The Health and Retirement Study (U01) | RFA AG 18 005

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) funding opportunity?

This opportunity is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) cooperative agreement solicitation (U01) for the next six-year operating cycle of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). The HRS is a major U.S. longitudinal study that tracks how health, economic circumstances, and overall well-being change as people age.

What is the opportunity number and mechanism?

The funding opportunity is identified as RFA-AG-18-005, and the award mechanism is a U01 cooperative agreement.

Which federal agency is sponsoring this opportunity?

The sponsoring agency is the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

What does it mean that this is a U01 cooperative agreement?

A U01 cooperative agreement indicates substantial programmatic involvement from NIH staff compared with a typical research project grant. Applicants should expect shared responsibilities and active coordination with NIH around study operations, data products, and public dissemination.

What is the overall purpose of this new HRS operating cycle?

The main intent is to maintain the HRS core structure and long-running design features while modernizing and improving the study in targeted ways. The emphasis includes reducing respondent burden, strengthening biospecimen and genetic linkages, improving dementia surveillance, and enhancing harmonization and data dissemination.

Who is the HRS designed to study?

The HRS focuses on adults age 50 and older in the United States.

Why is HRS considered important?

HRS produces an ongoing, nationally important dataset used by researchers and policymakers to understand aging-related trends, disparities, and needs across the country.

What are the key modernization priorities mentioned for HRS?

Priorities include reducing respondent burden without compromising data quality or continuity, improving field procedures, and making careful decisions about which measures must remain consistent across waves versus which can be updated or rotated.

What does "reducing respondent burden" mean in this FOA?

It points to streamlining interviews and assessments, improving field procedures, and minimizing participation demands for older respondents while preserving the scientific value and longitudinal continuity of the study.

Is the FOA expecting changes to the HRS core design?

The FOA emphasizes keeping the HRS core structure and long-running design features intact, while making targeted improvements and modernization efforts.

Does the opportunity include biospecimen activities?

Yes. A major goal is to establish a repository of blood samples to support future research.

What is implied by establishing a blood sample repository?

It implies building operational and ethical infrastructure for biospecimen collection, handling, processing, storage, and controlled access, along with consent procedures and long-term governance so samples can be used in future studies.

Does the FOA mention genetics collaborations?

Yes. It emphasizes strengthening administrative linkages and collaborations with genetics consortia.

What kinds of linkages does the FOA highlight beyond genetics?

The FOA highlights expanding value through connections between survey data and external administrative records, where permitted and consented.

What is the FOA's emphasis regarding cognitive aging and dementia?

It places strong emphasis on cognitive aging and dementia surveillance, including follow-up dementia assessment.

What specific dementia assessment approach is called for?

The FOA calls for follow-up dementia assessment using the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP) to refresh and improve estimates of dementia prevalence, including Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD).

Why does the FOA emphasize HCAP-based follow-up dementia assessment?

The stated intent is to strengthen robust, comparable cognitive outcomes over time and improve measurement to support research on incidence, progression, risk factors, and population burden, while maintaining longitudinal strengths.

What does the FOA say about harmonization?

NIH highlights harmonization as a key deliverable, with expectations to enhance harmonization with comparable population aging surveys to support cross-national comparisons.

What does the FOA say about data dissemination and user support?

The FOA calls for augmenting data dissemination and user support, including stronger documentation, improved data products, timely releases, and user help resources. It also suggests potential updates to platforms and training to help the research community use HRS data responsibly and effectively.

What is the activity category listed for this opportunity?

The activity category is listed as health.

What CFDA number is associated with this opportunity?

The CFDA number provided is 93.866.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based organizations and includes many public and private entity types, such as state/county/city or township governments, special district governments, independent school districts, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, tribal governments, tribal organizations, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (as specified), for-profit organizations other than small businesses, small businesses, and other eligible entities.

Are higher education institutions eligible?

Yes. Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education are explicitly listed as eligible applicants.

Are tribal entities eligible?

Yes. Federally recognized Native American tribal governments are listed as eligible, as are tribal organizations that are not federally recognized. The announcement also notes tribal governments other than federally recognized and Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs).

Are nonprofits eligible to apply?

Yes. Nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status are listed as eligible (with the noted exclusion language related to institutions of higher education within those nonprofit categories as specified in the opportunity description).

Are for-profit organizations eligible?

Yes. For-profit organizations other than small businesses are listed as eligible, and small businesses are also listed as eligible.

Are faith-based or community-based organizations eligible?

Yes. The announcement explicitly notes faith-based or community-based organizations among additional categories of eligible applicants.

Are minority-serving institutions mentioned as eligible?

Yes. The announcement explicitly notes eligibility categories including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs).

Are U.S. territories or possessions eligible?

Yes. The announcement explicitly notes U.S. territories or possessions among eligible applicants.

Are federal agencies eligible to apply?

Yes. The announcement explicitly notes eligible federal government agencies.

Are foreign organizations eligible to apply?

No. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply under this solicitation.

Can a U.S. organization include a non-domestic component on the application?

No. Non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply.

Are foreign components allowed under NIH policy for this solicitation?

No. Foreign components, as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed.

What are the key dates shown in the provided record?

The creation date shown is February 28, 2017, and the original closing date shown is May 16, 2017.

Is the award ceiling provided in the information above?

No. The award ceiling is not specified in the provided record.

Is the expected number of awards provided?

No. The expected number of awards is not specified in the provided record.

Where should applicants look for budget expectations and cooperative agreement terms?

Based on the provided information, applicants would need to consult the full FOA text and NIH grants guidance for budget expectations, cooperative agreement terms, and any anticipated funding levels or staffing requirements associated with operating a large national longitudinal study and its data infrastructure.

What kinds of responsibilities should an applicant anticipate under this cooperative agreement?

Applicants should anticipate shared responsibilities and active coordination with NIH staff related to study operations, data products, and public dissemination, consistent with a U01 cooperative agreement.

What types of outcomes and research areas does HRS support?

As described, HRS supports research and policy analysis related to aging, including changes in health, economic circumstances, overall well-being, disparities, and population needs. The FOA also highlights cognitive aging, dementia prevalence (including AD/ADRD), genetics-related collaboration, and biospecimen resources for future research.

What is meant by improving usability in this FOA?

The FOA frames usability in terms of better harmonization, improved dissemination, stronger documentation, improved data products, timely releases, and user support resources, potentially including updated platforms and training.