DoD Autism Idea Development Award | W81XWH 18 ARP IDA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 18 ARP IDA

The DoD Autism Idea Development Award (Funding Opportunity Number W81XWH-18-ARP-IDA) is a Department of Defense Autism Research Program (ARP) grant designed to push forward bold, early-stage research that could materially change what is possible for people living with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The focus is on innovative, high-risk/high-reward ideas that may be too new or unconventional for more traditional funding streams, but that have strong potential to generate impactful data, open up new research directions, and ultimately accelerate progress toward better outcomes for individuals with ASD. The intent is not incremental work, but projects that could produce critical discoveries or major advancements.

The opportunity is open broadly to basic and preclinical research across the ASD field, with a strong preference for proposals that clearly address priority needs identified by the ASD community. Targeted topic areas include: testing and assessing novel therapeutics using valid preclinical models; studying environmental risk factors that may contribute to ASD; explaining why ASD presents so differently across individuals (mechanisms behind heterogeneous clinical expression); and investigating the biological or behavioral mechanisms that drive common co-occurring conditions such as sleep problems, gastrointestinal issues, inflammation, aggression, depression, anxiety, attention deficits, and seizures. The program also encourages work that tackles practical, real-world challenges across the lifespan, including identifying factors that support successful transitions to independence (for example, adolescence to adulthood, education to employment, or moving into more independent living).

In addition to biomedical and mechanistic research, the award explicitly invites proposals aimed at improving systems of care. This includes developing training, tools, or resources for healthcare providers to improve healthcare delivery for individuals with ASD across the lifespan and across different care contexts, including primary care, urgent or emergency care, and even disaster relief situations. It also prioritizes projects that improve diagnosis across the lifespan, recognizing that diagnostic needs and barriers can differ for children, adolescents, adults, and older adults. Another emphasized area is the role of cultural and socioeconomic factors in treatment effectiveness, service delivery, and access to care, reflecting the program's interest in reducing inequities and improving outcomes for underserved or differently served communities.

Administratively, this is a discretionary federal funding opportunity offered by the Department of Defense (Department of the Army, U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, USAMRAA). Awards may be made as either grants or cooperative agreements, depending on the nature of the project and anticipated level of agency involvement. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning a wide range of applicant organizations may apply, subject to any additional eligibility language in the full announcement. The CFDA number associated with the program is 12.420. For the FY18 cycle reflected in the source information, the opportunity was posted on May 21, 2018, and closed on October 4, 2018. The listing indicated an expectation of two awards, and the award ceiling was shown as 0 in the source data, which typically signals that the maximum was not specified in that summary field and would need to be confirmed in the full funding announcement.

Overall, the DoD Autism Idea Development Award is best understood as a catalyst mechanism: it aims to fund compelling, creative research concepts at a stage where strong preliminary ideas can be turned into meaningful early evidence, new methods, or proof-of-concept findings that can reshape the ASD research landscape and lead to larger-scale follow-on studies or translational pathways.

• The Department of Defense, Dept. of the Army -- USAMRAA in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "DoD Autism Idea Development Award" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.420.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 21, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 04, 2018. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for W81XWH 18 ARP IDA

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