Dissemination and Implementation Science Travel Award and Conference Event (DISTAnCE)

D&I and Its Importance

Dissemination and implementation science (D&I) research is intended to close the gaps between research, practice, and policy. This research uses D&I frameworks and methods to (a) understand the barriers in using evidence-based innovations in real-world settings and (b) facilitate the adoption, implementation, and sustainment of evidence-based innovations. More D&I research is needed to accelerate the translation of research findings into practice and policy to benefit the public.

Purpose

The purpose of the Dissemination and Implementation Science Travel Award and Conference Event (DISTAnCE) program is to prepare researchers across the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorder’s (NIDCD’s) seven mission areas (hearing, balance, taste, smell, voice, speech, and language) to achieve funding success for research grants that incorporate D&I. Newly expanded in 2026 through support from NIDCD Grant #U13DC023048 awarded to ASHA, the DISTAnCE program aims to achieve the following goals across NIDCD’s mission areas:

1. Increase the knowledge base of D&I principles and methodology
2. Increase the number of research grant proposals that incorporate D&I methods
3. Strengthen the community of D&I researchers
4. Raise awareness of D&I science to support the pipeline of D&I researchers

The DISTAnCE program is part of ASHA’s Academic & Research Mentoring (ARM) Network. The ARM Network offers programs for those who are considering, launching, and advancing academic-research careers in communication sciences and disorders (CSD). ASHA measures the impact of these programs by collecting participant outcomes data, including more detailed funding outcomes of ARM Network grant-writing program participants.

Eligibility Requirements

The program is intended for researchers who aim to lead high-impact D&I research that is funded by a federal agency. Applicants must meet all of the following eligibility requirements:

• Research Area: Have a research area aligned with NIDCD’s mission areas.
• Position: Hold a postdoctoral fellow or a faculty position of any rank (or an equivalent) with research expectations. Students are not eligible to apply.
• Publications: Have a record of peer-reviewed publications.
• Future Grant-Writing Plans: Be planning to submit—as the principal investigator (PI) and by the end of the year-long DISTAnCE program—a research grant proposal  that incorporates D&I methods.
• Prior Grant-Writing Experience: The purpose of this requirement is to demonstrate that you have research grant–writing experience, as this program is not designed to train participants in basic grant-writing skills. The prior proposal must have included, at a minimum, an abstract, specific aims, and the research strategy. As a PI, co-principal investigator (co-PI), or multiple principal investigator (MPI), you must have previously
  • applied for research funding* from a federal agency (e.g., National Institutes of Health [NIH], Institute of Education Sciences [IES], Department of Veterans Affairs [VA]). This includes a research grant of any size, a fellowship, or a career-development award. Awarding of funding is not required.

         OR

• • been awarded research funding* from your own institution (intramural) or a private foundation (e.g., ASHFoundation), a professional organization, or a state agency.

*The following grant mechanisms do not meet the prior grant-writing experience requirement: ASHA’s Advancing Academic-Research Careers (AARC) award or Culture, Language, and Identity Grant Program; National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) awards; loan repayment awards; scholarships; personnel preparation grants; community service grants; or any proposal for which your role is co-investigator or key personnel (i.e., your role is any role other than PI, co-PI, or MPI).

Individuals who participated in the original version of this program (2025 or earlier) are eligible to apply. When selecting participants, ASHA will give preference to those who have not previously participated.

View past participants.

Program Format

This year-long program includes mentoring, in-person and virtual education, community building, and support—all of which results in awardees submitting research grant proposals that incorporate D&I methods.

Specifically, the program offers the following key components:

• Pairing of the awardee with a mentor who has experience conducting D&I research. Each mentor will support two awardees.

• A 2-day workshop at the ASHA National Office followed by attending the AcademyHealth Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation in Health. The program provides funds to support the awardee’s and mentor’s joint attendance at the workshop and conference. The program will disburse funds after the conference.

      During the workshop, awardees will learn about

1. 1. selecting D&I frameworks, methods, outcomes measures, and stakeholder engagement practices appropriate for research within NIDCD mission areas;
   2. identifying their own needs for conducting D&I research within their own research programs and how to best leverage the AcademyHealth conference experience to meet those needs; and
   3. components of a research grant unique to D&I.

