Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERC) Program: RERC on Wireless Technologies | HHS 2021 ACL NIDILRR REGE 0029

Opportunity Information: Apply for HHS 2021 ACL NIDILRR REGE 0029

This grant opportunity, titled "Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERC) Program: RERC on Wireless Technologies" (Funding Opportunity Number: HHS-2021-ACL-NIDILRR-REGE-0029), is a discretionary federal research and development grant offered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through the Administration for Community Living (ACL), specifically under NIDILRR. It sits within the Science and Technology and other Research and Development funding category and is listed under CFDA 93.433. The opportunity was posted on February 24, 2021, with an original application deadline of April 26, 2021, and it anticipated making a single award with a maximum annual budget (award ceiling) of $925,000.

The broader goal of the RERC program is to strengthen and modernize rehabilitation-related services authorized under the Rehabilitation Act by supporting advanced engineering research and the development of innovative technologies. In practice, RERCs are meant to do more than invent new devices or software. They are expected to take on real rehabilitation and accessibility problems, build or refine technical solutions, and then demonstrate and evaluate those solutions in ways that show whether they actually work for users in real environments. The program also emphasizes moving innovations out of the lab and into the world by encouraging improvements in service delivery systems, supporting changes that make technology easier to obtain and use through rehabilitation and community channels, and stimulating private-sector production and distribution so that promising technologies can realistically reach consumers. Training is another built-in expectation, meaning these centers are also designed to help build the next generation of researchers, engineers, clinicians, and practitioners who can expand the impact of rehabilitation engineering.

This specific RERC competition focuses on wireless technologies and the barriers people with disabilities can face when trying to access and use them independently. The funded center is intended to conduct research and development aimed at improving how individuals with sensory, mobility, cognitive, or other disabilities obtain wireless technology, set it up, interact with it, and rely on it in everyday life. The focus is explicitly on independence and real-world participation, including use in schools, community settings, and workplaces, as well as in emergency response contexts where communication and reliable access can be critical. In other words, the goal is not just better accessibility features in the abstract, but practical advances that reduce obstacles to effective use of wireless devices, services, and systems across high-stakes and everyday scenarios.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of organizations that could plausibly run a national-level research center or partnership. Eligible applicants include state, county, city/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; nonprofit organizations both with and without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education in those nonprofit categories); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and other entities as described in the additional eligibility language of the announcement. This range reflects how RERCs often involve multi-disciplinary teams and cross-sector collaboration, for example partnerships among universities, disability organizations, health and rehab systems, public agencies, and industry groups that can support technology transfer and real-world deployment.

Overall, the opportunity funds a single RERC dedicated to wireless technology accessibility, with the expectation that the awardee will conduct rigorous engineering R&D, validate and evaluate solutions with disabled users, and help translate results into broader adoption through service systems and the private sector. The intended outcome is increased independent access to wireless technologies and fewer environmental and technological barriers for people with a wide variety of disabilities in education, employment, community participation, and emergency situations.

• 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 Engineering Research Centers (RERC) Program: RERC on Wireless Technologies" 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 Feb 24, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 26, 2021. (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, 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 2021 ACL NIDILRR REGE 0029

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