DOD Orthotics and Prosthetics Outcomes, Clinical Research Award | W81XWH 21 OPORP CRA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 21 OPORP CRA

The Department of Defense (through the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, USAMRAA) FY21 Orthotics and Prosthetics Outcomes Research Program (OPORP) Clinical Research Award (CRA) funds clinical research focused on how orthoses and prostheses perform in the real world, measured through patient-centric outcomes that matter to Service Members, Veterans, and other people living with limb loss or limb impairment. The central aim is to produce clinically useful evidence that can improve patient outcomes and directly inform clinical decision-making and, when appropriate, policy decisions. In addition to device-focused evaluation, the program is also interested in multidisciplinary work that addresses ways to reduce or prevent secondary injuries that can occur alongside limb loss or impairment (for example, overuse injuries, joint degeneration, falls, skin breakdown, or other downstream complications). If a study involves rehabilitation approaches, the application needs to clearly explain how the rehabilitation strategy is expected to improve outcomes related to the orthotic or prosthetic device compared with the current standard of care.

Applicants must choose one of two funding levels, and only one level can be selected per application. Funding Level 1 is designed for pilot or early-stage clinical research that is exploratory in nature and involves limited human exposure, such as smaller sample sizes. The expectation is that these studies can still meaningfully move the field toward clinical translation, even if they are not yet large enough to provide definitive evidence. For Funding Level 1, preliminary data are encouraged but not required, which makes it better suited to newer concepts, early clinical validation, or feasibility testing where the team is still building the evidence base.

Funding Level 2 supports larger, more rigorous clinical research projects that include robust participant numbers sufficient for statistically meaningful conclusions. These projects are expected to have a strong chance of advancing clinical translation and to generate high-quality outcomes that can support evidence-based practice, potentially influencing or changing clinical practice. The opportunity explicitly welcomes pragmatic studies and comparative effectiveness research, which generally emphasize real-world clinical conditions and head-to-head comparisons between interventions or approaches. Unlike Funding Level 1, Funding Level 2 requires preliminary data relevant to the proposed clinical study, reflecting the expectation that the project is ready for a larger-scale evaluation.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary federal funding opportunity under CFDA 12.420, supporting science and technology and other research and development activities. Funding can be provided through either a grant or a cooperative agreement. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning it is open to any type of entity as long as it meets any additional eligibility details that may be specified in the full announcement. The opportunity was posted April 1, 2021, with an original application closing date of July 29, 2021, and anticipated up to four awards. The listing shows an award ceiling of 0, which typically indicates that specific maximums are defined elsewhere in the full funding announcement or under the program's funding restriction section rather than in the summary field.

• 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 Orthotics and Prosthetics Outcomes, Clinical 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 Apr 01, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 29, 2021. (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 4 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 21 OPORP CRA

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