HEAL Initiative: Justice Community Overdose Innovation Network (JCOIN) - Phase II Coordination and Translation Center (U2C Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA DA 24 069

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DA 24 069

This funding opportunity is a National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) cooperative agreement aimed at strengthening the second phase of the Justice Community Overdose Innovation Network (JCOIN) under the broader HEAL Initiative. The central idea is that people involved in the criminal-legal system face exceptionally high overdose risk, especially during transitions such as release from jail or prison, probation or parole changes, or movement between custody and community care. Because the overdose crisis sits right at the junction of justice settings and community-based health systems, NIDA is continuing JCOIN Phase II to build practical, evidence-based approaches that can be implemented in real-world justice environments and linked effectively to community treatment and harm reduction services.

JCOIN Phase II is designed as a national consortium that brings together researchers and practitioner partners to conduct research, develop capacity, and accelerate the uptake of effective interventions. The network structure has three tightly connected components: (1) Research Hubs, which will run studies and implementation activities in justice and community contexts; (2) a single Coordination and Translation Center (the focus of this specific notice of funding opportunity); and (3) a single Methodology and Advanced Analytics Resource Center, which is being solicited through a companion announcement (NOT-DA-24-068). A separate future solicitation is anticipated for the Research Hubs (NOT-DA-25-025). In other words, this announcement is specifically for the central backbone organization that coordinates the network and helps translate findings into practice, while related components are funded through parallel or forthcoming announcements.

The award mechanism is a cooperative agreement (U2C), meaning the funded center will not operate in isolation; it will work in close collaboration with NIDA and with the other JCOIN components. Cooperative agreements typically involve substantial NIH programmatic involvement, which often includes joint planning, shared governance structures, coordinated milestones, and active participation in steering or executive committees. The “clinical trial optional” designation indicates applicants may propose activities that include a clinical trial if it fits the center’s mission, but a clinical trial is not required. The primary emphasis for a Coordination and Translation Center is usually network-wide infrastructure and support functions rather than being the main site for intervention trials, although it can play a key role in enabling, harmonizing, and disseminating trial-related work occurring in the Research Hubs.

Functionally, the Coordination and Translation Center is expected to serve as the operational and communications core of JCOIN Phase II. That typically includes organizing governance and meetings across hubs and partners, supporting collaboration between justice agencies and health systems, maintaining consistent procedures and documentation, and ensuring smooth coordination with the Methodology and Advanced Analytics Resource Center. Just as importantly, the “translation” role signals a focus on moving research into practice: packaging evidence into usable tools for corrections, courts, supervision agencies, and community providers; supporting implementation strategies; promoting adoption of evidence-based practices like medications for opioid use disorder and overdose prevention; and ensuring findings are communicated in ways that work for practitioners, policymakers, and community stakeholders rather than only for academic audiences.

Eligibility is broad and includes many U.S.-based public and private entities that could realistically run a national coordinating center. Eligible applicants listed include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments); public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (excluding those that are institutions of higher education in those categories); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The announcement 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), as well as faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, it makes clear that non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply, although “foreign components” as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement may be allowed, which generally refers to specific project elements conducted outside the U.S. under an otherwise eligible U.S. applicant organization, subject to NIH rules and justification.

Key administrative details in the source data identify this as a discretionary funding opportunity with NIH as the agency, using a cooperative agreement funding instrument. The funding opportunity number is RFA-DA-24-069, and it is associated with CFDA numbers 93.279 and 93.865. The original closing date listed is 2023-10-30, and the opportunity was created on 2023-08-21. The award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided text, which usually means applicants need to consult the full NOFO for budget guidance, project period, and anticipated funding levels, or confirm whether those fields were intentionally left open depending on appropriations and program needs.

Overall, this opportunity is about building and operating the central coordinating engine for a national justice-health overdose research network. The Coordination and Translation Center is positioned to make the rest of JCOIN work as a unified program by aligning partners, standardizing and supporting multi-site operations, and turning research outputs into practical products and strategies that justice and community systems can actually implement to reduce overdose and improve continuity of care for justice-involved people.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "HEAL Initiative: Justice Community Overdose Innovation Network (JCOIN) - Phase II Coordination and Translation Center (U2C Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.279, 93.865.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-08-21.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-10-30. (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.

Apply for RFA DA 24 069

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