NIH Connectedness Interventions SBIR Funding: A Guide for Startups
Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).
Quick Answer
The NIH Highlighted Topic on Interventions to Promote Health by Fostering Connectedness invites small businesses to develop and test interventions that improve health by strengthening people's connections to others, communities, culture, activities, and nature. It is part of the federal Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Chronic Disease Initiative and its Whole-Person-Health approach. This topic is not a standalone funding announcement. Startups pursue funding through the NIH, CDC, and FDA Parent SBIR announcement PA-27-100 (R43/R44, Clinical Trial Optional). The topic is active from August 11, 2026 through August 11, 2028. Standard SBIR due dates fall on September 5, January 5, and April 5 of each cycle, and Phase I awards can range from roughly 400,000 dollars to 700,000 dollars depending on the funding Institute.
What Is the NIH Connectedness Interventions Highlighted Topic?
A Highlighted Topic is a signal from NIH about an area of science that its Institutes, Centers, and Offices want to fund. It tells applicants where the agency's scientific interest and money are pointed. It is not a Notice of Funding Opportunity, so there is no separate application form tied to the topic itself.
This particular topic, Interventions to Promote Health by Fostering Connectedness, encourages rigorous research that evaluates connectedness interventions to improve health or reduce risk factors for chronic disease. The scientific premise is that social isolation, loneliness, and poor mental health have risen alongside a widespread chronic disease crisis, and that stronger connections to people, culture, and activities can improve both mental and physical health. Epidemiological evidence links greater social connectedness to improved behavioral, cognitive, cardiovascular, and immune health, and to lower all-cause mortality.
The topic sits inside the Make America Healthy Again initiative and aligns with the NIH MAHA Chronic Disease Initiative, which promotes a Whole-Person-Health approach to chronic disease prevention. It also connects to current federal attention on social prescribing, the 2026 Surgeon General's Warning on the Harms of Screen Use, and the 2026 MAHA ELEVATE initiative for older Medicare recipients.
Which Funding Announcement Do I Actually Apply Through?
You apply through the NIH, CDC, and FDA Parent SBIR announcement, PA-27-100, titled the NIH, CDC and FDA Small Business Innovation Research Grant (Parent SBIR R43/R44 Clinical Trial Optional). This is the application vehicle for the connectedness topic.
When you submit, you do not need to name a specific Institute, but you are encouraged to identify the Institute or Center whose mission best matches your work and to contact its program staff before applying. NIH's Center for Scientific Review assigns each application to the most appropriate participating component.
A few companion announcements matter depending on your project:
PA-27-100 is the SBIR route (R43 Phase I, R44 Phase II), where the small business does most of the work.
PA-27-102 is the STTR route (R41 Phase I, R42 Phase II), used when your project depends on a formal collaboration with a nonprofit research institution such as a university. Connectedness research often involves academic or clinical partners, so the STTR route is worth evaluating.
PA-27-101 is the standalone SBIR Phase II announcement, including Phase IIB Strategic Breakthrough applications.
PAR-27-098 is the SB1 Commercialization Readiness Program.
If PA-27-100 expires before you are ready to apply, use whichever Parent SBIR announcement is active at that time. The connectedness topic remains valid through August 11, 2028, while PA-27-100 itself carries an expiration date of April 6, 2027 and is expected to be reissued.
Is My Startup Eligible?
To apply, your company must be a United States small business concern that meets all of the following at the time of a Phase I or Phase II award:
Organized for profit with a place of business in the United States.
No more than 500 employees, including affiliates.
More than 50 percent directly owned and controlled by United States citizens or permanent residents, or by other qualifying United States small businesses, or majority owned by multiple venture capital operating companies, hedge funds, or private equity firms (with the condition that no single such firm owns more than 50 percent unless it independently qualifies as a United States owned small business).
For SBIR awards, the Program Director or Principal Investigator must be primarily employed by the small business at the time of award and during the project. In projects with multiple PIs, at least one must meet this employment requirement. If you take the STTR route instead, the PI may be primarily employed by either the small business or the nonprofit research partner.
Non United States entities are not eligible, and NIH will not issue awards that involve foreign subawards or subcontracts under this announcement. Unfunded international collaborations, funding for foreign consultants, or procurement of unique supplies from foreign vendors may still be allowed.
What Registrations Do I Need, and How Long Do They Take?
Plan for registration to take six weeks or more, and start early, because a late registration is never accepted as an excuse for a missed deadline. You need active registrations in:
System for Award Management (SAM), which includes a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code and a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI).
SBA Company Registry.
eRA Commons, with at least one Signing Official and at least one PI account.
Each PI must have an eRA Commons ID and a linked ORCID iD. The same UEI must be used across all systems and on the application.
What Kind of Projects Is NIH Looking For?
