The Orthotics & Prosthetics Foundation for Education and Research (The O&P Foundation) is proud to announce its 2026 funding programs, designed to strengthen the profession and advance high-quality, patient-centered care across the orthotics, prosthetics, and pedorthics continuum.
Through scholarships, research grants, professional awards, and workforce development initiatives, our 2026 programs support learners, clinicians, care extenders, and researchers at every stage of their careers. These investments focus on expanding access to education and training, advancing evidence-based practice, fostering innovation, and preparing the O&P workforce to meet growing patient needs in an evolving healthcare environment.
Stay connected with The O&P Foundation to find out about additional programs and funding opportunities to be announced throughout the year!
EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Fuel the Future of O&P Scholarships
This program supports annual $20,000 academic scholarships to extraordinary students enrolled full time in a Master’s program in Orthotics and & Prosthetics. The Fuel the Future scholars demonstrate outstanding promise and a commitment to elevating patient care and professional practice in O&P. These highly competitive awards recognize students shaping the future of the profession through excellence, integrity, and commitment to service.
The scholarship funds are accompanied by complimentary registration and a featured speaking opportunity at both the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists (AAOP) Annual Meeting & Scientific Symposium and the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association (AOPA) National Assembly; providing national visibility and a powerful platform to share their voice and build their impact.
ABC | Chester Haddan Scholar Award
The ABC Chester Haddan Scholarship, honors the legacy of Chester Haddan, CPO- ABC’s first President and a champion of professional excellence and leadership in O&P.
This annual scholarship has doubled this year, providing a $5,000 award to a highly motivated student enrolled full time in a Master’s program in Orthotics and Prosthetics (O&P) who demonstrates exceptional leadership potential and a commitment to making a transformative impact in the O&P profession. The Chester Haddan Scholar embodies the values of service, innovation, and dedication to elevating professional standards and patient outcomes across. OP&P
Access to Care | Workforce Development Scholarships
As O&P clinics across the country face growing clinical staffing shortages, these development scholarships expand opportunities for emerging professionals to access to high-quality education and training pathways to strengthen the pipeline of skilled clinical staff entering the OP&P profession. The O&P Foundation is investing in O&P workforce development, to improve patient access, and the long-term sustainability of orthotic, prosthetic, and pedorthic care.
Financial support through these scholarships will help remove barriers, accelerate entry for these critical roles and ensure that more patients receive the timely, high-quality evidence-based care orthotic, prosthetic, and pedorthic care they deserve.
O&P Assistants
This new annual program offers $5000 scholarships available to individuals pursuing certification as a Certified Assistant (COA, CPA, or CPOA) through one of American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics and Pedorthics (ABC) three current pathways. These scholarships provide funding for pre-certification educational expenses, academic courses, and/or stipends for clinical hour completion.
Pedorthists
This new annual program offers $5000 scholarships available to individuals pursuing certification as a Certified Pedorthist (CPed) through the American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics and Pedorthics (ABC). The scholarship supports expenses associated with pre-certification pedorthic education and training requirements from ABC approved Pedorthic programs.
Margy Imlay Memorial Scholarship Award
We have partnered with the Board for Certification/Accreditation (BOC) to honor Margy Imlay, a leader, advocate, and compassionate caregiver, with a $1600 scholarship supporting individuals pursuing BOC certification as a Certified Mastectomy Fitter (CMF) who emulate her spirit of service, dedication, and professionalism.
This scholarship program seeks to continue Margy’s legacy by supporting the full education and training of future generations of CMF caregivers.
Elevate to Educate Scholarship
This new funding opportunity is designed to support orthotics and prosthetics educators and faculty pursuing advanced degrees. As the profession grows, so does the need for highly prepared instructors who can elevate the quality of O&P education and ensure future clinicians are trained to the highest standards.
This $7,500 scholarship invests directly in the people who shape the next generation of O&P clinicians. By empowering educators to expand their expertise, through doctoral, or other advanced accredited academic programs, we strengthen the foundation of O&P training, reinforce evidence-based teaching, and ultimately enhance the quality of patient care.
When educators grow, the profession rises. The Educate to Elevate Scholarship helps ensure that O&P faculty have the tools, credentials, and support needed to inspire innovation, advance clinical training standards, and prepare a workforce ready to deliver high quality care.
NCOPE Larry Lange | Resident Travel Awards
We are proud to partner with the National Commission for Orthotic and Prosthetic Education (NCOPE) to offer $2,000 awards supporting the professional development of O&P residents.
These awards are intended to help outstanding residents or recent graduates of an NCOPE-accredited O&P Residency Program access national professional conferences that strengthen clinical excellence, expand professional networks, and enhance long-term career growth and potential.
The program recognizes individuals who demonstrate exceptional commitment to the O&P profession through continued learning, leadership, service, and engagement, and aims to support their active involvement in advancing the profession.
Learn more about these education programs: https://oandpfoundation.org/education/
RESEARCH GRANTS
Pilot Research Grant
This grant program supports investigators in launching innovative research projects that can serve as strong foundations for future, larger-scale funding from agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), and the Department of Defense (DOD).
This annual $30,000 award is granted based on the project’s scientific rigor, clinical relevance, and alignment with the O&P Foundation’s research priorities, with the goal of accelerating impactful work that advances the field of orthotics, prosthetics, and pedorthics.
Early Career Research Grant
This grant program empowers emerging investigators to launch lines of research that can grow into competitive proposals for major funding agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), and the Department of Defense (DOD).
Designed for researchers within ten years of completing their terminal degree, this annual $30,000 award supports projects that demonstrate strong scientific merit, clear clinical relevance, and meaningful alignment with the O&P Foundation’s research priorities.
