Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Health and Function of People with Physical Disabilities | HHS 2019 ACL NIDILRR RTHF 0335

Opportunity Information: Apply for HHS 2019 ACL NIDILRR RTHF 0335

The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Health and Function of People with Physical Disabilities is a discretionary federal grant opportunity offered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Community Living (ACL), through the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). It sits within the Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program and is focused on strengthening the evidence base and real-world impact of services and supports authorized under the Rehabilitation Act. In practical terms, the government is funding a center that can bring together research, training, technical assistance, and public-facing dissemination so that findings do not stay in academic journals but actually improve how rehabilitation and related systems serve people.

The central aim of this specific RRTC competition is to improve the health and functional outcomes of people with physical disabilities. The funded center is expected to generate rigorous, well-designed research and then translate that work into training materials, tools, and technical assistance that can be used by key audiences. Those audiences explicitly include people with disabilities and their families, rehabilitation professionals and service providers, policymakers, and other stakeholders who influence programs, practice, and community living conditions. The opportunity is framed around the idea that effective rehabilitation and independent living supports depend on both strong science and strong implementation, so applicants are expected to connect discovery to practice through active outreach and dissemination.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a grant (not a contract) under the “Science and Technology and other Research and Development” activity category, with CFDA number 93.433. The funding opportunity number is HHS 2019 ACL NIDILRR RTHF 0335. ACL created the opportunity on March 11, 2019, with an original closing date of May 10, 2019. Applications had to be submitted electronically by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date, which signals a standard federal submission process with strict deadlines and likely use of Grants.gov and related systems.

In terms of funding scale and competitiveness, the award ceiling is listed as $875,000, and the expected number of awards is one. That combination usually indicates a single, center-level award intended to support a fairly substantial and coordinated program of work rather than a small pilot project. Because only one award was anticipated, the competition would likely favor applicants that can demonstrate a strong track record, credible partnerships, and a clear plan for producing usable outcomes across research, training, and knowledge translation.

Eligibility is broad and includes most major organizational types that commonly lead federally funded research and training centers. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or 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 and other tribal organizations; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in those nonprofit categories); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and a catch-all “others” category that references additional eligibility language in the full announcement. The breadth of eligible applicants suggests NIDILRR was open to a range of capable lead organizations, including universities, nonprofit research organizations, healthcare-rehabilitation entities, and multi-partner consortia, as long as they can carry out the full center mission.

Overall, this opportunity is essentially a call to build and operate a national-level RRTC that advances knowledge and practical capacity around health and functioning for people with physical disabilities. The government’s intent is not only to fund research, but to fund a center that actively trains the field, provides technical assistance to improve service delivery, and widely disseminates what works so that rehabilitation and community-based supports become more effective and more aligned with the needs and priorities of people with physical disabilities.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Health and Function of People with Physical Disabilities" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.433.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 11, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 10, 2019 Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 1159 p.m., ET, on the listed application due date.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $875,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• 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), 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, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for HHS 2019 ACL NIDILRR RTHF 0335

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