Community Engagement Pilot Program

The Office of Community Engagement (OCE) in the School of Medicine is soliciting applications for Pilot Grants for Community-engaged research projects. The projects must have a community engagement component. Research teams new to community engaged research are encouraged to apply. Please note, a community co-PI with equal decision-making authority is required to be part of proposals.

Proposals should specifically address any or all of the following, as much as feasible:

1. Health equity and working with under-resourced communities and communities of color, broadly defined.
2. Demonstrate knowledge of community-engaged research (CEnR) and/or community-based participatory research (CBPR) best practices.
3. How the research team plans to engage community partners
4. How the proposed project is responsive to community partners’ needs
5. How research teams will resolve conflicts that arise during the project period

For research teams looking to identify community partners, the Office of Community Engagement maintains a database of community-based organizations. The table below includes organizations that have submitted project proposals to the Office of Community Engagement (projects are current as of September 2020. We encourage interested teams to reach out to OCE staff prior to initiating conversations with prospective partners listed on the table below.

The Office of Community Engagement provides leadership, resources, and valuable guidance for our partners, Stanford researchers, and Stanford Centers and departments through short- and long-term technical assistance and activities throughout the year. Community Engagement Seed Grantees are offered one year of free, in-depth or long-term technical assistance to spur growth for projects to generate future funding and research.

1. Wallerstein, N., Duran, B., Oetzel, J., & Minkler, M. (2018). Community-Based Participatory Research for Health: Advancing Social and Health Equity (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass.

2. Shendo, K., Tosa, J., Tafoya, G., Belone, L., Rae, R., Wallerstein, N., (2012). The Family Listening Program, the process and outcomes from a CBPR University-Tribal Partnership. I.H.S. Provider, 37(8); 185-191.

3. Ortiz, K., Shea, J., Nash, L., Oetzel, J., Garoutte, J., Sanchez-Youngman, S., & Wallerstein, N. (2020). Partnerships, processes, and outcomes: A health equity-focused scoping meta-review of community-engaged scholarship. Annual Review of Public Health, 41, 177-199.

Total funding available: $75,000 for an anticipated total of 2-3 awardees. Typical grants will range between $15,000 and $30,000 for one year and must be completed in that timeframe. All unexpended funds will be forfeited if not spent within the 12-month award period. The Office of Community Engagement encourages investigators to consider submitting requests less than the $30,000 maximum, as this may increase the probability of being funded and will enable the award of more grants in this cycle.

Open to Stanford faculty with PI eligibility (with UTL, MCL, NTLR faculty appointments.), Clinical Educator (CE) faculty, clinical instructors, instructors, graduate students and postdoctoral scholars (clinical and non-clinical) are required to include a PI-eligible faculty member as co-PI on the application. A community partner is required to be co-PI on the application.

Request for Proposals released:  September 18, 2020

Deadline for Proposal Submissions:  October 19, 2020

Selection of Finalists:  November 1, 2020

Funding Cycle:  December 1, 2020
 

Letter of Intent (LOI) Submission

Letter of Intent (LOI) Submission

Format:

• Page specifications
• • 8.5 x 11” page size
  • At least 0.50” margins on all sides
  • At least 11-point font size
• Save your documents as PDFs to upload to Qualtrics (online submission)

Applications Must Include The Following Information:

• A cover sheet that includes:
  • Title of proposal
  • PI name title, email and department
  • Mentor name (if applicable)
  • Co-investigator names, emails and departments – a representative of a community partner organization is required to be co-PI
  • Amount of funding requested
• Background, Specific aims, and Methodology (3-page limit, 11-point Arial font; Standard NIH format).
  • Please submit background/ statement of need, specific aims, and methodology addressing the any or all of the following, as much as feasible:
    • Health equity and working with under-resourced communities and communities of color, broadly defined.
    • Demonstrate knowledge of community-engaged research (CEnR) and/or community-based participatory research (CBPR) best practices
    • How the research team plans to engage community partners
    • How the proposed project is responsive to community partners’ needs
    • How research teams will resolve conflicts that arise during the project period
• NIH Biosketches:  NIH Biosketches are required for the PI, Co-PI, and for each Key Personnel involved in the Pilot Project (One paragraph maximum each person; not part of page limit).
• NIH Budget:  Allowable expenditures include: investigator’s salary, research personnel salaries, travel (if project-related) and project supplies. These grants do not include indirect costs expenses. Capital equipment costing more than $5,000, intellectual property services, and food are unallowable expenses.
• NIH Budget Justification:  Your budget justification should provide an explanation of factors used to determine costs on each budget line item in your proposal.
• Letter of Support:  From faculty mentor or department chair; letter of support from community co-PI is also required.
• Note:
• • References may be included and are not part of the page limit.
  • Applications that do not comply with the requirements will not be considered for review.

The award process is as follows:

• Proposal submission.
•  Finalists notified and projects submit for *NIH-NCATS prior approval
• Awardees will be notified, and grants will be formally awarded (December 1, 2020)
• Presentation of Research Findings: Awardees will be required to present research through poster at the annual Stanford University Community Health Symposium.

Although a proposal may span several areas, projects will be awarded only one Stanford CTSA Pilot Grant per annual grant cycle.

*NIH NCATS Prior Approval: The Spectrum Community Engagement Pilot Program is required to comply with the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) policy regarding research subject to review by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) or the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). According to the NIH Policy, all Spectrum funded Pilot and KL2 projects involving human subjects and/or live vertebrate animals (and/or any substitution of one animal model for another) are required to secure prior approval from NCATS before funds can be released and project work can begin. This process enables NCATS to ensure that human subjects are protected and appropriate data safety monitoring is used. For live vertebrate animals, this process ensures that studies comply with Public Health Service (PHS) Policy on Human Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Because of the complexities surrounding the Prior Approval process, it is highly recommended that Pilot awardees and KL2 scholars schedule a consultation with Ashley Dunn (adunn2@stanford.edu or 650-497-7032), to discuss the documentation required for your project.

Pilot Grant Application Requirements and Awardee Policies

For questions regarding application process and requirements, contact:

• Spectrum Pilot Program Manager

For questions regarding scope of the proposal, criteria for awards, or the review process, contact:

• Associate Director for Community Partnerships