REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The Cornell Center for Health Equity is pleased to request applications for 6-12-month community partnership building grants. We are able to support up to four project teams that aim to establish or strengthen collaborative partnerships that will enable meaningful involvement of community stakeholders in health equity research. Meaningful involvement may include activities such as identifying unanswered research questions that are of importance to marginalized and minoritized community members; ensuring equitable selection of participants; or sharing research findings with study participants and the community-at-large. 

The purpose of this funding opportunity is to form teams comprised of scientists, scholars, and community partners with the overall goal of enhancing collaboration. It seeks to enhance capacity to develop innovative research partnerships broadly related to health equity. This year, we are particularly interested in proposals that look at health equity from a public health perspective, including research related to systems and process improvements, and proposals that explore the role of racial justice in achieving health equity. Any topic that seeks to understand the sources of health disparities and how to overcome them is appropriate.  

Preference will be given to applicants who plan to submit a research proposal, for extramural or intramural funding, before the end of the grant period.

The center will host a town hall meeting to brief applicants about the application process, eligibility criteria and address any inquiries about the Pilot Project Grant and Community Partnership Building Grant.

Informational Town Hall Meeting:

Monday, February 27, 2023

2:00 - 3:00 PM EST

Registration Link

Project teams must include at least one representative from the community partner and at least one person who has a primary faculty appointment in any College of Cornell University, including Cornell Tech. The lead applicant should be the Cornell-affiliated individual. Applicants do not need to be current members of the Center for Health Equity to submit a proposal, but should apply for membership at the time of submission.

Awardees of a Cornell Center for Health Equity pilot grant, Weill Cornell Medicine Department of Medicine’s seed-grant, or Dean’s Diversity Award within the past 2 years are not eligible for this opportunity. 

For community partnerships with existing funding support, please explain any cost sharing. 

Applicants must be willing to present their work at the Center’s bi-campus monthly Health Equity Seminar series and/or the annual Symposium. Community partners are encouraged to participate.

Community engagement is central to the mission and vision of the Center for Health Equity. Outreach to the Center’s Community Engagement Core for advice is encouraged:

• Associate Directors of the Community Engagement and Advocacy Core
• Erica Phillips, MD ([email protected])
• Adam T Hughes, MPH ([email protected])
• Co-Associate Director of Student & Community Engagement
• Lara Parrilla, MPH ([email protected])

Budgets for pilot awards are limited to $5,000 total direct costs for a 6-12-month project period and can be used to support community partners, faculty, personnel, supplies, travel, or any other federally allowable costs that facilitate collaboration. Funds may not be used to support capital equipment or indirect costs. Awardees are expected to provide a short mid-cycle progress report and a final progress report within 90 days of the conclusion of the funding period.

Applications should be submitted as a single PDF to [email protected] by April 19, 2023, at 5:00 pm ET. For additional information on this opportunity, please contact Grace Figuereo, Cornell Center for Health Equity Coordinator, at [email protected].

Please use the provided application template with the set margins/font.

The submission materials include a 2-page proposal, in addition to a budget and CVs. 

1. Cover Page: Use the attached cover-page template.

2. Abstract (1⁄2 page limit): ): Describe how your proposal will establish or strengthen collaborative partnerships between community organizations and investigators on the Cornell University Ithaca and/or New York City campuses.

3. Novel Direction Statement (1/2 page limit): Describe how the proposed community partnership will enable novel research focused on achieving health equity and how it is not covered by any existing grant funding. 

4. Statement on Stakeholder Engagement (1/2 page limit): Include a brief statement on how community stakeholders were engaged in developing the proposal and how they could be engaged in a research team.

5. Intramural or Extramural Funding Plan (1/2 page limit): Brief plan for submission of an application for continued intramural or extramural support of the project. Plan should include a timetable for potential submission. Plan should highlight how seed funding will enhance the likelihood of success for funding.

6. References (no page limit) 

7. Budget (itemized) (no page limit)

8. Budget Justification (no page limit)

9. NIH-formatted biosketches for key personnel (preferred) or CVs (no page limit)

Awards will be chosen by the Center for Health Equity pilot grant selection committee. The PI will be notified via email in May if the project is selected for funding. The effective award date is July 1, 2023.

Proposals will be scored in the following categories:

Innovation and Significance:

Is the proposed community partnership innovative? Will it enable novel research focused on achieving health equity?

Stakeholder Engagement:

Were community stakeholders engaged in identifying a research topic area? Does the research topic address a community priority? What are the plans to meaningfully engage community stakeholders in a research team?

Intramural or Extramural Funding Plan:

Are potential funding mechanisms clearly identified? Is a timeline for submission of the grant provided?