Blockchain Technology to Improve SUD Care (R43/R44 - Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA DA 20 012

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DA 20 012

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity titled "Blockchain Technology to Improve SUD Care (R43/R44 - Clinical Trial Optional)" (Funding Opportunity Number: RFA-DA-20-012) is a discretionary grant program aimed specifically at small businesses that can develop commercializable blockchain-based products to improve how substance use disorder (SUD) care is delivered and managed. The core focus is not blockchain as a novelty, but blockchain as a practical tool to fix real, day-to-day inefficiencies across the SUD healthcare ecosystem, where information is often fragmented, workflows can be slow and duplicative, and coordination among patients, providers, payers, and other stakeholders can break down. The announcement is structured under the NIH Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer mechanisms (R43/R44), meaning it is oriented toward early-stage R and D that can mature into deployable products and, ultimately, market-ready solutions.

The main purpose of the announcement is to solicit research applications for products that use blockchain (or closely related distributed ledger approaches) in ways that improve processes in SUD care. In practice, that can include strengthening trust in data exchange, improving interoperability between organizations that do not share the same systems, providing clearer audit trails for consent and data access, enabling more reliable verification of clinical or administrative events, and reducing delays or errors that arise when records are siloed. Because the FOA emphasizes "inefficient processes currently in existence," it is essentially inviting applicants to identify bottlenecks in the SUD treatment landscape and propose blockchain-enabled tools that reduce administrative friction, improve coordination, and support better continuity of care. While the full FOA would spell out the specific research and product expectations in more detail, the language here makes clear the expectation of a product-oriented outcome rather than a purely academic study.

The activity is categorized under Education and Health and is associated with CFDA (now commonly referred to as Assistance Listing) number 93.279, which aligns with NIH programs connected to drug abuse and related research areas. The "Clinical Trial Optional" designation signals that applicants may propose projects that include a clinical trial component if appropriate, but a clinical trial is not required. This is important for small businesses because many blockchain product development efforts may focus on software development, integration, security, privacy-by-design architectures, and pilot implementations that do not meet NIH's definition of a clinical trial, while other efforts might include prospective testing in real clinical settings where outcomes are measured.

Eligibility is limited to small businesses, reinforcing that the program is designed to spur innovation and commercialization from the private sector. The opportunity also draws a bright line on foreign eligibility: non-U.S. entities (foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. However, the announcement notes that foreign components may be allowed as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement, which typically means a U.S.-based applicant organization can, under certain conditions and with proper justification, include specific project elements conducted outside the United States if they are essential to the project and comply with NIH policy. The controlling idea is that the applicant organization must be domestic and eligible, even if narrowly defined foreign components could be permissible.

Administratively, the opportunity is a grant (Funding Instrument Type: Grant) and falls under NIH as the issuing agency. The listing indicates the original closing date was 2019-07-31, and the FOA was created on 2019-05-08, placing it in a specific historical window. The provided source snippet does not specify an award ceiling or the number of expected awards (those fields are left blank in the excerpt), so applicants would normally need to consult the full FOA text to understand budget limits, project period expectations for Phase I (R43) and Phase II (R44), and any limits on direct costs or total costs.

In plain terms, this grant opportunity was set up to back small companies that can take blockchain beyond pilot hype and into usable tools that make SUD care function better. The emphasis on commercializability suggests NIH wanted applicants to think seriously about adoption barriers, integration into existing health IT environments, privacy and compliance expectations, usability for clinicians and patients, and a realistic path to deployment and sustainability. The intended result is a product that can be implemented in the real world to improve how SUD care information and processes are managed, rather than a one-off proof of concept with no clear route to practice.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Blockchain Technology to Improve SUD Care (R43/R44 - Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.279.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-05-08.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-07-31. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Small businesses.

Apply for RFA DA 20 012

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