[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 172 (Wednesday, September 7, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-21915]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: September 7, 1994]
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Part II
Department of Education
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National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research Grants;
Notice
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of Proposed Funding Priorities for Fiscal Years 1995-
1996 for the Knowledge Dissemination and Utilization Program.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary proposes funding priorities for the Knowledge
Dissemination and Utilization (D&U) Program under the National
Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) for fiscal
years 1995-1996. The Secretary takes this action to ensure that
rehabilitation knowledge generated from projects and centers funded by
NIDRR and others is utilized fully to improve the lives of individuals
with disabilities and their families.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 7, 1994.
ADDRESSES: All comments concerning these proposed priorities should be
addressed to David Esquith, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland
Avenue, S.W., Switzer Building, Room 3424, Washington, D.C. 20202-2601.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Esquith. Telephone: (202) 205-
8801. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD) may call the TDD number at (202) 205-5516.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice contains two proposed priorities
under the D&U program. The priorities are in the areas of disability
research dissemination and accessible data.
Authority for the D&U program of NIDRR is contained in sections 202
and 204(a) and 204(b)(6) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended
(29 U.S.C. 760-762). Under this program the Secretary makes awards to
public and private agencies and organizations, including institutions
of higher education and Indian tribes or tribal organizations.
These proposed priorities support the National Education Goal that
calls for all Americans to possess the knowledge and skills necessary
to compete in a global economy and exercise the rights and
responsibilities of citizenship.
Under the regulations for this program (see 34 CFR 355.32), the
Secretary may establish research priorities by reserving funds to
support particular research activities.
The Secretary will announce the final funding priorities in a
notice in the Federal Register. The final priorities will be determined
by responses to this notice, available funds, and other considerations
of the Department. Funding of particular projects depends on the final
priorities, the availability of funds, and the quality of the
applications received. The publication of these proposed priorities
does not preclude the Secretary from proposing additional priorities,
nor does it limit the Secretary to funding only these priorities,
subject to meeting applicable rulemaking requirements.
Note: This notice of proposed priorities does not solicit
applications. A notice inviting applications under this competition
will be published in the Federal Register concurrent with or
following publication of the notice of final priorities.
Priority
Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) the Secretary proposes to give an
absolute preference to applications that meet the following priorities.
The Secretary proposes to fund under this program only applications
that meet these absolute priorities:
Proposed Priority 1: Center for the Dissemination of Disability
Research
Section 200(4)(A) of Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended
requires that NIDRR ``ensure the widespread distribution, in usable
formats, of practical scientific and technological information
generated by research, demonstration projects, training, and related
activities.'' This priority calls for a center that can assist NIDRR
grantees to better disseminate the results of their research, including
increasing the accessibility of research information to those who need
alternate formats.
Researchers usually report research findings through professional
meetings and publications. In order to expand dissemination of research
findings to other audiences, including rehabilitation professionals,
individuals with disabilities, and other interested parties,
researchers may need technical assistance and training. Research is
needed to understand the reasons why persons are not utilizing
information from NIDRR-sponsored research (e.g., unfamiliarity with
terminology, inability to utilize the medium, or the lack of
availability of the traditional research publications).
A body of literature currently exists concerning best practices for
information dissemination (see Backer, ``Knowledge: Creation,
Diffusion, Utilization,'' Vol. 12, Number 3, March 1991, Sage
Publications). Through a model project, this Center will evaluate the
effectiveness of these recommended practices and assist researchers to
develop strategies they can use to determine the best formats and
methods to disseminate their research findings to all appropriate
audiences.
The proposed center shall support all of the costs associated with
the pilot project described below.
Proposed Priority
A D&U center for the dissemination of disability research shall--
Identify the format, availability, accessibility
(including electronic accessibility), and obstacles to utilization of
disability research faced by a wide range of potential target
audiences, including, but not limited to, persons with disabilities and
their families, advocacy organizations, researchers, policymakers at
the local, State and Federal level, journalists, and disability-related
service providers;
Identify unique issues of disability research information
dissemination that apply to persons from minority backgrounds and
develop strategies to address those issues;
Identify and develop dissemination strategies that
disability researchers can use to identify all appropriate target
audiences, understand the audiences' interests and needs, and
disseminate the appropriate information to all target audiences using
each audience's preferred information medium;
Identify, develop, and distribute to all NIDRR grantees,
technical assistance materials that address format, availability,
accessibility, and dissemination strategies in order to assist the
grantees to disseminate their research findings as effectively as
possible to all appropriate audiences;
Respond to technical questions and requests for technical
assistance on dissemination from all NIDRR grantees and provide
training to the project directors at their annual meeting;
Develop (within six months after the award), implement
(beginning within 12 months after the award), and evaluate (beginning
24 months after the award) a pilot dissemination project that solicits
nominations of research results from NIDRR's Rehabilitation Research
and Training Center Program grantees, Rehabilitation Engineering
Research Center Program grantees, Field-initiated Research Program
grantees, and Research and Demonstration Program grantees, selects a
wide range of those research products (at least one set of products
from each of the programs listed above), and disseminates those
findings to all appropriate target audiences using a wide range of
formats and media in order to ensure maximum availability,
accessibility, and utility; and
Provide all of NIDRR's grantees with a quarterly
newsletter providing them with technical assistance on research
information dissemination.
Proposed Priority 2: Improving Access to Disability Data Background
Demographic data and statistical information on disability are
extremely valuable in assisting the nation in understanding the scope
of disability issues in America, developing disability policy, and
planning, conducting, and evaluating services for individuals with
disabilities. Legislators, policymakers, service providers, and
advocates--as well as manufacturers and retailers--require information
on the incidence and prevalence of disability conditions, the
distribution of disability conditions among the population, and the
characteristics of individuals with disabilities. This information is
needed in order to develop policy, and plan, administer, and evaluate
programs, including health care programs; assess market demand for
goods and services; estimate demand for and the costs of public
services; and evaluate the effectiveness of society's efforts to
promote disability prevention, rehabilitation, community integration
and inclusion, and protect the civil rights of individuals with
disabilities.
Data on disability are collected and produced by many groups. The
variety of statutory authorities for the collection of public data
sets, the absence of any mandate or resources for comprehensive
demographic studies of disability, and a consistently applied
definition of disability have resulted in fragmented, incomplete, and
inconsistent data sets about individuals with disability. One byproduct
of this situation has been the focus on explorations and
reconciliations to make these data more useful for further research.
Yet legislators and program administrators, advocates and
journalists continue to use ``data''--numbers, estimates, projections,
and ``best guesses''--as the basis for policy decisions and
assessments. It is important that the estimates used be accurate and
that their users understand the implications of the data.
Underestimates of certain conditions or populations may result in
failure to plan and provide resources for adequate services;
overestimation makes it impossible to assess the real effectiveness of
laws or programs and may discourage efforts to address certain problems
for fear of overwhelming costs.
There is a need for presentation of data in meaningful,
understandable, and accessible formats usable by persons with a range
of educational levels and technical skills, sensory disabilities,
languages, and cognitive abilities. There is also a need to make
disability data available to the broad range of target audiences
referred to above.
NIDRR has attempted to address many of the problems of
unsatisfactory databases and the need to increase understanding of the
demography of disability by supporting research projects and centers
that primarily compile and analyze data and train researchers and
statisticians. This scholarly effort has not addressed sufficiently the
widescale dissemination of data that is presented in useful,
meaningful, and accessible formats for a variety of audiences not
experienced in the nuances of data interpretation. Further, NIDRR's
data research program has, almost of necessity, been focused on data
that relate to health conditions and health care needs.
NIDRR also has identified a need to improve the ability of
individuals with disabilities and the parents, persons from minority
backgrounds with disabilities, family members, guardians, advocates, or
authorized representatives of the individuals to access information. In
addition, many persons with disabilities need comprehension aids that
will allow them to understand and utilize the information they access.
The proposed project on access to disability data will focus on the
synthesis, interpretation, presentation, and dissemination of
statistical information on disability to a wide target audience. It
will provide training in the interpretation and use of disability data
to individuals with disabilities and their organizations, and will
involve individuals with disabilities in the identification of
information needs and channels of access, evaluation of the materials
prepared in the project, and dissemination of products.
Proposed Priority
A D&U project on improving access to disability data shall--
Assess the needs of a range of target audiences for
specific types of disability data and the availability of such data;
Identify the most effective channels and formats for
conveying information to various target populations, including
individuals with various types of disabilities, those associated with
special communication needs, and individuals who are members of
minority or traditionally underserved groups;
Identify and define the nature of the access problems to
disability data faced by various segments of the target population;
Identify, collect, summarize, repackage, and disseminate
selected disability statistics (proposed by the applicant) in a number
of formats and through a number of media that will most effectively
reach various segments of the target population, and evaluate the
effectiveness of the selected mechanisms;
Develop innovative and attractive informational products
in a variety of accessible formats; develop guidelines for the
dissemination of these materials, and provide training to relevant
target populations in the use and dissemination of the materials;
Develop, test, and market innovative uses of information
technologies, including on-line data services, 800 numbers, and a
system for reimbursable data services, as appropriate;
Assess the need for and, if necessary, develop
informational materials to facilitate the use of disability data
derived from State and local entities by legislators, policy makers,
service providers, advocates, manufacturers and retailers;
Coordinate with other OSERS-supported and other Federal
agency data dissemination activities to avoid duplication of effort;
and
Maintain all print materials created in full 3 1/2'' disk
format in Word Perfect 5.2 for IBM, Microsoft Word 5 for Macintosh, and
ASCII format for easier translation into Braille and for read back
using a screen reader, and maintain a library and on-line database of
all products.
Invitation To Comment
Interested persons are invited to submit comments and
recommendations regarding this proposed priority.
All comments submitted in response to this proposed priority will
be available for public inspection, during and after the comment
period, in Room 3423, Switzer Building, 330 C Street, S.W., Washington,
D.C. between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through
Friday of each week except Federal holidays.
Applicable Program Regulations
34 CFR Parts 350 and 355.
Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 760-762.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.133D, Knowledge
Dissemination and Utilization Program)
Dated: August 31, 1994.
Howard R. Moses,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative
Services.
[FR Doc. 94-21915 Filed 9-6-94; 8:45 am]
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