Research on Informal and Formal Caregiving for Alzheimer's Disease (R21) | PAR 15 351

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 15 351

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued this Funding Opportunity Announcement, titled Research on Informal and Formal Caregiving for Alzheimer's Disease (R21) (PAR-15-351), to support basic and translational research focused on caregiving for people living with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The central aim is to improve understanding of caregiving and to generate early, actionable evidence that can lead to better outcomes for both caregivers and individuals with AD. The FOA is broad in perspective, encouraging work that looks at caregiving not just as an individual experience, but as a family, community, and population-level issue that changes across the course of the disease and across different care settings.

A major emphasis of the opportunity is early-stage intervention development, meaning projects can focus on designing and testing promising approaches that reduce caregiver burden and improve patient outcomes. This can include pilot or feasibility work suitable for an R21 mechanism, where the goal is often to establish proof of concept, refine an intervention model, test acceptability, or gather preliminary data that can justify a larger follow-on trial. The FOA also welcomes population-based and community-based research that maps the scope and real-world impact of AD caregiving, including how caregiving demands affect health, wellbeing, financial stability, service use, and quality of life.

Another key priority is improving the characterization of both informal and formal caregiving. Informal caregiving generally refers to unpaid care provided by family members, friends, or neighbors, while formal caregiving can include paid home care workers, aides, nursing facility staff, and other professional supports. NIH is signaling interest in research that captures the full spectrum of caregiving burden across the progression of Alzheimer's disease, from early functional changes through advanced stages requiring intensive assistance and supervision. Within that, the FOA specifically calls out the importance of understanding differences in caregiving experiences and outcomes across socioeconomic groups, racial and ethnic populations, and geographic sub-populations. This reflects a strong concern for disparities, including unequal access to services, differences in the availability of trained providers, and the way structural factors can shape who provides care, what kinds of supports are available, and the consequences of caregiving over time.

The opportunity also highlights research on the unique challenges involved in advanced Alzheimer's care. This can include higher-intensity needs such as managing behavioral symptoms, ensuring safety, coordinating complex medical care, navigating long-term services and supports, and handling transitions between home, hospital, and residential care. The FOA explicitly encourages projects that address disparities in access to advanced care, which could involve barriers like cost, limited availability of specialized dementia services, workforce shortages, transportation issues, language barriers, or uneven coverage and eligibility rules across programs.

This is a discretionary grant opportunity using the NIH R21 activity code, which is generally intended for exploratory or developmental research. The listed award ceiling is $200,000. The CFDA numbers associated with the program are 93.361 and 93.866, indicating alignment with NIH programs related to aging and neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

Eligibility is relatively expansive and includes a wide range of U.S.-based applicant organizations. Eligible applicants include state, county, city/township, and special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education where specified in the listing); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other eligible entities. The FOA also explicitly mentions additional eligible applicant types such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, and Indian/Native American Tribal Governments that are not federally recognized. U.S. territories or possessions are also included among eligible applicants.

Foreign participation is restricted. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible. In addition, foreign components, as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed under this FOA. In practical terms, the project leadership and the funded research activities need to be based within eligible U.S. organizations and comply with NIH rules prohibiting foreign components for this announcement.

The original closing date listed for this opportunity was January 24, 2018, and the FOA record shows a creation date of September 17, 2015. Even though the program details remain useful for understanding NIH priorities in caregiving research, anyone interested in applying would need to confirm whether this specific FOA is still active or whether NIH has replaced it with a reissued or updated announcement covering similar topics.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Research on Informal and Formal Caregiving for Alzheimer's Disease (R21)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.361, 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2015-09-17.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-01-24. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $200,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

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