Connectedness can take many forms, including connections with people, communities, history, traditions, hobbies, sports, the arts, or nature. Interventions may be tested as adjuncts to healthcare or as stand-alone interventions in non-medical settings.
NIH strongly encourages projects that:
Specify a clear conceptual model that identifies the hypothesized pathways between connectedness and health outcomes.
Use validated measures of connectedness and health outcomes wherever possible, such as those in the PhenX Toolkit.
Address the multi-level factors that make connections possible and sustainable, for example providing transportation so urban youth can reach existing green spaces.
Involve collaboration with organizations that can actually implement or deliver the intervention if it proves effective.
Include a rigorous, sufficiently powered study design that accounts for the expected correlation of outcomes within clusters such as families, schools, clinics, or neighborhoods.
For a startup, the practical takeaway is that a competitive application pairs a strong commercial concept with a real conceptual model, validated measurement, a credible delivery partner, and a study design that will hold up under peer review.
Which NIH Institutes and Centers Are Funding This Topic?
Several Institutes and Centers participate, each with its own angle. Matching your intervention to the right one improves your odds. Your application must be relevant to at least one of the awarding Institutes or Centers below. Two offices, the Office of Disease Prevention (ODP) and the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR), signal interest but do not award grants themselves.
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH): mind and body approaches that promote mental, emotional, and behavioral health, using feasibility, hybrid effectiveness-implementation, mechanistic, pragmatic, or community-based designs, including health information technology and partnerships with schools, health systems, and justice systems.
National Cancer Institute (NCI): connectedness and cancer control outcomes, including risk behaviors, screening, treatment decision-making, symptom management, and patient and caregiver health, plus the effect of the online and social media environment on connectedness.
National Eye Institute (NEI): the intersection of visual impairment, social isolation, and wellness, including accessibility technologies and care-delivery models for people experiencing vision loss.
National Institute on Aging (NIA): how connectedness affects the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional health of people in midlife and older adulthood, including isolation among older adults aging in place, kinless individuals, and dementia caregivers, and the role of the built environment.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA): the role of connectedness in preventing and treating alcohol misuse and alcohol use disorder across the lifespan, including screening, brief interventions, and recovery outcomes.
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA): social connectedness and loneliness as levers to prevent or treat substance use disorders and support recovery, with strong emphasis on stakeholder engagement.
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): connectedness and risk for mental illness, social prescribing including digital approaches, and connectedness among people living with HIV.
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD): community-engaged connectedness interventions that improve health and reduce risk among populations experiencing health disparities.
National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR): interventions that promote mental well-being through social, cultural, or environmental connectedness, including school-based settings and the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare settings.
How Much Funding Can My Startup Receive?
Budget ceilings vary by Institute. Phase I supports a feasibility study and normally runs up to six months. Phase II continues research and development toward commercialization and normally runs up to two years. Total funding support includes direct costs, indirect costs, and fee.
For the Institutes participating in this topic, the Phase I and Phase II guidelines are:
National Cancer Institute: Phase I up to 700,000 dollars, Phase II up to 2,500,000 dollars.
National Institute on Aging: Phase I up to 700,000 dollars, Phase II up to 3,000,000 dollars.
National Institute of Mental Health: Phase I up to 700,000 dollars, Phase II up to 3,000,000 dollars.
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health: Phase I up to 700,000 dollars, Phase II follows the SBA guideline.
National Institute on Drug Abuse: Phase I up to 400,000 dollars, Phase II up to 3,000,000 dollars.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: Phase I up to 400,000 dollars, Phase II up to 2,500,000 dollars.
National Institute of Nursing Research: Phase I up to 400,000 dollars, Phase II up to 2,500,000 dollars.
National Eye Institute: Phase I up to 400,000 dollars, Phase II follows the SBA guideline.
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities: both phases follow the SBA guideline.
Where an Institute follows the SBA guideline, the ceiling is the standard SBA hard cap, which the Small Business Administration adjusts annually, so confirm the current figure before you budget. In all cases, propose a budget that is reasonable for the work. If you need to request more than the SBA guideline, contact the relevant Institute early, since some Institutes can exceed standard amounts for approved topics.
What Is the Timeline and What Are the Deadlines?
PA-27-100 was posted on May 28, 2026, with an earliest submission date of August 5, 2026. The standard application due dates are:
September 5, 2026, with scientific merit review around November 2026, advisory council review around January 2027, and earliest start around April 2027.
January 5, 2027, with review around March 2027, council around May 2027, and earliest start around July 2027.
April 5, 2027, with review around July 2027, council around August 2027, and earliest start around December 2027.
All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of the applicant organization. When a due date falls on a weekend or federal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day. No late applications are accepted.
Two expiration dates matter. The Parent SBIR announcement PA-27-100 expires April 6, 2027, and the connectedness Highlighted Topic expires August 11, 2028. If you apply after PA-27-100 expires, use the active Parent SBIR announcement at that time and align your project with the connectedness topic while it remains open.
