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The purpose of NIDILRR's Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects (DRRP) which are funded through the Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program, is to plan and conduct research, demonstration projects, training, and related activities, including international activities, to develop methods, procedures, and rehabilitation technology that maximize the full inclusion and integration into society, employment, independent living, family support, and economic and social self-sufficiency of individuals with disabilities, especially individuals with the most severe disabilities, and to improve the effectiveness of services authorized under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (Rehabilitation Act). Under this particular DRRP priority, applicants must propose a development project that is aimed at improving the community living and participation of individuals with disabilities. In carrying out a development project under this program, a grantee must use knowledge and understanding gained from research to create materials, devices, systems, or methods beneficial to the target population, including design and development of protypes and processes. Please note that this is the Funding Opportunity for field-initiated DRRP development projects in the community living and participation domain. NIDILRR plans to make one field-initiated DRRP award in the community living and participation domain. NIDILRR's field-initiated DRRP award in the community living and participation domain may be a research project or a development project, depending on the ranking of applications provided by the peer review panel.

Growing Convergence Research (GCR) at the National Science Foundation was identified as one of 10 Big Ideas. Convergence research is a means for solving vexing research problems, in particular, complex problems focusing on societal needs. It entails integrating knowledge, methods, and expertise from different disciplines and forming novel frameworks to catalyze scientific discovery and innovation. GCR identifies Convergence Research as having two primary characteristics: Research driven by a specific and compelling problem. Convergence Research is generally inspired by the need to address a specific challenge or opportunity, whether it arises from deep scientific questions or pressing societal needs. Deep integration across disciplines. As experts from different disciplines pursue common research challenges, their knowledge, theories, methods, data, research communities and languages become increasingly intermingled or integrated. New frameworks, paradigms or even disciplines can form sustained interactions across multiple communities. A distinct characteristic of convergence research, in contrast to other forms of multidisciplinary research, is that from the inception, the convergence paradigm intentionally brings together intellectually diverse researchers and stakeholders to frame the research questions, develop effective ways of communicating across disciplines and sectors, adopt common frameworks for their solution, and, when appropriate, develop a new scientific vocabulary. Research teams practicing convergence aim at developing sustainable relationships that may not only create solutions to the problem that engendered the collaboration, but also develop novel ways of framing related research questions and open new research vistas.

The purpose of NIDILRR's Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects (DRRP) which are funded through the Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program, is to plan and conduct research, demonstration projects, training, and related activities, including international activities, to develop methods, procedures, and rehabilitation technology that maximize the full inclusion and integration into society, employment, independent living, family support, and economic and social self-sufficiency of individuals with disabilities, especially individuals with the most severe disabilities, and to improve the effectiveness of services authorized under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (Rehabilitation Act). Under this particular DRRP priority, applicants must propose a research project that is aimed at improving community living and participation outcomes of individuals with disabilities. In carrying out a research project under this program, a grantee must identify one or more hypotheses or research questions and, based on the hypotheses or research questions identified, perform an intensive, systematic study directed toward producing (1) new or full scientific knowledge, or (2) understanding of the subject or problem studied. Please note that this is the Funding Opportunity for field-initiated DRRP research projects in the community living and participation domain. NIDILRR plans to make one field-initiated DRRP award in the community living and participation domain. NIDILRR's field-initiated DRRP award in the community living and participation domain may be a research project or a development project, depending on the ranking of applications provided by the peer review panel.

