ACL Innovation Lab | HHS 2023 ACL AOA ACIL 0061

Opportunity Information: Apply for HHS 2023 ACL AOA ACIL 0061

The ACL Innovation Lab grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number: HHS 2023 ACL AOA ACIL 0061) is a discretionary cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living (ACL), focused on strengthening falls prevention efforts for older adults and older adults with disabilities. The central aim is to establish a dedicated "Innovation Lab" that helps develop, test, and scale practical approaches that improve health and reduce fall-related injuries. Rather than funding a scattered set of unrelated projects, this opportunity is designed to create an organized hub that builds shared tools, shared evidence, and a clearer pathway for communities to adopt what works.

A major early deliverable for the Lab is to create a formal taxonomy for falls prevention research. In practice, that means conducting an in-depth review of existing falls prevention literature and translating it into a structured framework that helps programs and researchers categorize interventions, risk factors, outcomes, and implementation elements in a consistent way. This is meant to solve a common problem in community-based prevention work: lots of programs may be doing similar things, but data are collected differently, outcomes are measured inconsistently, and it becomes hard to compare results or understand which elements are actually driving impact. The taxonomy is intended to standardize how information is defined and captured so that learning accumulates across sites instead of staying siloed.

Building on that taxonomy, the Lab is expected to develop research questions and research methods that support two complementary approaches. The first is a "core components" approach, which typically focuses on identifying the essential elements of an intervention that are responsible for its effectiveness, so programs can adapt delivery to local settings without losing what makes the intervention work. The second is a community-driven or community-based participatory research approach, which emphasizes engaging community partners and participants in shaping the research questions, the methods, and the interpretation of results. Together, these approaches are meant to produce evidence that is both rigorous and grounded in real-world community contexts, especially within aging and disability service networks.

Another key responsibility is building a secure, dynamic data system to house information collected through the project, including data generated by sub-awardees. The system must align with ACL requirements related to public access and policies governing scientific or research data produced with federal funding. In other words, the Lab is not just running projects; it is also building the infrastructure to manage, protect, and responsibly share data so findings can be used beyond the initial pilot sites. The emphasis on a secure and adaptable platform suggests ACL expects the data system to support ongoing updates, multi-site participation, and future learning, rather than functioning as a static repository.

The Lab will also serve as a funder and coordinator for a cohort of community-based sub-awardees drawn from aging and disability service organizations. These sub-awardees will pilot the approaches developed by the Lab to better understand whether and how existing interventions reduce falls and fall-related risk factors. The intent is not only to test interventions in the abstract, but to evaluate them in everyday service settings where staffing, participant needs, and local resources vary. By funding a cohort, ACL is signaling that comparative learning across multiple communities and delivery contexts is a priority.

Technical assistance is a required part of the Lab model. The Lab must support sub-awardees with guidance on applying the core components framework, using participatory research designs, measuring outcomes, and collecting data in the structured way required by the taxonomy and the shared data platform. This TA function is central because many community organizations delivering falls prevention services may not have extensive research capacity, even if they have strong program delivery experience. The Lab is expected to close that gap so that pilots produce usable, credible evidence.

On the analysis side, the Lab must conduct predictive and other data analyses on the research findings and then disseminate results. This implies the work goes beyond basic reporting and includes deeper efforts to identify patterns, predictors of success, and practical insights that can guide decision-making (for example, what participant characteristics, program features, or implementation conditions are associated with better outcomes). Dissemination is also a formal expectation, meaning the Lab should translate findings into products and messages that stakeholders can use, not just academic outputs.

Finally, the opportunity has an explicit emphasis on scaling and sustainability. The end goal is to promote wider adoption of effective falls prevention practices and ensure they can be maintained over time in community settings. That typically means identifying interventions and implementation strategies that are feasible for service providers, aligning evidence with funding and operational realities, and producing guidance that helps organizations replicate successful approaches without needing a research grant to keep them going.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a cooperative agreement, which generally indicates substantial federal involvement in the project compared with a standard grant. Only one award is expected, with an award ceiling of $4,790,000. Eligible applicants are broad and include various levels of government, public and private institutions of higher education, federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, and nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations (excluding institutions of higher education under that specific nonprofit category). The opportunity falls under CFDA 93.048, within the "Science and Technology and other Research and Development" activity category. The notice was created May 5, 2023, with an original closing date of July 4, 2023, and electronic submissions were due by 11:59 p.m. ET on the due date.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "ACL Innovation Lab" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.048.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 05, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 04, 2023 Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 1159 p.m., ET, on the listed application due date.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $4,790,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for HHS 2023 ACL AOA ACIL 0061

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