Rehabilitation Research Career Development Programs (K12) | RFA HD 17 021

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA HD 17 021

The Rehabilitation Research Career Development Programs (K12) opportunity (RFA HD 17 021) is an NIH-funded career development grant designed to build and strengthen the next generation of rehabilitation researchers through structured mentoring and coordinated research training. Run through the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the program focuses on developing early-stage investigators (referred to as scholars) who are pursuing research careers in rehabilitation-relevant clinical and applied disciplines. The emphasis is on helping these scholars gain the mentorship, protected time, research skills, and professional development needed to become independent investigators in rehabilitation research.

A defining feature of this K12 is its national-network model. Unlike many institutional K12 programs that primarily train scholars at the applicant organization, this FOA calls for a coordinating hub that recruits and supports scholars placed in strong research environments across the United States. In practice, the awardee is expected to identify qualified candidates nationwide and match them with appropriate mentors, institutions, and research settings, rather than limiting participation to one campus or local region. The central program is responsible for organizing and overseeing the overall mentoring structure, career development activities, and the consistency and quality of scholar experiences across different sites.

The FOA highlights several priority disciplinary areas and clinical domains where NICHD is especially interested in building research capacity. These include physiatrists, physical therapy and occupational therapy professionals and other allied health clinicians, clinicians engaged in neurological rehabilitation, and bioengineers working in rehabilitation-relevant areas. The intent is to support a program that can serve multiple relevant academic and clinical disciplines, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of rehabilitation research and the need for collaboration among clinicians, engineers, and health professionals.

Eligibility for applicants is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations and governmental entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; 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; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits (both with and without 501(c)(3) status); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); small businesses; and other organizations as allowed by NIH policy. The FOA also explicitly notes eligibility considerations for a range of institution types such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), as well as faith-based or community-based organizations and eligible federal agencies.

At the same time, the announcement places clear limits on foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible. In addition, foreign components, as NIH defines them in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed under this FOA. In other words, the network and its supported activities must be structured entirely within allowable domestic parameters.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant opportunity in the Health, Income Security and Social Services category, with CFDA number 93.865. The posted award ceiling is $715,000. The opportunity was created on 2016-10-21 and listed an original closing date of 2016-12-28. Overall, the program’s core purpose is to create an organized, national career development pipeline in rehabilitation research by centrally coordinating recruitment, mentoring, and training while leveraging strong research environments distributed across the country.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Rehabilitation Research Career Development Programs (K12)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.865.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2016-10-21.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2016-12-28. (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 $715,000.00 in funding.
• 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), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, 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 RFA HD 17 021

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