By investing in early career scholars, the O&P Foundation aims to accelerate discovery, strengthen the evidence base, and cultivate the next generation of leaders in orthotics, prosthetics, and pedorthics research.
AOPA Sponsored Research Grant
We are offering a grant program sponsored by the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association (AOPA), supporting research that accelerates the work of the Socket Guidance Workgroup (SGW); an international, multidisciplinary initiative to define standardized methods for evaluating prosthetic socket structural integrity and quality, including load capacity, fatigue resistance, and failure thresholds.
This grant program provides a one year grant up to $50,000 to advance the evidence base required to establish validated, industry-recognized socket testing standards. By closing critical evidence gaps, this initiative will directly inform future ISO-aligned testing protocols, improve safety and quality assurance, support manufacturers in socket design performance, and enhance clinical, regulatory, and payer confidence in prosthetic care.
Mentored Pilot Research Grant
This annual program provides one-year grants of $5,000 to support early career scientists and emerging investigators including master’s and doctoral students, O&P residents, and practicing clinicians, as they complete a focused research project under the guidance of an experienced research mentor.
Projects must demonstrate strong scientific merit, clear clinical relevance, and alignment with The O&P Foundation’s research priorities. This program is designed to strengthen early research skills, foster meaningful mentorship, and generate preliminary data that can support future, larger-scale funding opportunities and development for the investigators.
Microgrants
This one-year, $2,000 grant program enables health care professionals, researchers, students, and residents to pursue high-impact quality improvement projects that seek to impact care delivery and patient outcomes.
Designed to spark new directions and accelerate early-stage work, microgrants support activities that directly impact orthotic, prosthetic, and/or pedorthic patient care.
Awards are offered twice per year, in the Spring and Fall, and are selected based on the clinical relevance, feasibility, and alignment with the O&P Foundation research priorities.
Research Poster Awards
This new program recognizes an excellent research poster by an orthotics and prosthetics student or resident that demonstrates a strong research design, compelling presentation and potential for impact on orthotic, prosthetic, and/or pedorthic practice.
The initiative supports a $1000 award and a matched mentor engagement opportunity and aims to highlight and empower emerging professionals, to encourage research dissemination, and strengthen the future of evidence-driven OP&P care.
*Conference Dissemination Fund
The O&P Foundation maintains a conference dissemination fund available to support the sharing and communication of O&P Foundation-funded research activities and findings. Grant recipients who were awarded $5000 or more are eligible to request dissemination funds.
These funds are available for request during the three years following the active grant period and cover up to $2000 in expenses associated with dissemination activities such as conference travel and accommodations. Funds can be requested upon confirmation of conference abstract acceptance.
These funds may not be used for publication fees or other expenses not associated with presentation of research findings at a conference.
Learn more about these research programs: https://oandpfoundation.org/research/
PROFESSIONAL AWARDS
Access to Practice | Professional Development Awards
We are proud to offer theses Professional Development Awards, supporting clinical professionals in strengthening their skills, expanding their professional networks, and advancing high-quality patient care.
In partnership with AAOP, AOPA and PFA this program fully supports recipients to attend national professional OP&P conferences. These awards ensure that these critical members of the care team have access to leading professional education to enhance the quality of patient care, encourage continuous practice improvement and deepen their connection to their professional community.
O&P Assistants
This new program offers a $2000 stipend award per conference annually to support Orthotic & Prosthetic Assistants in deepening their clinical knowledge and advancing their professional development by reducing barriers to access to national education, hands-on learning, and clinical collaboration that directly strengthen patient care.
Pedorthists
This new program offers a $2000 stipend award per conference annually to support Pedorthists in expanding their expertise, connecting with peers, and expanding their networks within the OP&P community. This opportunity ensures that pedorthic professionals can participate in leading national education and return to their communities with strengthened skills, new perspectives, and improved patient-care practices.
Ken Chagnon Technical Development Award
The Ken Chagnon fund provides a $2,000 development award to support Orthotic & Prosthetic technicians in attending professional conferences or advanced training programs.
Orthotic, prosthetic and pedorthic technicians play a vital role in ensuring timely access to high-quality patient care. As the field faces growing technician shortages and increasing demand for services, these awards help strengthen skills, expand professional development, and support the advancement of high-quality fabrication and technical practice.
Funds may be used toward conference participation, specialized workshops, or other technical education that enhances professional growth and improves patient access, efficiency, and quality of care.
OP&P Healthcare Quality Fellowship
This new funding initiative supports OP&P professionals in pursuing formal training and recognized credentials in healthcare quality, and process improvement.
The program offers a $2,000 award for professional credentials in healthcare quality or process improvement, and a $5,000 award to support enrollment in a certificate or graduate-level program in healthcare quality. Open to all OP&P professionals, the Fellowship aims to build a network of leaders who are equipped to elevate care standards, strengthen clinical outcomes, and advance value-driven patient care across the OP&P profession.
Doctoral Training Awards
This program supports the next generation of clinician–scientists whose research will shape the future of evidence-based OP&P care. Many certified orthotists, prosthetists, and pedorthists who pursue doctoral training step away from direct clinical practice and face challenges in maintaining their professional engagement and credentials during this transition.
This program provides up to $1,000 to support ABC-certified CPOs, CPs, COs, or CPeds actively enrolled in a PhD program.
These funds help offset costs related to professional memberships, continuing education requirements, and participation in OP&P conferences; ensuring that doctoral trainees remain connected to the clinical community while advancing clinically relevant research that will directly improve patient care.
Learn more about these professional awards programs: https://oandpfoundation.org/professional-awards/
