Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERC) Program: RERC on Rehabilitation Strategies, Techniques, and Interventions | HHS 2024 ACL NIDILRR REGE 0080

Opportunity Information: Apply for HHS 2024 ACL NIDILRR REGE 0080

The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERC) Program opportunity titled "RERC on Rehabilitation Strategies, Techniques, and Interventions" is a discretionary federal grant offered through the Administration for Community Living (ACL), specifically under the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). The core aim of the broader RERC program is to strengthen and modernize services authorized under the Rehabilitation Act by supporting advanced engineering research and the development of innovative technologies. These efforts are meant to address real rehabilitation challenges, reduce or eliminate environmental barriers, and ultimately make rehabilitation services more effective and accessible for people with disabilities.

This specific RERC competition focuses on rehabilitation strategies, techniques, and interventions that can improve health and functional abilities across a broad disability population, with an emphasis on individuals with the greatest support needs. The work supported under this center is expected to lead to practical improvements in physical, cognitive, sensory, and communication functioning, and to translate into tangible outputs such as new or improved products, devices, and technological advances. A key theme is moving beyond research for its own sake and producing tools and approaches that can be used in clinical settings (such as rehabilitation hospitals and outpatient therapy) as well as in community contexts (such as home-based services, independent living supports, and community health programs). In other words, the center is expected to generate rehabilitation engineering innovations that meaningfully improve service delivery and outcomes in the real world.

The RERC model also expects awardees to do more than invent technology. Centers are generally responsible for demonstrating and evaluating the technologies they develop, helping drive service delivery system improvements, and encouraging the private sector to manufacture, distribute, and scale promising new technologies and equipment. The program also emphasizes training, meaning the funded center is expected to contribute to workforce development by creating training opportunities related to rehabilitation engineering and technology-enabled interventions. This combination of research, development, evaluation, translation, and training is designed to accelerate adoption so that people with disabilities benefit from innovations sooner and more consistently.

NIDILRR plans to fund only one award under this opportunity, making it a single-center competition. The project period is 60 months total, structured as five separate 12-month budget periods. The award ceiling is $925,000, and the expected number of awards is one, reflecting the intent to establish a single national center with concentrated expertise and capacity. The opportunity sits within the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category and is listed under CFDA (now Assistance Listing) number 93.433.

Eligibility is broad within the United States and includes a range of public and private entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or township, and special district governments; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments and other tribal organizations; nonprofit organizations (both with and without 501(c)(3) status, as long as they are not institutions of higher education when applying under those nonprofit categories); for-profit organizations (including those other than small businesses); and small businesses. Faith-based and community organizations are also eligible if they meet the stated eligibility requirements. Foreign entities are explicitly not eligible to apply for or receive an award under this announcement, so applicants must be domestically based and compliant with the funding rules tied to U.S. federal assistance.

Key administrative details from the posting include the funding opportunity number HHS 2024 ACL NIDILRR REGE 0080, an original closing date of March 12, 2024, and a creation date of January 11, 2024. Overall, this grant is designed to establish a high-impact rehabilitation engineering center that develops and validates technology-enabled rehabilitation interventions, supports adoption and market availability, and improves rehabilitation practice and services for people with disabilities, particularly those who require substantial supports.

• The Administration for Community Living in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERC) Program: RERC on Rehabilitation Strategies, Techniques, and Interventions" 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 2024-01-11.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-03-12. (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 $925,000.00 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, 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, Others.

Apply for HHS 2024 ACL NIDILRR REGE 0080

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: