DoD Spinal Cord Injury Qualitative Research Award | W81XWH 18 SCIRP QRA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 18 SCIRP QRA

The DoD Spinal Cord Injury Qualitative Research Award (QRA) is a Department of Defense funding opportunity designed to support qualitative research that digs into the real-life experiences of people living with spinal cord injury (SCI). Its central goal is to help researchers and clinicians better understand what life looks like after SCI so they can identify practical, effective paths that support adjustment to disability and improve quality of life, health outcomes, and day-to-day functioning. Rather than focusing on lab-based or purely quantitative outcomes, this award emphasizes research approaches that capture lived experience, meaning, barriers, and facilitators, such as interviews, focus groups, and other qualitative methods that can explain why certain rehabilitation and reintegration approaches work better for some people than others.

A defining feature of this award is its focus on military and Veteran populations, particularly during the years following SCI. The program is aimed at understanding the transition process from the point of injury and acute medical care through rehabilitation and then into community reintegration. In practical terms, this includes examining the challenges Service members and Veterans face as they move between care settings, adapt to new functional realities, navigate benefits and support systems, return to family and community roles, and rebuild independence and identity. The opportunity also signals that collaboration with military and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) researchers and clinicians is encouraged, reflecting the program’s interest in studies that are closely connected to the realities of military and VA healthcare systems and the populations they serve.

The announcement highlights that successful rehabilitation and reintegration after SCI can be shaped by many interacting factors. Examples specifically noted include age, gender, and ethnicity, as well as the influence of family members and caregivers. Psychological health is called out as another important dimension, alongside clinical considerations like severity of injury and comorbid conditions. The type of medical care received can also matter, including whether a person is treated in a civilian facility, a VA facility, or a military treatment setting. By encouraging researchers to examine these factors, the award is essentially seeking studies that can map out the major obstacles people encounter, the supports that make a meaningful difference, and the conditions that promote stability, participation, and long-term well-being after SCI.

Administratively, the opportunity was offered by the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, through USAMRAA, and categorized as a discretionary science and technology/research and development program under CFDA 12.420. The funding opportunity number is W81XWH-18-SCIRP-QRA, and the funding instrument types listed are grants and cooperative agreements. Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning it is broadly open to many kinds of applicant organizations, subject to any additional eligibility clarifications in the full announcement. The listing indicated an expected two awards. The award ceiling was listed as 0 in the source data, which typically signals that a specific maximum was not provided in that field rather than implying no limit in practice; applicants usually need to rely on the full program announcement for budget expectations and constraints. The opportunity record shows it was created May 29, 2018, with an original application closing date of October 15, 2018.

• 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 Spinal Cord Injury Qualitative Research 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 29, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 15, 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 SCIRP QRA

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