The National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) invites applications for the HEAL Initiative’s Justice Community Overdose Innovation Network (JCOIN) Phase II Economic Research Resource Center (ERRC), under the U24 Resource-Related Research Projects – Cooperative Agreements. This center aims to address the economic and cost-related aspects of interventions within the criminal-legal system to reduce overdose risk and treat substance use disorder (SUD) among affected populations. The JCOIN ERRC will work as part of a network of research hubs and support centers, collaborating with NIDA to facilitate economic research and provide data-driven recommendations for practitioners and policymakers. The project will contribute to the larger goals of the JCOIN initiative, including the development of interventions at critical points of intercept in the criminal-legal system, such as emergency response, jails, courts, re-entry services, probation, and parole. The funding opportunity number for this award is RFA-DA-25-061, with an estimated budget of $800,000 and a maximum project period of 5 years.

The ERRC’s purpose is to conduct and support economic analyses that inform practical decision-making regarding SUD interventions in criminal-legal settings. Required activities include supporting JCOIN research hubs with economic measurement and analysis, conducting four original research projects that will explore cost and economic considerations in overdose prevention, developing practitioner-facing tools for economic analysis, and offering consultation and technical assistance to JCOIN affiliates. These activities should result in actionable insights, enabling criminal-legal system leaders and community health agencies to make informed decisions about the financial implications of adopting evidence-based interventions. This work will also inform policymakers about cost-effective approaches to overdose prevention.

Funding from the NIH HEAL Initiative will support the ERRC’s collaborations with JCOIN’s clinical research hubs, which undertake large, multi-site studies, and innovation hubs, which conduct smaller-scale studies. The ERRC will start by conducting needs assessments across these hubs, tailoring its support to their specific research questions and capacity for economic analyses. Subsequent analyses will focus on cost-effectiveness, implementation costs, and other economic models that capture the financial impact of SUD interventions on criminal-legal systems. Through these efforts, the ERRC aims to generate broad, generalizable knowledge on economic aspects of overdose interventions, informing both JCOIN projects and external stakeholders.

Eligible applicants include a range of U.S.-based institutions, such as higher education institutions, government agencies, nonprofits, and businesses. Foreign institutions are not eligible, though foreign components of U.S.-based organizations may participate. All applicants must be registered in the required NIH systems, including the System for Award Management (SAM) and eRA Commons. Additionally, all applications must include an initial project proposal and plans for four research projects over five years, with the first project detailed in the application.

Applications must adhere to the NIH guidelines and are encouraged to include a letter of intent by December 22, 2024. The final application deadline is January 22, 2025, with applications to be submitted through Grants.gov or NIH’s ASSIST system. Applications received after the deadline will not be accepted, and all submissions must comply with NIH instructions to avoid processing delays.

Evaluation criteria include the significance of the proposed economic research in advancing the JCOIN network’s goals, the expertise of the applicant team in economic research, the innovation and relevance of the approach, and the practical utility of tools developed for practitioners. Selected projects will undergo a peer review by the NIDA and, if approved, receive a start date as early as September 2025. Successful applicants are expected to participate in the HEAL Initiative’s collaborative activities, including an annual investigator meeting and regular network coordination calls, to promote synergy across JCOIN components.