The Partnership for the Development of Eastern Congo (P-DEC) Program seeks an integrated set of cross-sectoral interventions. Through a cohesive and holistic approach, P-DEC Program aims to amplify the impact of USAID investments and complement other planned interventions by the Government of the DRC and external actors in the public and private sectors. The purpose of the P-DEC Program is therefore to address the development emergency in eastern Congo through a multi-year, multi-sectoral initiative that will build community trust, strengthen the resilience of individuals and communities, fortify existing governance structures, and create opportunities for long-term development and self-reliance of local communities. These activities may also reach across a range of partner types - from public-private partnerships to capacity-building of local organizations. USAID envisions an approach centered around two geographically defined planning and implementation phases. While geographically defined, the phases are not sequential, nor are they strictly defined technical categories; they are fluid, and are conceptual in nature. The approach also focuses on urban and peri-urban areas with large populations, existing transportation networks, and a level of security and stability necessary for implementation.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Administration for Native Americans (ANA) announces the availability of Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 funds for the Social and Economic Development Strategies (SEDS) program. This program is focused on community-driven projects designed to grow local economies, strengthen Native American families, including the preservation of Native American cultures, and decrease the high rate of current challenges caused by the lack of community-based businesses, and social and economic infrastructure in Native American communities. Native American communities include American Indian tribes (federally-recognized and non-federally recognized), Native Hawaiians, Alaskan Natives, and Native American Pacific Islanders.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Administration for Native Americans (ANA) announces the availability of Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 funds for community-based projects for the Social and Economic Development Strategies-Alaska (SEDS-AK) program. SEDS-AK is designed to provide targeted support for Village-specific projects to improve and enhance the core capacity of Alaska Native Village governments, who are central to fulfilling social and economic self-sufficiency in Alaska. This program promotes economic and social self-sufficiency for Alaska Natives and is intended to respond to the unique governmental structures and needs in Alaska. The SEDS-AK supports the principle that social and economic development is interrelated and essential for the growth of thriving Native communities. ANA is interested in supporting community-driven projects that build and strengthen core governmental capacity in the areas of administration and project management at the Alaska Native Village level.

Organizations -- private and public, established and entrepreneurial, designed and emergent, formal and informal, profit and nonprofit -- are critical to the well-being of nations and their citizens. They are of crucial importance for producing goods and services, creating value, providing jobs, and achieving social goals. The Science of Organizations (SoO) program funds basic research that yields a scientific evidence base for improving the design and emergence, development and deployment, and management and ultimate effectiveness of organizations of all kinds. SoO funds research that advances our fundamental understanding of how organizations develop, form and operate. Successful SoO research proposals use scientific methods to develop and refine theories, to empirically test theories and frameworks, and to develop new measures and methods. Funded research is aimed at yielding generalizable insights that are of value to the business practitioner, policy-maker and research communities. SoO welcomes any and all rigorous, scientific approaches that illuminate aspects of organizations as systems of coordination, management and governance. In considering whether a particular project might be a candidate for consideration by SoO, please note: Intellectual perspectives may involve (but are not limited to) organizational theory, behavior, sociology or economics, business policy and strategy, communication sciences, entrepreneurship, human resource management, information sciences, managerial and organizational cognition, operations management, public administration, social or industrial psychology, and technology and innovation management. Phenomena studied may include (but are not limited to) structures, routines, effectiveness, competitiveness, innovation, dynamics, change and evolution.Levels of analysis may include (but are not limited to) organizational, cross-organizational collaborations or relationships, and institutional and can address individuals, groups or tea

The Administration for Children and Families, Office of Refugee Resettlement invites the submission of applications for funding under the Ethnic Community Self-Help (ECSH) Program. The goal of this program is to support Ethnic Community-Based Organizations (ECBOs) in providing refugee populations with critical services to assist them in becoming integrated members of American society. Under the ECSH Program, the following three main objectives must be implemented: 1) to strengthen ECBOs’ provision of culturally and linguistically appropriate services to refugees within five years after their initial resettlement; 2) to support ECBOs' organizational development and engagement in capacity building by encouraging their collaboration with established refugee service providers and mainstream organizations; and 3) to support ECBOs in promoting community building and civic participation by refugee individuals and refugee community members.

The RISA program supports the development of knowledge, expertise, and abilities of decision-makers to plan and prepare for climate variability and change. Through regionally-focused and interdisciplinary research and engagement teams, RISA builds and expands the Nation's capacity to adapt and become resilient to extreme weather events and climate change. RISA teams accomplish this through co-developed applied research and partnerships with public and private communities. A central tenet of the RISA program is that learning about climate adaptation and resilience is facilitated by and sustained across a wide range of experts, practitioners, and the public. As such, the RISA program supports a network of people, prioritizing wide participation in learning by doing, learning through adapting, and managing risk with uncertain information. Early decades of the program focused on understanding the use of climate information at regional scales (e.g., through experimental seasonal outlooks), improving predictions and scenarios, building capacity for drought early warning, and advancing the science of climate impact assessments. More recently, emphasis has shifted to address the growing urgency to advance approaches that tackle the complex societal issues surrounding adaptation planning, implementation, and building community resilience. To do so, RISA continues to prioritize collaborative approaches that incorporate multiple knowledge sources and integrate social, physical, and natural science, resulting in long-term support of and increased capacity for communities.

This initiative will assist communities in attracting more foreign direct investment (FDI) to strengthen their local economies by helping them identify and adopt economic development and workforce best practices related to attracting FDI, and fostering a supportive environment for local exporting communities. Through this funding opportunity, EDA seeks to continue to build on its strong foundation of connecting communities to best practices.

The U.S. Embassy in San Jose, Costa Rica announces a Notification of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to strengthen citizen security through economic and social opportunity. U.S. Embassy San Jose intends to issue five awards in an amount not to exceed $1,500,000 in total funding. The anticipated start date for this activity is September 30, 2016, and project periods should not exceed two years. This funding will support United States government objectives under the Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI). Within Central America (Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama), the United States works with partner nations to strengthen institutions to counter the effects of organized crime, uphold the rule of law, and protect human rights. Institution building is coupled with prevention projects that dissuade at-risk youth from turning to crime and gangs and community policing projects that engage local communities on citizen security issues. U.S. Embassy San Jose invites qualified U.S. non-profit/non-governmental organizations (NGOs) having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS or overseas-based NGOs, U.S. and overseas-based public and private institutions of higher education, and public international organizations to submit proposals that include an implementation strategy to address the following objective: Objective: Provide workforce development, education, or entrepreneurship opportunities designed to reduce poverty, particularly among youth and women, in historically marginalized and economically-disadvantaged communities. Proposals should help create safe streets by providing economic opportunities as attractive alternatives for at-risk populations that might otherwise turn to crime and illicit drugs for their livelihood. U.S. Embassy San Jose reserves the right to fund any or none of the applications submitted and will determine the resulting level of funding for the award.

The “Access to Integrated Employment: National Data Collection on Day and Employment Services for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities” project is a longitudinal study describing day and employment services nationwide for individuals with developmental disabilities. The project will: Study the effectiveness of state developmental disabilities agencies and vocational rehabilitation agencies in promoting full inclusion of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities through employment and other community activities Describe national trends in the employment and economic status of youth and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities on a state and national basis Highlight practices and outcomes in the transition from school to employment and promote policy enhancing integrated employment at both the systems and customer levels Develop guidelines for community-based non-work activities Implement www.statedata.info External Web Site Policy, a website illustrating service system investment in day and employment services, and www.realworkstories.org External Web Site Policy, a website featuring successes of youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities in paid jobs in their communities Provide an online catalog of innovative state-level strategies that influence policy and facilitate access to integrated employment Collaborate with other AoD data collect projects to show targeted current year and longitudinal data on the project website.

Grants of up to $5,000 will be awarded to local nonprofit organizations located within the service area of individual Walmart stores in the areas of hunger relief and healthy eating, health and human services, quality of life, education, community and economic development, diversity and inclusion, public safety, and environmental sustainability.

The Division of Engineering Education and Centers (EEC) seeks to enable a world-leading system of engineering education, equally open and available to all members of society, that dynamically and rapidly adapts to meet the changing needs of society and the nation's economy. Research areas of interest include, but are not limited to:Diversifying pathways to and through engineering degree programs. Research projects that align with this theme explore how engineering programs can engage and develop students with a broad range of backgrounds, interests, and experiences; investigate how informal or real world experiences germane to engineering--such as military service or being a "maker"--impact, improve, or accelerate learning; or investigate how to fundamentally restructure courses, curricula, or programs to substantially boost student success, especially for under-represented populations and veterans. Understanding how to increase the diffusion and impact of engineering education research. Research projects are sought that discover how to improve the process by which engineering education research is translated into practice; how to accomplish organizational and cultural change in institutions of engineering education that leads to improved learning outcomes; or identifying and overcoming barriers to widespread adoption of engineering education research. Research projects that partner with other engineering education stakeholders (e.g. private companies, NGOs, or professional societies) to measure the value and impact of engineering education research on practice are also sought.Understanding engineering education in broader, organizing frameworks such as innovation, globalization, complex engineered systems, or sustainability. Research in this theme explores learning from perspectives and contexts that cut across disciplines and in which learners integrate expertise from multiple fields. Research projects that align with this theme include discovering proce

The Ambassador's Special Self-Help Fund (SSH) assists Congolese community groups to develop lasting, self-sustaining projects that benefit entire communities. SSH grants in the Republic of Congo have contributed to agricultural modernization, economic development, combatting gender-based violence, improving sanitation, empowering women, improving learning conditions, and expanding access to clean water, health services, and education. Each year, the Ambassador's Special Self-Help Fund supports approximately five to ten projects with grants typically between $5-7,000.

