Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA HL 20 003
The Disparities Elimination through Coordinated Interventions to Prevent and Control Heart and Lung Disease Risk (DECIPHeR) opportunity (RFA HL 20 003) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Health and Human Services cooperative agreement funding announcement designed to reduce and ultimately eliminate cardiovascular and/or pulmonary health disparities in communities carrying a high burden of heart and lung disease risk. The central goal is not to invent new clinical treatments, but to take interventions that are already proven effective and figure out the best, most practical ways to get them adopted, delivered well, and sustained over time in real-world community, public health, and routine clinical settings so they produce the largest possible population health impact.
This announcement specifically emphasizes T4 implementation research. In this context, T4 work focuses on identifying, testing, and refining strategies that increase the consistent uptake and long-term maintenance of evidence-based interventions in everyday practice. In other words, applicants are expected to study how to make known solutions actually reach people who need them, especially in places where disparities persist because of barriers like limited access to care, under-resourced public health infrastructure, structural inequities, or challenges in coordinating services across organizations. Projects should be community-level in nature and aimed at improving population outcomes, with an explicit focus on disparity reduction.
The funding mechanism is a cooperative agreement (UG3/UH3) with clinical trial optional, meaning applicants may propose studies that do or do not meet NIH’s definition of a clinical trial. The UG3/UH3 structure generally supports a phased approach, where an initial stage supports planning, refinement, and readiness activities, and a later stage supports full implementation and testing once milestones are met. Because it is a cooperative agreement rather than a traditional grant, awardees should expect substantial programmatic involvement from NIH staff, typically including collaborative oversight, milestone-driven transitions between phases, and coordination intended to maximize rigor, reproducibility, and real-world relevance.
Eligible applicants are broad and include many organizations positioned to carry out community-engaged implementation research. Eligibility spans state, county, and 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; other Native American tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (outside of higher education institutions); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses, plus additional eligible entities as described in the full announcement. This wide eligibility signals that NIH is looking for cross-sector capacity, including partnerships that can integrate clinical systems, public health agencies, and community-based organizations.
Financially, the announcement lists an award ceiling of $635,000 and anticipates approximately 8 awards. The associated CFDA numbers are 93.837, 93.838, and 93.840, reflecting alignment with NIH heart, lung, blood, and sleep-related research programs. The opportunity was created March 11, 2019, with an original closing date of October 1, 2019.
At a practical level, strong applications under DECIPHeR would be expected to do more than demonstrate that an intervention works. They would focus on the implementation strategy itself: how delivery will be coordinated across real community settings, what barriers to adoption and sustainability are being addressed, how effectiveness and reach will be measured in high-burden communities, and how the work will contribute to measurable reductions in cardiovascular and/or pulmonary disparities. The emphasis on coordinated, community-level delivery suggests projects will often involve multi-partner collaborations and approaches designed for scale and durability, not just short-term program success.Apply for RFA HL 20 003
- The Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Disparities Elimination through Coordinated Interventions to Prevent and Control Heart and Lung Disease Risk (DECIPHeR) (UG3/UH3 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.837, 93.838, 93.840.
- This funding opportunity was created on Mar 11, 2019.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 01, 2019. (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 $635,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 8 candidate(s).
- 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 (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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DECIPHeR (RFA HL 20 003) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1) What is the DECIPHeR funding opportunity?
DECIPHeR stands for Disparities Elimination through Coordinated Interventions to Prevent and Control Heart and Lung Disease Risk. It is a National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Health and Human Services cooperative agreement funding announcement (RFA HL 20 003) focused on reducing and ultimately eliminating cardiovascular and/or pulmonary health disparities in communities with a high burden of heart and lung disease risk.
2) What is the main purpose of DECIPHeR?
The central purpose is to increase the real-world population health impact of interventions that are already proven effective. Rather than inventing new clinical treatments, DECIPHeR is aimed at determining the most practical and sustainable ways to get evidence-based interventions adopted, delivered with quality, and maintained over time in community, public health, and routine clinical settings, especially where disparities persist.
3) What kinds of health issues does DECIPHeR focus on?
DECIPHeR focuses on cardiovascular and/or pulmonary health disparities, particularly in communities with a high burden of heart and lung disease risk.
4) What is meant by "health disparities" in this announcement?
In this context, health disparities refer to persistent gaps in heart and lung health outcomes and risk that are associated with real-world barriers such as limited access to care, under-resourced public health infrastructure, structural inequities, or difficulties coordinating services across organizations. DECIPHeR prioritizes projects intended to reduce these gaps.
5) Does DECIPHeR fund the development of new treatments?
No. The announcement explicitly states that the goal is not to invent new clinical treatments. The focus is on implementing interventions that are already proven effective and studying how to improve their uptake, quality of delivery, and long-term sustainability in real-world settings.
