Field Initiated Projects Program: Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) - Development | HHS 2024 ACL NIDILRR IFST 0076

Opportunity Information: Apply for HHS 2024 ACL NIDILRR IFST 0076

The Field Initiated Projects Program: Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) - Development grant is a discretionary federal funding opportunity from the Administration for Community Living (ACL), specifically through NIDILRR (the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research). It supports disability and rehabilitation development work that is intended to improve real-world outcomes for people with disabilities, with a particular emphasis on people with the greatest support needs. The program is designed to help move disability and rehabilitation knowledge into practical use by supporting the creation and refinement of tools, technologies, methods, and related products that can increase full inclusion and integration into society, improve employment and economic self-sufficiency, strengthen independent living, and bolster family and caregiver support.

This specific announcement is for the "Development" track of the FIP-MSI program. In this context, "development" means using what is already known from research to build something usable and beneficial for the target population. Funded activities are expected to produce tangible outputs such as materials, devices, systems, methods, measures, techniques, tools, prototypes, processes, or intervention protocols. The key idea is translation and application: taking research-based understanding and turning it into a product, protocol, or approach that can be implemented, tested for feasibility, improved, and positioned to make a practical difference in disability and rehabilitation settings. A separate announcement will be used for FIP-MSI "Research" proposals, so applicants should not treat this particular notice as the research competition.

A second major purpose of the opportunity is capacity-building for Minority-Serving Institutions. NIDILRR is using this competition to strengthen MSI capability to carry out high-quality disability and rehabilitation research and development, including building experience with federally funded project management, rigorous development methods, and dissemination of useful deliverables. The agency notes particular interest in applications from minority entities that have historically been underrepresented in the federal research environment, signaling that newer or less federally established MSI research programs are a priority audience for this funding.

Eligibility is limited and defined by statute (Section 21(b)(2)(A) of the Rehabilitation Act). Only minority entities and Indian Tribes may apply. A "minority entity" includes Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, American Indian tribal colleges or universities, and other institutions of higher education (IHEs) where minority student enrollment is at least 50 percent. The eligible applicant types in the listing include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments (with eligibility ultimately constrained by the MSI/Tribal definitions above). Foreign entities are explicitly not eligible to apply for or receive awards under this announcement.

The planned project structure is a 36-month period of performance, organized into three 12-month budget periods. This suggests the program anticipates multi-year development work with staged progress and annual budgeting, which fits development cycles like iterative design, prototyping, field feedback, refinement, and preparation for broader deployment or future-scale testing. NIDILRR indicated it plans to make four total FIP-MSI awards overall, with a mix of research and development awards determined by how applications rank in peer review across both categories. Within the source listing for this development opportunity, the expected number of awards is shown as 2, and the award ceiling is $200,000, indicating that up to two development awards may be made under this specific notice, each not to exceed $200,000 (subject to the final federal award decisions and available appropriations).

Administrative details from the listing include the Funding Opportunity Number HHS 2024 ACL NIDILRR IFST 0076, CFDA (Assistance Listing) number 93.433, and a funding activity category of Science and Technology and other Research and Development. The opportunity was created on 2024-01-16 and had an original closing date of 2024-03-18. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as a targeted federal investment in MSI-led disability and rehabilitation development projects that produce concrete, usable outputs while also expanding the long-term ability of MSIs and eligible Tribal entities to compete and perform in the federal disability research and development space.

• The 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: Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) - 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 2024-01-16.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-03-18. (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 2 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Private institutions of higher education, Others.

Apply for HHS 2024 ACL NIDILRR IFST 0076

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