Main Goals

The funding cycle has two main goals:

Advance research and improve health outcomes

Serve as a foundation for establishing a data hub for research that advances our region

Information Session

On May 8, 2023, co-leads Naomi Marmorstein and Nicole Vaughn hosted an information session about the funding initiative. An overview was provided and key questions were answered. This session was recorded and the slides are also available for download below.

Process

The funding process is iterative.

Our 3rd funding cycle has closed. Please join the SJIPH mailing list located here at the bottom of the page to be updated about future funding opportunities.

Prospective grantees first submit a brief letter of intent.

After initial review, some applicants will be invited to a day-long sandbox meeting. During this meeting, applicants will meet colleagues across the region and partner with facilitators to improve funding proposals.

Final proposals will later be submitted, with funding decisions made by mid-December.

Letters of Intent (LOIs)

Prospective grantees must submit a short letter-of-intent through the submission portal here. The Letter-Of-Intent submission portal asks prospective grantees to answer questions in the following areas: (1) content of research idea; (2) collaborative team; (3) data sharing; (4) impact; (5) sustainability; (6) budget.

Sandbox Meeting

A handful of teams will be selected from the LOIs that align with the main goals of SJIPH. These teams should plan to attend the Sandbox Meeting at the Joint Health Sciences Building. This meeting will serve three purposes: (1) clearly communicate to potential grantees the goals of the research funding; (2) bring researchers with related interests and complementary skills together; (3) produce, during the meeting, proposal outlines that can be guided to full research proposals. During the meeting, prospective grantees will participate in planning sessions organized by clusters of interest, skills, and data ideas. Each group will include a facilitator provided by SJIPH. At the meeting, facilitators and potential grantees will develop proposal outlines. The goal is a collaborative rather than competitive environment.

Final Proposals

The final proposals will be submitted through the application portal. Applicants will subsequently be asked to provide additional detail to the responses in the LOI.

Decisions

Final funding decisions will be made and teams will be notified. Funding will be released through the following year. The funding period is 12 months. Budgets should be planned for this time frame. Reporting requirements will be outlined at the sandbox meeting. All funded projects will be expected to provide brief updates on their project progress and data on a quarterly basis.


Review

Content

Final proposal question:
What is your project idea?

Instructions:
Briefly outline your project idea. The proposal must identify the specific priority population(s) under study and address the goals of the funding initiative as described in the Background Section. Please see www.sjiph.org for the overall mission of SJIPH and its overall interest areas.

Evaluation criteria:
Does the project employ a population health or population medicine approach to directly improve health, build capacity, and/or reduce health disparities in Southern New Jersey. Does it consider the social determinants of health? Does the project focus clearly on a population?

Collaboration

Final proposal question:
Every funded proposal must have at least one of each: a community partner, a Rutgers-Camden partner, and a Rowan partner. Who is your collaborative team?

Instructions:
In addition to the questions above, please describe how the collaborative team has the skills and expertise needed to complete the project. Clearly describe the role each project partner will play.

Evaluation criteria:
Does the proposal include a community partner, a partner from Rutgers-Camden, and a partner from Rowan? Is this collaboration well-situated to achieve project goals? Is the role of each project partner clear? Does the team have the skills needed to complete the project? Describe what role each partner will play in the project.

Data Sharing

Final proposal question:
What data will your project produce that can be shared with the South Jersey Institute for Population Health?

Instructions:
Please describe what data your project might produce and how this data could be leveraged by others to improve health, build capacity, and/or reduce health disparities.

Evaluation criteria:
Will the project include data to support the long-term goals of the South Jersey Institute for Population Health to integrate fractured data, inform research, influence population health programming in the region and become a valuable public resource?

Impact

Final proposal question:
What academic impact will your project have? What community impact will your project have?

Instructions:
Briefly describe the possible academic and community impacts of your project.

Evaluation:
Will the project produce scholarly products (such as papers?) Will the project impact the community? How?

Sustainability

Final proposal question:
How can this project lead to future funding?

Instructions:
Provide ideas about how the project can be sustained over time. Possible sources of funding could include foundations, governments, or state and federal funding agencies. If the project is a smaller, clearly-defined project, then explain how results from this project could serve as the basis for other projects. If known, provide specific funding mechanisms. (E.g. “NSF Smart and Connected Communities” is better than “NSF”).

Evaluation>
Is the project sustainable? How likely is the project to secure future funding?

Budget

Final proposal question:
Please upload a budget using the following template. This budget template will serve the needs of the reviewing process. Before funding is distributed, SJIPH will provide an official budget template for contract purposes, and your coordinating institution may require a different budget template.

Instructions:
Upload a budget for the project that takes into account allowable and non-allowable expenses (see below: Additional Considerations sjiph.org). We expect to fund projects across a range of $25,000-$100,000 depending on the category (i.e., Track 1 or Track 2) in which you submitted.

Evaluation:
Does the budget fit with the scope of the proposed project? Is the budget consistent with the guidelines?


Additional Considerations

New and Established partnerships

Portfolio of Projects

Budgeting

Interested in Partnering?

What makes SJIPH unique is its collaborative focus. We encourage academic and community partners to reach out to us if they would like to participate but may not be currently paired with a team. Please provide a very brief description of your interest and expertise and a member of the team will be in touch with you.