The NIA IMPACT Collaboratory is now offering two separate funding opportunities: Career Development Award and the Health Care Systems (HCS) Scholars Program.  These opportunities support research and training to increase the nation’s capacity to conduct pragmatic clinical trials (ePCTs) of non-pharmacological interventions within healthcare systems to improve care for people living with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and AD-related  dementias(AD/ADRD) and their care partners.  IMPACT prioritizes applications that address dementia care for people of all backgrounds and promote health equity.

Career Development Award

The IMPACT Collaboratory funds up to four Career Development Awards (CDAs) annually. These two-year awards support the development of early-stage MD, PhD, or equivalent researchers who seek careers conducting ePCTs for people living with AD/ADRD and their care partners. Each award will provide $100,000 annually in direct costs with an indirect cost rate capped at 8%.

Applications are due by 5pm ET March 18, 2022.  An optional informational webinar will be hosted on Tuesday, February 1, 2022 at 2pm ET to provide investigators with an overview of application details (registration closed). Learn about previous Career Development Awardees.

Health Care Systems Scholars Program

The Health Care Systems (HCS) Scholars Program offers mid-level to senior researchers an opportunity to develop ePCTs with health care or systems interested in improving the care provided to people living with AD/ADRD and their care partners. These one year awards are for up to $120,000 in direct costs with an indirect cost rate capped at 8%.  The goals of the HCS Scholars Program are to embed a researcher in a health care organization or system to:

1. Foster a mutually beneficial partnership between a researcher and health care organization or system with the aim of conducting future ePCT research to improve the care of PLWD and their care partners
2. Train investigators about the complexities of conducting research in health care settings and obtain on-the-ground knowledge about how new research programs are successfully introduced at all levels of the organization (e.g., front-line providers to executive leaders)
3. Engage health care settings in learning more about what it means to conduct ePCTs, to assist in identifying and prioritizing opportunities for improvement in dementia care, and potentially conducting an evaluation of related quality improvement projects

Letters of Intent are required and due by 5pm ET February 8, 2022 . An optional informational webinar about the program will be hosted on January 20, 2022 at 1:15pm ET to provide investigators with an overview of the program and application details (registration closed). Learn about previous HCS Scholar Awardees.

Learn more about the IMPACT Collaboratory on our website at https://impactcollaboratory.org/. Keep up-to-date on these and future opportunities by joining our mailing list and following us on social media at IMPACT Twitter IMPACT LinkedIn.

The IMPACT Collaboratory is happy to announce the recipients of Cycle 3A of the IMPACT Pilot Grant Award Program. Recipients were selected from an impressive group of competitive applications.

IMPACT Collaboratory Pilot Grant Award Recipients (RFA 2021)

• Elizabeth Ciemins, PhD, MPH, MA, American Medical Group Association (AMGA)
  Implementation of MIND at Home Program in Primary Care for People Living with Dementia
• Leah Hanson, PhD, HealthPartners Institute
  Mindfulness-Based Dementia Care Partner Program to Reduce Depressive Symptoms
• Maggie Ramirez, PhD, MS, University of Washington
  Virtual Training for Latino Caregivers to Manage Symptoms of Dementia

Additional details on these recipients and their pilot studies can be found on the IMPACT Collaboratory website.

About the IMPACT Pilot Grant Program
The IMPACT Collaboratory funds several one-year pilot studies annually, which are meant to generate the preliminary data necessary to design and conduct future full-scale, stage 4 effectiveness ePCTs funded through other grant mechanisms. Awards are for single Principal Investigator applications for one year and are non-renewable.

Current and Upcoming IMPACT Funding Opportunities

Pilot Grant Program

Applications for Pilot Grant Cycle 3B opened August 16, 2021. The application process is a 2-step competitive process. The first step, a required LOI, was due September 17, 2021.  Selected investigators were invited to submit a full application due January 14, 2022.  Request for applications for Cycle 4A anticipated in early February 2022.

Requests for applications will open for two IMPACT funding programs on January 10, 2022.

Career Development Award Program 

The Career Development Award Program supports the development of early-stage investigators building careers in the design and conduct of ePCTs for people living with AD/ADRD and their care partners.

HCS Scholars Program

The Health Care Systems Embedded Research Scholars Program offers investigators an opportunity to work directly with health care systems interested in improving care provided to people living with AD/ADRD and their care partners. The goal of the HCS Scholars Program is to embed investigators in health care systems to strengthen collaborations and learn how to successfully implement new programs that may lead to pilot studies or demonstration projects.

Additional information is available on the IMPACT website.  Please join our mailing list to receive news and invitations to events and Grand Rounds.