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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

This grant, RFA-MH-25-205, aims to deeply understand the bidirectional influences between social media use and adolescent mental health. It supports research into how social media affects mental illness, psychiatric symptoms, and risk/resilience for psychopathology in young people. The grant also seeks proposals that explore how social media can be used to identify adolescents at risk, encourage appropriate mental health service use, and deliver preventive or therapeutic interventions. This opportunity is SECTOR-SPECIFIC, primarily targeting mental health research, social sciences, public health, and technology. The research must focus on adolescents, broadly defined as individuals between 10 and 20 years of age. It is open to organizations in the United States and internationally. This funding opportunity is a reissue of a previous grant, indicating a recurring program.

Financial Structure

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) intends to commit a total of $5,000,000.00 for fiscal years 2025 and 2026. This total budget is designated to fund approximately 5-6 awards across both this R01 grant opportunity (RFA-MH-25-205) and its companion R21 grant opportunity (RFA-MH-25-206).

Budget per Application: Application budgets are not limited by a specific cap, but they must accurately reflect the actual needs and scope of the proposed project.
Minimum/Maximum Grant Amounts: No specific minimum or maximum grant amount is stated for individual awards.
Cost Sharing: This funding opportunity does not require cost sharing or matching funds.
Eligible Costs: Applicants must include in their budget the costs associated with submitting data to the National Institute of Mental Health Data Archive (NDA). This includes costs for developing an enrollment strategy to obtain necessary information for a Global Unique Identifier (GUID) for each participant, and the overall strategy for data submission. Pre-award costs are allowable as per the NIH Grants Policy Statement guidelines.
Currency: All financial amounts are in United States Dollars (USD).
Funding Rate: The specific funding rate (percentage of eligible costs covered) is not specified.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for this grant, your organization must be one of the following types:

Higher Education Institutions: Both public/state controlled and private.
Nonprofits: Includes those with 501(c)(3) IRS Status and those without.
For-Profit Organizations: Both small businesses and other for-profit entities.
Local Governments: State, county, city or township, special district, and Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (both Federally Recognized and other).
Federal Governments: Eligible agencies of the Federal Government and U.S. Territory or Possession entities.
Other: Independent School Districts, Public Housing Authorities/Indian Housing Authorities, Native American Tribal Organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Faith-based or Community-based Organizations, and Regional Organizations.
Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) are also eligible to apply, including non-domestic components of U.S. Organizations.

All applicant organizations must complete and maintain active registrations with the System for Award Management (SAM), obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), and register with eRA Commons. Foreign organizations must obtain a NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code in lieu of a CAGE code for SAM registration. These registrations can take 6 weeks or more and must be completed prior to application submission. Applications will be considered non-responsive and will not be reviewed if they:

Are not focused on adolescence (10-20 years of age).
Lack theoretical and methodological considerations of mental illness.
Only measure the duration of time spent on screens or digital communications.
Rely solely on self-reported social media usage without other objective methods.
Propose animal research.
Propose preventive, therapeutic, or services interventions without an evaluation of the mechanism of action and its impact on primary outcomes.
Propose psychoeducation, health literacy, or referral interventions without explicitly examining the impact on service access, engagement, quality, and/or outcomes of care.

Application Process

Application Timeline

Open Date (Earliest Submission): December 27, 2024
Letter of Intent Due Date: 30 days prior to the application due date (e.g., around December 29, 2024, for the January 28, 2025, deadline, or September 20, 2025, for the October 20, 2025, deadline). While not required, submitting a letter of intent is strongly encouraged.
Application Due Dates: There are two main application due dates:
- January 28, 2025
- October 20, 2025 (This is the latest deadline).
All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of the applicant organization. No late applications will be accepted.
Earliest Start Date: December 2025 for January 2025 submissions; July 2026 for October 2025 submissions.
Project Period: The maximum project period for this grant is 5 years.

Application Submission

Submission Format: Applications must be submitted electronically using one of the following methods:
- NIH ASSIST system
- An institutional system-to-system (S2S) solution
- Grants.gov Workspace
Applicants are encouraged to submit early to allow time for corrections.

Required Documentation and Materials Applicants must follow the instructions in the Research (R) Instructions in the 'How to Apply - Application Guide' and any program-specific instructions in this NOFO. Key required documents include:

SF424(R&R) forms: Covering the application, project/performance site locations, other project information, senior/key person profiles, and budget (R&R or Modular, and Subaward if applicable).
PHS 398 forms: Including the Cover Page Supplement and Research Plan.
Research Plan: Must detail the significance, rigor, and feasibility of the proposed research, with specific attention to how social media behaviors will be measured beyond simple time spent. For interventions, explicit plans for evaluating the mechanism of action, measurement, and analysis are required.
Resource Sharing Plan.
Data Management and Sharing Plan: Mandatory for all applications generating scientific data, requiring data submission to the National Institute of Mental Health Data Archive (NDA).
PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form: Required for research involving human subjects or clinical trials.
Appendix: Limited to blank questionnaires or blank surveys only; no publications or other material allowed.

