The American Occupational Therapy Foundation (AOTF) awards Intervention Research Grants (IRG) as part of its mission to advance the science of occupational therapy to support people's full participation in meaningful life activities. The purpose of this grant program is to lay the necessary groundwork for larger intervention studies and for larger implementation studies and support the profession’s Vision 2025 of occupational therapy as an evidence-based profession. The intent of the IRG program is to provide seed funding for the development of new and/or novel ideas in order to generate preliminary data as proof of concept. Most larger funders, including federal sources and most of the major nonprofit foundations, require this data in order to apply to them, yet sources to fund this preliminary work are limited at best. The AOTF IRG occupies a very important niche and fills a critical gap by investing in the development of ideas and data in the early state of the occupational therapy research enterprise.
For All of our Research Grant Programs:
We are actively soliciting grant applications that examine racial, social, and health inequities and injustices and promote social justice. Grant applicants are now asked to address how they will involve participants from underrepresented populations. Plans for the inclusion of women and minorities must be included and scientifically justified within the application or proposal. Applications and proposals should describe the composition of the proposed study population in terms of sex/gender and racial/ethnic groups, and provide a rationale for selection of such subjects. Any exclusions based on sex/gender or race/ethnicity must include a rationale and justification based on a scientific or ethical basis. Investigators should also plan for appropriate outreach programs and activities to recruit and retain the proposed study population consistent with the purposes of the research project.
The Intervention Research Grant program receives major funding from the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) and the St. Catherine Challenge.
Eligibility Criteria
General Personal Criteria:
- The PI has a terminal research degree (PhD, ScD) or has an OTD or EdD with advanced research training (e.g. completion of a post degree research fellowship).
- The PI is a credentialed occupational therapist with a full-time faculty position appointment or an equivalent research position at the time of application OR a non-OT investigator with a primary academic appointment in an occupational therapy department.
- The PI is employed by a U.S. domestic, public or private, non-profit organization/institution that is eligible to receive Foundation research grants and will provide assurance of its accountability and support for the project.
- The PI is a U.S. citizen or non-citizen national of the U.S. admitted for permanent residence OR applied for permanent residence. (For non-citizens/visa holders, the applicant organization must have policies in place to determine whether residence status or visa status will allow completion of the research.)
AOTF will give preferential consideration to applications that utilize common data elements and include in their grant applications where appropriate. NIH encourages the use of common data elements (CDEs) in clinical research, patient registries, and other human subject research in order to improve data quality and opportunities for comparison and combination of data from multiple studies and with electronic health records.
2024 Grant Timeline:
Date
|
Application Stage
|
August 2023
|
- RFA and award guidelines are posted on AOTF website.
- Review the research priorities, objectives, approaches, and eligibility criteria found in the RFA.
- Review award guidelines.
- Develop the initial framework for a Letter of Intent and applications.
|
August, 14, 2023 |
Online Submission for Letter of Intent opens |
September, 29, 2023 |
Letter of Intent deadline 11:59 p.m. PST. |
October 16, 2023 |
Invitations to submit an Application are extended to principal investigators who meet eligibility criteria and whose LOI is accepted by AOTF. Invitees can begin application. |
December 1, 2023 |
Applications deadline for grants full application at 11:59 p.m. ET. |
March 2024 |
Summary statements and award notifications are sent to applicants. |
Request for Application (RFA)
Letter of Intent: Opens Aug. 14, 2023
Full Applications: Open Oct. 16, 2023
See new OT research priorities.
Questions: Contact the AOTF at research@aotf.org. Please note, it may take a few days for a reply.