Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 17 108
The grant opportunity titled "Development of Socially-Assistive Robots (SARs) to Engage Persons with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and AD-Related Dementias (ADRD), and their Caregivers (R43/R44)" is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding announcement aimed at pushing practical, market-relevant robotics innovations into dementia care. The central focus is on developing socially-assistive robots and related technologies that can meaningfully support older adults living with Alzheimer's disease, AD-related dementias, and other common coexisting health conditions. The intent is not just to create impressive prototypes, but to encourage solutions that can enhance health, reduce illness, and limit disability by improving day-to-day functioning, engagement, and overall well-being for people affected by cognitive decline.
A key feature of this opportunity is its dual emphasis: it supports technologies designed for individuals with AD/ADRD and it also explicitly encourages tools that address the needs of caregivers. That caregiver angle matters because dementia care often places heavy physical, emotional, and logistical demands on family members and professional caregivers. In practice, this means proposed robotics solutions could be aimed at helping caregivers manage routines, reduce supervision burden, support safe independence for the person with dementia, ease stress, and improve the quality of interactions between caregiver and care recipient. The "socially-assistive" aspect signals an interest in robots that go beyond physical assistance (like lifting or mobility) and instead use social interaction, prompts, coaching, companionship-like engagement, or behavior-shaping strategies to support health and functioning.
From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant program using the SBIR mechanism under the R43/R44 phases, which generally correspond to early-stage feasibility development (Phase I) and more advanced research and development leading toward commercialization (Phase II). The eligible applicants are small businesses, aligning with SBIR's goal of translating research into products and services with real-world uptake. The opportunity is listed under the health funding activity category and tied to CFDA number 93.866, which is associated with NIH Alzheimer's and related research activities.
Eligibility rules are straightforward and restrictive in terms of foreign participation. Non-U.S. entities (foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to submit as applicants. However, "foreign components" as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement may be allowed in some cases, which typically refers to specific parts of the work being performed outside the United States under defined conditions and NIH approval, rather than a foreign organization serving as the primary applicant.
The source details indicate the funding opportunity number is PAR 17-108, it was created on January 9, 2017, and the original closing date listed is July 5, 2020. The record does not specify an award ceiling or the expected number of awards in the provided excerpt, so applicants would typically need to consult the full NIH announcement for budget caps, project period limits, review criteria, and any special requirements tied to clinical testing, human subjects, or commercialization planning.
Overall, the opportunity is aimed at motivating small businesses to build and validate assistive and socially interactive robotic systems that can be realistically used in dementia care settings, improving outcomes for people living with AD/ADRD while also reducing the strain and challenges faced by those who care for them.Apply for PAR 17 108
- The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Development of Socially-Assistive Robots (SARs) to Engage Persons with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and AD-Related Dementias (ADRD), and their Caregivers (R43/R44)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.866.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2017-01-09.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-07-05. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Eligible applicants include: Small businesses.
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