Community Partnerships to Advance Research (CPAR) (R15 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PA 18 475

Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 18 475

The Community Partnerships to Advance Research (CPAR) funding opportunity (PA 18-475) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) discretionary grant program that uses the R15 mechanism and is focused on education and health (CFDA 93.361). Its central goal is to support research projects built on genuine partnerships between researchers and community groups, using Community Engaged Research (CEnR) approaches. The idea behind the announcement is that when communities are involved as true partners in shaping research questions, methods, implementation, and interpretation, the work is more likely to strengthen trust, improve relevance, produce better-designed interventions, and ultimately contribute to positive health outcomes. A key restriction is that clinical trials are not allowed under this FOA.

The program is designed to encourage projects where community relationships are not an afterthought, but a core part of how the research is conceived and carried out. In practice, that means applicants are expected to work collaboratively with community-based partners and apply CEnR methodologies to enhance long-term relationships and mutual benefit. While the announcement text here does not list specific topic areas, the emphasis is clearly on intervention development and community-centered strategies that can translate into measurable improvements in health.

Eligibility is broad and intentionally inclusive, spanning many types of organizations that can credibly support community-engaged work. 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; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; and a wide range of nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3), as long as they are not institutions of higher education). The opportunity also allows applications from for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) and from small businesses, as well as other applicant types listed by NIH.

The FOA explicitly highlights additional categories of eligible applicants to reinforce its community partnership mission. These include faith-based or community-based organizations; Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); Hispanic-serving institutions; Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions; Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs); Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs); regional organizations; U.S. territories or possessions; and eligible federal government agencies. It also notes eligibility for Indian/Native American Tribal Governments that are other than federally recognized, which can be important for communities that operate outside federal recognition structures but still have strong governance and service networks.

Foreign eligibility is limited and somewhat nuanced. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities or foreign institutions are not eligible to apply directly, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. However, the FOA allows "foreign components" as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, meaning a U.S.-based applicant may include certain international elements in the project when justified and when compliant with NIH policy, even though a foreign institution cannot be the primary applicant.

From a funding standpoint, the opportunity lists an award ceiling of $300,000. The source excerpt does not provide a definitive expected number of awards. The original closing date shown is January 7, 2019, and the FOA creation date is December 18, 2017, which indicates this specific announcement cycle is historical; anyone interested in pursuing CPAR-type funding today would typically need to check NIH for a currently active FOA or reissued successor announcement with updated dates and requirements.

In summary, CPAR (R15, clinical trial not allowed) is an NIH grant opportunity meant to strengthen community-academic (or community-research) partnerships through rigorous community-engaged research methods, with the explicit aim of improving intervention development and health outcomes. It welcomes a wide range of applicant organizations, especially those rooted in or serving specific communities, while keeping the applicant organization U.S.-based and restricting the work to non-clinical-trial research.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Community Partnerships to Advance Research (CPAR) (R15 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.361.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-12-18.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-01-07. (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 $300,000.00 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.

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