[Federal Register: March 12, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 48)]
[Notices]
[Page 11203-11206]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
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Part IV
Department of Education
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National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research; Notice
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
AGENCY: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services,
Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of proposed priorities.
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SUMMARY: We propose funding priorities under the Rehabilitation
Engineering Research Center (RERC) program for up to five
Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers under the National
Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) for Fiscal
Years 2002-2004. We take this action to focus research attention on
areas of national need. We intend these priorities to improve the
rehabilitation services and outcomes for individuals with disabilities.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before April 11, 2002.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments about these proposed priorities to
Donna Nangle, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW.,
room 3412, Switzer Building, Washington, DC 20202-2645. If you prefer
to send your comments through the Internet, use the following address:
donna.nangle@ed.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donna Nangle. Telephone: (202) 205-
5880.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the TDD number at (202) 205-4475 or via the Internet:
donna.nangle@ed.gov.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Invitation To Comment
We invite you to submit comments regarding these proposed
priorities.
We invite you to assist us in complying with the specific
requirements of Executive Order 12866 and its overall requirement of
reducing regulatory burden that might result from these proposed
priorities. Please let us know of any further opportunities we should
take to reduce potential costs or increase potential benefits while
preserving the effective and efficient administration of the program.
During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public
comments about these priorities in Room 3412, Switzer Building, 330 C
Street SW., Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.,
Eastern time, Monday through Friday of each week except Federal
holidays.
Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing the
Rulemaking Record
On request, we will supply an appropriate aid, such as a reader or
print magnifier, to an individual with a disability who needs
assistance to review the comments or other documents in the public
rulemaking record for these proposed priorities. If you want to
schedule an appointment for this type of aid, please contact the person
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
We will announce the final priorities in a notice in the Federal
Register. We will determine the final priorities after considering
responses to this notice and other information available to the
Department. This notice does not preclude us from proposing or funding
additional priorities, subject to meeting applicable rulemaking
requirements.
Note: This notice does not solicit applications. In any year in
which we choose to use these proposed priorities, we invite
applications through a notice published in the Federal Register.
When inviting applications we designate each priority as absolute,
competitive preference, or invitational. The effect of each type of
priority follows:
Absolute priority: Under an absolute priority we consider only
applications that meet the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(3)).
Competitive preference priority: Under a competitive preference
priority we give competitive preference to an application by either (1)
awarding additional points, depending on how well or the extent to
which the application meets the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i)); or
(2) selecting an application that meets the priority over an
application of comparable merit that does not meet the priority (34 CFR
75.105(c)(2)(ii)).
Invitational priority: Under an invitational priority we are
particularly interested in applications that meet the invitational
priority. However, we do not give an application that meets the
priority a competitive or absolute preference over other applications
(34 CFR 75.105(c)(1)).
Note: The proposed priorities support President Bush's New
Freedom Initiative (NFI). The NFI can be accessed on the Internet at
the following site:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/freedominitiative/
freedominitiative.html.
The proposed priorities are also in concert with NIDRR's Long-Range
Plan, which can be accessed on the Internet at the following site:
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/NIDRR/#LRP.
Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers Program
We may make awards for up to 60 months through grants or
cooperative agreements to public and private agencies and
organizations, including institutions of higher education, Indian
tribes, and tribal organizations, to conduct research, demonstration,
and training activities regarding rehabilitation technology in order to
enhance opportunities for meeting the needs of, and addressing the
barriers confronted by, individuals with disabilities in all aspects of
their lives. Each RERC must be operated by or in collaboration with an
institution of higher education or a nonprofit organization.
Description of Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers
RERCs carry out research or demonstration activities by:
(a) Developing and disseminating innovative methods of applying
advanced technology, scientific achievement, and psychological and
social knowledge to (1) solve rehabilitation problems and remove
environmental barriers and (2) study new or emerging technologies,
products, or environments;
(b) Demonstrating and disseminating (1) innovative models for the
delivery of cost-effective rehabilitation technology services to rural
and urban areas and (2) other scientific research to assist in meeting
the employment and independent living needs of individuals with severe
disabilities; or
(c) Facilitating service delivery systems change through (1) the
development, evaluation, and dissemination of consumer-responsive and
individual and family-centered innovative models for the delivery to
both rural and urban areas of innovative cost-effective rehabilitation
technology services and (2) other scientific research to assist in
meeting the employment and independence needs of individuals with
severe disabilities.
Each RERC must provide training opportunities, in conjunction with
institutions of higher education and nonprofit organizations, to assist
individuals, including individuals with disabilities, to become
rehabilitation technology researchers and practitioners.
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Priorities
Background
Technology plays a vital role in the lives of millions of disabled
and older Americans. Advances in assistive technology and adoption of
principles of universal design have significantly improved the quality
of life for these individuals. Individuals with significant
disabilities regularly use products developed as the result of
rehabilitation and biomedical research to achieve and maintain maximum
physical function, live independently, study and learn, and attain
gainful employment. The range of engineering research has broadened to
encompass not only assistive technology but also technology at the
systems level (i.e., the built environment, information and
communication technologies, transportation, etc.) and technology that
interfaces between the individual and systems technology and is basic
to community integration.
The NIDRR RERC program has been a major force in the development of
technology to enhance independent function for individuals with
disabilities. The RERCs are recognized as national centers of
excellence in their respective areas and collectively represent the
largest federally supported program responsible for advancing
rehabilitation engineering research. For example, the RERC program was
an early pioneer in the development of augmentative communication and
has been at the forefront of prosthetics and orthotics research for
both children and adults. A recently established RERC is responsible
for designing prosthetics for land mine survivors from developing
countries using indigenous materials and fabrication capabilities. The
RERC on Telerehabilitation is developing methods for the efficient
delivery of rehabilitation services in rural settings and to reduce the
cost of long-term care. RERCs have played a major role in the
development of voluntary standards that industry uses when developing
wheelchairs, wheelchair restraint systems, information technologies,
and the World Wide Web. The RERC on Low Vision and Blindness helped
develop talking sign technologies that are currently being utilized in
major cities in both the United States and Japan to help blind and
visually impaired individuals navigate city streets and subways. RERCs
have been a driving force in the development of universal design
principles that can be applied to the built environment, information
technology and telecommunications, transportation, and consumer
products. The clinical use of electromyography, gait analysis, and
functional electrical stimulation has been made possible due to earlier
research supported by the RERC program.
Significant financial investments in basic biomedical science and
technology are paying off with new opportunities to further enhance the
lives of people with disabilities. Recent advances in biomaterials
research, composite technologies, information and telecommunication
technologies, nanotechnologies, micro-electro mechanical systems
(MEMS), sensor technologies, tissue engineering, and the neurosciences
also provide a wealth of opportunities for individuals with
disabilities and should be incorporated into research focused on
disability and rehabilitation. In recognition of this need, the
President's ``New Freedom Initiative'' has identified the RERC program
as one worthy of expansion and the Administration has significantly
increased the RERC budget for fiscal year 2002 (New Freedom Initiative,
2001).
NIDRR intends to fund up to five new RERCs in fiscal year 2002.
Applicants must select from the following priority topic areas: (a)
Spinal Cord Injury; (b) Recreational Technologies and Exercise
Physiology Benefiting Persons with Disabilities; (c) Applied
Biomaterials; (d) Measurement and Monitoring of Functional Performance;
(e) Accessible Medical Instrumentation; (f) Universal Interface
Technologies; (g) Work Place Accommodations; (h) Accessible Airline
Transportation; and (i) Rehabilitation Robotics and Telemanipulation
Systems. NIDRR is particularly interested in applications that address
topic areas (a) and (b). Applicants are allowed to submit more than one
proposal as long as each proposal addresses only one RERC topic area.
Letters of Intent
Due to the open nature of this competition, NIDRR is requiring all
potential applicants to submit a Letter of Intent (LOI). Each LOI must
be limited to a maximum of four pages and must include the following
information: (1) The title of the proposed RERC, the name of the host
institution, the name of the Principal Investigator (PI), and the names
of partner institutions and entities; (2) a brief statement of the
vision, goals and objectives of the proposed RERC and a description of
its research and development activities at a sufficient level of detail
to allow potential reviewers to be selected; (3) a list of proposed
RERC staff including the Center Director and key personnel; and (4) a
list of individuals whose selection as a reviewer might constitute a
conflict of interest due to involvement in proposal development,
selection as an advisory board member, co-PI relationships, etc.
The signed, original LOI must be received by NIDRR no later than
four weeks after the Notice of Final Funding Priorities for this
competition is published in the Federal Register. Submission of a LOI
is a prerequisite for eligibility to submit an application. With prior
approval, an email or facsimile copy of a LOI will be accepted, but the
signed original must be sent to: William Peterson, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3425, Switzer Building,
Washington, DC 20202-2645. For further information regarding the LOI
requirement, contact William Peterson at (202) 205-9192 or by e-mail
at: william.peterson@ed.gov.
Proposed Priorities
The Assistant Secretary proposes to fund up to five RERCs that will
focus on innovative technological solutions, new knowledge, and
concepts to promote the health, safety, independence, active engagement
in daily activities and quality of life of persons with disabilities.
