Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute

Community-Engaged Research Center

Alliance for Research in Chicagoland Communities (ARCC)

Seed Grants Round 3 Request for Proposals

Community-Academic Partnerships to Improve Community Health

Required Letter of Intent: December 4, 2009

Invited Full Proposal Submission Date: February 26, 2010

For a PDF of this Request for Proposals, click here.

Materials from October 22^nd Seed Grant Information Workshop:

Slides

Handouts

Alliance for Research in Chicagoland Communities (ARCC)

ARCC’s mission is “growing equitable and collaborative partnerships between Chicago area communities and Northwestern University for research that leads to measureable improvement in community health.” ARCC is a program of the Community-Engaged Research Center of the Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Science (NUCATS) Institute. NUCATS is funded by the National Institutes of Health. Learn more at www.nucats.northwestern.edu/centers/cerc/

Why Community-Based Participatory Research?

ARCC supports and promotes research that is conducted using a community-based participatory (CBPR) approach. CBPR:

• begins with a research topic of importance to the community;
• is a collaborative approach to research that equitably involves all partners in the research process and recognizes the unique strengths that each brings;
• promotes co-learning and capacity building among all partners; and
• has the aim of combining knowledge with action and achieving social change.

By combining the knowledge and interests of communities with the expertise and resources of academics, the CBPR approach aims to increase the value of research for both and produce new perspectives, insights, and approaches to improving the health of the community. To access ARCC’s CBPR principles, visit: http://www.nucats.northwestern.edu/centers/cerc/CBPR/ARCC.html

What is the ARCC Seed Grant Program Purpose and Scope?  The program seeks to:

1. build the capacity of communities and Northwestern University academic partners to engage in authentic collaborative research partnerships;
2. enhance networks and infrastructure that will promote community-engaged research that not only takes place in the community, but involves the community; and
3. conduct preliminary work that will lead to research projects that will provide information critical to enhancing community health.  

Because ARCC’s priority is to address health risk and health status disparities based upon race, ethnicity, and community characteristics (e.g., income), proposals that address health disparities and/or improve health equity of Chicagoland communities that experience health disparities will have an advantage in obtaining funding.

What types of projects might be of interest? The ARCC Seed Grants program will award two types of grants:

1) Partnership building grants: These should be submitted by newly developing or potential partnerships between community-based organizations and Northwestern University academics and can focus on partnership development, including such activities as:

• building relationships between partners (e.g. structured discussion meetings to learn more about partners, identification and outreach to potential additional key partners, methods for incorporating input from stakeholder groups),
• exploring areas of shared interest and compatible skills (e.g. organized process for identifying partnership priorities/focus, determination of feasibility of CBPR approach for potential research projects/partners, planned strategies for necessary partner capacity-building to support collaboration- training/conference, materials, consultation),
• defining roles and responsibilities of various partners (e.g. methods for delineating tasks in future planned collaboration based on partner interest, capacity, research objectives),
• developing community boards and/or other appropriate partnership infrastructure (e.g. development of processes, communication mechanisms, agreements, policies and procedures to support research collaboration), and
• planning future research collaboration and project development proposals (e.g. identification of potential funding sources, planning and/or community needs assessment activities related to proposal/project development, selection and design of appropriate methods or intervention, proposal preparation).

Partnership grant applicants must include a clear path to future research projects and related proposals for funding by external sources.

2) CBPR implementation grants: These should be submitted by established partnerships between community-based organizations and Northwestern University academic partners and should focus on specific participatory research projects such as:

• community assessments (e.g. map community assets and strengths) or collecting data through methods such as surveys or focus groups, (e.g. development of feasible tools and methods),  
• analysis of existing data (e.g. collaborative review and interpretation of available or previously collected data),
• building community capacity for conducting research (e.g. hiring and training community members to recruit research participants, collect data, and/or deliver intervention)
• translation of research findings (e.g. development of appropriate dissemination methods to community audiences; or partnership and larger community discussions about possible actions to address issues identified by the findings) or
• assessing how the partnership is doing or assessing barriers (methodological, implementation, dissemination, translation) and exploring strategies for overcoming them (e.g. development or refinement of supportive partnership processes or infrastructure, planned strategies for necessary partner capacity-building, evaluation of partnership process). 

Implementation grant applicants must explain how the proposed project will lead to future study proposals, which will have a high likelihood of attracting funding by external sources.

Most CBPR implementation grants will require Institutional Review Board review. The timeline of these proposals should allot 4-6 months for this review.

Information about proposals funded in the first two rounds of the ARCC Seed Grant Program is available here.

What is the funding level and how long is the project period?  A total of $110,000 is available. Partnership Building grants have a maximum amount of $10,000 per grant with a grant period duration of up to 12 months; CBPR Implementation grants have a maximum amount of $30,000 per grant and a grant period duration of up to 18 months. The requested project amounts and timeline should be designed to fit the needs described in the proposal. The number and amount of awarded grants will be based on the quantity and quality of submitted proposals. Award amounts will vary depending on the scale of the project.

Who can apply?  Proposals must seek to develop partnerships using an approach that reflects the CBPR principles as described above.

