Stephen Bauer NIDILRR Program Officer Stages of Development Stephen Bauer NIDILRR Program Officer RERC Director's Meeting 2016

Purpose Introduce the “Stages of Development” RERC Director's Meeting 2016

Outline Motivation Concepts Description Common Questions RERC Director's Meeting 2016

Motivation NIDILRR’s Mission: “Generate new knowledge and promote its effective use in improving the ability of persons with disabilities to perform activities of their choice in the community, [And] To expand society's capacity to provide full opportunities and accommodations for its citizens with disabilities.” RERC Director's Meeting 2016

Motivation NIDILRR achieves its Mission by funding grants comprising Research, Development, training, technical assistance, knowledge translation, and dissemination. To optimize benefits deriving from R or D investments, NIDILRR has developed and implemented the Stages of Research (SoR) and Stages of Development (SoD) frameworks. RERC Director's Meeting 2016

Motivation SoD Applications (structure, improve): Solicitations, Applications, Review Criteria, Peer Review Process, Grant Monitoring, Grant Management and Reporting, Performance Analysis, Strategic Planning, and Dissemination SoD provide descriptive guidance rather than prescriptive requirements. RERC Director's Meeting 2016

Concepts Development: Process of creating new or improved products using appropriate development methods. Output: Models, methods, tools, standards, software applications, and devices. Outcome: Actualized product used by target market(s) to address significant needs. RERC Director's Meeting 2016

Description Idea First Stage (Proof of Concept): Second Stage (Proof of Product): Third Stage (Proof of Adoption) Each Stage comprises appropriate and systematic methods, and associated outputs and outcomes. RERC Director's Meeting 2016

Description Idea Product concept… to address significant unmet need(s) of a target disability market(s). Target market may include users or service providers, researchers, developers, etc. RERC Director's Meeting 2016

Description First Stage (Proof of Concept) Requirements established or confirmed; key concepts, components, or systems are tested; associated technical challenges resolved… Technology transfer plan developed with KT4TT. Product Concept is Feasible. RERC Director's Meeting 2016

Description Transfer of Development Product(s) always requires a Partner Organization(s) Universities Manufacturers Distributors Professional Organizations Standards Organizations Partner Organizations also provide or refine Product Requirements. RERC Director's Meeting 2016

Description Second Stage (Proof of Product) Requirements established or confirmed; fully- integrated and working prototype tested; technical challenges resolved. Technology Transfer Plan implemented in collaboration with the Transfer Partner(s) Product is Realizable RERC Director's Meeting 2016

Description Assessment with respect to Requirements is typical of Stage 1 and Stage 2 activities Bench test “device” components or systems Evaluate “device” compliance to standards Psychometric properties of a “tool” is tested. User trial of a “software application” Provider trial of a “method” RERC Director's Meeting 2016

Description Third Stage (Proof of Adoption) Product refinement; identify barriers to adoption; facilitate product adoption; assess product adoption. Complete Technology Transfer Plan and collaboration with Transfer Partner(s) Product is Beneficial RERC Director's Meeting 2016

Description Product Adoption may be established by assessing a market’s… Awareness of a product… Positive disposition towards a product… Decision to try a product… Use of a product… Retention of a product… Barriers and facilitators to adoption can be identified for each “step”. RERC Director's Meeting 2016

Public Comments Missing Stage… perceived that “manufacturer” would use a “Stage 2 ½” to transform a “Proof of Product” (still a prototype) into a commercial product… Missing Stage… perceived that investigator needs “Stage 2 ½” to confirm a product market viability… First and Second Stages… perceived that First and Second Stages are undifferentiated in terms of activities, outputs, and outcomes… RERC Director's Meeting 2016

Public Comments Third Stage… perceived to be unfunded and therefore Proof of Adoption is undoable… Development Products... perceived that development products are devices, developed with engineering methods, in university contexts, and licensed to manufacturers… Product Adoption… perceived that target market(s) are too large, segmented, or complex for investigators to facilitate or assess product adoption… RERC Director's Meeting 2016

Public Comments Methods… perceived that research and development methods are entirely distinct… Ordering… perceived that SoD requires research to precede development… Iteration and Adaptation… perceived that SoD is linear and prescriptive; investigators would be unable to adapt or iterate projects to overcome unanticipated problems or to pursue unanticipated opportunities… RERC Director's Meeting 2016

Public Comments Project Oversight… perceived that SoD requires investigators to obtain NIDILRR permission to adapt and iterate development projects… Project Oversight… perceived that SoD was not prescriptive enough in terms of standard milestones, deliverables, and continued funding… RERC Director's Meeting 2016

Thanks! Questions? RERC Director's Meeting 2016