Autism Research Program

The Autism Research Program recognizes the critical need for improved resources to advance the field of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) research and diagnosis, and to improve outcomes for individuals with ASD. The Resource Development Award supports product-driven research aimed at developing tools for use by the ASD research and/or clinical communities.

These resources may include, but are not limited to, (1) high-throughput assays, (2) noninvasive imaging techniques, (3) diagnostic tests, (4) databases, (5) devices, (6) clinical tools, and (7) model systems. Applicants should clearly articulate how the proposed product addresses an unmet need in the ASD research or clinical communities.

Research involving human subject use is permitted under this funding opportunity, but is restricted to studies without clinical trials.

Preliminary data relevant to the proposed product development is allowed, but not required. (1)Preliminary data, (2) unpublished results from the laboratory of the principal investigator, (3) the research team, or (4) the collaborators named on this application, may be from outside of the ASD research field.

Amount: $150,000 (across 2 years)

Date due: March 31, 2010 (Pre-application)

For more information, click here.

Disability Rights Fund International Grants

The Disability Rights Fund seeks to strengthen the participation of Disabled Persons' Organizations in the advancement of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at the country level in the Global South and Eastern Europe/former Soviet Union.

The fund's 2010 Moving Rights Forward grant cycle will consist of two rounds. The first is directed at DPOs in Indonesia, Mexico, Ukraine, and eligible states and cities in India (Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, and the National Capital Territory of Delhi). Applicants can apply as single organizations or partnerships for small grants and/or as national DPO-led coalitions for national coalition grants.

Single organizations or partnerships can apply for twelve-month grants ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 each. Grants may be used to increase DPO skill in addressing the CRPD by building more inclusive organizations or partnerships and/or internal capacity building, and to accomplish rights-based advocacy and monitoring by increasing DPO participation in decision-making processes regarding the CRPD at state or local levels and/or directly addressing implementation of CRPD Articles.

National DPO-led coalitions can apply for 24-month grants ranging from $30,000 to $50,000 each per year to work on ratification of the CRPD, passage of specific legislation to accord with the CRPD, or the production of an alternative/parallel report.

Cross-disability and other partnerships in-country are strongly encouraged, as are projects that address particularly marginalized sectors of the disability community.

The deadline for small grants applications for the first funding round is March 24, 2010. The deadline for National Coalition Grants applications for the first round is April 12, 2010. The RFP for the second grantmaking round will be released in July 2010.

For more information, click here.

IES Autism Spectrum Disorders Research

The purpose of the Autism Spectrum Disorders Research (ASD) program is to contribute to the improvement of developmental, cognitive, communicative, academic, social, behavioral, and functional outcomes of students identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from preschool through Grade 12 by (1) exploring malleable factors relevant to comprehensive preschool and school-based interventions (e.g., intervention practices) that are associated with better developmental, cognitive, communicative, academic, social, behavioral, and functional outcomes for students identified with ASD, as well as mediators or moderators of the relations between these factors and student outcomes, for the purpose of identifying potential targets of intervention; (2) developing innovative comprehensive preschool and school-based interventions or modifying existing interventions to make them comprehensive to address the developmental, cognitive, communicative, academic, social, behavioral, and functional needs of students identified with ASD; (3) establishing the efficacy of fully developed comprehensive preschool and school-based interventions for students identified with ASD; (4) evaluating the effectiveness of comprehensive preschool and school-based interventions for student with ASD when implemented at scale; and (5) developing and validating measures of developmental, cognitive, communicative, academic, social, behavioral, and functional outcomes that can be used by practitioners to monitor progress and evaluate outcomes for students identified with ASD.

The long-term outcome of this program will be an array of comprehensive programs and assessments that have been documented to be effective for improving the developmental, cognitive, communicative, academic, social, behavioral, and functional outcomes of students identified with ASD from preschool through Grade 12.

Amount: $100,000 - $1.2m (3 years)

Date due: September 16, 2010

For more information, click here.

