Trina Dutta, Office of the Assistant Secretary

Ben Chin, National Mental Health and Substance Use Policy Lab

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Overview – Purpose of the Challenge

The goal of the Recovery Innovation Challenge 

is to identify innovations developed “on the 

ground” that advanced recovery 

SAMHSA believes that understanding how the 

field has evolved over the last decade will 

improve SAMHSA’s programs and policies 

moving forward
Overview - Problem Statement

1. What challenges have you experienced in advancing recovery?

2. How are you advancing recovery, as defined by SAMHSA? 

What innovations have you developed to advance recovery? 

3. How do you know your efforts are working? How do you 

measure your success? 

SAMHSA aims to learn the following from the behavioral health community: 
SAMHSA Recovery Innovation Challenge Timeline 

4

Launch date

May 18, 2022

Informational Webinar

June 15, 2022

Submission deadline 

July 15, 2022

Finalists announced

August 8, 2022

Start final clearance 

April 26, 2022

Finalize initial development

April 15, 2022

Finalist Presentations

September 2-9, 2022

Winners Announced

October 2022
Eligibility – Who can participate?

Organization

OR

Team of

Organizations

• There is only one primary applicant, which must

be a peer-run or community-based organization

• The primary applicant can submit their proposal

with other organizations as a team

• For technical reasons, the primary applicant will

be considered the winner or awardee
Eligibility – What organizations are eligible?

Peer-run or community-based organizations 

Teams that included a peer-run or communitybased organization as the primary participant 

Organizations that operate a peer-run or communitybased programs that are the primary participant
Eligibility – What is a peer-run or community-base organization?

Peer-Run Organizations 

Peer-run organizations are 

programs that emphasize 

self-help and are fully 

operated by people with 

lived experiencei

Community-Based Organizations

Public or private non-profits that 

provide specific services to the 

community or a targeted 

population within the communityii

PROs include but are not limited to 

drop-in programs, peer counseling, 

homeless outreach, linkage to 

traditional services or benefit 

programs, and other recovery 

supports, such as supported 

housing and employment.

i SAMHSA, Consumer-Operated Services: How to Use the Evidence-Based Practices KITs.

ii Office of Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Engaging Community-Based Organizations

CBOs include but are not limited to 

community health centers, childcare 

providers, local domestic violence shelters 

and programs, adult protective services 

programs, homeless services providers, and 

food banks that work to address the health 

and social needs of populations.
Eligibility – What is a peer-run or community-base organization?

Organizations that operate a peer-run or communitybased programs that are the primary participant

Public or private organizations that operate or 

support programs that meet the definitions of 

peer-run or community-based organizations

Collegiate Recovery Programs or 

Recovery High Schools that exist or 

operate with university, college, or 

county support. The Collegiate 

Recovery Program or Recovery 

High School would be the primary 

participant. 

Example 1 

Hospital systems or academic 

medical centers that operate or 

support peer-run or communitybased programs and services. 

Those programs would be the 

primary participant. 

Example 2 
Eligibility – What organizations are eligible?

 Organizations need to be incorporated in U.S. and 

maintain a primary place of business in the U.S.

 Non-U.S. citizens and non-permanent residents can 

participate as a member of a team that otherwise 

satisfies the eligibility criteria

 Non-U.S. citizens and non-permanent residents are 

not eligible to win a monetary prize (in whole or in 

part)
Participation Rules – Grantees and Contractors?

Federal grantees and contractors 

may not use federal funds from 

a grant award to develop their 

Challenge submissions or to 

fund efforts in support of their 

Challenge submissions.

For example, if you have a HUD grant 

that covers 50% of your time, you 

cannot use that time to develop your 

submission. 

However, if the other 50% of your time is 

funded by the state, you can use that 

time to develop your submission. 

Alternatively, if your submission is 

explaining an initiative that is funded by 

federal grant dollars that is allowable.
Prize Structure – How many and how much?

• The total prize amount for the 

Recovery Innovation Challenge

is $400,000

• The Recovery Innovation 

Challenge will have up to 10 

awardees 

• The total prize amount will be 

split among all awardees 

resulting in a minimum prize of 

$40,000 

SAMHSA Recovery 

Innovation Challenge Awards

1. $40,000

2. $40,000

3. $40,000

4. $40,000

5. $40,000

6. $40,000

7. $40,000

8. $40,000

9. $40,000

10. $40,000
Submission Requirements – General 

All submission must be entered by the deadline of July 15, 2022, at 7:00 

PM EDT

All submissions must include the involvement of people with lived 

experience and explain their role in the submission

All submissions must include a peer-run organization or communitybased organization as the primary participant 

Complete submissions must also be attached as a PDF in Challenge.gov.
Submission Requirements – Format 

For the initial round, we are only accepting written 

submissions

Written submissions must be no longer than 3-5 

singled-spaced pages using 11- or 12-point font

Written submissions must be submitted as PDF and 

must be in English. 
Judging – How will SAMHSA judge submissions?

