Center 4 Health Research Funding Opportunities
Round 1 - Pilot Grant 2024 Heading link
Request for Proposals (RFP)
Important dates:
- RFP Release date: Monday, November 4
- LOIs due: Monday, January 6, 2025
- Invitations for full application: Monday, January 13, 2025
- Full applications due: Monday, March 3, 2025
- Award notification: Monday, April 14, 2025
- Award start date: Monday, June 2, 2025
Award Amount:
Up to $25,000 for one year
Description and Purpose Heading link
Description
The Center 4 Health Research (C4HR) is a strategic initiative launched by UICOMP. Establishing the C4HR is a visionary endeavor that promises to drive scientific progress, improve patient care, advance public health, and contribute to economic growth while solidifying the institution’s prominence in the Greater Peoria healthcare landscape. The center’s vision is to enhance overall health, promote equity within our local community, and initiate positive transformation through pioneering research, inventive programs, and productive partnerships with healthcare systems, academic institutions, and community organizations. The center’s mission is to cultivate pioneering, cross-disciplinary, and meaningful research and education to enhance the well-being of Greater Peoria’s most marginalized residents.
The C4HR pilot grant program aims to develop a collaborative framework for conducting focused and prioritized research in health equity, population health, and other high-priority areas in Greater Peoria. Partnerships with organizations, community, local organizations, and faculty from local academic institutions and healthcare organizations. Proposals will be evaluated by blind reviewers, identified by the C4HR Steering Committee, which will then provide recommendations on funding based on reviewers’ comments. The Director of the C4HR will make final decisions on funding.
Purpose
This grant program aims to support exploratory and developmental research projects that aim to catalyze programs of research that improve health outcomes and healthcare quality and that address issues related to health disparities, access to healthcare, affordability, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of health service delivery systems across the continuum of care. The C4HR recognizes the significant health disparities facing Greater Peoria, and therefore, proposals focused on health disparities, mainly related to health equity, are encouraged.
Research Topics of Interest to C4HR
Please note that these topics are not listed in rank order. Regardless of the topic, research questions should be sufficiently justified by a rigorous gap analysis described in an existing systematic review, clinical guideline, or a de novo systematic review. Applications focused on basic science research will not be accepted. The high-priority areas for this round of pilot funding are the following, although applications addressing other health topics are still welcome:
- Cancer
- Cardiovascular diseases, including obesity, diabetes, and hypertension
- Opioids and alcohol addiction disorders
- Mental health
- Maternal and child health
Healthcare disparities refer to differences in access to or availability of services. Health disparities refer to the preventable variation in rates of disease occurrence and disabilities between socioeconomic and geographically defined population groups. Health disparities research can examine the 1) development of illness or disability, 2) ability to obtain and utilize healthcare, and 3) health and healthcare outcomes. Applicants are encouraged to include community-engaged and implementation science methodology where applicable.
A total of $50,000 is available from a generous donor for the pilot funding program. The maximum allowed funding per approved proposal is $25,000 for a year. Additional financing may be provided based on project progress reports and available funds. The decision on further funding will be made and approved by the C4HR Steering Committee.
Proposal Guidelines
- The Principal Investigator (PI) must be a UICOMP faculty. Co-PIs and co-investigators can be from other organizations, including community organizations and healthcare systems. Preference will be given to early-career or novice faculty (at the assistant professor level) and/or those who have not been successful with CHA or ARCHES applications. All applications must be jointly prepared by the research teams involved.
- Multiple investigators from the same discipline may apply. However, participation by investigators with complementary areas of expertise from different disciplines is strongly encouraged.
- An investigator may submit only one proposal as PI but may be a collaborator on other proposals.
- Projects should be for new research areas to expand extramural funding opportunities for the investigators within their areas of expertise.
- PIs will be responsible for obtaining data requiring chart reviews or case reports.
- Proposals should explain the proposed study’s data source(s) and indicate the hypotheses and analytical plan of the study.
- If the project currently has external funding, the proposal should explain why additional funding is needed.
Review Criteria
Grant awards will be based on the NIH review criteria:
Significance
- The project is consistent with the Center’s goals
- Project addresses important health-related issue(s)
- Overall project goals will advance scientific knowledge
- Successful project completion will support obtaining extramural funding for future research initiatives
Investigator(s)
- PIs, collaborators, and other researchers provide evidence of research experience and in the research topic
- For collaborations, the unique skill(s) of each collaborator enhances the possibility of success
Innovation
- Project incorporates novel concepts, approaches, or methodologies
- Refinement, improvement, or new application of approaches or methodologies is proposed
Approach
- Overall strategy, methodology, and analyses are well-reasoned and appropriate to accomplish the specific project aims
- Potential problems, alternative strategies, and benchmarks for success are presented
- How the findings will enhance the ability to obtain extramural funding and support the objectives of the Institute is clearly defined
Project Plan
- The project is feasible to complete within a one-year time frame.
- The proposed budget is aligned with the needs of the project
- The project, if completed successfully, will provide the potential for securing new external grants
Environment
- Scientific environment contributes to the probability of project success
- Resources available to the investor
- gators are adequate for the project proposed
- The project will benefit from the unique features of collaborative arrangements
Allowable Budget
The maximum budget per proposal submission is $25,000. Eligible expenses may include direct research support, such as patient-related costs, personnel time, salary (NIH cap), and similar items. Funds will be disbursed once the research team has obtained IRB approval and submitted a copy to C4HR (email the IRB approval to c4hr@uic.edu).
Application Process and Requirements
Step One: Competitive Letter of Intent
A one-page letter of intent (LOI) is required before submitting a full proposal.
Letter of Intent (LOI) Heading link
Letters of Intent must include the following. (Please do not exceed one page.)
Project Title:
PI/PI’s and Affiliation(s):
Background and contribution to the field:
Study Objective/Hypothesis:
Design/Methods (including data source):
List of study variables, statistical analysis, and description/evidence that data is available:
Brief justification of budget:
PI/PI’s signature block
PI contact
Submission and Deadline
Please submit a PDF of the LOI to c4hr@uic.edu.
LOIs are due by 5:00 pm CST, Monday, January 6, 2025. Applications received after 5 p.m. CST will not be accepted and reviewed.
Selection
LOIs will be screened by the steering committee for relevance to the RFP. Investigators with selected LOIs will be invited on January 13, 2025, to submit a full proposal. (Details to come.)
Questions? Heading link
Direct questions regarding the proposal application process to Dr. Soni Dodani, Founding Director, C4HR, at sdodani@uic.edu with a copy to Jeanne Reddy at jreddy@uic.edu, or contact C4HR at 309-670-2527.