Well Told Grants

Federal grant programs / Department of Health and Human Services

Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders (93.173)

Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders (Assistance Listing 93.173) is run by the National Institutes of Health, part of the Department of Health and Human Services. It awarded $2.1 billion in 2,231 grants from fiscal 2021 to 2025, about $925,005 per award on average. 84 funding opportunities are open or forecast now.

The typical award was $553,162. Half of the 2,231 awards fell between $178,735 and $1.5 million, and they ranged from $0 to $13.2 million.

Key findings

What the program funds

To investigate solutions to problems directly relevant to individuals with deafness or disorders of human communication in the areas of hearing, balance, smell, taste, voice, speech, and language. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) supports research and research training, including investigation into the etiology, pathology, detection, treatment, and prevention of disorders of hearing and other communication processes, primarily through the support of basic and applied research in anatomy, audiology, biochemistry, bioengineering, epidemiology, genetics, immunology, microbiology, molecular biology, the neurosciences, otolaryngology, psychology, pharmacology, physiology, psychophysics, speech-language pathology, and other scientific disciplines. The NIDCD supports: (1) Research into the evaluation of techniques and devices used in diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, and prevention of disorders of hearing and other communication processes; (2) research into prevention and early detection and diagnosis of hearing loss and speech, voice, and language disorders and research into preventing the effects of such disorders by means of appropriate referral and rehabilitation; (3) research into the detection, treatment, and prevention of disorders of hearing and other communication processes in the elderly population and its rehabilitation to ensure continued effective communication skills; and (4) research to expand knowledge of the effects of environmental agents that influence hearing or other communication processes.

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open and forecast opportunities

59 more opportunities are listed with all open grants from Department of Health and Human Services.

Rules from the program listing

Who can apply

Project Grants and Centers Grants: Any public, private, nonprofit, or for-profit institution is eligible to apply. For-profit institutions are not eligible for institutional National Research Service Awards. All proposals are reviewed for scientific merit, for evaluation of the qualifications of the investigators, for adequacy of the research and/or research training environment and for significance of the problem. Approved proposals compete for available funds. Awardees of almost all Research Career Development Programs must be citizens or have been admitted to the United States for permanent residence. Candidates must be nominated for the program by a nonfederal public or private nonprofit institution located in the United States, its possessions or Territories. To be eligible, postdoctoral NRSA trainees and fellows must have a professional or scientific doctoral degree (PhD, MD, DO, DC, DDS, DVM, OD, DPM, ScD, EngD, Dr PHPhD, MD, DO, DC, DDS, DVM, OD, DPM, ScD, EngD, Dr PH, DNSc, ND {Doctor of Naturopathy}, PharmD, DSW, PsyD, AUD or equivalent doctoral degree from an accredited domestic or foreign institution). SBIR grants can be awarded only to domestic small businesses (entities that are independently owned and operated for profit, and have no more than 500 employees). Primary employment (more than one-half time) of the principal investigator must be with the small business at the time of award and during the conduct of the proposed project.

Continue reading on SAM.gov

What the money can and cannot pay for

Project Grants and Centers Grants may be used to provide salaries, equipment, supplies, travel, and other expenses for research. The grantee institution is obliged to expend grant funds prudently for the purposes as stated in the application and award document. Some National Research Service Awards (NRSAs) are issued on behalf of an individual for research training in specified biomedical and behavioral research areas. Other training grants are made to institutions to enable them to make NRSAs to individuals selected by them. Each postdoctoral individual who receives an NRSA may be obligated, upon termination of the award, to comply with certain service and payback provisions. Mentored and unmentored career development awards are made to enhance the independent research capability of highly promising individuals during the formative stages of their careers. Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program: Phase I grants, typically 6 months in duration, are to establish the technical merit and feasibility of a proposed research effort that may lead to a commercial product or process. SBIR Phase II grants are for the continuation of the research efforts initiated in Phase I and that are likely to result in commercial products or processes. STTR Phase I grants, normally of 1-year duration, are to determine the scientific, technical, and feasibility of the proposed cooperative effort.

