Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs PHTBI Applied Behavior Analysis Clinical Study Award | W81XWH 17 PHTBI ABACSA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 17 PHTBI ABACSA

The Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs PH/TBI Applied Behavior Analysis Clinical Study Award (funding opportunity number W81XWH-17-PHTBI-ABACSA) was a Fiscal Year 2017 grant and cooperative agreement opportunity run through the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA) on behalf of the Defense Health Agency (DHA) J9 Research and Development Directorate. It sat under the Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury Research Program (PH/TBIRP), a Congressionally created program that started in FY07 in response to the very real operational toll of traumatic brain injury and psychological health conditions, including PTSD, experienced by Service members during deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. The overall point of the PH/TBIRP is to fund and coordinate research that improves prevention, detection, and treatment related to psychological health issues and TBI, with an emphasis on improving day-to-day function, wellness, and quality of life not only for Service members but also for caregivers and families.

This specific award focus was Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) for Autism, and it was positioned as a clinical study-oriented mechanism. In practical terms, that means the DoD was seeking proposals that would test or evaluate ABA-based interventions in a clinical context, generating evidence that could translate into better care, better outcomes, or more effective service delivery for individuals with autism in military-connected health systems and communities. While the PH/TBIRP is often associated with combat-related TBI and psychological health, this announcement reflects how the Defense Health Program also supports broader readiness and beneficiary health needs, including developmental and behavioral health challenges that affect Service members families and the systems that support them.

From a management and funding structure perspective, the opportunity flowed through the Defense Health Program (DHP) Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation appropriation, which DHA manages as directed by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. Program execution management support was provided by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), aligned with other Defense Health Program research areas. In other words, DHA provided strategic oversight, while CDMRP served as the execution management agent for the program announcement, and USAMRAA handled the acquisition and award side under the authority of 10 USC 2358.

Administratively, the opportunity was listed as discretionary funding and allowed two instrument types: cooperative agreement and grant, which typically signals that some awards may involve closer program involvement (more common with cooperative agreements) depending on the project needs and the governments role. The CFDA number associated with the listing was 12.420. Eligibility was described as unrestricted, meaning any entity type could apply (for example, universities, nonprofits, small businesses, hospitals, and other organizations), subject to any additional eligibility notes that might have appeared in the full announcement text. The posting date in the source data was October 16, 2017, and the original closing date was December 14, 2017. The listing indicated an expectation of one award, and the award ceiling field was shown as 0, which typically means the ceiling was not provided in that summary field and would need to be confirmed in the full funding announcement or associated program documents.

Taken together, this opportunity was designed to support a high-impact, clinically grounded ABA-for-autism research effort within the DoDs medical research ecosystem, leveraging CDMRPs program infrastructure and DHAs oversight to complement existing Defense Health Program research investments in psychological health and TBI. The intended end state was actionable evidence that can be integrated into real-world care and support systems serving the military community, improving outcomes and quality of life for beneficiaries and families.

• 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 "Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs PHTBI Applied Behavior Analysis Clinical Study 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 Oct 16, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Dec 14, 2017. (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 1 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.

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