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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

This grant, RFA-MH-25-206, aims to understand the bidirectional influences between social media use and adolescent mental health. Specifically, it seeks to explore how online social behavior impacts adolescent mental illness, psychiatric symptoms, and risk or resilience for psychopathology. It also encourages research on the feasibility, acceptability, and utility of social-media focused interventions and services. The target recipients are diverse organizations including universities, non-profits, for-profit businesses, and various government entities. There are no specific organizational size requirements mentioned. This is a SECTOR-SPECIFIC grant focusing on mental health, social science, and technology in health. Geographically, organizations from the US and international entities are eligible to apply. Key filtering criteria for initial screening include a strict focus on adolescents (defined as 10-20 years of age), engagement with mental health research, and a commitment to rigorous methodologies that go beyond simple self-reported social media usage or animal research. This R21 grant is characterized as a 'shorter, higher-risk exploratory/developmental research grant' and is a reissue of a previous funding opportunity, indicating an ongoing program interest.

Financial Structure

This grant opportunity, RFA-MH-25-206, is part of a larger funding initiative by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). NIMH plans to commit $5,000,000 USD in total costs across two related funding opportunities (RFA-MH-25-205 and RFA-MH-25-206) for fiscal years 2025 and 2026. This overall amount will support approximately 5-6 awards, contingent on NIH appropriations and the quality of applications. For a single project under RFA-MH-25-206, the award budget is capped: * The combined direct costs for the two-year project period may not exceed $275,000 USD. * No more than $200,000 USD may be requested in any single year. There is no specified minimum grant amount per application. The grant does not require cost sharing or matching funds, as defined by NIH policy. While specific eligible and ineligible costs are not exhaustively detailed in this announcement, all awards are subject to the terms and conditions, and cost principles outlined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. Pre-award costs are allowable only as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. Financial reporting requirements include annual submission of the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) and financial statements. A final RPPR, invention statement, and expenditure data are required for closeout.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for this grant, your organization must fall into one of the following categories:

Higher Education Institutions: Both public/state-controlled and private institutions.
Nonprofits: Including those with or without 501(c)(3) IRS status.
For-Profit Organizations: This includes both small businesses and larger for-profit entities.
Local Governments: Such as state, county, city or township governments, special district governments, and both federally recognized and other Indian/Native American Tribal Governments.
Federal Governments: Eligible agencies and U.S. Territory or Possession entities.
Other: This broad category includes Independent School Districts, Public Housing Authorities/Indian Housing Authorities, Native American Tribal Organizations, Faith-based or Community-based Organizations, and Regional Organizations.

Notably, Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) are also explicitly eligible to apply, as are non-domestic components of U.S. organizations. All applicant organizations must complete and maintain active registrations in several systems before applying, a process that can take 6 weeks or more. These include: * System for Award Management (SAM) (with annual renewal). * NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code (for foreign organizations, in lieu of a CAGE code). * Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) (obtained through SAM.gov registration). * eRA Commons (requires identification of a Signing Official and at least one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI)). * Grants.gov (requires active SAM registration). Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PD/PIs) must also have an eRA Commons account, which can take up to 2 weeks to obtain. This grant does not require cost sharing. Exclusion Criteria (Applications Not Responsive): Applications will be considered non-responsive and will not be reviewed or considered for funding if they propose studies that are: * Not focused on adolescence, defined broadly as 10-20 years of age. * Without theoretical and methodological considerations of mental illness. * Only measure duration of time spent on screens or digital communications (i.e., too simplistic). * Rely solely on self-reported social media usage without other objective methods. * Proposing animal research. * Proposing preventive, therapeutic, or services interventions without a preliminary evaluation of the mechanism of action and its impact on the primary outcomes. * Proposing psychoeducation, health literacy, and referral interventions without explicitly examining the impact on service access, engagement, quality and/or outcomes of care.

Application Process

Application Submission Deadlines Applications for RFA-MH-25-206 have two main deadlines: * January 28, 2025 * October 20, 2025 All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of the applicant organization. It is strongly recommended to apply early to allow time for error correction. No late applications will be accepted. Submission Platforms Applications must be submitted electronically through one of the following platforms: * NIH ASSIST system (online preparation, submission, and tracking). * An institutional system-to-system (S2S) solution. * Grants.gov Workspace. Pre-Application Requirements & Registrations Before you can submit, your organization and the PD/PI(s) must complete several registrations, which can take 6 weeks or more: * System for Award Management (SAM): Must be active and renewed annually. * Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): Issued via SAM.gov registration. * eRA Commons: Your organization needs to register, identifying at least one Signing Official (SO) and one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) account. * Grants.gov: Requires an active SAM registration. * PD/PI eRA Commons Account: All PD/PIs must have their own eRA Commons account, which can take up to 2 weeks. Letter of Intent A Letter of Intent is not required and is not binding, but it is encouraged 30 days prior to the application due date. It helps NIMH estimate review workload. Required Documentation & Content Applicants must follow the instructions in the 'Research (R) Instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide' unless specifically instructed otherwise in this NOFO. Key components include: * SF424(R&R) forms: Covering standard information like cover page, project/performance sites, other project information, senior/key personnel profile, and budget (R&R or Modular). * PHS 398 forms: Including a Cover Page Supplement and a detailed Research Plan. * PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form: Required if human subjects are involved. * PHS Assignment Request Form. Research Plan Specifics: Your research plan must detail: * The significance of your proposed project in advancing understanding of social media/adolescent mental health interactions. * The rigor and feasibility of your approach, especially regarding the measurement of social media behaviors (moving beyond simple time assessments) and the rationale for participant age ranges. * For intervention studies, you must explicitly detail plans to preliminarily examine the mechanism(s) of action, including a conceptual framework, measurement plans, and an analysis plan. You also need to describe deployment-focused development and testing ensuring feasibility, acceptability, scalability, and sustainability. Data Management and Sharing Plan All applications generating scientific data must submit a Data Management and Sharing Plan in compliance with the NIH policy. Investigators funded under this NOFO are expected to share data via the National Institute of Mental Health Data Archive (NDA). You must budget for data submission costs, and data submission is expected semi-annually (January 15 and July 15) or at publication/end of grant. Appendix Limitations Only limited Appendix materials are allowed, such as blank questionnaires or surveys. No publications or other materials are permitted. Project Duration & Reporting

