Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Promoting Healthy Aging for People with Long-Term Physical Disabilities | HHS 2018 ACL NIDILRR RTHF 0246

Opportunity Information: Apply for HHS 2018 ACL NIDILRR RTHF 0246

The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Promoting Healthy Aging for People with Long-Term Physical Disabilities is a federal discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), administered through the Administration for Community Living (ACL) and its National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). It sits within the Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program and is categorized under Science and Technology and other Research and Development (CFDA 93.433). The overall aim of the RRTC program is to strengthen and improve services authorized under the Rehabilitation Act by supporting centers that combine high-quality research with training, technical assistance, and wide dissemination of results. The intended beneficiaries include rehabilitation service providers, people with disabilities, their families, policymakers, and other stakeholders who rely on credible evidence to guide programs and decisions.

This specific RRTC competition focuses on healthy aging among people who have long-term physical disabilities. Its central purpose is to generate new, research-based knowledge that helps this population age in healthier ways, with particular emphasis on evidence-based strategies for preventing and managing secondary conditions. Secondary conditions can include health complications that occur alongside a primary disability, and the grant is meant to support work that clarifies what interventions, service approaches, and supports are most effective in reducing these risks over time. Beyond clinical or individual-level management, the opportunity also emphasizes identifying and validating practices, programs, and policies that promote healthy aging, signaling that the work is expected to connect research findings to real-world systems such as rehabilitation services, community supports, and policy environments.

The RRTC model expects an integrated approach rather than a single study or isolated project. Applicants are typically expected to organize a coordinated portfolio of activities that includes rigorous research to build the evidence base, training components to strengthen workforce and stakeholder capacity, technical assistance to help implement or improve practices, and dissemination to ensure findings reach practitioners, people with disabilities, and decision-makers in usable formats. In other words, the center is meant to function as both a generator of new knowledge and a practical hub that moves that knowledge into the hands of those who can apply it.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of organizations capable of carrying out research and related center activities. Eligible applicants listed include state, county, city or township governments; 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; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in those nonprofit categories as specified); and for-profit organizations other than small businesses, along with other entities as clarified in the funding announcement. This broad eligibility reflects the program’s interest in drawing strong, interdisciplinary teams and ensuring the capacity to conduct high-quality research while also delivering training, technical assistance, and dissemination.

The opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number HHS-2018-ACL-NIDILRR-RTHF-0246) was created on December 21, 2017, with an original application deadline of February 20, 2018, and electronic submissions due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date. The award ceiling is $875,000, and the announcement anticipated making one award, meaning the competition was designed to fund a single national center to lead this work. Overall, the grant is geared toward producing actionable evidence and guidance that can improve long-term health outcomes, service effectiveness, and supportive policies for people aging 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 Promoting Healthy Aging for People with Long-Term 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 Dec 21, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 20, 2018 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 2018 ACL NIDILRR RTHF 0246

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