Novel, High-Impact Studies Evaluating Health System and Healthcare Professional Responsiveness to COVID-19 (R01) | RFA HS 20 003

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA HS 20 003

The funding opportunity titled "Novel, High-Impact Studies Evaluating Health System and Healthcare Professional Responsiveness to COVID-19 (R01)" (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-HS-20-003) is a discretionary grant program from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). It supports R01 research projects that take a close, evidence-based look at how healthcare delivery systems, individual healthcare professionals, and the U.S. healthcare system overall responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. The emphasis is on studies that are genuinely novel and likely to produce high-impact findings that health leaders, clinicians, and policymakers can use to strengthen preparedness and improve care during future public health emergencies.

AHRQ is looking for research that evaluates the real-world consequences of the COVID-19 response on healthcare performance, especially in areas tied to quality, safety, and value. In practice, that means examining how organizations adapted care processes under crisis conditions, what tradeoffs were made, and how those decisions affected patient outcomes and system functioning. The FOA also highlights interest in the role of primary care practices and primary care professionals during the pandemic, recognizing that primary care often serves as the front door to the health system and may have faced unique challenges related to triage, continuity of chronic disease management, patient communication, and coordination with public health guidance.

A major priority in this announcement is understanding equity impacts. AHRQ specifically calls for work that examines how the COVID-19 response affected socially vulnerable populations and people living with multiple chronic conditions. This includes studying whether emergency changes in care delivery widened or narrowed disparities in access, outcomes, and patient experience, and identifying the system factors that contributed to those results. The goal is to generate actionable lessons about what helped protect vulnerable communities and what failed, so future responses can be designed with equity and resilience in mind.

Another central theme is digital healthcare, with particular attention to the rapid expansion of telehealth during COVID-19. AHRQ is interested in both innovations and challenges that emerged as telehealth scaled quickly, such as changes in workflow, clinician decision-making, patient engagement, privacy considerations, access barriers (for example, broadband or device limitations), and the quality and safety implications of remote care. Studies can focus on how telehealth affected clinical outcomes, utilization patterns, patient and provider experiences, and system costs or efficiency, as well as what models worked best for different populations and conditions.

Methodologically, the FOA strongly encourages multi-method, rapid-cycle research. The expectation is that funded teams will be able to produce and disseminate initial findings within six months after the award is made, and then continue sharing results regularly over the remainder of the project period. This points toward designs that can move quickly while still being rigorous, such as combining quantitative analyses of real-world data with qualitative insights from clinicians, staff, and patients, and using iterative approaches that allow emerging findings to be translated into practical guidance without waiting until the end of the grant.

Eligible applicants are broad and include state governments; special district governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; small businesses; nonprofit organizations (with or without 501(c)(3) status, as long as they are not institutions of higher education); federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments; and public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities. The FOA also explicitly names additional eligible groups such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), eligible federal agencies, faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. Foreign organizations and foreign institutions (non-U.S. entities) are not eligible to apply.

Key administrative details from the posting include the activity category of Health (CFDA 93.226), an original closing date of June 15, 2020, and a creation date of May 14, 2020. The award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided source information. Overall, the opportunity is designed to quickly generate practical, evidence-based lessons about how U.S. healthcare responded under extreme pressure, what worked, what did not, and how to build a safer, higher-quality, more equitable system going forward.

• The Agency for Health Care Research and Quality in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Novel, High-Impact Studies Evaluating Health System and Healthcare Professional Responsiveness to COVID-19 (R01)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.226.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-05-14.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-06-15. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, Special district governments, 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, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for RFA HS 20 003

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: