FR Doc 04-4402
[Federal Register: February 27, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 39)]
[Page 9307-9310]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27fe04-44]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
RIN 1820 ZA33
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research--
Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program--
Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers
AGENCY: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services,
Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of proposed priority.
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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services proposes funding a priority under the
Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program--
Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERC) program for up to
three RERCs under the National Institute on Disability and
Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) for fiscal year (FY) 2004 and later
years. We take this action to focus research attention on areas of
national need. We intend this priority to improve the rehabilitation
services and outcomes for individuals with disabilities.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before March 29, 2004.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this proposed priority 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 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 this proposed priority.
To ensure that your comments have maximum effect in developing the
notice of final priority, we urge you to identify clearly the specific
proposed topic that each comment addresses.
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 this proposed
priority. 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 this priority 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 this proposed priority. 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 priority in a notice in the Federal
Register. We will determine the final priority 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 this proposed priority, 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 competitive priority over
an application of comparable merit that does not meet the competitive
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: NIDRR supports the goals of 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 priority is in concert with NIDRR's Long-Range Plan
(Plan). The Plan is comprehensive and
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integrates many issues relating to disability and rehabilitation
research topics. While applicants will find many sections throughout
the Plan that support potential research to be conducted under this
proposed priority, a specific reference is included for each topic
presented in this notice. The Plan can be accessed on the Internet at
the following site: http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/index.html
.
Through the implementation of the NFI and the Plan, NIDRR seeks to:
(1) Improve the quality and utility of disability and rehabilitation
research; (2) foster an exchange of expertise, information, and
training to facilitate the advancement of knowledge and understanding
of the unique needs of traditionally underserved populations; (3)
determine best strategies and programs to improve rehabilitation
outcomes for underserved populations; (4) identify research gaps; (5)
identify mechanisms of integrating research and practice; and (6)
disseminate findings.
Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers Program
Under the RERC 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. Additional
information on the RERC program can be found at: http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/RERC
.
General Requirements of Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers
RERCs shall carry out research or demonstration activities in
support of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, by:
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 and evaluate new or
emerging technologies, products, or environments and their
effectiveness and benefits;
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;
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; and
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.
The Department is particularly interested in ensuring that the
expenditure of public funds is justified by the execution of intended
activities and the advancement of knowledge and, thus, has built this
accountability into the selection criteria. During the funding cycle of
any RERC, NIDRR will conduct one or more reviews of the activities and
achievements of the RERC. In accordance with the provisions of 34 CFR
75.253(a), continued funding depends at all times on satisfactory
performance and accomplishment.
Priority
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, to live independently, to study and learn, and to
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. 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. RERC research activities also contributed to the clinical use
of electromyography, gait analysis, and functional electrical
stimulation.
Advancements in basic biomedical science and technology have
resulted in new opportunities to enhance further 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, and the neurosciences provide a wealth of opportunities
for individuals with disabilities and should be incorporated into
research focused on disability and rehabilitation.
NIDRR intends to fund up to three new RERCs in FY 2004. Applicants
must select one of the following priority topic areas: (a) Universal
Design and the Built Environment; (b) Telecommunications Access; (c)
Telerehabilitation; and (d) Cognitive Technologies. Applicants are
allowed to submit more than one proposal as long as each proposal
addresses only one RERC topic area.
Proposed Priority
The Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative
Services proposes to fund up to three RERCs that
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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.
Under each of the priority topics the 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
relevant 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; and
(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, the following requirements apply to each RERC topic
area:
Each RERC must have the capability to design,
build, and test prototype devices and assist in the transfer of
successful solutions to relevant production and service delivery
settings. Each RERC must evaluate the efficacy and safety of its new
products, instrumentation, or assistive devices.
Each RERC must develop and implement in the
first three months of the grant a plan that describes how the center
will include, as appropriate, individuals with disabilities or their
representatives in all phases of center activities including research,
development, training, dissemination, and evaluation;
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 persons with disabilities,
their representatives, disability organizations, service providers,
professional journals, manufacturers, and other interested parties.
Each RERC must 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.
Each RERC must conduct a state-of-the-science
conference on its respective area of research in the third year of the
grant and publish a comprehensive report on the final outcomes of the
conference in the fourth year of the grant.
Each RERC must coordinate with 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) Universal Design and the Built Environment: This RERC must
research, develop and evaluate strategies and devices that will advance
the field of universal design and assist designers, builders and
manufacturers with incorporating universal design in their products and
buildings. This RERC also must research, develop and evaluate methods
and strategies that improve upon and expand current anthropometric data
collection practices and databases, both static and dynamic
(functional), pertaining to persons with disabilities. The reference
for this topic can be found in the Plan, chapter 5, Technology for
Access and Function: Systems Technology: Universal Design and
Accessibility
(b) Telecommunications Access: This RERC must research and develop
technological solutions to promote universal access to
telecommunications systems and products including strategies for
integrating current accessibility features into newer generations of
telecommunications systems and products. This RERC also will be
expected to provide technical assistance to public and private
organizations, persons with disabilities, and employers on policies,
guidelines, and standards that affect the accessibility of
telecommunications technology products and systems as well as persons
with disabilities and employers. The reference for this topic can be
found in the Plan, chapter 5, Technology for Access and Function:
Research to Improve Accessibility of Telecommunications and Information
Technology.
(c) Telerehabilitation: This RERC must research and develop
methods, systems, and technologies that support remote delivery of
rehabilitation and home health care services for individuals who have
limited local access to comprehensive medical and rehabilitation
outpatient services. The reference for this topic can be found in the
Plan, chapter 5, Technology for Access and Function: Research to
Improve Accessibility of Telecommunications and Information Technology.
(d) Cognitive Technologies: This RERC must research, develop, and
evaluate innovative technologies and approaches that will improve the
ability of individuals with significant cognitive disabilities to
function independently within their communities and workplace. The
reference for this topic can be found in the Plan, chapter 5,
Technology for Access and Function: Research on Technology to Enhance
Cognitive Function.
Executive Order 12866
This notice of proposed priority has been reviewed in accordance
with Executive Order 12866. Under the terms of the order, we have
assessed the potential costs and benefits of this regulatory action.
The potential costs associated with the notice of proposed priority
are those resulting from statutory requirements and those we have
determined as necessary for administering this program effectively and
efficiently.
In assessing the potential costs and benefits--both quantitative
and qualitative--of this notice of proposed priority, we have
determined that the benefits of the proposed priority justify the
costs.
Summary of potential costs and benefits: The potential costs
associated with this proposed priority are minimal while the benefits
are significant. Grantees may anticipate costs associated with
completing the application process in terms of staff time, copying, and
mailing or delivery. The use of e-Application technology reduces
mailing and copying costs significantly.
The benefits of the RERC Program have been well established over
the years. Similar projects have generated new knowledge and
technologies.
The benefit of this proposed priority will be the establishment of
new RERCs, which can be expected to develop technological solutions
that will improve the lives of persons with disabilities and to
contribute substantially to the technical and scientific knowledge-base
in the proposed topic areas.
Applicable Program Regulations: 34 CFR part 350.
Electronic Access to This Document
You may view this document, as well as all other Department of
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site:
http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.
[[Page 9310]]
To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.
Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html
.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 84.133E,
Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers Program)
Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 762(g) and 764(b)(3).
Dated: February 24, 2004.
Troy R. Justesen,
Acting Deputy Assistant, Secretary for Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 04-4402 Filed 2-26-04; 8:45 am]
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