The maximum project period is 2 years.
Recipients will be required to submit a Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) annually, along with financial statements. A final RPPR and expenditure data are required at closeout.

Evaluation Criteria

Applications for this grant will be evaluated based on their scientific and technical merit through a rigorous NIH peer review system. Reviewers will provide an overall impact score reflecting the project's likelihood to significantly influence the research field. Scored Review Criteria: These three factors will directly contribute to the scientific merit score: * Factor 1. Importance of the Research (Significance and Innovation): Reviewers assess how 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 and/or platforms, and evidence that objective methods are feasible and appropriate (moving beyond simple time-spent assessments). For applications involving interventions, this factor also requires: * A clear conceptual framework identifying the mechanism(s) of action and empirical evidence linking them to desired outcomes. * Measurement plans for assessing mechanism engagement. * An analysis plan for preliminary evaluation of intervention-induced changes and their association with outcomes. * Detail on deployment-focused development and testing that incorporates end-user perspectives (adolescents, families, providers, social media companies) and considers resource needs for sustainable utilization of social media as a platform for mental health services. The proposal should demonstrate that interventions are feasible, acceptable, scalable, and ultimately sustainable (considering system of care, financing, staffing). * Factor 3. Expertise and Resources (Investigator(s) and Environment): Evaluates the investigators' background, training, and expertise, as well as the quality of the leadership plan for multiple Principal Investigator (MPI) applications. It also assesses the appropriateness of institutional resources for executing the proposed work. Additional Review Criteria (Considered, but Not Scored): Reviewers will consider these aspects in determining the overall impact score but will not assign separate scores for them: * Protections for Human Subjects: Justification for involvement, proposed protections against risk, potential benefits, importance of knowledge to be gained, and data/safety monitoring for clinical trials (if applicable). * Vertebrate Animals: Justification for use, appropriateness of species, interventions to minimize discomfort, and justification for euthanasia methods (if applicable). * Biohazards: Assessment of hazardous materials/procedures and proposed protections. * Resubmissions/Renewals/Revisions: Evaluation of the full application as presented, progress made, or appropriateness of scope expansion. Additional Review Considerations (Not Scored):

Authentication of Key Biological and/or Chemical Resources: Plans for identifying and ensuring validity of resources.
Budget and Period of Support: Justification and reasonableness of the requested budget and project duration in relation to the proposed research.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance Award recipients must comply with a range of federal regulations and policies, including: * The NIH Grants Policy Statement. * 2 CFR Part 200: Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. * Applicable nondiscrimination laws (agreed upon during SAM.gov registration). * Public Health Service Act (Sections 301 and 405) and Federal Regulations 42 CFR Part 52. Human Subjects, Data, and Security

Human Research Protection: Projects involving human subjects must adhere strictly to NIH policies, including rigorous data and safety monitoring plans. Clinical trials (if applicable) must register with ClinicalTrials.gov and comply with IRB/IEC review and, if relevant, Investigational New Drug (IND) or Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) requirements.
Data Protection and Sharing: A mandatory Data Management and Sharing Plan is required. All scientific data generated is expected to be shared through the National Institute of Mental Health Data Archive (NDA). This requires budgeting for submission costs and certifying data quality.
Ethical Standards: Applicants are encouraged to include an ethical research component or collaborate with ethics consultants to address considerations like participant privacy and parental consent in social media research.
Technology & Cybersecurity: If the project involves implementing, acquiring, or upgrading health IT, it must meet standards in 45 CFR part 170, Subpart B, and, if applicable, be certified under the ONC Health IT Certification Program. Recipients with ongoing access to HHS information systems are required to develop cybersecurity plans and procedures modeled after the NIST Cybersecurity Framework.

Special Considerations & Innovation

Unique Focus: The grant emphasizes understanding bidirectional influences between social media use and adolescent mental health, moving beyond simplistic cause-effect models.
Methodological Rigor: Proposals are expected to employ sophisticated, fine-grained approaches to assess social media use, explicitly encouraging the collection of passive digital trace data (e.g., text analysis, GPS data) to capture usage context.
Youth Engagement: The grant strongly encourages the inclusion of a youth advisory board to provide input on research design, interpretation, and dissemination, ensuring participant perspectives are integrated.
Innovation: As an R21 Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant, it supports the investigation of novel scientific ideas, new model systems, tools, or technologies with potential for significant impact. Preliminary data is not required, with emphasis placed on the conceptual framework and innovative aspects.
Health Equity: NIMH is committed to supporting research that reduces disparities and advances equity in youth mental health interventions and outcomes, encouraging proposals that address drivers of disparities.
Strategic Alignment: This funding opportunity directly aligns with critical public health concerns highlighted by the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General's Advisories on Youth Mental Health and Social Media, and reports from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Grant Details