Community Engagement Research Funding Opportunity
Arizona Area Health Education Centers Program
Key Dates:
RFA release: October 28, 2015
Application deadline: December 7, 2015
Earliest funding start date: January 25, 2016
Purpose:
The Arizona Area Health Education Centers (AzAHEC) Program maintains that the reduction of Arizona’s regional
and population health disparities must involve the rapid translation of high-quality research into health care
practice and public health policy. Translational research is an investigative approach that emphasizes the
application of study findings in a manner that advances the health of patients and communities. Translational
research requires meaningful partnerships among researchers, clinicians, communities, and policy makers to be
successful. Communities are critical partners as the community is where health plays out—where disease
occurs, including disease-promoting conditions, and where disease can be predicted, prevented and treated.
Community engagement is essential as involving the community and collaborating with its members establishes
trust and knowledge exchange necessary for community relevant research to occur and to improve the health of
the public.
The NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) underscores that research institutions
must collaborate with communities to identify and understand public health needs and that the community
must be engaged in the dialogue about their health concerns and about clinical research. NCATS also
emphasizes that community-engaged partnerships are built on mutual respect and trust. Community-engaged
research is a two-way dialogue as community members provide their input on clinical studies and health
programs that are meaningful to them.
AzAHEC is an academic-community partnership and each of five AzAHEC regional centers is deeply engaged in
their respective communities. AzAHEC seeks to foster meaningful community-based research for translating
research into practice reflective of the health needs of our communities through AzAHEC Community
Engagement pilot funding programs. These pilot-funding programs will provide preliminary data and enhance
capacity to submit competitive external proposals that involve community-engaged research in the state of
Arizona. Specifically, these pilot programs aim to stimulate the development or enhance the maturation of
academic-community research teams capable of performing highly innovative, extramurally fundable
community-engaged research that will continue to contribute to the health and well-being of Arizona
communities. Moreover, as interprofessionality is a growing concept that emphasizes effective teamwork to
improve quality, health outcomes, this RFA will give preference to those proposals that emphasize rural
interprofessional research team modalities focusing on the Arizona/Mexico border.
AzAHEC is seeking community-engaged research proposals that may include (1) community/clinic assessments;
(2) identification of research questions, study design, recruitment and retention strategies; (3) epidemiological
investigations; (4) feasibility studies for intervention research; (5) health outcomes research; (6) health policy
research; and (7) evaluation research. The key to a successful community-engaged research proposal is the use
of an investigative approach that involves inclusivity, shared decision-making, empowerment, and that
addresses the health care priorities and disparities faced by practitioners, policymakers, and/or communities.
AzAHEC is particularly interested in proposals that address health disparities, social determinants of health and
population health as these relate to Arizona’s populations. AzAHEC is also looking for proposals that have good
potential for generating extramural funding. Therefore, where feasible, proposals should demonstrate ties to
existing extramural Requests for Applications (RFA) or Program Announcements (PA) that require the use of
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community-engaged research approaches (it is not required that the investigator/team have funding from such
sources as the intent of the pilots is to strengthen the ability to successfully compete for such funds). The
research topic must be clearly related to clinical and translational science and must specifically address a health
priority/disparity of community residents and/or community-based practice partners. Research activities may
include, but are not limited to, conducting community assessments, pilot testing data collection instruments or
procedures, conducting formative research on intervention strategies or messages, and intervention feasibility
studies. Proposals that do not demonstrate significant community involvement and participation will not be
competitive.
Pilot Project Funding Details:
Amount of up to $50,000 in total direct costs over 18 months (one award will be made).
Eligibility:
Proposals must meet the following criteria:
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The research plan must include a community-engaged research component and include a communitybased partner(s).
The research must be focused in the state of Arizona.
The proposal must show evidence that the community partners were involved in the identification of
the research topic and development of the application.
The proposal must show evidence that an existing AzAHEC regional center is involved in the
development of the application and conducting the research.
The application must relate to an existing RFA or PA.
Basic scientists, clinical scientists, health services, and public health researchers are eligible to apply.
Cost sharing is not required but encouraged.
Allowable Costs:
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Funding must be used to carry out a true community-based collaborative project.
Salary and fringe support for faculty, study coordinators, graduate students, clinical trainees, postdoctoral and clinical fellows are permitted.
Equipment, supplies, travel, and other research infrastructure expenses are allowed.
At least 20% of the budget must be allocated to the community for community partner time, travel,
resources, staff, etc.
Indirect costs are not permitted.
Review Criteria:
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Outstanding scientific merit
Clear demonstration that the community partner(s) identified the research topic as a priority
Focus on locally relevant health and high disparity issues
Ability to successfully incorporate the proposal criteria
Quality of a sustainability plan for the partnership
Quality of a proposed plan for future external funding and ongoing contributions to Arizona
communities and populations
Special Consideration: Special consideration will be given to those applications that benefit underserved, rural
or high-need populations/communities.
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Administrative Consideration: Administrative consideration will be given to those applications that include an
AzAHEC regional center as an integral partner for the project.
Application Instructions:
1. Proposals must be emailed to the Arizona AHEC office at RFA@azahec.org on or before December 7,
2015.
