Palliative Care Research Across the Lifespan: Leveraging the Palliative Care Consortium (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 27 090

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): NIH PAR-27-090 Palliative Care Research (R01)

1) What is this funding opportunity?

This opportunity is an NIH Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), PAR-27-090, that invites R01 grant applications focused on palliative care research across the full lifespan (pediatrics through older adulthood) for people living with serious illness and for their care partners (for example, family caregivers).

2) What is the main purpose of PAR-27-090?

The stated overall aim is to strengthen the evidence base for palliative care in areas that matter to participating NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices. The NOFO emphasizes research that can improve palliative care access, patterns of use, and quality of care across real-world settings, and that can produce actionable knowledge to improve care for seriously ill patients and those who support them.

3) Who is the research meant to benefit?

The NOFO is focused on people living with serious illness and their care partners, such as family caregivers, and it spans all ages from children to older adults.

4) What types of research topics are allowed?

The NOFO supports a broad range of palliative care topics, as long as they fit NIH and participating institute missions and are positioned to generate actionable knowledge that can improve care (including access, utilization patterns, and quality of care) in real-world settings.

5) What grant mechanism is used?

This is a discretionary grant mechanism using the NIH R01 activity code.

6) Are clinical trials allowed under this NOFO?

Yes. A key feature of the NOFO is that it supports both clinical trials and non-trial research designs.

7) Are clinical trials required?

No. Clinical trials are optional rather than required.

8) If proposing a clinical trial, what stages of intervention testing does NIH encourage?

For clinical trials, NIH specifically encourages studies aligned with Stages II through V of the NIH Stage Model, including:

• Stage II: Efficacy testing
• Stage III: Real-world efficacy
• Stage IV: Effectiveness studies
• Stage V: Dissemination and implementation research

9) What does NIH expect from clinical trial applications in terms of study structure?

The NOFO indicates that clinical trial work is expected to be hypothesis-driven and milestone-defined, meaning applicants should lay out clear, measurable progress points and decision criteria as the work advances.

10) What non-clinical trial research designs are supported?

The NOFO welcomes non-clinical trial palliative care research, including:

• Health services research
• Methodological studies
• Natural experiments
• Observational studies

These designs may be especially useful for questions about care delivery, equity, outcomes, and system-level performance.

11) Is early-stage intervention creation or pilot testing supported?

No. A major restriction is that this funding opportunity is not meant for early-stage intervention creation or pilot development.

12) What does it mean that NIH Stage Model Stage I activities are out of scope?

Stage I activities are explicitly out of scope for this NOFO. Based on the description provided, Stage I includes:

• Generating a brand-new intervention
• Refining or modifying an intervention
• Adapting an intervention for a new population or setting
• Conducting pilot testing to determine feasibility

13) If my application includes an intervention, what level of readiness is expected?

To be responsive, any intervention proposed for testing should already be developed and ready to evaluate, with Stage I work completed. The information provided indicates applicants should be prepared to show the intervention is sufficiently mature and testable.

14) What kinds of evidence should applicants be ready to provide to show an intervention is mature and testable?

The description indicates that applicants should be able to show that intervention content, procedures, training, and the delivery approach are already specified, and that prior preliminary work supports moving into more definitive testing or implementation-focused phases.

15) What is the ASCENT Consortium and how does it relate to this NOFO?

Awardees funded under this NOFO will join a broader NIH-supported research community through the Advancing the Science of Palliative Care Across the Lifespan (ASCENT) Consortium. Recipients are expected to participate as part of a coordinated scientific network intended to accelerate progress, encourage shared learning, and strengthen research infrastructure across studies focused on serious illness care.

16) Is this award intended to fund standalone projects only?

No. The information provided states that awardees are not funded as standalone projects only; they are expected to be part of the ASCENT Consortium network.

17) Who is the sponsoring agency?

The sponsoring agency is the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

18) What CFDA numbers are associated with this opportunity?

The opportunity is listed under multiple CFDA numbers, reflecting involvement across NIH components: 93.242, 93.307, 93.361, 93.393, 93.853, 93.865, 93.866.

19) What is the listed closing date for the opportunity?

The original closing date is listed as 2029-11-05, indicating a long application window typical of multi-year NIH program announcements with recurring due dates.

20) What types of organizations are eligible to apply?

Eligibility is broad. The NOFO includes many types of U.S. organizations and governments, including:

• State, county, and local governments
• Public and private institutions of higher education
• Independent school districts
• Special district governments
• Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
• Nonprofit organizations (with and without 501(c)(3) status)
• For-profit organizations (other than small businesses)
• Small businesses

21) Are Tribal entities eligible?

Yes. The NOFO explicitly includes Indian/Native American Tribal Governments that are not federally recognized among eligible applicants.

22) Are federal agencies eligible to apply?

Yes. The NOFO includes eligible federal agencies among eligible applicants.

23) Are U.S. territories or possessions eligible?

Yes. The NOFO explicitly includes U.S. territories or possessions.

24) Are faith-based or community-based organizations eligible?

Yes. The NOFO explicitly includes faith-based or community-based organizations among eligible applicants.

25) Are regional organizations eligible to apply?

Yes. The NOFO explicitly includes regional organizations among eligible applicants.

26) Can foreign (non-U.S.) institutions apply?

Yes. The NOFO explicitly includes non-U.S. entities (foreign institutions) as eligible applicants.

27) What kinds of settings does NIH seem most interested in for this palliative care research?

Based on the provided description, NIH places a clear emphasis on research that improves access, patterns of use, and quality of palliative care across real-world settings.

28) Does the opportunity emphasize equity or underserved populations?

Yes. The information provided indicates that the wide eligibility reflects NIH interest in supporting palliative care research conducted across many settings and communities, including work that addresses gaps in access and quality for underserved or historically excluded populations.

29) What does "actionable knowledge" mean in the context of this NOFO?

The description indicates that proposed work should be positioned to produce knowledge that can be used to improve care for seriously ill patients and their care partners, particularly through improved access, utilization patterns, and quality of care in real-world settings.

30) What is the role of care partners in the scope of this opportunity?

The NOFO explicitly includes research focused on care partners (such as family caregivers) alongside research focused on people living with serious illness.