Field Initiated Projects Program (Development) | HHS 2021 ACL NIDILRR IFDV 0012

Opportunity Information: Apply for HHS 2021 ACL NIDILRR IFDV 0012

The Field Initiated Projects Program (Development) is a discretionary federal 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). The program is designed to strengthen disability and rehabilitation outcomes by supporting development-focused work that translates existing research knowledge into practical, usable solutions. In other words, it is aimed at moving beyond basic research and toward building and refining real-world approaches that can be adopted by service systems, practitioners, and communities to improve the lives of people with disabilities, with particular emphasis on individuals with the most severe disabilities.

At its core, the opportunity supports projects that either generate new knowledge through research or, specifically under this Development track, create and advance methods, procedures, and rehabilitation technologies that promote full inclusion and integration into society. The intended impact areas are broad and reflect major goals of disability policy and practice: improved employment participation, stronger independent living outcomes, better family support, and greater economic and social self-sufficiency. A related and explicit goal is to improve the effectiveness of services authorized under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (as amended), meaning funded projects should have clear relevance to rehabilitation services and systems and ideally produce outputs that improve service quality, efficiency, accessibility, or measurable outcomes for the target population.

Because this is a development grant competition, applicants are expected to use knowledge gained from prior research as a foundation and then produce tangible deliverables. The funding language highlights the kinds of products NIDILRR expects: models, methods, tools, systems, materials, devices, applications, standards, or intervention protocols. These deliverables should be beneficial to the intended population and usable in practice, such as a tested intervention protocol for a rehabilitation setting, an assistive technology or software application that improves functional independence, a service delivery model that increases employment outcomes, or a standard or toolkit that helps agencies implement evidence-informed practices more consistently.

The official funding opportunity title is "Field Initiated Projects Program (Development)" and the funding opportunity number is HHS-2021-ACL-NIDILRR-IFDV-0012. It falls under the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category and is associated with CFDA number 93.433. The maximum award amount listed is $200,000 (award ceiling), with an estimated 8 awards expected. The opportunity record shows a creation date of October 20, 2020, and an original closing date of December 21, 2020, indicating the timeline for that specific posting.

Eligibility is fairly broad, reflecting the program's intent to attract innovation from many sectors involved in disability and rehabilitation work. Eligible applicants include public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), small businesses, and Native American tribal governments and tribal organizations. This breadth allows proposals from academic research centers, rehabilitation hospitals and clinics, community-based nonprofits, technology developers, and tribal entities, among others, so long as the proposed development work aligns with the program purpose and produces useful outputs for people with disabilities and the systems that serve them.

Overall, this opportunity is best understood as funding to develop, refine, and package applied solutions grounded in research, with a strong emphasis on practical implementation value. Competitive projects under this announcement would typically make a clear case for why the development product is needed, how it builds directly on credible prior evidence, how it will be designed and tested or iterated, and how it will ultimately improve participation, independence, and service effectiveness for people with disabilities, especially those with the most significant support needs.

• 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 "Field Initiated Projects Program (Development)" 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 Oct 20, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Dec 21, 2020. (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 $200,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 8 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: 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, Small businesses.

Apply for HHS 2021 ACL NIDILRR IFDV 0012

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