Office of AD/ADRD Strategic Coordination (OASC)

National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA)

In January 2011, the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA) was signed into law, calling for a coordinated national plan to accelerate research on AD/ADRD and to provide better clinical care for persons living with dementia and their care partners.

The National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease established six ambitious goals to both prevent future cases of AD/ADRD, and to better meet the needs of the millions of American families currently facing this disease.

• Prevent and effectively treat AD/ADRD by 2025.
• Enhance care quality and efficiency.
• Expand supports for people with AD/ADRD and their families.
• Enhance public awareness and engagement.
• Improve data to track progress.
• Accelerate action to promote healthy aging and reduce risk factors for AD/ADRD.

May and June 2022 marked the 10th Anniversary of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease. Within these past 10 years, NAPA and its federal partners, including NIH, have reached many milestones that have contributed to the overall goal of the Plan.

Research Implementation Milestones

The AD/ADRD Research Implementation Milestones represent a research framework detailing specific steps and success criteria toward achieving the goal of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease : to treat and prevent AD and ADRDs by 2025.

The milestones were developed based on recommendations from over 350 leading academic and industry experts, innovators, and public advocates participating in the above-mentioned Research Summits.

The milestone database is updated annually to inform the development of the annual NIH Alzheimer’s Disease Professional Judgement Budget .

AD Professional Judgement Budget

NIH annually submits to the President, and then Congress, a Professional Judgement Budget that estimates the additional funding needed to most effectively leverage promising scientific opportunities in dementia research. The current report can be found on the Dementia Research Progress Reports and Professional Judgement Budget Proposals page.

National Research Summit on Care, Services, and Supports for Persons with Dementia and their Care Partners/Caregivers (Dementia Care and Caregiving Research Summit)

In conjunction with the Department of Health and Human Services as part of the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA), the National Institute on Aging (NIA) hosts a triennial Dementia Care and Caregiving Research Summit. This Research Summit is planned in coordination with the Alzheimer’s Research Summits , and the Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Dementia Summits in response to the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease .

Each summit provides an opportunity for individuals to share perspectives about critical scientific gaps and opportunities that reflect critical scientific priorities for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD) research. The summits can inform updates to the NIH AD+ADRD Research Implementation Milestones that address the National Plan.

• The first National Research Summit on Care, Services, and Supports for Persons with Dementia and Their Caregivers took place on October 16-17, 2017.
• The second care-focused summit was held virtually in the summer of 2020.
• The third Dementia Care and Caregiving Research Summit took place virtually on March 20-22, 2023.

Strategic Partnerships and Outreach

OASC works collaboratively with NIA Divisions and Offices, NIH Institutes and Centers, Federal partners, and external stakeholders to share scientific information and forge partnerships in support of AD/ADRD.