6) What type of research does DECIPHeR emphasize?
DECIPHeR specifically emphasizes T4 implementation research. Under this announcement, T4 focuses on identifying, testing, and refining strategies that increase consistent uptake and long-term maintenance of evidence-based interventions in everyday practice.
7) What does T4 implementation research mean in practical terms?
Practically, applicants are expected to study how to make known solutions reliably reach the people who need them. This includes understanding and addressing barriers to adoption and sustainability, improving coordination across settings and organizations, and refining implementation strategies so effective interventions can be delivered well and maintained in routine community, public health, and clinical environments.
8) What settings are projects expected to address?
The opportunity describes a focus on real-world community, public health, and routine clinical settings. Projects should be community-level in nature and aimed at improving population outcomes, with an explicit focus on disparity reduction.
9) Are projects required to be community-level?
Yes. The announcement states that projects should be community-level in nature, aimed at improving population outcomes, and explicitly focused on reducing cardiovascular and/or pulmonary disparities.
10) What is the funding mechanism for DECIPHeR?
DECIPHeR uses a cooperative agreement mechanism (UG3/UH3) with clinical trial optional. This means proposals may include studies that do or do not meet NIH's definition of a clinical trial.
11) What does "clinical trial optional" mean here?
It means applicants may propose studies that either meet or do not meet NIH's definition of a clinical trial. The announcement allows flexibility depending on the proposed implementation research approach.
12) What is the UG3/UH3 phased structure?
The UG3/UH3 structure generally supports a phased approach. An initial stage supports planning, refinement, and readiness activities, and a later stage supports full implementation and testing once predefined milestones are met.
13) How does a cooperative agreement differ from a traditional grant in DECIPHeR?
Because it is a cooperative agreement rather than a traditional grant, awardees should expect substantial programmatic involvement from NIH staff. This typically includes collaborative oversight, milestone-driven transitions between phases, and coordination intended to maximize rigor, reproducibility, and real-world relevance.
14) What should applicants expect regarding NIH involvement?
Applicants should expect substantial programmatic involvement from NIH staff, including collaborative oversight and milestone-based management of the phased UG3/UH3 structure, with an emphasis on ensuring rigor, reproducibility, and practical relevance in real-world settings.
15) Who is eligible to apply for DECIPHeR?
Eligibility is broad. Eligible applicants include state, county, and 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; other Native American tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (outside of higher education institutions); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses, plus additional eligible entities described in the full announcement.
16) Does DECIPHeR encourage partnerships?
Yes. The opportunity notes wide eligibility and signals interest in cross-sector capacity, including partnerships that can integrate clinical systems, public health agencies, and community-based organizations. The emphasis on coordinated, community-level delivery also suggests multi-partner collaborations may be common.
17) What is the award ceiling for DECIPHeR?
The announcement lists an award ceiling of $635,000.
18) How many awards are expected under this opportunity?
The announcement anticipates approximately 8 awards.
19) What CFDA numbers are associated with DECIPHeR?
The associated CFDA numbers are 93.837, 93.838, and 93.840, reflecting alignment with NIH heart, lung, blood, and sleep-related research programs.
20) When was the opportunity created and when did it close?
The opportunity was created March 11, 2019, with an original closing date of October 1, 2019.
21) What kinds of project characteristics are likely to be viewed as strong under DECIPHeR?
Based on the description provided, strong projects would go beyond showing that an intervention works. They would focus on the implementation strategy itself: how delivery will be coordinated across real community settings, what barriers to adoption and sustainability are being addressed, how effectiveness and reach will be measured in high-burden communities, and how the work will contribute to measurable reductions in cardiovascular and/or pulmonary disparities.
22) What kinds of barriers is DECIPHeR trying to address through implementation research?
The announcement highlights barriers such as limited access to care, under-resourced public health infrastructure, structural inequities, and challenges coordinating services across organizations. Projects are expected to address barriers like these as part of improving uptake and long-term maintenance of proven interventions.
23) How important is sustainability in this opportunity?
Sustainability is central. The announcement repeatedly emphasizes long-term maintenance of evidence-based interventions and durable, real-world delivery approaches rather than short-term program success.
24) Is the focus on scaling interventions beyond a small pilot?
The description emphasizes approaches designed for scale and durability and prioritizes real-world relevance and population impact. While specific scale requirements are not stated, the stated intent supports strategies that can be coordinated across community settings and sustained over time.
25) What kinds of outcomes does DECIPHeR ultimately want to improve?
The announcement emphasizes improving population outcomes in high-burden communities and achieving measurable reductions in cardiovascular and/or pulmonary disparities through better uptake and sustained delivery of evidence-based interventions.
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