Enhancing Social Connectedness and Ameliorating Loneliness to Prevent and Treat SUD and Support Recovery (R34 - Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA DA 23 010

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DA 23 010

The grant opportunity "Enhancing Social Connectedness and Ameliorating Loneliness to Prevent and Treat SUD and Support Recovery (R34 - Clinical Trial Optional)" (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-DA-23-010) is a National Institutes of Health discretionary grant designed to support early-stage, exploratory, or pilot research focused on how improving social connectedness and reducing loneliness can help prevent substance use, treat substance use disorders (SUDs), or strengthen recovery outcomes for people already affected by SUDs. It uses the NIH R34 mechanism, which is commonly used to help teams develop, refine, and test the feasibility of promising interventions before moving toward larger, definitive clinical trials or broader implementation studies. Clinical trials are optional under this announcement, meaning applicants may propose studies that include a clinical trial component if appropriate, but they are not required to do so.

The central emphasis is on intervention development and testing that is grounded in existing foundational and epidemiologic evidence about the links between loneliness, social isolation, social connectedness, and substance use behaviors. In practical terms, this means proposed projects should not start from scratch conceptually; they should build on what prior research has already shown and then push the field forward by testing targeted strategies that can plausibly change risk trajectories, treatment engagement, relapse rates, or recovery stability. A major goal is to help the research community move toward a more unified and coherent theory of how loneliness and connectedness operate as mechanisms that influence substance use initiation, escalation, disorder severity, and recovery processes. Projects that clarify pathways (for example, stress buffering, access to social support, social norms, belongingness, meaning and purpose, or network-level exposure to substance use) align well with the intent of this opportunity, especially when paired with intervention components that can modify those pathways.

The opportunity is deliberately broad about the level at which interventions can operate. Proposed interventions may be delivered at the individual level (such as coaching, skills training, peer support models, or digital tools aimed at increasing social participation), at the dyadic level (for example, partner- or peer-based approaches), at the family level (including family systems or caregiver-focused strategies), or at the community level. Telehealth and technology-enabled delivery models are explicitly allowed, which opens the door to interventions delivered through remote counseling, digital peer communities, moderated online groups, text-based supports, app-supported recovery check-ins, or hybrid models that combine in-person and remote components. This flexibility reflects real-world constraints and the increasing role of technology in both health care delivery and social connection.

A notable priority within the announcement is encouragement for community-level interventions that pursue structural or environmental changes, particularly when those changes address social determinants of health. This signals interest in approaches that go beyond trying to change individual behavior alone and instead work on the conditions that make connection easier or loneliness more likely. Examples of the kinds of settings where interventions might be implemented include workplaces, online or social media environments, educational institutions, housing contexts (including supportive housing and recovery housing), and recovery centers, among others. The mention of structural and environmental approaches also implies that partnerships with community organizations, service systems, and local stakeholders may be valuable, especially when they help ensure the intervention is feasible and relevant in the intended setting.

Across all of these possibilities, the program’s end goal is strongly applied: it seeks user-centered research that produces solutions that are practical, cost-effective, scalable, and sustainable. In other words, the funder is looking for interventions that can realistically be delivered outside a tightly controlled academic context, can reach people who need them, and can be maintained over time without extraordinary resources. Pilot work supported by this R34 may therefore include refinement of intervention components, feasibility and acceptability testing, preliminary signals of impact on loneliness/connectedness and SUD-related outcomes, implementation considerations in real settings, and early cost or resource-use insights that would help position a project for subsequent, larger-scale funding.

Eligibility is expansive and includes many organization types. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; Native American tribal governments (federally recognized); Native American tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) as well as small businesses; and other entities. The announcement also highlights additional eligible applicants such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations), Indian/Native American tribal governments that are not federally recognized, and U.S. territories or possessions. The funding activity category is listed as Education and Health, with CFDA number 93.279.

Key administrative details provided include the originating agency (National Institutes of Health), the original closing date (2022-08-15), and the creation date (2022-03-14). While the excerpt does not specify an award ceiling or the expected number of awards, the overall intent is clearly positioned around early, hypothesis-informed testing of interventions that can be strengthened and scaled if pilot data are promising.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Enhancing Social Connectedness and Ameliorating Loneliness to Prevent and Treat SUD and Support Recovery (R34 - 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.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-03-14.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-08-15. (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.

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