2021 Spectrum Community Engagement Pilot Grants

Community Engagement Pilot Program

Spectrum offers pilot grants for accelerating clinical and translational research in biomedical and health-related areas. The Spectrum Pilot Program has two major goals:

• to stimulate innovative clinical and translational research and
• to encourage collaborative, transdisciplinary work.

The primary expectation is that these early-stage translational projects will lead to additional research, external support, information dissemination and most importantly, will develop into longer-term, comprehensive projects. We encourage transdisciplinary collaborations, but this is not a requirement for funding.

Program Overview:
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 partner 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.

Recommended Reading on Community-Engaged ResearchTechnical Assistance from the Office of Community Engagement
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.

• 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.
• Grumbach, K., Vargas, R., Fleisher, P., Aragón, T., Chung, L., Chawla, C., et al. (2017). Achieving Health Equity Through Community Engagement in Translating Evidence to Policy: The San Francisco Health Improvement Partnership, 2010-2016. UCSF. Report #: ARTN E27. http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd14.160469
• 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.

Important application dates

• Request for Proposals released: February 16, 2021
• Optional Office Hours for Interested Applicants: Wed, March 17th, 1-2 PM; Thu, March 25th, 10-11 AM; and Fri, April 2nd, 1-2 PM
  • Email Wei-ting Chen, PhD, MA, Associate Director for Community Partnerships, to schedule a meeting today!
• Deadline for Proposal Submissions: Extended to Wed, April 7, 2021 by 5PM PT
• Selection of Finalists: Monday, May 3, 2021
• Funding Cycle: July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022 (no cost extensions are not allowed)

Institutional representatives: Not applicable. Because this is an internal Stanford funding opportunity, you do not have to submit your applications through your RPM in RMG or your CGO in OSR for their approval. 

Amount and Period of Funding:
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. 

Award Process: The award process is as follows: 

• Proposal submission. Submit Full Proposal. Final proposal narrative should be no longer than 3-pages and are due on Wed, April 7, 2021 by 5 PM PT.
• Finalists notified. Awardees will be notified by Monday, May 3, 2021.
• Awardees will be notified: Grants will be formally awarded (July 1, 2021). 
• Presentation of Research Findings: Awardees will be required to present their research findings through a 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. 

Application Instructions: Submit applications through Stanford University Seed Funding’s website.

Format:
Page specifications

1. 8.5 x 11" page size
2. At least 0.50" margins on all sides
3. At least 11-point font size

Save your documents as PDFs to upload to SeedFunding (online submission)

Applications Must Include The Following Information:

• A cover sheet (1-page limit; upload as a single PDF) that includes:
  • Title of proposal
  • PI name title, email and department
  • Mentor name (if applicable)
  • Co-investigator names, departments and emails – a representative of a community organization is required to be a full and equitable collaborator in the proposal (i.e., comparable to a community PI) 
  • Amount of funding requested
     
• Background, Specific aims, and Methodology (3-page limit, 11-point; Standard NIH format; upload a single PDF).
  • 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
  • If the research involves animals or human subjects, also address or include the following:
    • Approval numbers for animals and human subjects.
      • If not yet approved, reference eProtocol submission status. 
      • The eProtocol application must include the following: (1)  the CTSA grant number UL1TR003142 and SPO number 131298 and (2) the project is funded by a Spectrum CTSA Pilot Grant. 
      • For more information on IRB protocol submission, please visit http://humansubjects.stanford.edu or https://researchcompliance.stanford.edu/panels/aplac.
    • For human subjects research, project investigators and their research staff must complete the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) training online (i.e., Group 7: IRB BioMed/GCP Research for All Medical Investigators and Staff).
       
• NIH Biosketches:  (not part of 3-page limit; upload as a single PDF) are required for the PI, Co-PI(s), Co-I(s), and other senior/key personnel*, 5-page version. 
  • *Senior/key personnel are defined as all individuals who contribute in a substantive, meaningful way to the scientific development or execution of the project. 
     
• Budget (not part of 3-page limit; upload as a single Excel file): Use provided budget template.  
  • Allowable expenditures include: investigator’s salary, research personnel salaries, travel (if project-related) and project supplies. 
  • Unallowable expenditures include: Capital equipment costing more than $5,000, intellectual property services, and food.
  • Do not include indirect cost expenses. 
     
• Budget Justification (not part of 3-page limit; upload as a single PDF): Use provided justification template. 
  • Your budget justification should provide an explanation of factors used to determine costs on each budget line item in your proposal.
     
• Letter of Support (not part of 3-page limit; upload as a single PDF): From faculty mentor or department chair is required. Letter of support from community collaborator is also required.
   
• Note:
  • Preference would be given to projects that reflect equitable sharing of budget resources between academic and community partner.
  • Figures and tables included within the body of proposal will count towards the 3-page limit. 
  • 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.
  • Funding will not be dispersed without clearance of any applicable APLAC, IRB or IRB exemption requirements, highly preferable that clearance is achieved prior to award announcements in May.
  • If the research does not involve animals or human subjects, award recipients must complete the Human Subjects Determination Form and provide email confirmation of non-human subjects determination (https://researchcompliance.stanford.edu/panels/hs/forms/for-researchers#need).
  • Budget should include some measurable effort for Principal Investigators (PIs), Co-PIs, and other personnel performing work.

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

• Associate Director for Community Partnerships

To apply for a Spectrum Community Engagement Pilot Grant, please complete and submit this online application. If you have any questions while completing the online application, please contact Ellen Orasa at eorasa@stanford.edu.