• Year-long virtual support—including virtual meetings before and after the in-person workshop and conference, an online community, and mentoring to assist awardees in completing their grant proposals.

Program Requirements

Each awardee and each mentor must complete the following tasks:

• Attend the in-person 2026 workshop at ASHA in Rockville, Maryland, on December 11–12.
• Register for and attend the 2026 AcademyHealth Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation in Health on December 13–16, 2026, at the Gaylord National in National Harbor, Maryland.
• Meet in person during the conference to discuss information learned.
• Throughout the year after the conference:
• Participate in virtual mentoring focused on completion of the awardee’s research grant proposal that incorporates D&I methods. The first step is to jointly develop a 1-year plan of milestones resulting in the proposal’s completion and submission. Individuals will determine mentoring frequency and format.
• Participate in virtual program meetings.

In addition, the awardee must complete the following tasks:

• Within 1 month of the AcademyHealth conference, submit to ASHA a follow-up report that includes a 1-year plan of research grant proposal milestones.
• By the end of the year-long DISTAnCE program:
• Share—for example, through a lecture, seminar, article, or presentation—the information learned at the conference with your professional community.
• Submit a research grant proposal that incorporates D&I methods.
• At the end of the program, submit to ASHA a final progress report.

How to Apply

To apply for the DISTAnCE program, access the online application system during the application period, which opens in April. Complete the online form, upload all of the application materials, and submit the entire application by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday, June 1, 2026.

Page limits do not include references. Pages should be formatted in 12-point font and single-spaced with 1-inch margins. All application materials must be uploaded as PDFs.

Application Materials

1. Personal Narrative (limit 3 pages). The Personal Narrative should address all of the following topics:

• • An experience that made you realize that generating evidence alone was not enough to change practice or improve outcomes. How did that experience shape your interest in implementation science?
  • Your prior research and/or educational efforts (e.g., training or conferences that you attended) that enhanced your readiness to conduct D&I research.
  • Ways in which you plan to apply D&I methods to your current program of research.
  • Your experience in building relationships with the community you seek to engage (e.g., clinical partnerships, community-based dissemination activities).
  • What you hope to gain from the program.

2. Concept Paper (limit 2 pages). Prepare a Concept Paper for the D&I study that you propose to further develop into a research grant proposal through the DISTAnCE program. Describe the specific aims, research questions, and overall general approach, noting whether the project is focused on dissemination research, implementation research, or both. In addition, please describe the following details:

• • The innovation (e.g., health practice, program, intervention, or guideline) that will be the focus of your D&I study. Describe the existing evidence base supporting the innovation (if applicable), the target population for your proposed study, and the setting in which you plan to study the implementation or dissemination of the practice.
  • The implementation stage (e.g., pre-implementation, implementation, post-implementation/sustainment) of your planned research and the research-to-practice gap you are addressing (e.g., Who needs to do what differently? What will your research do to better understand or reduce the gap?).
  • The type of study design and research methods that you might use to study the implementation or dissemination of the evidence-based practice, program, or policy. This includes your proposed D&I theory, model, or framework and any other core D&I research elements (e.g., implementation research logic model).

In the application, you will need to list the agency and mechanism to which you plan to submit the proposal by the end of the year-long program.

The following studies do not meet the intended purpose of this program and will not be considered:

a. Studies that fail to integrate core D&I research elements (e.g., D&I theories, models, and frameworks; D&I strategies; D&I outcomes and outcome measures; community-engaged research; qualitative and mixed-methods research; or health disparity theories and methods)

b. Studies that focus solely on efficacy or effectiveness research without any D&I elements

3. Curriculum Vitae (CV) (limit 5 pages). Tailor your CV so that it (a) supports your Personal Narrative and (b) demonstrates your readiness to conduct the study outlined in your Concept Paper. It should include—at a minimum—these components:

a. Research Experience

b. Clinical and/or Community Experience

c. Peer-Reviewed Publications

d. Funded Grants

4. Dissemination Plan (limit 1 page). Your Dissemination Plan should address how, by the end of the year-long DISTAnCE program, you will share (e.g., lecture, seminar, article, or presentation) the information that you learned at the conference with members of your professional community.

If you have any questions, please contact ASHA’s Academic Affairs & Research Education (AARE) team at research@asha.org.