2006

NIDRR Long-Range Plan for Fiscal Years 2005 Through 2009
NIDRR's latest Long-Range Plan, the guiding document for NIDRR-supported research, was published in the Federal Register on February 15, 2006. The plan reflects consideration of comments on the draft plan from members of the public, including people with disabilities, their families and advocates, and researchers and service providers. The final plan emphasizes five "domains" as areas for expanded research efforts through 2009 in support of people with disabilities: employment; participation and community living; health and function; technology for access and function; and disability demographics. The NIDRR Long-Range Plan is also available in Adobe PDF format:
PDF (13 MB).
(February 15, 2006)

NIDRR Consolidates Fiscal Year 2006 Grant Competitions
As described in its Long-Range Plan for Fiscal Years 2005 Through 2009, NIDRR is changing the way it manages grant competitions. Until now, individual NIDRR grants were announced throughout the year. NIDRR is now moving toward a single annual announcement and fixed competition schedule. This will have the advantage of providing more time to potential grantees to better plan their application efforts, streamlining NIDRR's work with reviewers, and making the grant award processes at NIDRR more efficient. Thus, for fiscal year 2006, NIDRR has issued a combined notice that references almost all of its grants for the year. The combined notice proposes priorities NIDRR intends to use for fiscal year 2006 competitions for Disability Rehabilitation Research Projects (DRRP), Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers (RRTC), and Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERC).

The combined notice was published in the Federal Register on Feb. 7, 2006, and can be accessed at www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/proprule/2006-1/020706d.html. The notice invites members of the public to submit comments on these proposed priorities so that their comments may be considered in the development of the final priorities. Complete information about the priorities, including a table cross-referencing areas of the long-range plan with funding mechanisms, and links to available application packages are accessible at www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/nidrr/priority-matrix.html. Comments on the proposed priorities are due no later than March 9, 2006 to Donna.Nangle@ed.gov. Those sending comments should clearly identify which priority or priorities the comments are addressing.
(February 15, 2006)

2005

NIDRR Releases Proposed Long-Range Plan for Fiscal Years 2005 Through 2009
People with disabilities, their families and advocates, and researchers and service providers will have an opportunity to review and comment on a draft long-range plan prepared by NIDRR. In its plan, NIDRR emphasizes five "domains" as areas for expanded research efforts in the next five years in support of people with disabilities: employment; participation and community living; health and function; technology for access and function; and disability demographics.

Download the proposed Long Range Plan from the Federal Register:
HTML (241K) | PDF (866K)
(July 28, 2005)

2004

John H. Hager Assumes Duties as Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
John H. Hager, a former lieutenant governor of Virginia, has been sworn in as assistant secretary for the U.S. Education Department's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS).
(December 6, 2004)

Students with Disabilities to Gain Improved Access to Learning
New standard expected to help students who are blind, print-disabled.
(July 27, 2004)

2003

New Web Site to Gather Comments about Disability Research Needs
A new Web site has been developed by the government's Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR), chaired by Steven James Tingus, director of the Education Department's National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), to gather comments and recommendations on research needs for Americans with disabilities, the U.S. Department of Education recently announced. The site can be found at www.icdr.us (link to external Web site).
(February 28, 2003)

2001

Tingus Appointed Director of National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige today announced that Steven James Tingus will serve as director of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR).
(October 5, 2001)

Extended Grants Application Deadline
The Department of Education published a notice extending application deadline dates for certain direct grants in the September 28, 2001 Federal Register announcements (66 FR 49644).
(September 28, 2001)

Information on Helping Children Understand the Terrorist Attacks
(September 14, 2001)

Pasternack is New Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige today announced that Robert H. Pasternack has been formally sworn in as assistant secretary for special education and rehabilitative services.
(August 8, 2001)

ABLEDATA Named "Best of the Web" by Forbes Magazine
NIDRR's Dissemination and Utilization Project, ABLEDATA, has been named by Forbes magazine as one of its "Best of the Web" sites in the Summer 2001 issue on the newsstands June 8th.

ABLEDATA is one of seven sites in "Disability Resources" recommended by Forbes magazine. Another is the Ragged Edge Magazine, which is affiliated with another NIDRR Dissemination and Utilization Project — the Accessible Society Action Project. Ellen Blasiotti of NIDRR is the project officer for both of these projects.

Abledata
http://www.abledata.com/

The article about ABLEDATA, featured in Forbes magazine on June 8, 2001, is below:

Impartial information on assistive technology from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. Search the 7,000-item database by keyword or phrase (such as "one-handed can-opener") and get product descriptions, manufacturers' contact addresses and handy keywords for comparison shopping. More than 27,000 products listed, including the K-9 Rescue Phone, for use by assistance dogs.

BEST: The Reading Room links to articles and books on assistive technology.
WORST: Consumer Forum had only five reviews when we looked.
(June 8, 2001)

First National Study of People with Disabilities Who Are Self Employed Published
The Research and Training Center on Rural Rehabilitation Services, funded by NIDRR, recently published a report entitled, First National Study of People with Disabilities Who Are Self Employed. For more information about this project, its activities, and other publications, visit: The Research and Training Center on Rural Rehabilitation Services' Web site. Joyce Caldwell is the NIDRR Program Officer for this project.
(February 2001)

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