May 6, 2026
Funding Opportunity: Rural Residency Planning and Development
The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) supported Rural Residency Planning and Development Program (RRPD) provides start-up funding to grant recipients to create accredited rural residency programs in a qualifying medical specialty as well as FORHP-funded technical assistance for Rural Graduate medical Education at RuralGME.org for the duration of their project period.
These residency programs are then sustained long-term through viable and stable funding mechanisms, such as Medicare and in states where there is a viable path of support, through Medicaid or other consistent state funding.
Research has shown that physicians from a rural background and those trained in rural settings are more likely to continue practicing in rural areas after completing their residencies.
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has 11.25 million to award up to 15 awardees up to $750,000 for a 3-year grant period (August 1, 2026 – July 31, 2029) to develop new, sustainable rural residency programs.
Applications are due Tuesday, June 2 at 11:59 p.m. EST in Grants.gov. A technical assistance webinar is available for more information. It is recommended you subscribe to the NOFO on Grants.gov to receive updates when documents are posted.
Click Here to see Notice of Funding Opportunity on Grants.gov
Click Here to see Profiles of current and past RRPD Program Grantees
Click Here to go to RuralGME.org