Each RERC must:
(1) Contribute substantially to the technical and scientific
knowledge-base relevant to its respective subject area;
(2) Research, develop, and evaluate innovative technologies,
products, environments, performance guidelines, and monitoring and
assessment tools as applicable to its respective subject area;
(3) Identify, implement, and evaluate, in collaboration with the
industry, professional associations, and institutions of higher
education, innovative approaches to expand research capacity in its
respective field of study;
(4) Monitor trends and evolving product concepts that represent and
signify future directions for technologies in its respective area of
research;
(5) Provide technical assistance to public and private
organizations responsible for developing policies, guidelines, and
standards that affect its respective area of research.
In addition to the activities proposed by the applicant to carry
out these purposes, each RERC must:
Develop and implement in the first year of the grant, in
consultation with the NIDRR-funded National Center for the
Dissemination of Disability Research (NCDDR), a plan to disseminate the
RERC's research results to disability organizations, persons with
disabilities, technology service providers, businesses, manufacturers,
and appropriate journals;
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Develop and implement in the first year of the grant, in
consultation with the NIDRR-funded RERC on Technology Transfer, a plan
for ensuring that all new and improved technologies developed by this
RERC are successfully transferred to the marketplace;
Conduct a state-of-the-science conference on its
respective area of research in the third year of the grant cycle and
publish a comprehensive report on the final outcomes of the conference
in the fourth year of the grant cycle; and
Coordinate on research projects of mutual interest with
relevant NIDRR-funded projects as identified through consultation with
the NIDRR project officer.
Each RERC must focus on one of the following priority topic areas:
(a) Spinal Cord Injury: This center must conduct research and
develop applications that address problems in the treatment,
rehabilitation, employment, and reintegration into society of persons
with spinal cord injury. This center will be expected to work
collaboratively with the NIDRR-funded Model Spinal Cord Injury Centers
program;
(b) Recreational Technologies and Exercise Physiology Benefiting
Persons With Disabilities: This center must research and develop
technologies that will enhance recreational opportunities for people
with disabilities and develop methods to enhance the physical
performance and endurance of people with disabilities;
(c) Applied Biomaterials: This center must facilitate the
application of advances in materials and tissue engineering for medical
rehabilitation applications such as prosthetics and orthotics,
implants, reconstructive surgery, and burns. It will bring together
leaders in biomedical research, medical practitioners, and consumers to
promote the design, development, and utilization of state-of-the-art
methodologies and products for rehabilitation and disability
applications;
(d) Measurement and Monitoring of Functional Performance: This
center must research and develop technologies and methods that
effectively assess the outcomes of rehabilitation therapies by
combining measurements of physiological performance with measures of
functional performance;
(e) Accessible Medical Instrumentation: This center must research,
develop, and evaluate methods and technologies to increase the
usability and accessibility of diagnostic, therapeutic, and procedural
healthcare equipment (i.e., equipment used during medical examinations,
treatment, etc.) for people with disabilities. This includes developing
methods and technologies that are useable and accessible for patients
and health care providers with disabilities;
(f) Universal Interface Technologies: This center must develop
universal interface technologies that will allow for easy integration
of multiple technologies used by individuals with disabilities (e.g.,
augmentative communication devices, powered mobility devices,
environmental control systems, telecommunication systems, and
information technologies, including multimedia systems). This includes
effective speech to text systems, eye and head control systems, and
methods to enhance the utility of graphical devices for the visually
impaired;
(g) Work Place Accommodations: This center must identify, design,
and develop devices and systems to enhance the productivity of people
with disabilities in the workplace. It must emphasize the application
of universal design concepts to improve the utility of workplace tools
and devices for all workers;
(h) Accessible Airline Transportation: This center must research
and develop methods, systems, and devices that will promote and enhance
the ability of people with disabilities to safely and efficiently
embark/disembark, travel comfortably, and use restroom facilities on
commercial passenger airliners; and
(i) Rehabilitation Robotics and Telemanipulation Systems: This
center must explore the use of human-scale robots and telemanipulation
(the integration of human-control with a manipulator) systems that will
address the unique needs of people with disabilities and
rehabilitation.
Applicable Program Regulations: 34 CFR part 350.
Electronic Access to This Document
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Note: The official version of this document is published in the
Federal Register. Free Internet access to the official edition of
the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations is
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index.html.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 84.133E,
Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center Program)
Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 762(g) and 764(b)(3).
Dated: March 6, 2002.
Loretta L. Petty,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative
Services.
[FR Doc. 02-5920 Filed 3-11-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P