A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

Biennial Evaluation Report - FY 93-94

Chapter 320

National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR)

(CFDA No. 84.133)

I. Program Profile

Legislation: Rehabilitation Act of 1973, P.L. 93-112, Title II and Section 311(a), as amended by P.L. 99-506, (29 U.S.C. 760-762a and 777 (a)) (expires September 30, 1997).

Purpose: To support rehabilitation research and the use of such research to improve the lives of individuals with physical and mental disabilities, especially those with severe disabilities, and to provide for the dissemination of information to rehabilitation professionals, individuals with disabilities, and their families concerning developments in rehabilitation procedures, methods, and devices.

Funding History:

Fiscal Year	Appropriation	Fiscal Year	Appropriation 1/
1963	$12,200,000	1986	$42,108,000
1965	20,443,000	1987	49,000,000
1970	29,764,000	1988	51,100,000
1975	20,000,000	1989	53,525,000
1980	31,488,000	1990	54,318,000
1981	29,750,000	1991	58,924,000
1982	28,560,000	1992	61,000,000
1983	31,560,000	1993	67,238,504
1984	36,000,000	1994	68,146,000
1985	39,000,000

1/ Since 1984, $5 million a year has been appropriated for the Spinal Injury program. Although NIDRR administers this program, it is not a part of the NIDRR appropriation. See in this connection, chapter 324 on Vocational Rehabilitation Services to Individuals With Severe Handicaps.

II. Program Information and Analysis

Performance Indicators

The purpose of this program is to improve the state of the art in rehabilitation by means of research, and to improve the effectiveness of rehabilitation services by means of dissemination of state-of-the-art knowledge to practioners. Improvements in the state of the art can only be measured with reference to specific types of functional impairment; this means that general or summary measures are not possible. With respect to the program's dissemination function, appropriate measures would require direct testing of practioners' knowledge of best practice, but this is impractical. Thus, as noted below under Outcomes, evidence of the program's impact is largely anecdotal.

Services

About 500 studies are under way at any given time, and 600 training sessions serving approximately 60,000 rehabilitation professionals, are conducted annually. The composition of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) program is shown in the table below.

Table 1
NIDRR Programs, Funding and Projects

	FY 1993 Funding ($ millions)	Number of Projects
	FY 1993 Funding ($ millions)	FY 1993	FY 1992
Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers	$24.7	43	39
Rehabilitation Engineering Centers	11.2	15	18
Research and Demonstration	4.6	24	24
Utilization and Dissemination	2.7	9	22
Field-Initiated Research	8.1	62	58
Fellowship	.2	4	10
Innovation Grants	.0	0	28
Model Spinal Injury	5.0	13	13
Research Tranining Grants	2.0	12	13
SBIR 1/	.9	16	18
Americans with Disabilities Act	5.2	12	18
Other 2/	2.8	--	--
Total	67.2	210	261

1/ Small Business Innovative Research.
2/ Includes funding or field readers, consultants, conferences, and printing.

Program Administration

The NIDRR funds research and related activities through 10 separate programs. The Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers and Rehabilitation Engineering Centers represent the largest investment of NIDRR resources. Other programs include a directed research and demonstration program, a knowledge diffusion program, Field-Initiated Research, Innovation Grants, and Fellowships. NIDRR is responsible for advanced training in research for physicians and other clinicians and, also, for promoting coordination and cooperation among other Federal agencies conducting rehabilitation research through an Interagency Committee on Disability Research. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) assigned responsibility to the Institute for management of the 10 Regional Business Technical Assistance Centers, four material development projects, and two training programs mandated under the Act.

Outcomes

No aggregate measures of impact are available, but this program is able to offer many examples of research and dissemination outcomes that qualitatively improve the lives of persons with disabilities. These include the development of methods to overcome restrictions on physical mobility and the establishment of supportive practices permitting fuller participation in community life (III.1).

Management Improvement Strategies

In FY 1992, specific priorities were funded for Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers (RRTC) programs in the areas of Vocational Rehabilitation and Long-term Mental Illness, and Rural Rehabilitation Service Delivery. Priorities were also funded for a Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) in the area of Rehabilitation Technology Services in Vocational Rehabilitation. NIDRR also funded priorities for discrete projects on Parenting with a Disability, Braille Literacy, Rehabilitation of Visually Impaired Older Workers, Supported Employment for Persons with Severe Physical Disabilities, Improving the Functional Utility of Robotics Through Enhanced Sensory Feedback, Demonstration of Comprehensive Rehabilitation Service Program for Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury, Vocational Education Models for Students with Sensory Disabilities, and for select Regional Information Exchange and Dissemination awards. Announced priorities not funded due to inadequate response were: Substance Abuse and Disability, Preparing Young Persons with Deafness to Make Optimal Use of Interpreter Services, Case Management of Secondary Complications and Disabilities Resulting from Diabetes.

In FY 1993, the following RRTC programs were announced: Aging with Disabilities, Disability Statistics, Personal Assistance Services, Rehabilitation in Neuromuscular Disease, Rehabilitation and Multiple Sclerosis, Functional Assessment and Evaluation of Rehabilitation Outcomes, Arthritis Rehabilitation, Stroke Rehabilitation, Rehabilitation in Traumatic Brain Injury, Rehabilitation Interventions in Traumatic Brain Injury, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment in Traumatic Brain Integration for Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment for Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury, Aging with Spinal Cord Injury, Rehabilitation and Long-term Mental Illness, Native American Rehabilitation, Enhancing Employability, Promoting Placement, Career Development and Advancement, Supported Employment, Vocational Rehabilitation for Individuals Who are Substance Abusers, Vocational Rehabilitation and Special Learning Disabilities, Improving Vocational Rehabilitation for Minority Populations, Community Based Rehabilitation Programs, Management of Information and Information Systems in State VR Agencies, Aging with Mental Retardation, Community Integration for Persons with Mental Retardation, Families of Children with Disabilities, Families of Adults with Disabilities, Rehabilitation, Rehabilitation of American Indians with Disabilities, Rehabilitation and Childhood Trauma, and Independent Living for Underserved Populations. RERC programs in Adaptive Computers and Information Systems, Augmentative and Alternate Communication Devices, Hearing Enhancement and Assistive Devices, Technology to Improve Wheelchair Mobility, Worksite Modifications and Accommodations, Employability for Persons with Low Back Pain, Prosthetics and Orthotics, Robotics to Enhance the Functioning of Individuals with Disabilities, Quantification of Physical Performance, and Technology Evaluation and Transfer were also funded in FY 1993.

NIDRR has established an integrated planning system for setting goals, developing priorities, and allocating resources over the next five years and beyond. Efforts are also underway to improve the quality of data available on the outcomes and effects of research supported by NIDRR.

III. Sources of Information

Program files.

IV. Planned Studies

NIDRR is developing program improvement information on its investigator-initiated projects and began evaluation of researcher development projects in FY 1994.