This NOFO will support achievement of national targets for 2018 antiretroviral therapy (ART) scale-up towards the UNAIDS Fast Track Targets in Ukraine. The recipient will implement innovative and effective recruitment and case management models for persons who inject drugs (PWID) and men who have sex with men (MSM) at the community level. These innovative changes will increase uptake of HIV community based testing and increase ART initiation for these populations. The recipient will pilot risk network-based testing using point-of-care recency assays to link recently infected PWID to care. The project will focus on the six regions with the highest HIV burden (Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolayiv, Odesa, government controlled areas (GCA) of Donetsk, Kyiv City, and Kherson) and continue to work in six additional medium burden oblasts (Cherkasy, Poltava, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhya, Kirovohrad, and Kyiv). The recipient will also increase the capacity of the Government of Ukraine’s Center for Public Health (CPH) and regional monitoring and evaluation (M&E) centers specialists to conduct data analysis using statistical software and build institutional capacity to conduct economic evaluations of HIV interventions. Illustrative strategic information (SI) activities include development of trainings to support the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the newly established CPH in using statistical software, routine analysis of surveillance data, study design, and research protocol development.

This fellowship is open to outstanding young professors from universities from developing and emerging countries pursuing advanced research in areas bridging the fields of international and development studies, broadly defined, and working in disciplines such as anthropology, history, law, politics and political science, and economics.  Scholars will spend one academic semester (mandatory duration: 3 months minimum - 5 months maximum) at the Institute to : Share their expertise and experience with students and professors at the Institute ; Further a personal research project ; Participate in teaching courses ; Update and strengthen the curriculum of their course ; Develop their contacts with the international community of the Institute and Geneva area. Scholars receive a contribution towards living expenses. The Scholarship also covers round trip travel to and accommodation in Geneva. The selection will be based on the quality of research. Quality being equal, selection may be guided by an interest in promoting gender and regional diversity. Candidates should demonstrate how their research stay will contribute to their academic career and their home institution.

PECASE: Each year NSF selects nominees for the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) from among the most meritorious recent CAREER awardees. Selection for this award is based on two important criteria: 1) innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology that is relevant to the mission of NSF, and 2) community service demonstrated through scientific leadership, education, or community outreach. These awards foster innovative developments in science and technology, increase awareness of careers in science and engineering, give recognition to the scientific missions of the participating agencies, enhance connections between fundamental research and national goals, and highlight the importance of science and technology for the Nation's future. Individuals cannot apply for PECASE.

Over the last decade, SBE has actively encouraged and supported communities to develop visions, teams, and capabilities dedicated to the creation of new, large-scale, next-generation data resources and relevant analytic techniques to advance fundamental research in the SBE sciences. This has been done both through the NSF 14-517 Building Community and Capacity for Data-Intensive Research in the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences and in Education and Human Resources (BCC-SBE/EHR) competition and other mechanisms, such as NSF 17-594 Research Coordination Networks (RCNs). In 2015 SBE began the Resource Implementations for Data Intensive Research in the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (RIDIR) competition. The current solicitation seeks to build upon those earlier efforts and extends the data infrastructure focus of the former RIDIR competition for the coming year.

This training program will provide specialized, technical ICT training to designated officials primarily from developing countries who enable, regulate, and oversee their national communications infrastructure and are responsible for managing and regulating the digital economy. This training program will serve to introduce and explain important concepts in ICT policy and regulation that impact the digital economy of those countries. The training program will be designed to clearly articulate to these officials the benefits of the fundamental pillars of U.S. international information policy: open, interoperable, reliable, and secure communications infrastructure connectivity; multi-stakeholder models of internet governance; pro-competitive, and light touch regulatory frameworks for telecommunications services; open data flows across borders; and risk-based approaches to cybersecurity.