On March 12th, a proposed priority for up to five new Rehabilitation
Engineering
Research Centers (RERCs) was published in the Federal Register.  The
National
Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research 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.  The additional funding for these new RERCs was requested by the
President last February 2001 as part of his New Freedom Initiative.
Congress
approved the funding in the FY 2002 budget. The President also requested
funding
for the following NIDRR programs:

  $5 million for the Assistive Technology Development Fund. Congress
approved
  funding.
  $3 million for the Interagency Committee on Disability Research. Congress
  approved funding
  $40 million in grants to states for micro-loans so that people with
  disabilities can purchase assistive technology. Congress approved $37
  million.

The Federal Register announcement appears below.  You can view it online at
http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html

If you have questions, please contact Bill Peterson at NIDRR at
[log in to unmask]

______________________________________________________________

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]
Part IV
Department of Education
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research; Notice

AGENCY: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services,

ACTION: Notice of proposed priorities.

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:
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> .

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: [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]> .

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
<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
<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.

[[Page 11205]]

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: [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]> .

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;

[[Page 11206]]

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

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/legislation/FedRegister
<http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister> .

To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at
the previous 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 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.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html
<http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/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