PATC3H Implementation Science Network (PATC3H-IN) Coordination, Translation and Advanced Methods and Analytics Center (UM2 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA HD 23 014

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA HD 23 014

The PATC3H Implementation Science Network (PATC3H-IN) Coordination, Translation and Advanced Methods and Analytics Center opportunity is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) cooperative agreement that funds a central, network-wide hub to support implementation science research focused on adolescents affected by HIV in resource-constrained settings. The program is built around the idea of improving the full HIV care continuum for youth, including preventing new infections among adolescents at risk, finding and diagnosing adolescents and young adults living with HIV, linking them to care, keeping them engaged over time, and achieving durable viral suppression. A key emphasis is translating evidence into real-world practice in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where health systems constraints, stigma, and service gaps often limit the impact of proven interventions.

This specific funding opportunity (RFA-HD-23-014) supports a Coordination, Translation and Advanced Methods and Analytics Center, meaning the award is designed to provide backbone functions for the PATC3H-IN network rather than operating as a single stand-alone research project. In practical terms, the Center is expected to help align multi-site work across countries and partners, strengthen implementation science capacity where it is limited, and accelerate consistent, high-quality methods across the network. Because it is a cooperative agreement, NIH is expected to have substantial scientific and programmatic involvement during the project period, with active collaboration between awardees and the agency on priorities, milestones, and network-level deliverables. The notice indicates a UM2 mechanism and that clinical trials are optional, which signals that the Center can include clinical trial components if needed, but the core expectation is advanced methods, analytics, and translation support for implementation science activities.

A major goal of PATC3H-IN is to expand the successes of the earlier PATC3H effort into new geographic settings that have limited implementation science research infrastructure and into populations that have historically been underrepresented in international adolescent HIV research. The announcement explicitly highlights groups such as sexual and gender minorities, commercial sex workers, and people who use drugs, reflecting a focus on equity and on reaching adolescents facing overlapping vulnerabilities, criminalization, or stigma. The broader public health rationale is that adolescent HIV prevention and sustained treatment outcomes remain a neglected and difficult area globally, and implementation science approaches are needed to understand what works, for whom, and how to make interventions feasible, acceptable, scalable, and sustainable in real service settings.

The geographic eligibility and targeting are tied to UNAIDS-defined HIV epidemic density. The FOA specifies that network work should be conducted in countries that meet at least one of two conditions: (1) at least 200,000 people living with HIV and that number has not decreased by more than 5 percent over the last two consecutive years of available data, or (2) an HIV incidence among youth ages 10 to 24 years of 0.01 or higher. This definition is meant to ensure that funded activities are concentrated in settings with substantial and persistent HIV burden among young people, where improvements in implementation and service delivery can translate into meaningful population-level gains.

The funding instrument is a discretionary cooperative agreement under NIH, and the opportunity is categorized within broad federal activity areas that include health, education, and social services. The CFDA/assistance listings associated with the FOA include 93.242, 93.279, 93.865, and 93.989, reflecting NIH program alignment. The opportunity had an original closing date of December 6, 2022, and lists an award ceiling of $25,000,000, indicating the potential for a large, multi-component center capable of supporting network-wide coordination and analytics functions at scale. While the synopsis does not spell out the number of expected awards in the excerpt provided, the structure of a network center award typically implies a limited number of awards that serve as shared infrastructure for multiple research sites or projects.

Eligibility is intentionally broad to allow participation from a wide range of organizations that can contribute to network coordination, analytics, and implementation science support. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; special districts; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) as well as small businesses; and other entities. The announcement also calls out additional eligible applicants and partner-relevant institution types such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs). It also explicitly includes faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations), which is consistent with the LMIC focus and the need for local implementation partners.

Overall, this FOA is best understood as funding the central engine of a global adolescent HIV implementation science network: a center responsible for coordinating network activities, supporting translation of evidence into programs and policies, and providing advanced methodological and analytic leadership to strengthen the rigor, comparability, and practical impact of implementation research across multiple high-burden settings and underserved youth populations.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "PATC3H Implementation Science Network (PATC3H-IN) Coordination, Translation and Advanced Methods and Analytics Center (UM2 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.242, 93.279, 93.865, 93.989.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-07-22.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-12-06. (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 $25,000,000.00 in funding.
• 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.

Apply for RFA HD 23 014

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