Each submission that meets entry requirements will be reviewed by a 

panel of judges (2-3) consisting of Federal employees 

Scores from each criterion will be weighted equally, but failure to meet a 

minimum standard for any one criterion might disqualify a submission

Up to 20 participants with the highest scores will be selected as finalists

Finalists will be invited to present their innovations virtually to a second 

panel of judges September 2-9, 2022

20
Judging – How will SAMHSA judge submissions?

Principles (0-30 points)

• Did the submission identify and explain the use of or challenges with 

any of the SAMHSA guiding principles to promote recovery?

Innovation (0-30 points) 

• Did the submission highlight innovations that advanced recovery or 

addressed gaps in recovery, as defined by SAMHSA?

Impact (0-30 points)

• Did the submission describe the methods used for understanding the 

effectiveness of different innovations in advancing recovery?

Completeness (0-10 points)

• Did the submission address all aspects of the problem statement?
Q & A – Prize Amount

Q Can SAMHSA provide clarification on how many awards and 

amounts for each?

AThe total prize purse for the Recovery Innovation Challenge 

is $400,000. This total prize amount will be divided between 

awardees. There will be up to 10 awardees. 

i 42 U.S. Code § 290bb–2 - Priority substance abuse treatment needs of regional and national significance
Q & A – Submission Content 

Q Is this meant for recovery from substance use disorders, or can we submit 

recovery programs from other mental health conditions?

A The Recovery Innovation Challenge is open to submissions focusing on 

recovery from mental illness, substance use disorders, and/or cooccurring disorders. 
Q & A – Eligibility

Q Would a Behavioral Health Managed Care Organization who works with 

community providers be a suitable primary applicant for this challenge?

A No. The primary applicant must be a peer-run or community-based 

organization. A behavioral health managed care organization can 

participate as a partner, but not a primary applicant. 
Q & A – Eligibility

Q Would a for-profit company that offers addiction treatment services qualify 

as an applicant? 

A No. The primary applicant must be a peer-run or community-based 

organization. A private addiction treatment services organization can 

participate as a partner, but not as a primary applicant. 
Q & A – Eligibility

Q Can I apply on behalf of my organization if we have never submitted a 

grant to SAMHSA before?

A Yes. There is no requirement to have previously applied to SAMHSA 

grant applications provided you meet all other eligibility and 

participation rules. 
Q & A – Eligibility

Q Are individual practitioners eligible for the contest?

A Individuals are not eligible to participate in the Recovery Innovation 

Challenge. 
Q & A – Submission Requirements 

Q Can you explain further the requirement to develop the submission with a

person of lived experience?

A SAMHSA wants to ensure that people with lived experience are

included in the development of the submission, as we recognize that 

people with lived experience are an underutilized source of 

innovation knowledge within the field. This could include 

participation in the design of the program or innovation being 

described, implementation of the innovation itself, evaluation of the 

innovation, drafting and writing the submission, or comprehensive 

review of the submission. 
Q & A – Submission Requirements 

Q Must the program or innovation already be implemented?

A We do not require that the program or innovation being described

a submission needs to be implemented. However, please note that 

one of our main judging criteria is “Impact,” which aims to understand 

the effectiveness of different innovations in advancing recovery. 
Q & A – Submission Requirements 

Q Can we submit two innovative programs?

A We have not prohibited multiple submissions, but we strongly

encourage that organizations with multiple innovative programs to 

make one submission describing all their innovations. 
Q & A – Submission Requirements 

Q Is a reference sheet required for copyright materials that we have

permission to use?

A No, a reference sheet of copyright permissions is not required. Per

our rules, by participating in the Recovery Innovation Challenge, each 

participant warrants that they are sole author or owner of, or has the 

right to use, any copyrightable works that the submission comprises, 

that the works are wholly original, and that the submission does not 

infringe any copyright or any other rights of any third party of which 

the participant is aware. 
For more information about the 

SAMHSA Recovery Innovation Challenge please visit: 

Challenge.Gov: https://www.challenge.gov/?challenge=recovery

SAMHSA Website: https://www.samhsa.gov/about-us/who-we-are/

offices-centers/or/recovery-innovation-challenge

For questions about the 

SAMHSA Recovery Innovation Challenge please contact us at:

challenge@samhsa.hhs.gov

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Challenge to 

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Thank you for attending!