes of Health <hbcd@nida.nih.gov>
Proposal brief SEE AN EXAMPLE →
A one-page internal memo: fit assessment, submission requirements, document scaffold, and next steps dated back from the deadline — tailored to your project idea if you add one.
Proposal shell · National Institutes of Health conventions SEE AN NIH EXAMPLE →
Funder-faithful document skeletons — National Institutes of Health's document set with section headings, page limits, reviewer guidance, and writing prompts; add a project idea to get [DRAFT] starter bullets. Download as .md for Word or Overleaf.
Legacy IPPRA LLM assessment (v2.0, for comparison)
20/100 · gpt-5.4-mini · 2026-07-06
This is a large NIH longitudinal child development study with a meaningful behavioral/health research component, but the topic is primarily biomedical and developmental rather than the kind of public-health communication, intervention, or community-response research IPPRA typically anchors. Eligibility is also tightly limited to prior HBCD awardees, so a public university could participate only if already in that consortium; otherwise IPPRA would not be a viable applicant.
Legacy scoring history
| 2026-07-06 | 20 | gpt-5.4-mini | This is a large NIH longitudinal child development study with a meaningful behavioral/health research component, but the topic is primarily biomedical and developmental rather than the kind of public-health communication, intervention, or community-response research IPPRA typically anchors. Eligibility is also tightly limited to prior HBCD awardees, so a public university could participate only if already in that consortium; otherwise IPPRA would not be a viable applicant. |
| 2026-07-06 | 15 | gpt-5.4-mini | This is a longitudinal child-development study focused on prenatal substance exposure and behavioral/brain outcomes, which is relevant to public health research methods and crisis-related health impacts. However, it is primarily biomedical/neuroscience-oriented rather than IPPRA’s behavioral policy or community-risk-communication niche, and eligibility is tightly limited to prior HBCD awardees, so a public university like OU would not be able to apply directly. |