ePCT Planning Grant Program

The ePCT Planning Grant Program is offered through the National Institute on Aging (NIA) Imbedded Pragmatic Alzheimer’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) Clinical Trials (IMPACT) Collaboratory. The IMPACT Collaboratory was established in 2019 under cooperative agreement U54AG063546 to strengthen the national capacity to conduct embedded pragmatic clinical trials focused on improving dementia care for people living with dementia and their care partners. This funding opportunity supports the planning and development of Stage IV effectiveness embedded pragmatic clinical trials (ePCTs) in nursing home settings that evaluate non-pharmacological interventions for behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). The initiative emphasizes interventions that can be integrated into routine nursing home operations and eventually tested under real-world conditions in future pilot or full-scale ePCTs. The purpose of this funding opportunity is to support collaborative planning activities that result in a fully specified protocol for either a pilot or full-scale Stage IV effectiveness ePCT. The opportunity specifically excludes early-stage intervention development and efficacy-focused trial planning associated with NIH Stages 0 through III. Projects must involve a formal partnership with a nursing home organization and participation from at least two nursing home sites, either within a single organization or across multiple organizations. The planning process must incorporate a resident-care partner advisory board or similar engagement structure to ensure that residents with dementia, care partners, and caregivers meaningfully contribute to intervention planning, implementation strategies, and operational alignment. The funding opportunity encourages interventions such as EHR-based clinical nudges, deprescribing strategies, staff training programs, and workflow-integrated decision support systems that improve dementia care practices while reducing unnecessary neuroactive medication use. The IMPACT Collaboratory will fund up to two awards, each providing up to $150,000 in total direct costs over a 12-month project period. Facilities and administrative costs may be requested according to the applicant institution’s negotiated indirect cost rate. The program requires that funds support collaborative relationship-building and operational planning activities with nursing home partners. Allowable activities include workflow mapping, implementation strategy refinement, advisory board engagement, operational and staffing assessments, data infrastructure evaluation, data transfer planning, and protocol development activities. Budgets are also expected to support nursing home engagement through staff effort, coordination activities, honoraria for residents and care partners, and participation in required IMPACT Collaboratory meetings and training events. Applicants may include up to two subawards, each requiring a separate budget and justification. Consulting agreements are preferred when feasible. The opportunity does not permit research activities conducted outside of the United States. Eligible applicant organizations include U.S.-based academic institutions, nonprofit research organizations, nursing home organizations, and other fiscally responsible entities authorized to administer NIH funding. Foreign organizations and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are ineligible. Principal Investigators must be affiliated with an eligible organization and must be U.S. citizens, non-citizen nationals, or permanent residents. The Contact PI must hold an MD, PhD, or equivalent research qualification and demonstrate experience or developing expertise in conducting embedded pragmatic clinical trials involving people living with dementia and their care partners. Multiple Principal Investigators are permitted, with a maximum of two investigators per application. Competitive applicants are expected to demonstrate experience collaborating with nursing home settings, readiness to conduct implementation-focused research, and the ability to build sustainable operational partnerships. The application process consists of two stages. First, all interested applicants must submit a required Letter of Intent by June 18, 2026 at 6:00 PM Eastern Time. Applicants must complete one of three designated LOI forms depending on whether they already have nursing home partners or require partner matching assistance. A current NIH biosketch must be uploaded together with the LOI as a single PDF file. Budget details are not required during the LOI stage. Selected applicants will then be invited to submit a full application, which is due September 10, 2026 at 6:00 PM Eastern Time. Full application materials will include detailed instructions, required letters of support, and access to the submission portal. Application review is expected to occur in November 2026, with the earliest budget and project start date anticipated for December 1, 2026. An optional informational webinar will be held on May 21, 2026 at 3:00 PM Eastern Time. Applications will be evaluated based on the strength of the collaborative partnership structure, the quality of nursing home engagement, and the feasibility of integrating the proposed intervention into operational workflows and staffing models. Reviewers will assess whether the intervention aligns with Stage IV effectiveness trial expectations under the NIH Stage Model and whether proposed planning activities reflect the core principles of embedded pragmatic clinical trials and the PRECIS-2 framework. Additional evaluation considerations include meaningful involvement of residents with dementia and care partners, feasibility of workflow integration, implementation planning quality, scalability, and adequacy of operational and data infrastructure planning. Award recipients must participate in monthly meetings with IMPACT advisors, attend annual scientific conferences and training workshops, comply with NIH open access and conflict-of-interest policies, and submit a final closeout report at the end of the project period. Programmatic inquiries may be directed to IMPACTcollaboratory@hsl.harvard.edu, while consultation requests may be sent to IMPACTnavigator@hsl.harvard.edu.

Emphasize strong bidirectional partnerships with nursing home organizations and resident-care partner advisory boards. Demonstrate operational feasibility and workflow integration within nursing home settings. Clearly align the intervention with Stage IV embedded pragmatic clinical trial expectations and scalable non-pharmacological dementia care approaches.