Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Disability in Rural Communities

The Administrator of the Administration for Community Living (ACL) establishes a priority for an RRTC on Disability in Rural Areas. This RRTC must conduct research, knowledge translation, training, dissemination, and technical assistance activities to improve outcomes among people with disabilities who live in rural areas, including those from racial and ethnic minority groups. The RRTC must focus its research on one or more specific stages of research. If the RRTC is to conduct research that can be categorized under more than one of the research stages, or research that progresses from one stage to another, those stages must be clearly specified and justified. The RRTC must also focus its research activities on topics that fall under at least one of the outcome domains identified in NIDILRR's Long Range Plan for Fiscal Years 2018-2023 (78 FR 20299): health and function, employment, or community living and participation.

RRTC applicants must demonstrate in their original application that people with disabilities from diverse racial and ethnic communities will be included in proposed samples in sufficient numbers to generate knowledge and products that are relevant to the racial and ethnic diversity of the population of people with disabilities being studied. Applicants must describe and justify the planned racial and ethnic distribution of people with disabilities who will participate in the proposed research projects.

Under this priority, the RRTC must be designed to contribute to the following outcomes:

1. New knowledge about the experiences and outcomes of people with disabilities who live in rural areas, relative to those of urban residents with disabilities.
2. New evidence-based interventions designed to improve outcomes for people with disabilities living in rural areas.
3. Greater societal and service delivery capacity to promote positive outcomes for people with disabilities in rural areas.
4. The RRTC must ensure that all materials, websites, and information and technology tools and products that it plans to develop or maintain are accessible, and that electronic materials are produced in full compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d). For websites this compliance currently requires meeting Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0/2.1 AA success criteria. RRTC applications must demonstrate an ability to meet these requirements.

• City or township governments
• County governments
• For profit organizations other than small businesses
• 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
• Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
• Others (see text field entitled "Additional Eligibility Criteria" for clarification)
• Small businesses
• Special district governments
• State governments

Estimated Total Program Funding: