![](media/image1.wmf){width="6.4944444444444445in"
height="6.4944444444444445in"}U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[NIDRR Long-Range Plan\
For Fiscal Years 2005--09:\
Executive Summary]{.smallcaps}

NIDRR Long-Range Plan\
For Fiscal Years 2005--09:\
Executive Summary

U.S. Department of Education\
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services\
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research

March 2007

**U.S. Department of Education\
**Margaret Spellings

*Secretary*

**Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services**

John H. Hager

*Assistant Secretary*

**National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research**

Steven J. Tingus

*Director*

March 2007

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Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services,
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, *NIDRR
Long-Range Plan For Fiscal Years 2005--09: Executive Summary.*
Washington, D.C., 2007.

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# Contents

**[Introduction and Background
[1](#introduction-and-background)]{.smallcaps}**

National Policy Context for NIDRR Research
[1](#national-policy-context-for-nidrr-research)

Structure of the 2005--09 *Plan* [2](#structure-of-the-200509-plan)

Overview of Long-Range Plan Concepts
[2](#overview-of-long-range-plan-concepts)

Accountability, Management, and Evaluation of Research
[3](#accountability-management-and-evaluation-of-research)

Accomplishments of NIDRR Researchers: 25 Years of Leadership and
Achievements
[3](#accomplishments-of-nidrr-researchers-25-years-of-leadership-and-achievements)

Target Population: Definitions and Characteristics
[5](#target-population-definitions-and-characteristics)

Definitions of Disability [5](#definitions-of-disability)

Prevalence of Disability [5](#prevalence-of-disability)

Managing for Success [7](#managing-for-success)

NIDRR Logic Model [7](#nidrr-logic-model)

Managing for Results [8](#managing-for-results)

Results-Oriented Planning Environment
[8](#results-oriented-planning-environment)

Priority Planning [8](#priority-planning)

Funding Mechanisms and Strategies
[9](#funding-mechanisms-and-strategies)

Management Principles [9](#management-principles)

Peer Review Processes [10](#peer-review-processes)

Monitoring and Evaluation [10](#monitoring-and-evaluation)

Research Cooperation [10](#research-cooperation)

Addressing Outcomes Through Research and Development, Capacity Building,
and Knowledge Translation
[13](#addressing-outcomes-through-research-and-development-capacity-building-and-knowledge-translation)

Strategic Goals and Objectives [13](#strategic-goals-and-objectives)

Goal 1: Advance Knowledge Through Research and Related Activities
[13](#goal-1-advance-knowledge-through-research-and-related-activities)

Goal 2: Advance Knowledge Through Capacity Building
[14](#goal-2-advance-knowledge-through-capacity-building)

Goal 3: Advance Knowledge Translation
[14](#goal-3-advance-knowledge-translation)

Research and Development [14](#research-and-development)

Employment [15](#employment)

Participation and Community Living
[17](#participation-and-community-living)

Health and Function [19](#health-and-function)

Technology for Access and Function
[20](#technology-for-access-and-function)

Disability Demographics [22](#disability-demographics)

Capacity Building [24](#capacity-building)

Definition of Capacity Building [24](#definition-of-capacity-building)

Program Mechanisms for Capacity Building
[25](#program-mechanisms-for-capacity-building)

Agenda for Capacity Building [25](#agenda-for-capacity-building)

Knowledge Translation [26](#knowledge-translation)

Definition of Knowledge Translation
[27](#definition-of-knowledge-translation)

Challenges in Knowledge Translation
[27](#challenges-in-knowledge-translation)

Future Agenda---Knowledge Translation
[27](#future-agendaknowledge-translation)

# Introduction and Background

The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR)
*Long-Range Plan for Fiscal Years 2005--09* (the *Plan*) provides an
agenda for achieving advancements in applied rehabilitation research
that will benefit people with disabilities in the United States. This
executive summary describes the purposes and scope of the *Plan,* which
was published in the *Federal Register* on Feb. 15, 2006 (see
www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/other/2006-1/021506d.pdf). The NIDRR
mission statement is the conceptual foundation for the *Plan*. The
ultimate aim of all NIDRR research is to enhance the ability of persons
with disabilities to achieve their maximum desired participation in the
community, with full access to all societal and life activities.

***NIDRR Mission Statement***

> The mission of NIDRR is to generate new knowledge and promote its
> effective use to improve the abilities of people with disabilities to
> perform activities of their choice in the community, and also to
> expand society's capacity to provide full opportunities and
> accommodations for its citizens with disabilities.

The commitment to this mission propels NIDRR's work supporting research
that addresses the multifaceted needs of people with disabilities. The
NIDRR mission has been made more salient by the increasing demand for
the products of disability and rehabilitation research, including
technological devices and new knowledge about successful interventions
and policies that advance all aspects of life for people with
disabilities. The 2005--09 *Plan* will continue important NIDRR research
efforts developed under the 1999-2003 *Long-Range Plan*, and will
provide increased emphasis to the five research domains of: employment;
health and function; participation and community living; technology for
function and access; and disability demographics. In developing the
*Plan*, NIDRR was assisted by a committee of stakeholders that included
individuals with disabilities, researchers, and service providers. The
*Plan* incorporates the NIDRR Logic Model that not only contributed to
the design of the research agenda but also provides all stakeholders
with a detailed schema that illustrates the comprehensive approach to
research employed in the *Plan*.

## National Policy Context for NIDRR Research

In recent years, several major policy directives have influenced NIDRR
activities and initiatives in disability and rehabilitation research,
including implementation of the 1999-2003 *Long-Range Plan* and
development of the new *Plan*. These include the U.S. Supreme Court's
1999 decision in Olmstead v. L.C. (527 U.S. 581), the president's New
Freedom Initiative (NFI) in 2001, and the report of the president's New
Freedom Commission on Mental Health in 2002. The *Americans with*
*Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA*), now in existence for more than a
decade, has continued to provide a strong framework for all
disability-related activities.

As optimum community participation for persons with disabilities is the
ultimate objective of NIDRR research, the important directives in the
Olmstead decision inform the institute's agenda. The Olmstead decision
affects disability and rehabilitation research as it highlights the need
for new, validated strategies, supports, programs, interventions,
guidelines and policies to make living in the community successful for
deinstitutionalized individuals or those diverted from potential
institutionalization.

Additionally, several provisions of the NFI have had a direct impact on
NIDRR activities including a proposal to increase funding for NIDRR
Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERCs) and the allocation
of substantial funding for the Interagency Committee on Disability
Research (ICDR), which is chaired and staffed by NIDRR. The ICDR has
been instrumental in increasing the coordination of federal research
efforts related to disability. In addition, the president's New Freedom
Commission on Mental Health (the commission) has taken important steps
in identifying problems in the nation's mental health care system. The
commission's final report contained important implications for the NIDRR
research agenda, as well as those of its federal partner agencies.

## Structure of the 2005--09 *Plan*

This executive summary discusses the three sections of the *Plan*. The
first section includes the introduction and background, as well as
information about NIDRR's target population. By law this includes people
with disabilities and their families; individuals who provide vocational
rehabilitation or medical, technological and direct support services;
educators; policymakers; businesses; and the public. People with
disabilities clearly are intended to be ultimate beneficiaries of all
NIDRR activities.

The second section of the *Plan* addresses managing for success and
contains two parts: one on NIDRR's Logic Model for outcomes achievement;
and the other on a strategy of *managing for results.* The Logic Model
provides a theoretical base for the evaluation of program outcomes and
will help ensure consistency throughout a planning and feedback cycle.
The NIDRR management section provides information on strategies for
making operations more systematic and responsive to the concerns of
constituents.

The third section of the *Plan* discusses three arenas of outcomes
achievement: research and development (R&D), knowledge translation (KT),
and capacity building (C-B). The R&D arena is divided according to the
domains of NIDRR research---employment, health and function, technology
for access and function, participation and community living, and
disability demographics. The R&D arena is further subdivided into stages
of knowledge development that include discoveries; theories, measures,
and methods; and interventions, products or devices, and environmental
modifications.

## Overview of Long-Range Plan Concepts 

The 2005--09 *Plan* builds on the successes of the previous *Long-Range
Plan*, while responding to new developments in the disability and
rehabilitation research field and in government. Both plans have
stressed the importance of NIDRR's significant role as a research
institute in the public interest, carrying out scientific research to
meet the diverse needs of people with disabilities.

The concept of a *contextual paradigm of disability* will continue to
frame the NIDRR research agenda. As stated in the NIDRR *Long-Range Plan
1999-2003: Executive Summary* (p.3), this paradigm maintains that
"disability is a product of the interaction between characteristics of
the individual (e.g., conditions or impairments, functional status, or
personal and social qualities) and the characteristics of the natural,
built, cultural, and social environments."

The contextual paradigm of disability was explicated in the previous
NIDRR *Long-Range Plan* and has significantly influenced the design of
NIDRR research during the past five years. This paradigm has helped
NIDRR to focus research efforts on new issues; new approaches for
defining, measuring, counting and categorizing disability; and new
methods for conducting and managing research.

The crux of NIDRR's mission is to improve participation and community
living, which remains NIDRR's principal goal. As a model for
facilitating the community integration of people with disabilities, the
*Plan* emphasizes areas of employment incentives/disincentives and
accommodations, access to health care, and the preference for supports
rather than services. The *Plan* continues to emphasize the major
research domains of employment, participation and community living,
health and function, and technology for access and function, while the
area of disability demographics has been elevated to a major domain to
reflect and reinforce the importance of improved disability data for
policy, service design, and future research initiatives.

The 2005--09 *Plan* continues to focus on the important research areas
of *universal design* and *the emerging universe of disability*. The new
*Plan* further recognizes the importance of interdependence, in its
continued emphasis not only on personal assistance services (PAS) but
also on supports for family and other informal caregivers, direct care
workers, and paraprofessionals in facilitating participation and
community living.

## Accountability, Management, and Evaluation of Research

The *Long-Range Plan* introduces major changes in accountability,
management, and evaluation of the research portfolio, some of which
reflect new standards of accountability for NIDRR as an entity, while
others relate to the performance of grantees. NIDRR management has
responded to government-wide policy shifts and changes in federal
procedures by increasing the emphasis on standards for assessing its
work and that of its grantees.

This plan introduces a new emphasis on the stages of knowledge
development enumerated above (discoveries; theories, measures, and
methods; and interventions, products, or devices, and environmental
modifications). These stages relate to the types of objectives and end
products that grantees are expected to pursue. This new focus will
enable NIDRR to set more measurable goals and to assess the extent to
which grantees have produced relevant outputs and outcomes.

## Accomplishments of NIDRR Researchers: 25 Years of Leadership and Achievements

NIDRR researchers and representatives of the disability community
generally attribute two categories of accomplishments to NIDRR. The
first category includes NIDRR leadership in important research areas,
pioneering inquiries, and implementation of general principles. The
second category consists of the work of NIDRR-supported grantees in
expanding the knowledge base and disseminating new findings. The
institute has reached its 25th anniversary, and a brief overview will
highlight some of the many achievements by NIDRR researchers that will
inform and advance future research efforts.

The Bridging Gaps Research Conference, cosponsored by NIDRR and the
American Psychological Association in May 2002, examined the impact and
ramifications of the new paradigm of disability on psychology and
rehabilitation research, including consideration of the environment,
social norms and attitudes, and policies and practices that present
barriers to individuals with disabilities.

NIDRR has helped lead development of several new directions in research
related to the contextual paradigm of disability. These research issues
have included universal design, the concept of an emerging universe of
disability, and increasing emphasis on accommodations. NIDRR has been a
major national and international proponent of universal design, defined
as design for a built environment that can be used by nearly all
people---living, working and playing together. Examples of universal
design include the information technology (IT) interfaces developed by
NIDRR-funded researchers and adopted by major software providers. This
technology has been incorporated into IT systems to create accessible
public information kiosks, electronic voting systems, ATMs, and airport
information systems, as well as personal computers.

NIDRR has examined and used the concept of an emerging universe of
disability, which refers to a disabled population that is shaped by
demographic changes including age; immigrant status and socioeconomic
factors; new types of potentially disabling conditions; consequences of
treatments of existing conditions; and differential distribution of
conditions and their consequences. Particularly in the last five years,
this concept has helped to focus attention on the unique needs of this
population, and to increase research endeavors emphasizing cultural and
economic factors affecting disability.

In addressing obstacles faced by people with disabilities, NIDRR
researchers also have evaluated models for providing supports to enable
self-direction in the life of a person with disabilities---an important
shift from the traditional *service provision* model. NIDRR-sponsored
research on supports has helped provide individuals with information to
make their own choices and direct their own lives. NIDRR-sponsored
research has addressed peer-to-peer and family-to-family programs,
personal assistance services (PAS), self-advocacy skill development,
consumer direction, assistive technology, and environmental
modifications.

NIDRR leadership in promoting assistive technology and accommodations
has been reflected in new public policy, including the *ADA* and the
NFI. NIDRR researchers have developed assistive technology devices that
address diverse needs related to IT, communications and speech and
neurological, mobility, and manipulation issues, among other functional
areas. Appropriate accommodations are particularly important in
supporting work and education for people with disabilities.

NIDRR has contributed significantly to research in the area of
disability statistics during the past 25 years. In 1982, NIDRR convened
the first meeting of federal agencies involved with disability issues.
This entity, now known as the Interagency Subcommittee on Disability
Statistics (ISDS), continues to generate, coordinate and promote
improved statistical knowledge about disability populations.

## Target Population: Definitions and Characteristics

### Definitions of Disability

There is a myriad of definitions of disability used in the United
States. NIDRR has identified more than 60 definitions of disability in
the federal government alone, generally related to eligibility
requirements for benefits or services but also used in major national
surveys that have determined the nation's estimates of disability. NIDRR
is governed by definitions in Title II of the *Rehabilitation Act* (the
act). Title II describes a person with a disability as: "any person who
(i) has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one
or more of such person's major life activities; (ii) has a record of
such an impairment; or (iii) is regarded as having such an impairment"
(29 U.S.C. 705).

NIDRR is required to focus research especially on the experiences and
needs of individuals with the most significant disabilities, as defined
in the act. The act also calls for responding to a resulting need for
multiple vocational rehabilitation services over an extended period of
time. These services include accommodations needed during the
rehabilitation process or during subsequent employment, or both. Section
21 of the act requires specific attention to underserved populations,
those individuals with disabilities who are additionally marginalized by
minority racial or ethnic status.

Most prevailing definitions of disability used by federal agencies and
in research fields do not reflect new paradigm of disability concepts.
While most definitions stress limitations, newer frameworks focus on a
continuum progressing from etiology through disease, impairments and
functional limitations, which, when combined with external or
environmental conditions, may cause limitations in the performance of
daily activities or desired social roles. The latest proposal for
classifying disability is the International Classification of
Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) developed by the World Health
Organization (WHO). NIDRR and many other partner agencies are assessing
the appropriateness of applying the ICF to U.S. populations. The section
on disability demographics in this executive summary also refers to the
ICF.

### Prevalence of Disability

Current estimates of the number of people with disabilities in the
United States indicate that as much as 20 percent of the U.S. population
has some disability, based on an extrapolation of data from the U.S.
Census 2000 (Summary File 3). Those figures show that out of a total
population of 257 million persons aged 5 years and over, there were
nearly 50 million individuals with disabilities.

General descriptors of NIDRR's target population show that disability is
closely related to aging and poverty. Individuals with disabilities are
more likely to be elderly, poor, of low educational status, and
unemployed than those with no disabilities. People with disabilities are
less likely to participate in community and social activities and are
more likely to lack adequate transportation, although they are about as
likely as those without disabilities to have health insurance (relying
heavily on Medicare and Medicaid). The disabled population is not
homogeneous; there are many variations that may be based on type of
disability and age of onset, as well as on the demographic
characteristics mentioned here.

The next section presents the NIDRR Logic Model for outcomes
achievement, which serves as part of the framework of the *Plan*. The
subsequent management chapter describes efforts to enhance NIDRR's
scientific review process and the emphasis on outcomes evaluation.

# Managing for Success

## NIDRR Logic Model 

The NIDRR Logic Model, which graphically represents the different types
of short-term and intermediate outcomes that NIDRR's investments are
designed to produce or contribute to, and the interrelationships among
these intended outcomes, is shown in figure 1.

![](media/image2.wmf){width="6.55in"
height="4.673611111111111in"}**Figure 1. NIDRR Logic Model: Targeted
Outcome Arenas**

The NIDRR Logic Model was designed to contribute several essential
elements to the planning process. These include:

-   A tool for outcomes planning and performance management that depicts
    the chain of events linking outcome goals to outputs, activities,
    and inputs.

-   A vehicle for communicating program goals and guiding program
    improvement and evaluation.

-   A graphic representation or blueprint of the key elements of a
    program or intervention, and how these elements will work under
    certain conditions to solve identified problems.

The Logic Model also served as a structure for depicting NIDRR's planned
performance assessment and outcomes evaluation processes, and as a
guideline for demonstrating program results.

## Managing for Results

Management of NIDRR research programs and projects encompasses many
distinct aspects: provision of a results-oriented planning environment;
selection and scheduling of priorities; selection of appropriate program
mechanisms and operating those programs to carry out research and
related activities; adherence to sound management principles; commitment
to an independent and effective peer review process; project monitoring
and evaluation; and increasing program utility through interagency and
international research efforts.

To further advance the management of research and related activities,
NIDRR is developing plans to improve its grant-making procedures and to
increase the scope and effectiveness of its standing peer review panels.
The *Plan* delineates and clarifies the processes of decision-making and
includes a new emphasis on developing research portfolios and research
clusters, which will integrate the different research efforts in a given
topical area. Over the lifetime of the *Plan*, NIDRR will systematically
evaluate all aspects of its management activities.

### Results-Oriented Planning Environment

To facilitate advancements in rehabilitation, and in disability and
rehabilitation research, NIDRR will delineate and plan strategic goals,
identify specific program options for achieving the goals over time, and
manage a wide range of projects derived from priorities based on these
goals. NIDRR translates its statutory mandate into its mission and
strategic goals by continually assessing performance, measuring project
progress and short-term outcomes, tracing intermediate outcomes as the
target systems use the projects' results, and identifying long-term
outcomes as depicted in the NIDRR Logic Model.

### Priority Planning

NIDRR, like all federal agencies, must plan and schedule its
decisionmaking for portfolio management over a multiyear time frame. The
following steps are intended to advance NIDRR research management:

-   NIDRR will implement a regular, fixed competition schedule.

-   NIDRR will undertake a rotating review of all major components of
    its research portfolio.

-   To meet the obligations of the *Government Performance and Results
    Act (GPRA)*, NIDRR will establish expert panels to conduct an annual
    review of its clusters of projects.

-   NIDRR will institute systematic *environmental scans* to help
    ascertain elements of technology, science, or policy that may offer
    guidance for future research.

-   As part of the ongoing evaluation of the appropriateness of the
    NIDRR research portfolio, NIDRR will, together with other federal
    partners, seek to initiate an independent study of disability
    research and related activities.

### Funding Mechanisms and Strategies

NIDRR operates a number of program or funding mechanisms to support
research and related activities. Rehabilitation Research and Training
Centers (RRTCs) and Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERCs)
are primary recipients of NIDRR resources and carry out many of NIDRR's
major research efforts. RRTCs are national centers of scientific
research and resources for the disability and rehabilitation field,
providing information and technical assistance to a broad constituency.
RERCs conduct engineering and technological research to design, develop,
and test equipment, technologies, assistive devices, and methods that
will remove environmental barriers and provide innovative models for
rehabilitation technology service delivery.

Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects (DRRPs) include research
and knowledge translation projects. NIDRR created a program of
field-initiated (FI) research in 1984; the FI program supplements
NIDRR's directed research portfolio by addressing research issues in
promising and innovative ways. NIDRR also supports service demonstration
and research programs to develop and evaluate improved methods and
systems of rehabilitation care for individuals with spinal cord injury,
traumatic brain injury, and burns. The *Rehabilitation Act* also
provides for two capacity-building programs---the Fellowships and
Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training programs.

### Management Principles

NIDRR research management will be guided by many elements and will
employ several research planning and decision-making principles in its
work.

-   NIDRR will implement its research portfolio through use of clusters
    of projects that address common subject matters and employ various
    funding mechanisms.

-   To establish the context for its research, NIDRR will assess
    possible priorities for its portfolio by applying criteria that
    ascertain the importance of proposed activities in relationship to
    NIDRR's mission and authority; past, current and emerging projects;
    scientific advances; and work of research partners in the United
    States and abroad.

-   NIDRR will communicate decisions clearly and understandably to a
    wide range of audiences.

-   NIDRR will make choices regarding resource allocation using the best
    available evidence. NIDRR will explain the rationale for directed
    activities to stakeholders in the publication of priorities.

-   NIDRR will allocate resources across program clusters to achieve the
    best relationship of costs and benefits. Factors for consideration
    may include the anticipated size of the investment; available funds;
    congruence with NIDRR's Logic Model; and risks of failure to act,
    including lost value and expertise.

-   Quality program management at NIDRR will require the further
    development of internal and external studies to validate knowledge
    generated from ongoing and completed research and assess its utility
    to stakeholders.

### Peer Review Processes

Application review is central to efforts that ensure the integrity and
validity of the research portfolio. As mandated by the *Rehabilitation
Act*, NIDRR continues its commitment to a review of applications by
independent experts representative of NIDRR stakeholders, including
individuals with disabilities. NIDRR envisions a standardized peer
review process across its research portfolio, extending the use of
standing panels to service most or all program funding mechanisms.

### Monitoring and Evaluation

NIDRR has adopted a project monitoring process that involves regular
contact between project officers and principal investigators to ensure
that activities are carried out as proposed, staffing is as proposed,
problems are addressed and resolved, and the projects remain on track to
produce the outcomes and outputs agreed upon in their grant awards.

NIDRR will evaluate the outcomes of its grantee research efforts in
order to judge project productivity gains, economic value, practitioner
satisfaction, and end-user satisfaction. Measures of success will vary
by goal and topic. NIDRR is developing a systematic method for tracking
measurement instruments developed by grantees (Tools List). The tools,
along with patent counts, will verify outcomes of research methods and
products. Systematic reviews or meta-analyses will be used to evaluate
aggregated research outcomes.

### Research Cooperation

As a leading federal agency involved in disability and rehabilitation
research, NIDRR works closely with numerous other federal agencies.
Interagency collaborations have resulted in joint research projects with
the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and other
components of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). NIDRR
also conducts employment research jointly with the U.S. Department of
Labor and conducts NFI-related activities with the Office on Disability
of HHS. A major mechanism for fostering such collaboration is the
Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR).

#### Interagency Committee on Disability Research 

The ICDR, authorized by the act, will continue to promote coordination
and cooperation among federal departments and agencies that are
conducting disability and rehabilitation research programs, with a
particular emphasis on technology and universal design. NIDRR is the
administrative home of the ICDR, and the director of NIDRR chairs this
committee, the membership of which represents more than 35 federal
entities. In addition to the full committee, five subcommittees address
specific issues: Disability Statistics, Medical Rehabilitation,
Technology (including Technology Transfer), Employment, and the NFI.

#### International Research Program 

The magnitude of the overall federal R&D effort directed to disability
and rehabilitation research is relatively small, compared to R&D efforts
in other areas. Therefore, international cooperation and exchange has
been viewed as an important mechanism by which the critical mass of
disability and rehabilitation research can be increased. According to
the act \[Section 204(b)(6)\], the director of NIDRR is authorized to
\"\...conduct a program for international rehabilitation research,
demonstration, and training\...\" NIDRR projects have demonstrated the
value of international collaboration in developing technology for
individuals with disabilities. As part of the Department of Education,
NIDRR is focused on the value of international capacity building and
exchange efforts and continues to support these activities.

# Addressing Outcomes Through Research and Development, Capacity Building, and Knowledge Translation

NIDRR has built its program of funded activities around the three arenas
of research and development, capacity building, and knowledge
translation. For each arena, NIDRR has developed strategic goals and
objectives, which are presented in the *Plan* and summarized below*,*
followed by sections on each of the three arenas or goal areas.

The R&D arena is divided according to the domains of NIDRR
research---employment; participation and community living; health and
function; technology; and disability demographics. In developing its
research agenda in each domain, NIDRR incorporated the latter two stages
of knowledge development as portrayed on the left-hand side of the Logic
Model---theories, measures, and methods; and interventions, products,
devices, and environmental adaptations.

## Strategic Goals and Objectives

Strategic goals are broad statements of a program's aims, whereas
strategic objectives specify the means by which the goals will be
addressed. NIDRR strategic goals and objectives are intended to
communicate the institute's main themes and directions and are not
expected to serve as measurable operational objectives. NIDRR has
developed the following set of comprehensive strategic goals and
objectives that reflect the program's mission and align with both the
targeted outcomes depicted in the Logic Model and the institute's GPRA
performance measures.

### Goal 1: Advance Knowledge Through Research and Related Activities

Generate scientific knowledge, technologies, and applications to inform
policy, change practice, and improve outcomes.

***Objective 1a***: Contribute evidence-based theories, information, and
analyses to increase understanding and enhance knowledge of disability
and rehabilitation related concepts, issues, and emerging trends and
developments.

***Objective 1b***: Provide new and improved tools and methods to
strengthen the scientific basis of disability and rehabilitation related
research, policy, and practice and increase the generalizability of
findings and utility of products.

***Objective 1c***: Develop new and improved interventions, programs,
products, devices, and environmental adaptations to guide
decisionmaking, change practice, and enhance access, function, and
opportunities for full participation.

### Goal 2: Advance Knowledge Through Capacity Building 

Increase capacity to conduct and use high-quality and relevant
disability and rehabilitation research and related activities designed
to guide decisionmaking, change practice, and improve the lives of
individuals with disabilities.

***Objective 2a***: Promote productive partnerships with other federal
agencies and nonfederal organizations and facilitate improvements in R&D
infrastructure to strengthen the research portfolio, support clinical
trials, and increase the effectiveness of knowledge translation efforts.

***Objective 2b*:** Encourage multidisciplinary applications
representing a broad array of relevant fields and from diverse
individuals and underrepresented institutions to balance the research
portfolio and strengthen the capacity to solve problems in a creative,
state-of-the-art manner.

***Objective 2c***: Enhance opportunities for cross-disciplinary and
advanced research training in disability and rehabilitation-related
fields and improve the quality of training provided to qualified
individuals, including students with disabilities and those from
minority backgrounds.

### Goal 3: Advance Knowledge Translation 

Promote the effective use of science-based knowledge, technologies, and
applications to inform disability and rehabilitation policy, improve
practice, and enhance the lives of individuals with disabilities.

***Objective 3a***: Promote external review of the quality of NIDRR
funded research and related activities through participation in
independent scientific collaborations and registries. For examples and
more information, see
[www.Campbellcollaboration.org](http://www.Campbellcollaboration.org/)
and [www.cochrane.org](http://www.cochrane.org/).

***Objective 3b***: Develop tools and methods to facilitate effective
accumulation, translation, dissemination, and transfer of disability and
rehabilitation-related knowledge, technologies, and applications to
relevant stakeholders.

These strategic goals and objectives are addressed in the discussion
that follows on the three arenas of funded activities: research and
development, capacity building, and knowledge translation.

## Research and Development

At the heart of NIDRR's mission is the support of research to improve
the lives of people with disabilities. The associated strategic goal for
R&D is to generate science-based knowledge, technologies, and
applications to inform policy, change practice, and thereby improve
overall conditions for people with disabilities. The future research
agenda for NIDRR rests on the strategic goals and objectives defined
previously and on the long-term outcomes depicted in the Logic Model,
which call for eliminating disparities in employment, participation and
community living, and health care between people with disabilities and
the general population and for developing appropriate technology and
statistical data to support those objectives. Within the NIDRR research
agenda, performance goals are formulated separately for each major
domain of the institute's mission. Unlike long-term outcomes,
performance goals (which may be output or outcome-oriented) lie within a
program's span of accountability. The following sections provide
information on NIDRR research work that will be carried out in the
domains of employment, participation and community living, health and
function, technology, and disability demographics.

### Employment

For many people with disabilities, employment that is challenging,
fulfilling, and fairly and adequately compensated is the ultimate
rehabilitation outcome. Research on employment of people with
disabilities can be used to strengthen the scientific basis of
disability-related employment policy and practice. Research findings
related to career planning, job entry, advancement, and retention can
assist individuals with disabilities---particularly those with
significant disabilities---in moving from dependency on public benefits
to self-sufficiency, or from underemployment into work that is
consistent with the individual's strengths, abilities, and interests.
NIDRR's employment research focuses on the lifelong challenges to and
opportunities presented by transitions in employment experienced by
people with disabilities.

Employment research addresses methods to integrate the unique needs of
employers and disability populations to improve employment outcomes
across the life span. NIDRR research can lead to more accessible work
environments. Employer-oriented, or demand-side, research can assist
policymakers, employers, and service providers in developing better
strategies for meeting the employment needs both of people with
disabilities and hiring entities. Disability and rehabilitation
researchers explore methods, costs, and results of services by
rehabilitation programs or supported employment, including studies of
natural supports at work as they relate to employment outcomes.

Research on employment addresses several areas, including the role of
personal assistance services in the workplace. Rehabilitation technology
and universal design require systematic application of products,
environmental adaptations, and engineering solutions that can both
enhance personal function and address barriers confronted by people with
disabilities in employment.

#### Research Agenda---Employment

Within the domain of employment research, NIDRR will focus on the
creation of useful theories, measures, and methods to improve the
scientific validity of employment research. NIDRR also will focus on
research that will increase the availability of validated interventions,
products, devices, and environmental adaptations.

##### Theories, Measures, and Methods

Tested theories, measures, and methods that increase the scientific
validity of research on employment are important because they lay the
foundation for researchers, policymakers, service providers, individuals
with disabilities, and others to:

-   Improve their understanding of employment trends for individuals
    with disabilities in relation to macroeconomic, legislative, and
    societal changes, and demographic trends.

-   Improve services and policies that have an impact on work-related
    needs of individuals with disabilities and their employers.

-   Improve tools that measure multiple dimensions of employment for
    individuals with disabilities and the employing entities.

##### Interventions, Products, Devices, and Environmental Adaptations 

Research on new and improved interventions, products, devices, and
environmental adaptations is important because it provides researchers,
service providers, policymakers, and others with information they can
use to:

-   Effectively contribute to program eligibility determinations, design
    of program components, and assessment of program outcomes.

-   Improve work opportunities for individuals with disabilities from
    diverse backgrounds in terms of interests, expertise, language, and
    culture.

-   Assist employers and policymakers to provide employment
    opportunities for people with disabilities.

-   Create tools for workplace accommodations that match the needs of
    employers and individuals with disabilities.

-   Improve employment outcomes for specific disability populations,
    including individuals with behavioral, physical, psychiatric,
    cognitive, and sensory disabilities, as well as episodic
    disabilities of all etiologies.

Thus, NIDRR's research agenda in the area of employment is designed to:

-   Strengthen the scientific basis of disability and
    rehabilitation-related research and practice by increasing the
    availability of validated theories, measures and methods to:
    (1) improve measurement, data sources, and estimates; and (2)
    enhance identification, evaluation, and prediction of the factors
    that facilitate successful labor force participation and
    work-related transitions across the life span.

-   Strengthen the scientific basis of disability-related employment
    policy, practice and research by providing valid and reliable
    information and analyses designed to: (1) improve understanding of
    employment trends; individual labor force participation; and
    school-to-work transitions; and (2) enhance knowledge of the broader
    societal developments that affect employment opportunities and
    outcomes across the life span.

### Participation and Community Living

The research domain of participation and community living is at the
center of NIDRR's overall purpose, which is to develop knowledge that
can be used to improve substantially the options for disabled
individuals to participate in the community. In the *Long-Range Plan*,
NIDRR uses the term *participation* to represent all three concepts of
participation, community integration, and independent living (IL). This
enriched term *participation* will help NIDRR and the applied
rehabilitation research community focus on the extent to which people
with disabilities are participating in the community in a manner that is
meaningful to them. NIDRR's focus on participation parallels the
components of IL programs under the *Rehabilitation Act*, which include
independent living, consumer control, peer support, self-help,
self-determination, equal access, and individual and systems advocacy.

Research on participation enhances the scientific basis for a wide range
of policies and practices aimed at promoting the societal participation
of individuals with disabilities. NIDRR research on participation
develops and evaluates strategies for services, interventions, products
and modifications to the built and social environments that would allow
individuals with all types of disabilities to live and participate in
their communities. NIDRR-funded researchers are among the vanguard of
measurement experts seeking to develop new and improved theories about
and measures of participation and community living that will enable the
impact of specific strategies and interventions to be more accurately
determined.

#### Research Agenda---Participation and Community Living

At the individual level, NIDRR will support the development of new
knowledge that can be used to increase the capacity of people with
disabilities to plan and direct their own lives, choosing among options
for maintaining the level of independence and social involvement that
they desire.

At the systems level, NIDRR will support the development of knowledge
that can be used to improve options and services for achieving
independence and social involvement, and the supports necessary to
realize those options.

##### Theories, Measures, and Methods

Tested theories, measures, and methods that increase the scientific
validity of research on participation and community living are important
because they lay the foundation for researchers, policymakers, service
providers, individuals with disabilities, and others to:

-   Improve their understanding of the wide range of activities that may
    be associated with enhanced participation among people with
    disabilities.

-   Improve tools that measure multiple dimensions of participation
    among individuals with disabilities.

-   Improve the capacity of researchers to conduct scientific
    evaluations of services and policies that affect the participation
    levels of individuals with disabilities and identify those that are
    most effective.

NIDRR will build a stronger foundation of research-based knowledge upon
which participation-focused services and policies can be based. Current
measures of participation apply primarily to individuals with physical
disabilities. NIDRR will sponsor research to construct reliable and
valid theories about and measures of participation and community
integration of individuals with intellectual, cognitive and psychiatric
disabilities. NIDRR also plans to pursue research to develop advanced
theories of disability and participation to capture the complex
interaction of environmental and individual factors. That will require
improvements in the ability of researchers to measure the influence of
environmental factors on participation levels of people with
disabilities.

##### Interventions, Products, Devices, and Environmental Adaptations

Research on new and improved interventions, products, devices, and
environmental adaptations is important because it provides researchers,
service providers, policymakers, and others with information they can
use to:

-   Improve participation outcomes for all individuals with
    disabilities, encompassing increases in the number of individuals
    with disabilities living and interacting in the community, as well
    as qualitative improvements in the nature of that social
    involvement.

-   Provide access to individualized services and supports to promote
    participation among all people with disabilities.

-   Apply conceptually sound theories of societal participation for
    specific subgroups of people with disabilities.

-   Tailor services and supports to the specific needs of individuals
    with physical, sensory, cognitive, or psychiatric disabilities that
    will reduce environmental barriers to their participation.

NIDRR intends to place particular emphasis on research related to direct
supports and services that will enable individuals with disabilities to
have options for participation and to implement their choices in their
environments. NIDRR also will sponsor research to determine the ways in
which people with disabilities can use applications of universal design
to reach their participation goals.

NIDRR's research agenda in the domain of participation and community
living is designed to:

-   Strengthen the scientific basis of policies and practices aimed at
    enhancing participation among people with disabilities by providing
    information and analyses designed to improve understanding of
    participation levels among individuals with disabilities and the
    multiple barriers to and facilitators of their participation.

-   Strengthen participation-related research and practice by increasing
    the availability of validated theories, measures, and methods in
    order to: (1) improve data sources and estimates; and (2) enable
    better identification, evaluation, and prediction of the factors
    that facilitate or impede participation and community living.

### Health and Function

Maximizing health and function among people with disabilities is
critical to the achievement of NIDRR's mission and the associated
higher-order goals of employment and community participation. Functional
ability reflects the complex interaction between individuals and the
environments in which they live. Accordingly, NIDRR conceptualizes and
examines issues of health and function at the individual and systems
levels. Individual level research focuses on the development and testing
of new interventions that improve functional and health outcomes for
individuals. At the systems level, NIDRR-supported research focuses on
the organization, and delivery of health care and medical rehabilitation
services.

***Individual Level:*** Ongoing research and clinical efforts produce a
wide variety of programs, interventions, and products aimed at enhancing
the health and function of individuals with disabilities. The scope of
research in medical rehabilitation is as broad as the numerous
conditions that result in disablement; it may encompass the onset of new
conditions, the exacerbation of existing conditions, or the development
of coexisting conditions. NIDRR is well positioned to capitalize on
basic scientific advancements through funding research to develop
rehabilitative interventions that are based on the expanding knowledge
of neurobiological processes.

Research on health and function also involves the study of new
technologies that improve diagnosis and measurement of disabling
conditions, and devices to support enhanced function. Research will help
to prevent secondary conditions from developing among people with
disabilities and will explore the implications of nonmedical
interventions, such as exercise, in this context.

***Systems Level:*** The complex and evolving health care delivery
system in the United States has a major role in the promotion and
maintenance of health for everyone. NIDRR intends to address the
policies and practices that exacerbate or ameliorate disability-related
disparities in access to health care services. The relative lack of
access to health care services by people with disabilities is likely to
become an increasingly serious problem as the full implementation of the
Olmstead decision shifts some individuals out of institution-based
health care into mainstream health services. In addition to individuals
whose primary disabilities are psychiatric, people with a range of
disabilities disproportionately experience depression and other mental
health conditions, and there is a substantial amount of unmet need for
mental health services.

Accurate assessment of the health status of individuals with
disabilities is critical to understanding the impact of the health care
delivery system on their health and wellness. One barrier to accurate
measurement of the health status of individuals with disabilities is the
tendency of widely used measures to conflate functional ability with
health.

NIDRR is funding research on problems of classifying specific
interventions in medical rehabilitation, which involves a
multidisciplinary effort among the allied health professions. The lack
of consensus on how to define and measure the effectiveness of the
multitude of rehabilitation interventions remains a persistent barrier
to a more rigorous and targeted evaluation of rehabilitation outcomes.

#### Research Agenda---Health and Function

At the individual level, NIDRR will fund research that supports the
development and evaluation of new interventions, products, devices, and
environmental adaptations aimed at improving the health status and
functional abilities of people with a wide range of disabling
conditions. Many of these new interventions will address the needs of
people who are aging with disability, with particular emphasis on
minimizing secondary conditions. To aid in the evaluation of these new
interventions, NIDRR also will fund research that leads to the
development of the next generation of valid and reliable measures of
health and functional status among people with disabilities. NIDRR will
conduct research that identifies effective methods for translating data
from these new outcomes measures into information that can be used to
inform decisions made by consumers, payers, provider organizations, and
clinicians.

At the systems level, NIDRR will fund research to generate new knowledge
about the systematic causes and consequences of substandard access to
rehabilitation services and physical and mental health care for people
with a wide range of disabling conditions. This research will identify
and evaluate the effectiveness of specific service-delivery approaches
and reimbursement models aimed at minimizing physical, social, and
economic barriers to the full spectrum of physical and mental health
care and rehabilitation services that is needed by people with
disabilities.

Thus, NIDRR's research agenda in the area of health and function is
designed to:

-   Increase the number of validated new or improved methods for
    assessing function and health status.

-   Increase the number of interventions, products and devices
    demonstrated to be efficacious in improving health and function
    outcomes in targeted disability populations.

-   Increase understanding of the underlying structures and processes
    that facilitate or impede equitable access to rehabilitation
    services and physical and mental health care by people with
    disabilities.

### Technology for Access and Function

For Americans with disabilities, technology plays a vital role by
helping them overcome functional and cognitive deficits, thus enhancing
the ability to lead increasingly independent, secure, and productive
lives. At the societal level, technology enhances access to information
and facilitates removal of physical barriers.

NIDRR's Logic Model depicts technology as encircling the goals of
sustaining health and function, employment, and community living and
participation, reflecting the critical contributions of technology to
successful outcomes for persons with disabilities in all these areas.
NIDRR is well positioned to continue its leadership role in advancing
all areas of rehabilitation engineering and assistive technology
research. The corresponding section of the *Plan* discusses the societal
and scientific contexts of disability technology research, and describes
its applications at the individual and systems levels. Also discussed
are instruments for use in medical and rehabilitative interventions,
such as tools for diagnoses, assessments, and therapeutic interventions.
Consumer participation in rehabilitation engineering and assistive
technology research is a vitally important component of future research
efforts.

At the individual level, the primary focus is on assistive technology
devices that enhance the physical, sensory, and cognitive abilities of
people with disabilities and assist them in participating and
functioning more independently in the home, at work, in recreational
settings, and at cultural and community events. At the systems level,
the emphasis is on applying technology R&D in ways that enhance
community integration, independence, productivity, competitiveness and
equal opportunity by mitigating or eliminating barriers found in large
social systems such as public transportation, telecommunications, IT,
and the built environment. Recent, often breakthrough, advances in
biomaterials research, composite technologies, information and
telecommunication technologies, nanotechnologies, micro
electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), sensor technologies and the
neurosciences provide can be incorporated into future rehabilitation
technology research.

#### Research Agenda---Technology

NIDRR will continue to support the development and application of
universal design principles to promote the full participation of people
with disabilities in mainstream society. Universal design can be a major
facilitator of an accessible built environment and of participation.

NIDRR also will sponsor research to improve and build upon
disability-specific products, including augmentative communication
technology and environmental adaptations that have been developed to
enhance participation and community integration.

NIDRR will sponsor research that involves end users at each stage of
product development, seeking to enhance use and reduce abandonment of
assistive technology devices. NIDRR will continue to sponsor research
that evaluates the outcomes of assistive technology products.

NIDRR will sponsor research that builds upon an understanding of the
impact of economic factors on technology development, production,
availability, and use, including studies of the determinants of
technology development, transfer, and use within specific industries or
community environments. NIDRR seeks to benefit from international
research by providing the opportunity for researchers around the world
to collaborate on product development and to examine technology needs.

NIDRR's research agenda in the area of technology for access and
function is designed to:

-   Strengthen the science basis of rehabilitation engineering and
    assistive technology through the development of theories, validated
    measures, and appropriate research methods for the identification
    and solution of problems to be addressed through technology.

-   Increase the number and availability of empirically validated
    products, devices, and environmental adaptations that promote: (1)
    increased mobility, interactive control, and manipulation of
    relevant features of the environment, and (2) access to information
    and technology communications systems by people with disabilities in
    order to promote independence in the home, community, and workplace.

-   Increase the number of empirically based standards for products and
    devices and the built environment to ensure safety, accessibility,
    and usability by and for people with disabilities.

### Disability Demographics

Valid and reliable demographic data are foundational to the broader
mission of NIDRR and help to provide a platform for all agencies in the
disability field. The institute will continue its work with other
federal agencies to meet NIDRR's statutory mandate to collaborate with
these agencies in producing demographic and statistical data that
describe the population of Americans with disabilities. High-quality
demographic data contribute to NIDRR's mission by helping to:

-   Allocate NIDRR resources among competing topical areas.

-   Inform policy within NIDRR and within the federal government as a
    whole.

-   Identify potential changes in the characteristics and needs of the
    disabled population.

-   Understand changes over time in disablement.

-   Inform service delivery.

-   Plan research to address current and emerging needs.

The ultimate goal of NIDRR's disability demographics effort is to
generate new information that can be used by individuals with
disabilities, service providers, policymakers, and others working to
identify and eliminate disparities in employment, participation and
community living, and health and function. NIDRR has long funded studies
that mine data to address the full range of social, health, and economic
facets of disability and that compare findings across data sources.
There are significant correlates with disability, such as aging; and
there are a variety of links between disability and other factors,
including culture, race, and ethnicity. NIDRR also will nurture
methodological work that will address identified gaps in data, such as
the sparse measurement of the interface between individual and
environment.

NIDRR supports research to understand the variances in levels of
participation by individuals with disabilities and to evaluate
strategies or interventions that may help bridge the gap between
preference and feasibility in an existing environment. The *Plan*
clarifies and advances NIDRR's work in disability demographics, which
has included the establishment of a center on disability demographics
and statistics; elucidation of the complex concept of an emerging
universe of disability; and delineation of gaps in the current
disability demographics effort.

#### The Context for Disability Demographics

Many organizations continue to collect important information about
individuals with disabilities, through at least five major surveys as
well as other targeted efforts. (For reference on federal surveys, see
the U.S. Census 2000, Summary File 3; the Survey of Income and
Participation \[2000\]; National Health Interview Survey \[2003\]; and
the American Community Survey \[2000\]). However, an overarching and
rarely addressed concern in disability demographics is the assessment of
the interface of the individual and the environment. Researchers are
just beginning to explore measures of barriers and facilitators to
participation. Measures of participation vary, although many sources are
undertaking to evaluate the important measures of participation.

A lack of standardized definitions, terminology, coding, classification,
and measurement of disability and functioning often limits
generalization of research findings. NIDRR's mission and its measurement
tools are complicated by the interaction of static and dynamic variables
that describe the background of disabilities. For example, people age,
health changes, economic circumstances vary, and accidents occur.
Point-in-time data sources may describe facets of disability, if enough
questions are asked, but an environmental context often is absent.

#### Descriptions of the Population With Disabilities 

Due to the variety of measurement tools for disability, no simple answer
exists to the question of how many people with disabilities are living
in the United States. As mentioned earlier, drawing upon national Census
data from 2000, overall estimates of the prevalence of disability range
from 5 percent up to more than 20 percent. NIDRR uses the higher figure
for planning purposes.

Measures of significance or severity of disability are critical for
purposes of the *Rehabilitation Act*; each of the national datasets
connected to the federal surveys mentioned above can be used to estimate
the prevalence of significant disability. Measures associated with the
highest level of severity include limitations in activities of daily
living (ADLs), while limitations in instrumental activities of daily
living (IADLs) are often associated with more moderate levels of
disability. For working-age adults, working at a job or business is
often a major life role, and work limitations usually are measured
separately showing the extent of the impact of disability on the
individual's ability to work.

Measures of self-care, and the need for personal assistance or
technologies, provide rich data for understanding more severe
disability. There are consistent trends across data sources showing that
increasing age is a key factor in need for assistance. Aging is strongly
correlated with disability and with the need for functional supports
including technology, environmental access, and personal assistance.
Predicted changes in the demographics of the general population will
have substantial impact on the distribution of disability and the need
for specialized technologies and services. Ultimately, NIDRR researchers
will need to evaluate the impact of these and other factors on the
equalization of access, opportunity, and successful outcomes for people
with disabilities in fulfilling a range of social roles.

#### Research Agenda---Disability Demographics

NIDRR's disability demographic goals will focus on increasing the
capability to describe the characteristics and circumstances of people
with disabilities and their family members through research designed to:

-   Improve the ability to collect data through the joint development of
    a standard nomenclature and methodological standards, including
    sampling, in collaboration with other federal and nonfederal
    entities.

-   Continue to support meta-analyses of multiple data sources to
    examine the current status and trends that project future needs.

-   Enhance understanding of the number and characteristics of people
    with disabilities through targeted studies of existing data and
    thereby increase understanding of the basic life-cycle events and
    experiences of people with disabilities.

-   Improve the science of disability demographics by developing and
    improving the measures of the interaction between technology and the
    physical environment, the social environment, and social policy as
    they affect people with disabilities.

## Capacity Building

In the arena of capacity building, NIDRR has focused its efforts on the
personal and professional development of scientists, advocates, and
people with disabilities, and is expanding this approach to include
development of the capacity of institutions and organizations,
especially those that address the needs of underserved populations.

In this section, capacity building and its key dimensions will be
defined in a context that reflects NIDRR's mission. The following
sections describe the multidimensional aspects of capacity building,
provide a brief review of selected NIDRR accomplishments in capacity
building, and discuss future directions and specific goals and
objectives in capacity building.

### Definition of Capacity Building 

As depicted in the Logic Model, capacity building is foundational for
NIDRR's agenda. NIDRR capacity building includes three major components:
(1) improving and enlarging the supply of qualified individuals to
conduct research, (2) building a research infrastructure at institutions
to carry out research and related activities, and (3) increasing the
ability of consumers to interpret and use research and to play an active
role in the research process.

At the individual level, NIDRR focuses on capacity building to ensure a
source of researchers to carry out the research agenda. In addition,
NIDRR capacity building at this level enhances the ability of
researchers to generate useful new knowledge. NIDRR historically has
sought to increase the number of individuals from underrepresented
groups in this effort, particularly those with disabilities. At the
organizational or systems level, NIDRR capacity building supports the
framework for carrying out individual level research work. At the
systems level, all NIDRR programs may be said to involve capacity
building, in that NIDRR funding is intended to increase the capacity of
the field to conduct high quality research directed at the long-term
goals and objectives identified in the Logic Model.

An important dimension of NIDRR capacity building is the development of
strategies to: (1) assist individuals with disabilities and their
families, as well as service providers and advocates, to use research
findings to inform their choices of interventions; and (2) enhance
consumer involvement in the research process. This process begins at
research development and extends to implementation, evaluation, and
dissemination.

### Program Mechanisms for Capacity Building 

At the individual level, NIDRR's current capacity-building activities
focus primarily on support for individuals who already have selected
research as a career and have completed doctoral studies. The Advanced
Rehabilitation Research Training (ARRT) and Fellowships programs provide
support to individuals who fall within this category. NIDRR acknowledges
a need for supporting increased development of research as a career at
the secondary school and undergraduate educational levels, particularly
focusing on students with disabilities and those from diverse cultural
groups. NIDRR will look for opportunities to partner with other federal
agencies on initiatives in this area.

ARRTs provide training for researchers in disability and rehabilitation
science that integrates disciplines and teaches and enhances research
methodology skills. These training programs operate in interdisciplinary
environments and provide training in rigorous scientific methods. The
fellowships augment scholarly careers in the field and function in an
integrative capacity to define new frontiers of disability and
rehabilitation research. The ARRTs also enhance capacity in their host
institutions by attracting new research trainees from many sources and
increasing recognition for the sponsoring university as a leader in the
field.

RRTCs and RERCs offer training activities that capitalize on the
existing critical mass of expertise and knowledge to provide:
experiential and academic training for researchers and clinicians at the
undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels, including continuing
education activities; in-service training for rehabilitation
practitioners; and training for consumers, their families and
representatives in implications and applications of new research-based
knowledge.

The minority development program focuses on research capacity building
for minority entities such as Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HBCUs) and institutions serving primarily students of
Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian backgrounds.

### Agenda for Capacity Building

NIDRR will support capacity building activities that incorporate
training in the application of research findings to the real-world needs
of people with disabilities and the entities that affect their lives,
including policymaking. Training aimed at transferring research findings
into practical use is critical for capacity building at the
organizational and individual levels. NIDRR supports initiatives and
training that will attract and increase the participation of
researchers, particularly individuals with disabilities and those from
diverse cultural backgrounds, and will provide them with high level
preparation. NIDRR will place increased emphasis on institutional
capacity building and building research infrastructure, in addition to
developing a plan of evaluation of capacity building. NIDRR capacity
building will extend to increased training for knowledge translation of
research and the expansion of multidisciplinary research.

Thus, NIDRR intends to:

-   Enhance the capacity to solve problems in creative, state-of-the-art
    ways by encouraging researchers from different cultural, racial and
    academic backgrounds to conduct research in settings that represent
    the contextual experiences of individuals with disabilities and
    other stakeholders.

-   Enhance cross-disciplinary and advanced research training
    opportunities in disability and rehabilitation-related fields for
    rehabilitation professionals and qualified individuals, including
    those with disabilities or from minority backgrounds.

-   Increase the capacity of persons with disabilities, family members,
    and advocates to understand and use research findings through
    training and research experiences.

-   Collaborate with federal and other partners to enhance the
    development of a disability science infrastructure and a research
    portfolio.

Future research will examine the cultural and contextual nature of
disability experiences, including promoting partnerships between
minority and non-minority entities and examining the implications of
traditional research methods, models and measurements for traditionally
underrepresented populations. The changing profile of the disabled
population will require researchers to have a broad understanding of
diverse cultures and other demographic differences. Effective strategies
to facilitate collaborative research endeavors across disciplines and
diverse segments of the research community will be essential.

NIDRR seeks to improve the capacity of the field to understand the
contextual nature of disability, including analyses of the intersection
of the person and environment; exploration of context and culture with
regard to specific disability populations; and topics such as assistive
technology, disability rights, health promotion, family relationships,
and community reintegration. NIDRR anticipates continued leveraging of
the strong base of activity of NIDRR's RRTCs and RERCs serving as
centers of excellence to develop capacity.

## Knowledge Translation

Knowledge translation (KT) activities are a central part of NIDRR's
mission and provide an important pathway for improving the quality of
life for individuals with disabilities. The KT process actively engages
disability researchers, researchers from other disciplines, service
providers, policymakers, and persons with disabilities and their
families in the interchange, synthesis, and application of
rehabilitation research knowledge. NIDRR will focus its specific KT
activities in the domains of employment, participation and community
living, health and function, technology, and disability demographics.
NIDRR's knowledge translation program features a process for assessing
the scientific validity of findings to be translated, using external
organizations to assist in these evaluations.

### Definition of Knowledge Translation

For NIDRR, knowledge translation encompasses the multidimensional,
active process of ensuring that new knowledge gained through the course
of research ultimately improves the lives of people with disabilities
and furthers their participation in society. KT involves not only
knowledge validation and dissemination but also the transfer of
technology, particularly products and devices, from the research and
development setting to the commercial marketplace to make possible
widespread utilization of the products or devices.

NIDRR is particularly focused on ensuring that disseminated information
is of high quality and based on scientifically rigorous research and
development. NIDRR is especially interested in using models for review,
synthesis, and dissemination of research findings that encourage a
thorough discussion of the findings among researchers, with emphasis on
rigor and application possibilities. NIDRR also wants to ensure that
potential end users of information will have the information they need
to judge the quality and relevance of research findings and products,
supported by NIDRR and other organizations. The scope of knowledge
translation as envisioned in this *Plan* covers a wide range of
activities and involves a variety of mechanisms, including publication
of research results, determination of the effectiveness of research
applications, development of targeted materials, and the transfer of
technology.

Most NIDRR centers and projects now include information and
dissemination activities. With the establishment of the National Center
for Dissemination of Disability Research (NCDDR), these activities have
become more coordinated and integral to project planning. Moreover,
NIDRR intends that every new research project funded under this *Plan*
should develop and share new knowledge to improve the lives of citizens
with disabilities.

### Challenges in Knowledge Translation

The biggest challenge faced by NIDRR and other major research agencies
is to diversify KT activities to better serve various constituencies.
This process demands filtering the information for relevance,
determining the quality of the findings (source and content), and
aggregating research information from a number of NIDRR research venues
(no single project addresses all aspects of a problem). At the beginning
of a project, researchers must envision the target audiences for KT
activities, create a dissemination plan, and develop a strategy to
evaluate the outcome. NIDRR intends to assist people with disabilities
and their families, and the general public, to access information
efficiently through knowledge sharing practices that make maximum use of
Web servers, subscriptions systems, e-forums, communities of practice,
and other solutions.

### Future Agenda---Knowledge Translation

-   NIDRR is interested in developing improved ways to make information
    accessible to the research community and to disability-related
    agencies and organizations.

NIDRR will continue to encourage and support dissemination of research
findings to consumers as an important aspect of its mission and
legislative mandate. Building on NIDRR's solid foundation of
peer-to-peer dissemination, individual centers for KT and technical
assistance will be encouraged to reach out to their constituent
populations.

-   NIDRR intends to strengthen the dissemination work done by its
    specific content-based KT centers and regional networks of technical
    assistance centers.

NIDRR will advance its KT activities by emphasizing expert judgments on
the value of information for further dissemination; better
accountability for outputs produced by NIDRR researchers; and improved
methods for making this information available beyond the research
community. NIDRR will focus on publishing and disseminating research
findings to the public by improving traditional dissemination tools and
methods and by increasing the use of technology.

-   NIDRR will further the development of a theory of KT, the
    development of measures of success, and uniform definitions and
    requirements of NIDRR grantees and contractors.

-   NIDRR will increase its KT activities by examining the needs of the
    end users of information.

The new approach will include characterizing users and identifying their
goals or purposes; assuring alignment of the type of information
disseminated with user goals; providing assistance to users to enable
them to find the requested information; and meeting their accessibility
needs.

Thus, NIDRR intends to:

-   Increase the availability of relevant information to NIDRR's target
    audiences by developing and implementing a systematic approach to
    vetting information.

-   Increase understanding of how best to communicate new knowledge to
    beneficiaries.

-   Increase the availability of technologies that enable independent
    mobility and control and manipulation of the home, community, and
    workplace environments; and facilitate access to information
    technology.