The Director of the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research Dr. Anjali Forber-Pratt gave updates on the organization recently at a grantee stakeholder meeting.

NIDILRR is in midst of waiting on the budget for fiscal year 2022 to come through and are planning the upcoming year’s budget, too. To date, NIDILRR have published 16 different funding opportunity documents, and seven are currently open. Eight additional opportunities were forecasted at the time of recording, according to Forber-Pratt.

NIDILRR is a United States governmental agency that provides leadership and support for a comprehensive program of research related to the rehabilitation of individuals with disabilities.

Forber-Pratt said NIDILRR is making progress in the area of representation, which aligns with the goals she shared with grantees. NIDILRR is in the process of recruiting peer reviewers – also with the goal of increasing the number of reviewers who identify with having a disability.

NIDILRR also made it known they are working on a frequently asked questions resource to give people a better understanding of what it’s like to be a peer reviewer with the hope of it leading to wider representation.

Forber-Pratt announced NIDILRR are in the beginning stages of providing resources to grantees to expand opportunities and awareness to students and other colleagues. Forber-Pratt emphasized the impact collaboration with other researchers had on her and shared her hope that it will increase collaboration and networking.

After the updates and announcements, Forber-Pratt had on Dr. Elizabeth Schmidt, assistant professor of occupational therapy at Lincoln Memorial University, to highlight her research with sexuality and reproductive health for people with autism spectrum disorder and other intellectual disabilities.

Funding opportunities for NIDILRR can be found on grants.gov. Other news and updates are expected in the near future.