IES Related Services Research Program

The purpose of the Related Services (Related Services) research program is to contribute to the improvement of reading, writing, language, mathematics, science, social, or behavioral outcomes, as well as functional skills that improve educational and transitional results of students with disabilities by: (1) exploring malleable factors (e.g., related services practices and delivery systems) that are associated with better child outcomes for children with disabilities, as well as mediators or moderators of the relations between these factors and child outcomes, for the purpose of identifying potential targets of intervention; (2) developing innovative related services interventions — practices, programs, and delivery systems — that are intended to improve outcomes for students with disabilities; (3) determining the efficacy of related services practices, programs, and delivery systems for students with disabilities; (4) providing evidence on the effectiveness of related services practices, programs, and delivery systems for students with disabilities when implemented at scale; and (5) developing assessments that can be used to evaluate the performance of related service providers and validating these or existing assessments against child outcomes.

The long-term outcome of this program will be an array of tools and strategies (e.g., assessments, services, curricula, programs, practices, interventions) that have been documented to be effective for improving the reading, writing, mathematics, science, social and behavioral outcomes, as well as functional skills that improve educational and transitional outcomes of students with disabilities who receive related services from kindergarten through Grade 12.

Amount: $100,000 - $1.2m (3 years)

Date due: September 16, 2010

For more information, click here.

IES Teacher Quality Research (Special Education)

The purpose of the Institute's Teacher Quality Research (Teacher Quality) program is to identify effective strategies for improving the performance of current teachers and other instructional personnel in ways that increase reading, writing, language, mathematics, science, or secondary transitional outcomes for students with disabilities from kindergarten through Grade 12. The Institute intends for the Teacher Quality research program to fulfill five goals: (1) exploring the relations between malleable factors (e.g., practices of teachers and other instructional personnel; professional development experiences) and student outcomes, as well as mediators or moderators of the relations between these factors and student outcomes, for the purpose of identifying potential targets of intervention; (2) developing innovative programs and practices for professional development of teachers and/or other instructional personnel that are intended to improve instructional practices and through them student outcomes; (3) evaluating the efficacy of fully-developed programs and practices for professional development of teachers and/or other instructional personnel; (4) evaluating the effectiveness of programs and practices for professional development of teachers and/or other instructional personnel that are implemented at scale and intended for improving instructional practices and through them student outcomes; and (5) developing and validating new assessments of teacher quality for current classroom teachers or other instructional personnel, or validating existing assessments for teachers or other instructional personnel at any grade level from kindergarten through grade 12 against measures of student outcomes.

Long-term outcomes of the Teacher Quality program will be an array of tools and strategies (e.g., in-service programs, teacher supports, assessments) that have been demonstrated to be effective for improving and assessing performance of teachers and other instructional personnel in ways that are linked to improvements in student outcomes.

By "professional development," the Institute refers to in-service training and supports (e.g., information resources) for current personnel. By "teachers and other instructional personnel," the Institute refers to special education teachers, general education teachers, paraprofessionals, teacher consultants and specialists, and other personnel involved in the instruction of students with disabilities. Personnel involved in providing related services are not included under the Teacher Quality topic but can be included under the Related Services research topic.

Amount: $100,000 - $1,200,000 (3 years)

Date due: September 16, 2010

For more information, click here.

NIH Research Conference Grant (Interdisciplinary Teams)

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages Research Conference Grant (R13) applications from institutions and organizations that propose to develop interdisciplinary research teams. Teams must include investigators from the social and/or behavioral sciences, and may include the life and/or physical sciences. The goal is to broaden the scope of investigation into scientific problems, yield fresh and possibly unexpected insights, and increase the sophistication of theoretical, methodological, and analytical approaches by integrating the analytical strengths of two or more disparate scientific disciplines while addressing gaps in terminology, approach, and methodology. This program will allow investigators from multiple disciplines to hold meetings in order to provide the foundation for developing interdisciplinary research projects.

Amount: Varies

Date due: April 12, 2010; August 12, 2010

For more information, click here.

Technology & Media Services for Individuals with Disabilities

The purposes of the Technology and Media Services for Individuals with Disabilitiesprogram are to: (1) Improve results for children with disabilities by promoting the development, demonstration, and use of technology; (2) support educational media services activities designed to be of educational value in the classroom setting to children with disabilities; and (3) provide support for captioning and video description that are appropriate for use in the classroom setting. Phase 1 projects must develop, refine, and test the feasibility of specific technology-based approaches. Phase 2 projects must subject technology-based approaches to rigorous field-based research to determine their effectiveness.

Amount: Phase 1 ($200,000/year for 2 years); Phase 2 ($300,000/year for 3 years)

Due date: March 19, 2010

For more information, click here.