When it was housed at the American Institutes for Research (AIR), from October 2015 through February 2021, the KTER Center worked to identify National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR)-funded and others’ research findings that improve the lives of individuals with disabilities. Armed with this critical research, the Center determined what informational needs were most pressing for stakeholders such as individuals with disabilities and their families, vocational rehabilitation practitioners, the business community, and policy makers.

Leaders of organizations, research experts in the disability community, and consumers alike committed to participate in our activities to ensure the Center’s work was useful and relevant to the end-users. The KTER Center partnered with the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR) to gain the most comprehensive understanding of vocational rehabilitation.

To help stakeholders meet their identified needs within those areas, the KTER Center investigated and tested knowledge translation (KT) strategies. The Center also provided technical assistance to grantees to plan and engage in KT activities. The Center aimed to enhance grantees' understanding of KT strategies, and then support them to conduct their own research, development, and dissemination. Dissemination activities highlighted the NIDILRR grantees’ work, and the Center actively promoted KTER activities and products to ensure utilization. Lastly, the KTER Center promoted collaboration among NIDILRR-funded researchers in the employment field, and between these researchers and their target audiences that can benefit from their research findings.