Developing Measures to Advance Quality in Mental Health Care Services (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA MH 23 265

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA MH 23 265

Developing Measures to Advance Quality in Mental Health Care Services (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity (RFA-MH-23-265; CFDA 93.242) focused on strengthening how quality is defined, measured, and improved in real-world mental health care. The core purpose is to fund research that creates, tests, validates, and supports the practical implementation of mental health care quality measures (also called quality metrics). A central expectation is that the resulting measures are credible and mature enough to be submitted to, and potentially endorsed by, relevant regulatory or governing organizations that set or recognize formal standards for health care quality.

The problem the RFA is trying to solve is straightforward: despite the importance of high-quality mental health services, there are relatively few well-established, widely adopted quality measures for mental health care. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has noted this gap, and the measures that do exist are often not standardized or used consistently across systems. That lack of uniformity makes it harder for health systems, insurers, and policymakers to compare performance, identify where care is falling short, and scale interventions that reliably improve outcomes.

This opportunity supports projects that move beyond conceptual frameworks and into measure development and real-world readiness. That includes building new metrics or significantly improving existing ones; demonstrating that a measure is reliable, valid, feasible to collect, and meaningful to stakeholders; and showing it can be implemented in routine care settings. While the specific methods can vary (for example, using electronic health record data, administrative claims, registries, patient-reported outcomes, or other real-world data sources), the emphasis is on producing measures that can actually be used across settings rather than remaining purely academic.

The intended users of these quality measures span the mental health ecosystem. Policymakers and payers can use them to guide policy decisions, purchasing strategies, and accountability programs. Organizational leaders can use them to track performance, benchmark across clinics or programs, and target quality improvement initiatives. Clinicians and care teams can use them to support measurement-based care, monitor whether evidence-based practices are being delivered effectively, and adjust care to improve patient outcomes. The RFA also highlights broader applications such as assessing comparative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness across programs or clinical environments, incorporating real-world data into decision-making, and informing the development of payment models that reward better care rather than simply more care.

The funding mechanism is an R01 research grant, and the opportunity explicitly states "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," meaning applicants should not propose studies that meet NIH’s definition of a clinical trial (for example, prospectively assigning individuals to interventions to evaluate health-related outcomes). Instead, the work should center on services research and measurement science related to quality metrics, including development and validation activities and implementation-focused studies that do not constitute clinical trials.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of organizations that deliver, study, or support mental health services. Eligible applicants include state, county, city/township, and 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 (including those other than federally recognized governments); public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (excluding higher education institutions where specified); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The announcement also calls out additional eligible groups such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, eligible federal agencies, and even non-U.S. (foreign) entities.

Key administrative details included in the notice are that the opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding and uses the grant instrument. The original closing date listed is October 10, 2023, and the posting (creation) date is April 7, 2023. The award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided summary, so applicants would typically consult the full announcement for budget guidance, NIH institute priorities, and any special submission or review considerations.

In practical terms, this RFA is aimed at building the measurement backbone needed to make mental health care quality improvement more systematic: creating metrics that are standardized, defensible, usable across diverse settings, and positioned for endorsement and broad adoption so they can drive better mental health outcomes at scale.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Developing Measures to Advance Quality in Mental Health Care Services (R01 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): 93.242.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-04-07.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-10-10. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• 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 MH 23 265

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