Reporting and Post-Award Obligations

Annual Reporting: Recipients must submit Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPR) annually and financial statements as required.
Data Submission to NDA: Descriptive/raw data is expected semi-annually (every January 15 and July 15). All other data is expected at the time of publication or prior to the end of the grant, whichever comes first.
Clinical Trials Reporting: If the award involves clinical trials, mandatory registration and results reporting on ClinicalTrials.gov are required.
Closeout: A final RPPR, invention statement, and expenditure data are required for award closeout.

Application Assistance Assistance is available from the eRA Service Desk for system questions, General Grants Information for application instructions, and Grants.gov Customer Support for registration. Specific Scientific/Research, Peer Review, and Financial/Grants Management contacts at NIMH are also provided in the NOFO.

Evaluation Criteria

Applications are evaluated based on scientific and technical merit using the following scored review criteria:

Factor 1: Importance of the Research (Significance and Innovation): Reviewers will assess how well the proposed project will advance understanding of the relationship between social media and adolescent mental illness, psychiatric symptoms, and/or risk or resilience for psychopathology.
Factor 2: Rigor and Feasibility (Approach): This involves evaluating the rigor and reproducibility of social media measures, the rationale for how social media behaviors will be measured across time/platforms, and evidence that proposed approaches are feasible and go beyond simple assessments of time spent. For intervention studies, explicit plans for evaluating the mechanism of action are crucial, including a conceptual framework, assessment plans, and analytical plans.
Factor 3: Expertise and Resources (Investigator(s) and Environment): This criterion considers the qualifications of the Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) and the adequacy of the research environment to successfully conduct the proposed work.

Additional Review Considerations (not scored individually but contribute to the overall impact score):

Protections for Human Subjects: Adequacy of protections against risks, potential benefits, and the importance of knowledge to be gained.
Vertebrate Animals: Justification for animal use, appropriateness of species, and methods to minimize discomfort.
Biohazards: Assessment of hazards to personnel/environment and proposed protections.
Resubmissions/Renewals/Revisions: Evaluation of previous progress and appropriateness of proposed changes.
Authentication of Key Biological and/or Chemical Resources.
Budget and Period of Support: Justification and reasonableness of the requested budget and project period.

Reviewers are encouraged to consider applications that include a youth advisory board to provide input on research design and dissemination. Projects that include an ethical research component or collaborations with ethics consultants are also encouraged. The NIMH particularly encourages research that aims to reduce disparities and advance equity in youth mental health interventions, services, and outcomes.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory and Policy Compliance All awards are subject to stringent compliance requirements, including:

Adherence to the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
Compliance with 2 CFR Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards.
Adherence to 42 CFR Part 52 and Federal Regulations 2 CFR Part 200.
Compliance with all applicable nondiscrimination laws; recipients must submit an Assurance of Compliance (HHS-690).
All federal statutes and regulations relevant to federal financial assistance, particularly those highlighted in the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 4 (Public Policy Requirements).

Data Protection and Sharing

A comprehensive Data Management and Sharing Plan consistent with the 2023 NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing is mandatory. This plan must detail how scientific data will be managed and shared.
Recipients are required to submit data to the National Institute of Mental Health Data Archive (NDA), utilizing its Global Unique Identifier (GUID) and Data Dictionary technology. This involves a planned enrollment strategy and budget for data submission.
If handling HHS-owned information or operational technology systems, recipients must develop plans and procedures modeled after the NIST Cybersecurity framework to protect systems and data, especially Personal Identifiable Information (PII) or Personal Health Information (PHI).

Ethical Standards and Human Subjects

Research involving human subjects must comply with NIMH policies and guidance for human research protection, data and safety monitoring (NOT-MH-19-027).
IRB (Institutional Review Board) or IEC (Independent Ethics Committee) approval is required for all protocols involving human subjects.
Clinical research involving investigational therapeutics must be performed under an FDA investigational new drug (IND) or investigational device exemption (IDE).
Ethical considerations specific to social media research in adolescents, such as privacy of participants and their peers, parental consent vs. waiver, and reporting requirements, are encouraged to be addressed, potentially through an ethical research component or collaborations with ethics consultants.

Technology and Infrastructure

If the award involves implementing, acquiring, or upgrading health IT, the technology must meet standards and specifications adopted in 45 CFR part 170, Subpart B, and, for certain clinical settings, be ONC Health IT Certified.

Special Considerations and Strategic Opportunities

Bidirectional Focus: A unique emphasis is placed on understanding the two-way relationship between social media and adolescent mental health.
Methodological Rigor: The grant prioritizes research using sophisticated and fine-grained approaches to assess social media use, moving beyond simple assessments of time spent. Encouragement for passive digital trace data collection.
Addressing Disparities: Strong encouragement for research that seeks to reduce disparities and advance equity in youth mental health interventions, services, and outcomes.
Stakeholder Engagement: Encouragement to include youth advisory boards and to incorporate end-user perspectives (adolescents, families, providers, social media companies) in intervention design for feasibility, acceptability, scalability, and sustainability.
Innovation: Interest in studies investigating novel technologies like artificial intelligence, virtual reality, smart glasses, and novel smartphone/wearable technologies in relation to mental health.
Competitive Advantage: Applications demonstrating a clear understanding of the 'experimental therapeutics approach' for interventions, including well-defined mechanisms of action, will be highly regarded. Strategic alignment with current public health priorities (e.g., U.S. Surgeon General advisories) is also a plus.

Grant Details