This Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) highlights interest in mental health services and implementation science research to support the adoption and sustainability of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in community-based settings that deliver care to people with mental illness. These settings could include, but are not limited to, Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) funded through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic-Expansion (CCBHC-E) grant program.
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recognize that effective research-practice partnerships are crucial for identifying salient research questions and developing and testing realistic, adoptable, scalable, and sustainable implementation strategies that promote continuously improving mental and behavioral health care. To be competitive, researchers must partner with healthcare delivery organizations and/or organizations charged to deliver implementation support to healthcare delivery organizations. Examples of healthcare delivery organizations include current CCBHC-E awardees (https://www.samhsa.gov/grants/2021/ccbhc-awards) and organizations applying for CCBHC-E grant funding (e.g.,funding through SM-22-002: Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) – Planning, Development, and Implementation Grants (CCBHC–PDI) and SM-22-012: Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) – Improvement and Advancement Grants (CCBHC–IA), with additional information here. An example of an organization charged to deliver implementation support includes the SAMHSA-funded Technical Assistance (TA) Center.
This NOSI invites mental health and substance use services researchers to collaborate with CCBHC-E awardees, TA-center awardees, and/or other community-based centers delivering mental or physical health or substance use-related services to propose research studies that will advance understanding of best practices in clinical program implementation. Research grant applications can be submitted through any of the NIMH or NIDA Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) listed below.
NIMH, NIDA, and SAMHSA recognize the potential for effective research practice partnerships to advance care delivery for people with mental illness and/or substance use disorders who are being treated in community health centers like CCBHCs. This NOSI encourages research practice partnerships and the development of meritorious research projects that can a) answer important research questions that have broad relevance beyond the participating clinics and b) generate knowledge that can ultimately be used to improve care for people with mental illness, including SMI, SED, substance use disorders, and other co-occurring conditions.
This notice applies to due dates on or after May 7, 2022 and subsequent receipt dates through May 8, 2025.
NOT-MH-22-170
