Friday, May 2, 2025
5/2/2025
RRTC on Research and Capacity Building for Minority Entities - Abstract Langston University (LU), a land grant historically Black college/university (HBCU), in partnership with the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts Boston (Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions [AANAPISI]), South Carolina State University (HBCU), Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services, Delaware Nation Vocational Rehabilitation Program, Kessler Foundation, Association of University Centers on Disabilities, and Addiction Technology Transfer Center are proposing the LU-RRTC on Research and Capacity Building for Minority Entities. The collaborative research, development, and dissemination project is to be funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) for five years at approximately $875,000 per year. The project will engage minority entities (MEs)/minority-serving institutions (MSIs) to generate new knowledge leading to improved rehabilitation experiences and outcomes for people with disabilities (PWD) from traditionally underserved racial and ethnic populations and enhanced research capacity and infrastructure at MSIs. The LU-RRTC will conduct five major studies and numerous research capacity-building activities informed by Advocates-In-Residence (AIR) including PWD from underserved populations that address the following themes: (1) Longitudinally testing the efficacy of a Peer-to-Peer Mentor Research Team Model (PMRTM) for training and mentoring MSI-based faculty/Fellows; (2) Assessing the feasibility of a Cultural Competence in Employment Support Training Model (CEST) for providers serving PWD from traditionally underserved racial and ethnic populations with co-occurring opioid and/or substance use disorder; (3) Developing multiple autoethnography case studies in lived experience that explore underrepresented Fellows’ intersectional race and/or disability concordance and perceived efficacy of a Peer-to-Peer Mentor Research Team Model (PMRTM), Peer Multiple Mentor Model (P3M), or Visiting Disability and Equity Research Mentorship Program (VERMP); (4) Examining rehabilitation counselor intersectional race and/or disability concordance and quality of services and employment outcomes for PWD from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds served by state vocational rehabilitation agencies (SVRAs) and American Indian Vocational Rehabilitation Programs (AIVRPs); and (5) Longitudinally testing an Institutional Research Capacity-Building and Infrastructure Model (IRCBIM) across five different MSIs. The LU-RRTC will work with various MSIs (i.e., HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribal colleges/universities [TCUs]and AANAPISI) to address research infrastructure challenges (e.g., research culture, office of sponsored program and institutional review board [IRB] operations, invisible research findings, seed monies to jump-start research agendas) and enhance their faculty scholars’ research skills. Scientific panels will mentor at least twenty seven (N = 27) pre-doctoral, doctoral, post-doctoral, and faculty Fellows in the development of research projects with findings submitted to professional journals, and research grant proposals submitted to NIDILRR for funding consideration. LU and partners will develop and implement a research partnership plan ensuring that all activities are predominantly focused on MSI research capacity and infrastructure building. LU-RRTC and LU2E-RRTC on Advancing Employment Equity for Multiply Marginalized PWD will cross-fertilize Fellows experiences across initiatives (i.e., VERMP and VERMP-MSI, respectively). A State-of-the-Science Conference will be held during the fourth year of the grant cycle on topics relating to rehabilitation experiences and outcomes for PWD from these underserved populations and MSI research capacity. Significant attention will be devoted to demonstrating how the LU-RRTC can translate findings to practical applications in
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).