Federal Funding for Applied Research for Physical, Psychiatric, Cognitive, Intellectual, Developmental, Neurological, and/or Sensory Disabilities: National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), Administration

The purpose of this workshop is to inform social work investigators across all career levels on research and development funding opportunities at the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), Administration for Community Living (ACL), US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). NIDILRR invests in applied research focused on improving outcomes for people with all disabilities across the age spectrum in three domain areas: 1) health and function, 2) community living and participation, and 3) employment/education. NIDILRR supports all stages of research to include: 1) exploration/discovery, 2), Intervention development, 3) Intervention efficacy, and 4) Scale-up evaluation. NIDILRRs goal is “to simultaneously optimize the rigor of research and the relevance of that research to the lives of people with disabilities.� Across NIDILRR’s agenda, the central focus is on the whole person with a disability, whose ability to function and quality of life are dependent on the complex interactions among personal, societal, and environmental factors. NIDILRR Project Officers will share information about: 1) funding mechanisms, 2) the funding cycle, 3) developing a research proposal specific to NIDILRR announcements, 4) incorporating the stages of research in your proposal, 5) the peer review process and how it is different from other federal funding agencies, 6) criteria used in scoring applications, and 7) areas of research and development that are of interest to NIDILRR. Specific information will be shared on NIDILRR funding mechanisms of most interest to social workers to include: Field-Initiated Projects (FIP) - This program is investigator-initiated research with projects to generate new knowledge. Funding: $200k/year/3 years, 18 awards/year on average, 1 research and 1 development competition/year Switzer Research Fellowship Program - This program provides grants for individuals to perform research on rehabilitation, independent living, and other experiences of people with disabilities. Funding: $70,000 for early researchers (post docs); $80,000 for seasoned researchers, 1 year of funding, 14 to 15 awards/ per year average, Funding directly to investigator, not institution Advanced Rehabilitation Research and Training Program (ARRT) - This program increases capacity for high-quality disability and rehabilitation research by supporting grants to institutions to provide advanced research training to individuals with doctorates or similar advanced degrees. Funding: $150,000/year/5 years Disability and Rehabilitation Research Program (DRRP) - This program funds knowledge translation, building capacity for minority research entities, individual research projects, and other work. Funding: $300,000-$1.3k/year/5 years, $500,000/year/5 years for individual research projects, Research or development Rehabilitation Research and Training Center Program (RRTC) - These programs conduct advanced research, training, and information sharing on topic areas for improving rehabilitation methodology and service delivery systems; improving health and function; and promoting employment, independent living, family support and economic and social self-sufficiency for people with disabilities. Funding: Approximately $800,000/year/5 Years In addition, resources will be shared such as where to sign up for automatic forecast and funding alerts, locating information on past funded research projects in topic areas of interest, and becoming a peer reviewer. The workshop will conclude with a dialogue between participants and project officers for questions and answers.