Leveraging Social Networks to Promote Widespread Individual Behavior Change (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA AG 24 025

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is the name and number of this NIH funding opportunity?

The funding opportunity is titled "Leveraging Social Networks to Promote Widespread Individual Behavior Change (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" and the FOA number is RFA-AG-24-025.

2. What type of grant mechanism is being used?

This opportunity uses the NIH R01 mechanism.

3. What is the overall purpose of this NOFO?

The NOFO supports basic behavioral and social science research that explains how health-related behavior change happens within the context of people's social relationships and social network structures. The emphasis is on understanding how network features can shape, amplify, or constrain behavior change.

4. What is the central scientific idea behind the opportunity?

The central idea is to move beyond studying individuals in isolation by examining behavior change as something that occurs through social relationships and network pathways. The goal is to test how mechanisms within individuals and between individuals interact with measurable network characteristics.

5. What kinds of mechanisms does the NOFO highlight?

The NOFO highlights two broad categories of mechanisms:

• Intrapersonal mechanisms (within-person), such as motivation, self-regulation, beliefs, stress responses, habits, and decision processes.
• Interpersonal mechanisms (between people), such as social influence, social support, norms, communication patterns, social comparison, and contagion effects.

6. What types of social network characteristics are relevant to this opportunity?

The NOFO gives examples of measurable network characteristics that may be studied, including network size, density, centrality, tie strength, clustering, homophily, bridging ties, and the presence of key influencers.

7. What levels of analysis are expected in proposed projects?

Proposed projects are expected to explicitly include at least two levels of analysis. Specifically, projects should include:

• Interpersonal processes, and
• Social network characteristics

Applications should show how combining these levels advances understanding of health-relevant behavior change.

8. Is the NOFO focused on individual behavior change or population-level impact?

While the focus is on behavior change at the individual level, the NOFO is explicitly interested in understanding the network pathways through which behavior change spreads (or fails to spread), with the aim of informing future approaches that can produce broader and more durable population-level impact through real-world social connections.

9. What is meant by "leveraging social networks" in this context?

In this context, "leveraging social networks" refers to understanding and characterizing how behavior change is influenced by social ties, network structure, and network dynamics, including who influences whom, under what conditions influence is strongest, and which network attributes could be used later as targets for scalable strategies.

10. What is the major goal or expected payoff of this NOFO?

A major goal is to generate foundational evidence to identify and validate targets for future interventions that use social networks to improve health behaviors across the lifespan. The expected payoff is clearer evidence about which interpersonal mechanisms and network features matter most, for whom, and in what contexts.

11. Are certain populations especially encouraged?

Yes. The NOFO expresses particular interest in populations where social-network-based health behavior interventions are still limited, underdeveloped, or largely untested. Midlife and older adulthood are highlighted as an example.

12. Does the NOFO support measurement development work?

Yes. The announcement welcomes basic research focused on measurement development, refinement, or optimization, including creating or improving assays and measures of proposed mechanisms or network features that may become targets for later interventions.

13. What are examples of measurement-focused topics that would fit?

Examples mentioned include developing better ways to measure interpersonal influence dynamics in real time, quantify social reinforcement or normative pressure, capture network evolution over time, or link network metrics to specific behavioral mechanisms in a reliable way that can support future intervention design.

14. What does "Clinical Trial Optional" mean for this opportunity?

"Clinical Trial Optional" indicates that a clinical trial may be proposed, but it is not required. However, it does not mean that applied intervention effectiveness trials are broadly invited under this FOA.

15. Are clinical trials allowed under this FOA?

Clinical trials are only considered responsive if they meet the federal definition of basic research (referenced as CFR 272.3). The work should aim at fundamental understanding of mechanisms and network processes rather than testing an already-developed clinical or public health intervention for effectiveness.

16. What types of clinical trial proposals would likely be considered non-responsive?

Projects mainly focused on testing an already-developed intervention for effectiveness, or proposals centered on applied intervention work rather than basic research questions about mechanisms and network processes, would generally not align with the intent described in the NOFO.

17. If a project is primarily about developing or planning a social network intervention, what NIH opportunity is suggested instead?

If the project is mainly planning activities to develop a social network intervention when a target has already been identified, the NIH indicates those proposals generally fit better under the companion R34 opportunity, RFA-AG-24-026, which is geared toward intervention development and planning.

18. What is the listed award ceiling?

The award ceiling listed for this opportunity is $500,000.

19. What is the original closing date stated for this opportunity?

The original closing date stated is 2023-11-03.

20. Is this a discretionary grant opportunity?

Yes. It is described as a discretionary NIH grant opportunity.

21. What CFDA numbers are associated with this opportunity?

The opportunity is listed under CFDA numbers 93.399 and 93.866.

22. What types of organizations are eligible to apply?

Eligible applicants are broad and include many types of U.S. institutions and organizations, such as state and local governments, public and private institutions of higher education, independent school districts, special district governments, federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status, for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), and small businesses.

23. Are minority-serving institutions and community-based organizations eligible?

Yes. The eligibility list explicitly includes Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, AANAPISIs, Hispanic-serving Institutions, HBCUs, TCCUs, faith-based or community-based organizations, and regional organizations, among others.

24. Are non-U.S. entities allowed to apply?

Yes. Non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations) are explicitly included among eligible applicant categories.

25. Are U.S. territories or possessions eligible?

Yes. U.S. territories or possessions are explicitly included among eligible applicant categories.

26. Are tribal governments that are not federally recognized eligible?

Yes. Tribal governments that are not federally recognized are explicitly included among eligible applicant categories.

27. What kinds of research questions does the NOFO want applicants to address?

The NOFO encourages applicants to look beyond whether a behavior changes and examine the network pathways through which change spreads or fails to spread, who exerts influence, the conditions under which influence is strongest, and which network attributes could be leveraged to enable broader and more durable impact.

28. How should applicants frame "targets" for future interventions under this basic research NOFO?

Targets should be framed as mechanisms and network features that can be identified and validated through foundational evidence, with the intention that they could later inform intervention design that uses social connections to improve health behaviors across the lifespan.

29. Does the NOFO emphasize network structure, network processes, or both?

Both. The NOFO emphasizes interpersonal processes (how people affect each other) and measurable network characteristics (the structure and features of social networks), and it expects applications to show the value of integrating these levels of analysis.

30. What is the long-term vision behind building this evidence base?

The long-term vision is to build the basic scientific foundation needed to design next-generation health behavior change strategies that can travel through real-world social connections, allowing later interventions to be more precisely targeted, scalable, and effective at producing widespread behavior change rather than isolated individual improvements.