2. The following materials are required:
Cover page (format provided on page 5)
Abstract (limit 250 words)
Research Plan and Project Narrative: Limited to five pages. Be sure to clearly demonstrate active
community partnership in the research plan.
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Part 1: Partnership development
o Documentation of why research topic is a health concern and/or priority for the community,
including clear evidence of how the community partner(s) participated in the development of
the proposal.
o Description of the community partners and why they are appropriate for this study.
o Specific partnership development activities that will be conducted throughout the project and
how these activities will build a sustainable infrastructure for an ongoing partnership related to
future externally-funded proposal submission.
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Part 2: Pilot research study
o Primary research questions
o Describe how this pilot study will enhance the capacity for a competitive application to the
existing RFA/PA.
o Anticipated study design, research methods, data collection tools and protocols, and analysis
plan.
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Expected outcomes and deliverables of project (both partnership development activities and pilot
research study) including the evaluation methods to assess achievement of deliverables.
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Future plans for the partners to conduct community-engaged research and timeline for subsequent
grant submissions (must identify at least one specific RFA or PA).
Additional materials (please note page limits where specified)
 Project timeline (up to 18 months; include IRB approval process in the timeline)
 Project personnel (the applicant should be listed as the principal investigator)
 Budget and budget justification: A budget form is provided on page 6. Additionally, the budget
justification (limit three pages) should be a succinct narrative description of the budget line items
(please see the “Budget Justification” section below for additional details).
 Biosketch in NIH format for key personnel (limit three pages per person): The NIH biosketch format can
be found at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html
 Letters of support: Letters of support from community partners are required
 Dean, Department or CEO Letter of Commitment
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Institutional Review Board approval must be obtained before the research component of the project begins,
even if the study is exempt. Investigators are responsible for submitting appropriate applications and providing a
copy of the approved application to AzAHEC.
Budget justification: Please provide a narrative description of your budget. This is limited to three pages.
Applicants must provide justification for all items in the budget and explain the relevance of each cost to the
overall goals of the project. Examples are as follows:
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Personnel: Each position should be itemized and compensation shown for each position.
Fringe benefits: Describe how fringe benefits are calculated for the proposed personnel.
Consultant costs: Explain the need for all proposed consultants and how they relate to the project.
Contractual costs: Explain the need for all proposed contractual arrangements and how they relate to
the project. An example of contractual costs may be formal community partnership costs.
Equipment: Equipment is defined as durable items that cost over $500 per unit and have a life
expectancy of at least one year. List every item of equipment and describe its purpose in relation to the
project.
Supplies: Please itemize and explain the expendable items required for the project.
Travel: Explain the need for all requested travel, including numbers of people involved, duration of trips,
destinations, importance to project, etc. International travel is not allowed.
Other: Itemize and explain any other expenses not captured in any other budget category.
Prior approval from the AzAHEC program office is required for budgetary changes if 1) rebudgeting between
categories in excess of 15% is necessary due to changes in expenditure plans or 2) scope of stated category
changes (e.g., changes in consultant, equipment, travel destination, etc.). Request for rebudgeting approval
should include a revised budget and narrative justification explaining the need for budgetary changes.
Awardee Responsibilities:
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Progress reports (e.g., narrative description of progress, preliminary outcomes data, financial
accounting, resulting publications/abstracts/posters, etc.) will be required during the life of the project
(every six months) and annually thereafter for up to three years.
Awardees will be required to make oral presentations and written summaries to outline research team
progress and challenges.
Awardees will be notified of final reporting requirements at the close of the project.
The following support acknowledgement should be included on all publications that result from Arizona
AHEC support: Funded by a grant from the Arizona Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Program. The
content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of
Arizona AHEC.
Please direct all questions to:
Arizona AHEC Staff
RFA@azahec.org
520-626-0265
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ARIZONA AHEC
PROJECT FUNDING REQUEST SUMMARY
Title of Proposed Project
Grant Program
Proposed Project Dates
2016 AzAHEC Community Engagement Research Funding
Opportunity
Applicant Organization (Name and address)
Type:
Start date:
End date:
Location(s) at which project activities will take place
_____Private Nonprofit
_____Public
Amount Requested
Project Director
Name:
Title:
Address:
Phone:
Email:
Other key individuals collaborating on this project and their affiliation
Human Subjects
Does this proposal utilize human subjects for any purpose other than improving the curriculum of the course in which the participants are
enrolled, serving as didactic device involving only individuals enrolled in the class, or providing training in the conduct of such professional
activities as interview procedures?
No
Yes (If yes, please indicate the procedure for human subjects review at your institution.
Documentation of institutional approval will be required before the award is final.)
Program Director Assurance
I agree to accept responsibility for the conduct of the proposed project and to provide the required progress reports and final outcomes data if
this project is approved for funding.
Signature of Project Director:
Date Submitted:
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Arizona AHEC Budget Form
Amount Requested
In This Proposal
Rationale
Personnel
Fringe Benefits
Consultant Services
Other Contractual
Costs
Equipment
Supplies
Travel
Other
Total
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