The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and its component, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), has announced a funding opportunity for Advanced Laboratories for Accelerating the Reach and Impact of Treatments for Youth and Adults with Mental Illness (ALACRITY) Research Centers under the P50 Specialized Center activity code. This opportunity, identified as Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Number PAR-24-210, seeks applications for research centers that will support transdisciplinary teams of clinical and mental health services researchers, behavioral and social scientists, health information and communications technologists, health systems engineers, and mental health stakeholders. The centers will focus on advancing clinical practice and transforming mental health care in the U.S. by optimizing interventions, improving service delivery, and enhancing quality and impact within real-world treatment settings.

The ALACRITY Research Centers are designed to support the rapid development, testing, and refinement of novel approaches aimed at optimizing therapeutic interventions for mental disorders, improving the organization and delivery of services, and ensuring the long-term sustainability of effective mental health interventions. These centers will bring together a diverse range of researchers and stakeholders to conduct high-impact studies that bridge the gap between research discoveries and practical applications. The program also emphasizes the integration of health information technology and new service models to enhance mental health care access, efficiency, and outcomes.

Applications for this funding opportunity must conform to the NIH’s experimental therapeutics approach, requiring clinical trials to assess both intervention effectiveness and mechanisms of action. Each ALACRITY Center must support at least one fully powered Signature Research Project and three Exploratory Research Projects. Additionally, centers are expected to foster collaboration, promote stakeholder involvement, facilitate data sharing, and provide training opportunities for graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and early-career investigators.

Eligible applicants include higher education institutions (both public and private), nonprofit organizations, for-profit organizations (including small businesses), state and local governments, tribal governments, and certain federal entities. Foreign institutions and non-U.S. components of U.S. institutions are not eligible to apply. Applicant organizations must be registered in various federal systems, including the System for Award Management (SAM), eRA Commons, and Grants.gov.

The funding opportunity will provide direct costs of up to $1,500,000 per year, with a maximum project period of five years. The number of awards will be contingent on NIH appropriations and the quality of applications received. The submission cycle includes application deadlines on May 17, 2024, May 19, 2025, and May 18, 2026, with scientific merit reviews occurring in November of the respective years, followed by advisory council reviews in January and anticipated project start dates in April.

Applicants are encouraged to submit a Letter of Intent at least 30 days before the application deadline. Proposals must be submitted through the NIH ASSIST system, an institutional system-to-system solution, or Grants.gov. Additional administrative and scientific contacts are available for inquiries regarding the application process. More information on submission guidelines and program expectations can be found in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.