Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), administered under CFDA 93.433, awarded a $160,000 Project Grant effective September 1, 2025, through August 31, 2026, to implement and evaluate the Inclusive Community Exercise Training (ICET) program at a community-based recreation facility in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The ICET is a disability competency e-learning course designed to address persistent barriers to physical activity participation among community-dwelling adults with disabilities. The program delivers training to all facility staff—regardless of role—to enhance their knowledge of disability, attitudes toward inclusion, and confidence in creating accessible physical activity experiences. This intervention targets organizational change by evaluating impacts on staff competency levels and facility-wide accessibility, inclusivity, and organizational readiness for disability inclusion.

The primary deliverable is a one-year implementation and evaluation study assessing ICET's effectiveness at both the individual staff level and the organizational level within the recreation facility. The project aligns with NIDILRR's community living and participation outcome domain, with long-term implications for improving health outcomes and functional ability among people with disabilities. By shifting focus from individual behavior change to organizational and interpersonal barriers, the project addresses gaps in current intervention approaches and supports the reduction of environmental barriers to community-based physical activity participation.