What Are the SBIR Phases, and Which One Fits My Startup?
Phase I establishes the technical merit and feasibility of your idea. It is the entry point for most companies.
Phase II continues research and development to advance toward commercialization, and is submitted as a renewal of your Phase I project.
Direct to Phase II (NIH only) is available if you have already demonstrated feasibility but never held a Phase I SBIR or STTR for that project.
Fast-Track (NIH only) lets you submit and review Phase I and Phase II together to reduce the funding gap between them.
After Phase II, NIH expects you to fully commercialize the product using non-SBIR and non-STTR funds, whether federal or private.
How Is the Research Effort Split Between My Company and Partners?
In Phase I, the small business normally performs at least two-thirds (67 percent) of the research or analytical effort, and outside consultants and contracts generally account for no more than 33 percent of the total. In Phase II, the small business normally performs at least half (50 percent), with outside arrangements generally capped at 50 percent. Deviations can be considered case by case with written approval. If a formal university or nonprofit collaboration is central to your project, the STTR route under PA-27-102 may fit better.
Do Clinical Trials Fit This Topic?
PA-27-100 is Clinical Trial Optional, meaning it accepts applications that do or do not propose clinical trials. Many connectedness interventions will involve a clinical trial. The Institutes participating in this topic accept clinical trials, so a well-designed trial is on the table. If you propose one, you must include a two-page Regulatory Plan attachment, and you may not submit that attachment if your project does not include a clinical trial.
What Do Reviewers Evaluate?
Peer reviewers score five criteria and combine them into an overall impact score:
Significance: does the product or service address an important problem or unmet need, and does it have commercial potential.
Investigators: are the team and any partners suited to complete and eventually commercialize the work.
Innovation: does the solution shift current practice and hold a real competitive advantage.
Approach: are the aims, methods, milestones, and study design sound and appropriate for the stage.
Environment: does the business and scientific environment support success and commercialization.
For Phase II and Fast-Track applications, reviewers also weigh a Commercialization Plan covering the market opportunity, barriers such as regulatory approval and reimbursement, a funding path, the management team, and how the project differs from or complements existing private-sector activity.
What Restrictions Should I Know About?
Foreign entities are not eligible, and foreign subawards or subcontracts make an application non-compliant under this announcement.
Applicants under consideration for award must complete foreign relationship disclosures during the Just-in-Time process, and awards can be denied for defined national security risks with no opportunity to cure before award.
Applications may not simultaneously duplicate the same research focus across multiple HHS opportunities.
SBIR recipients may retain rights to data generated under the award for up to 20 years.
How BW&CO Helps
BW&CO helps deep-tech and health-focused founders decide whether the SBIR or STTR route fits, identify the right Institute and program contact, sharpen the conceptual model and study design that reviewers reward, and build a Commercialization Plan that holds up under scrutiny. If you are weighing a connectedness intervention against the September or January cycle, the earlier we start, the more room you have to register, refine, and position the application.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the connectedness Highlighted Topic a grant I can apply to directly? No. It is a statement of NIH scientific interest, not a Notice of Funding Opportunity. You apply through the Parent SBIR announcement PA-27-100 and align your project with the topic.
What is the funding announcement number I should use? PA-27-100 for SBIR, or PA-27-102 for STTR if your project depends on a formal nonprofit or university collaboration.
When are applications due? Standard due dates are September 5, 2026, January 5, 2027, and April 5, 2027, all by 5:00 PM local time of the applicant organization.
How much money can a startup receive? Phase I generally ranges from 400,000 dollars to 700,000 dollars and Phase II from about 2,500,000 dollars to 3,000,000 dollars, depending on the funding Institute. Some Institutes follow the standard SBA hard cap, which adjusts annually.
Who is eligible? United States small business concerns with 500 or fewer employees that meet the ownership rules, with a PI primarily employed by the small business for SBIR awards.
Which Institutes fund this topic? NCCIH, NCI, NEI, NIA, NIAAA, NIDA, NIMH, NIMHD, and NINR award grants for this topic. ODP and OBSSR signal interest but do not award grants.
Can I propose a clinical trial? Yes. PA-27-100 is Clinical Trial Optional, and the participating Institutes accept clinical trials. Clinical trial applications must include a Regulatory Plan attachment.
How long do registrations take? Six weeks or more. Complete SAM, UEI, SBA Company Registry, eRA Commons, and Grants.gov well ahead of your target due date.
What is the difference between SBIR and STTR here? SBIR (PA-27-100) requires the small business to perform most of the work. STTR (PA-27-102) is built around a formal collaboration with a nonprofit research institution and allows the PI to be employed by either the company or the partner.
How long is the topic open? The Highlighted Topic is active from August 11, 2026 through August 11, 2028. Apply through whichever Parent SBIR announcement is active at your time of submission.
