Understanding Suicide Risk and Protective Factors among Black Youth (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA MH 22 141

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA MH 22 141

The funding opportunity "Understanding Suicide Risk and Protective Factors among Black Youth (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" (RFA-MH-22-141) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant announcement led by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). It sits under NIMHs Suicide Prevention Transformational Project Strategic Plan and is designed to strengthen the research base on youth suicide prevention with a specific focus on Black youth, a population that has experienced concerning recent increases in suicide rates. The core purpose is to support early-stage, exploratory research that clarifies what is driving suicide risk in Black youth today and, just as importantly, what factors appear to protect Black youth from suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The expectation is that findings will help shape the next generation of prevention strategies and intervention targets that are better grounded in the lived realities, contexts, and strengths of Black youth and their communities.

This is an R21 mechanism, which typically supports innovative, developmental work that can generate key insights, pilot data, or new research directions rather than large, definitive multi-site projects. The announcement explicitly states "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," meaning applicants must propose research that does not meet the NIH definition of a clinical trial. In practice, that generally rules out studies that prospectively assign participants to an intervention or condition in order to evaluate effects on health-related outcomes. Projects can still involve human participants, observational designs, analysis of existing datasets, measurement development, qualitative or mixed-methods work, and other non-interventional approaches, as long as they do not cross into clinical trial territory.

Scientifically, the opportunity emphasizes two complementary aims: identifying and understanding risk factors tied to the rise in suicide among Black youth, and identifying protective factors that could be leveraged in future prevention efforts. Risk factors may include individual, interpersonal, community, systemic, or structural influences, and the spirit of the announcement is to move beyond one-size-fits-all explanations by supporting work that is attentive to context, mechanisms, and the unique experiences that shape suicide risk trajectories for Black youth. Protective factors are treated as equally important, with an eye toward generating actionable knowledge that could later be translated into prevention programs, policy approaches, or community and school-based supports. The overall theme is not simply documenting disparities, but producing usable knowledge that can inform smarter, culturally relevant, and context-aware prevention.

In terms of administrative details, this is a discretionary grant in the health funding category, listed under CFDA 93.242, with the NIH as the sponsoring agency. The original closing date provided in the source information is June 20, 2023, and the opportunity was created on March 22, 2022. The award ceiling is listed as $275,000, which signals a relatively focused budget consistent with an R21 exploratory project. The expected number of awards is not specified in the provided source data.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations. Eligible applicants listed 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; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; Native American tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in those nonprofit categories); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other entities as allowed by NIH policy. The announcement also calls out 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, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions. These examples underscore an intent to encourage applications from institutions and organizations that are closely connected to communities and populations most affected, and that may bring community trust, culturally grounded perspectives, and on-the-ground knowledge to the research.

At the same time, the opportunity is explicit about foreign restrictions. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply. Non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible, and foreign components as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement are not allowed. In practical terms, NIMH is restricting this program to entirely domestic applicant organizations and domestic project components.

Taken together, this grant opportunity supports short, innovative, non-clinical-trial research projects aimed at explaining the drivers of suicide risk and resilience among Black youth, producing evidence that can guide later intervention development and prevention strategy. It is designed to broaden participation across universities, community organizations, school systems, tribal entities, and other U.S. institutions that are positioned to conduct meaningful, context-rich research focused on Black youth suicide prevention.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Understanding Suicide Risk and Protective Factors among Black Youth (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.242.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-03-22.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-06-20. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $275,000.00 in funding.
• 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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