• A community-academic partnership is required for this RFP. Proposals must be submitted by a team that includes the participation of at least one community-based organization and at least one NU faculty member (regular or adjunct), fellow, or full-time graduate student. Each team must have one person designated as the “Community co-principal investigator (co-PI)” and one as the “Academic co-PI.” The co-PIs take leadership on the research project and ensure adequate representation of both community and scientific perspectives. Demonstration is required of both partners’ involvement in grant preparation and commitment to active participation in the funded program.
• Community co-PIs must be Chicagoland-based, non-profit, 501(c)(3) tax exempt community-based organizations (CBOs) including health, social service, and other community-based organizations; faith-based organizations; or voluntary associations or civic and citizen groups. Non-profit CBOs that do not have 501(c)(3) tax exempt status are eligible but must have a fiscal agent relationship with an organization that meets the above tax-exempt status.
• While collaboration with multiple partners (community-based organizations and/or academic institutions) is encouraged and expected, responsibility for implementation and the administration of the project lies with the identified lead organizations/Co-PIs (one community and one academic).
• Before receiving funding, community and academic co-PIs will be required to have participated in a training session on community-engaged research or have prior experience in community-engaged research.
• Students and fellows serving as Academic co-PI must provide a letter of support from their primary faculty mentor.
• Projects should focus within the Greater Chicagoland metropolitan area, including Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties.
• Partnerships that received Partnership Building grants in previous rounds of the ARCC Seed Grant program are not eligible to receive a second Partnership Building grant but may apply for a CBPR Implementation grant.

How do I know if my idea fits this request for proposals? Before submission, community and academic partners must contact ARCC staff to discuss the fit and feasibility of potential proposal ideas and/or for assistance in identifying and connecting with potential partners. Jen Kauper-Brown, phone 312-503-2942, j-kauper-brown@northwestern.edu or Virginia Bishop, phone 312-503-2614, vbishop@northwestern.edu

How will my proposal be evaluated? In this competitive process, letters of intent will be reviewed by ARCC staff and partners. A limited number of applicants will be invited to submit full applications. Full proposals will undergo peer review by both community and academic representatives with experience in and respect for community-academic collaboration and research. After review, proposal revisions may be requested (e.g., to clarify the proposal, make recommended changes, or revise the budget). Applicants will have 2 weeks to submit revisions.

ARCC is seeking proposals with strong science and strong partnerships.

Selection criteria include:

• Quality and feasibility of community and academic partner involvement and proposed partnership development program
• Importance of question being addressed, relevance to clear knowledge gaps, etc.
• Quality of the research methods that will be used
• Reasonable and realistic budget
• Evidence of application of basic CBPR principles and previous related experience
• Potential positive impact on community health
• Potential for future research collaboration and funding potential

Post Award Requirements: Grantees will be required to participate in a mid-term progress meeting, submit project and budget reports at project completion, and participate in a grantee presentation/education event. Further details will be included in the Full Proposal Submission Instructions to be posted shortly on this website.

How do I apply? A Letter of Intent (LOI) (2 pages or less) is required, including:

• Names, titles, and contact information of the co-PIs
• Brief description of project/partnership focus and plan, anticipated amount of request, and expected project timeline.
• Indication if this is a Partnership Building or CBPR Implementation proposal and brief discussion of why applicants are building a partnership or choosing a CBPR approach. CBPR Implementation proposals should indicate planned next steps for further research and external funding.
• Brief description of prior experience in community-engaged research or participation in training on community-engaged research

LOIs are due December 4, 2009 by 5:00 pm. Applicants will be notified of decisions regarding an invitation to submit a full proposal by mid-December. Applicants who are not invited to submit a full proposal will be given feedback on their LOI and offered technical assistance. Instructions for submitting invited full proposals will be available on this website. Submission: Submit electronically to j-kauper-brown@northwestern.edu or send an original and 4 copies to Attn: ARCC Seed Grant Round 2, 750 N Lake Shore, 11^th Floor, Chicago, IL 60611.

How can I find out more information?

Questions: Jen Kauper-Brown, ARCC Co-Director, j-kauper-brown@northwestern.edu,    Phone: 312-503-2942. Website: http://www.nucats.northwestern.edu/centers/cerc/.

Grant Information Workshop: ARCC will be offering a workshop on October 22, 2009, 10 am -12 pm at Lincoln-Belmont Public Library (1659 W Melrose St.) to give community partners and Northwestern University academic partners an overview of the Seed Grant program. This in-person workshop will provide a brief introduction to CBPR and an orientation to the grant application process. While attending the workshop is not required, it is strongly encouraged. RSVP to cerc@northwestern.edu. A conference call for applicants invited to submit full proposals will be held on January 14.

Technical Assistance: ARCC staff are eager to provide technical assistance in grant preparation and helping to broker potential community-academic partner connections.

CBPR Information: Visit the Community-Campus Partnerships for Health CBRP resource webpage at http://depts.washington.edu/ccph/commbas.html.  

Seed Grant Program Round 3 Timeline

The ARCC Seed Grant Program is one of several sponsored by the Community-Engaged Research Center of NUCATS. The Practice-Based Research Seed Grant Program fosters relationships between NU Academics and community clinicians and health centers. For more information, click here.

To learn more about Grantees from Rounds 1 and 2, click here. 

For a PDF of this Request for Proposals, click here.