Continue reading on SAM.gov

Matching requirements

This program has no statutory formula. Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Award range and average, in the agency's words

Project Grants: FY23 - Ranged from $100 to $3.235,000; Average was $403,000.

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Funding history and past recipients

From fiscal 2021 to 2025, Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders (93.173) awarded $2.1 billion across 2,231 grant awards, an average of $925,005 per award.

Largest recipients, fiscal 2021 to 2025
RecipientStateAwardsAmount
The Johns Hopkins UniversityMaryland73$82.4 million
Massachusetts Eye and Ear InfirmaryMassachusetts41$78.9 million
The University of IowaIowa28$53.4 million
The Leland Stanford Junior UniversityCalifornia39$46.2 million
University of Wisconsin SystemWisconsin56$45.0 million
Oregon Health & Science UniversityOregon33$42.6 million
Trustees of Boston UniversityMassachusetts39$42.0 million
University of Pittsburgh - of the Commonwealth System of Higher EducationPennsylvania60$40.9 million
Regents of the University of MichiganMichigan37$40.3 million
Vanderbilt University Medical CenterTennessee34$38.3 million
The Regents of the University of California, San FranciscoCalifornia30$36.3 million
University of Southern CaliforniaCalifornia36$34.7 million
New York UniversityNew York37$34.3 million
University of RochesterNew York41$33.7 million
The Regents of the University of ColoradoColorado42$32.1 million
The General Hospital CorporationMassachusetts23$31.7 million
Yale UnivConnecticut32$30.9 million
University of California, San DiegoCalifornia26$29.4 million
The Trustees of the University of PennsylvaniaPennsylvania33$29.3 million
Northwestern UniversityIllinois22$28.7 million

Top states: Massachusetts ($249 million), California ($247 million), New York ($170 million), Pennsylvania ($125 million), Maryland ($115 million), Illinois ($82.5 million), Texas ($72.0 million), Ohio ($71.8 million), Tennessee ($64.6 million), Florida ($63.6 million).

Who usually wins

Colleges and universities received 77% of the money, nonprofits 16% and small businesses 3.9%.

Recipient typeAwardsAmountShare
Colleges and universities1,713$1.6 billion77%
Nonprofits314$326 million16%
Small businesses91$79.8 million3.9%
Other110$74.8 million3.6%
State and local governments2$665,394less than 0.1%
Tribal governments and organizations1$590,026less than 0.1%

By state

41 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.

Grants by recipient's state, fiscal 2021 to 2025
StateAwardsAmount
Massachusetts254$249 million
California233$247 million
New York208$170 million
Pennsylvania163$125 million
Maryland113$115 million
Illinois85$82.5 million
Texas95$72.0 million
Ohio80$71.8 million
Tennessee64$64.6 million
Florida68$63.6 million
Michigan53$56.5 million
Iowa30$54.7 million
Wisconsin67$52.7 million
South Carolina35$48.8 million
Indiana43$46.4 million
Oregon43$46.0 million
North Carolina57$44.8 million
Connecticut48$43.9 million
Missouri36$40.2 million
Washington48$39.6 million
Colorado48$33.0 million
Nebraska43$32.9 million
Minnesota32$32.8 million
Utah34$28.6 million
Arizona32$27.3 million
Georgia27$20.6 million
Virginia25$19.5 million
New Jersey19$15.8 million
District of Columbia27$15.7 million
Delaware12$13.4 million
Kentucky17$13.4 million
Rhode Island13$11.0 million
Louisiana5$7.7 million
Maine8$7.3 million
Alabama10$7.2 million
New Hampshire8$7.1 million
Kansas10$5.5 million
Arkansas7$4.9 million
Oklahoma3$3.4 million
New Mexico2$3.3 million
Mississippi4$3.3 million
Montana2$862,891
Nevada2$642,068
West Virginia1$418,865
Vermont2$376,251
Wyoming1$356,953

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.