Opportunity Overview
The American Occupational Therapy Foundation (AOTF) Implementation Research Grant is open now. The program supports research on how to implement, sustain or scale evidence-based occupational therapy practices in real-world clinical settings, with the goal of improving care quality and patient outcomes.
Funding and Deadline
AOTF offers two funding options: up to $50,000 for a one-year project or up to $100,000 for a two-year project.
The required Letter of Intent is due September 18, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET. Applicants invited forward are expected to submit a full application by November 20, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET. Award notifications are planned for March 2027.
Who Can Apply
The Principal Investigator must meet AOTF’s current eligibility rules, including holding an eligible doctoral degree or qualifying OTD/EdD with advanced research training; holding a full-time faculty or equivalent research appointment, or being a non-OT investigator with a primary academic appointment in an occupational therapy department; and being employed by a U.S. domestic public or private nonprofit organization or institution eligible to receive Foundation research grants. The PI must also meet the program’s U.S. citizenship/permanent-residence requirement and early-, emerging-, or early-mid-career investigator criteria.
Independent nonprofits or private practices without an academic or affiliated institutional relationship are not eligible under the current guidance.
Research Priorities
Projects should include one or more stages of implementing an evidence-based program into clinical practice. AOTF welcomes both specific implementation projects in a single clinical setting and broader methods projects that improve how evidence-based programs are implemented across occupational therapy practice. AOTF states that specific single-setting implementation projects are strongly encouraged.
Competitive proposals should be grounded in implementation-research theory and explain how findings can inform occupational therapy practice beyond the immediate project setting.
Letter of Intent Controls
The LOI requires PI information and biosketch, applicant-organization information, a research mentor biosketch and letter of commitment, mentoring documentation/publications, community partner or co-investigator materials when applicable, and a description of the proposed research project.
AI-use rule: AOTF permits AI tools to assist with proposal writing, but applicants remain responsible for factual accuracy, writing quality and citations, and any AI-generated text must be clearly acknowledged in application footnotes. Reviewers are prohibited from uploading applications into AI systems.
Atlas Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score: 91/100. This is a strong national research opportunity for occupational therapy faculty and affiliated researchers because the program directly supports translation of evidence into routine clinical care and offers meaningful early-career funding at either one- or two-year scale.
N9+ Direct Vendor Fit: 0/100. The opportunity funds implementation research and does not establish a connected clinical-equipment procurement pathway. QC Healthcare Fit: 0/100. It does not create an outsourced physician-coverage mechanism.
Next Action
Eligible investigators should confirm PI and institutional eligibility, align the project with implementation research and occupational therapy scope, secure the required mentor and supporting materials, prepare the LOI package, and submit through AOTF’s application system before September 18, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET. Applicants using AI-assisted drafting should also plan the required disclosure footnotes before submission.
Official source: American Occupational Therapy Foundation — Implementation Research Grant.