Grant Funding

Process

The path to SJIPH Cycle 4b funding broadly involves: 1) submitting an LOI for review, 2) attending a half-day sandbox meeting (by invitation only), and 3) submitting a proposal. SJIPH will then 4) review the proposals to determine funding. A webinar [to be provided] describes the process as well.

Letters of Intent (LOIs)

Due July 14, 2025

Prospective grantees will submit a “letter of intent” (LOI) for review by July 14th. Letters of intent are submitted via [link to submission portal]. LOIs involve answering questions about: 

1. The central research questions or objectives 
2. Information about the collaborative team
3. Capacity building and sustainability
4. Potential impact on health outcomes
5. Budget outline (see below)

LOIs will be reviewed by reviewers and SJIPH. Applicants will be notified of the status of their LOI review by August. 11th. Successful LOIs will form a basis a larger research proposal (details below), and applicants will be invited to the Sandbox Event.

Sandbox Meeting

October 10^th, 2025

Selected LOI partnership teams will attend a “Sandbox” event at the Joint Health Sciences Building on October 10^th. The Sandbox event will serve three purposes: (1) to clearly communicate to potential grantees the goals of the research funding; (2) to bring researchers with related interests and complementary skills together; and (3) to produce, during the meeting, proposal outlines that can be guided to full research proposals. The Sandbox event will provide a collaborative environment where partnership teams and research facilitators will expand upon the LOI by refining research objectives and developing an outline for a full research proposal due on November 14^th. The goal is a collaborative rather than competitive environment.

The Sandbox event will be held at the Joint Health Science’s Building in Camden, NJ, on October 10, 2025 from 9:00 to 4:00 pm (coffee, lunch will be provided).  NOTE: To be eligible to apply for Catalyst or Signature grants in this funding cycle, each partnership team must have at least one member from the community organization and one from the university attend the Sandbox event.

Final Proposals

Due November 14^th, 2025

Final proposals will be due on November 14, 2025 and will also be submitted through the application portal. Applicants will be asked to provide more detailed responses to the same questions asked in the letter-of-intent process.

The final proposal form will be submitted through the application portal [to be provided]. Applicants who are invited to the Sandbox Event will receive feedback on the LOI to be incorporated into the final proposal.

Decisions

December 19^th, 2025

Funding decisions will be made by December 19^th. Funds will be released in early 2026. For catalyst grants, the funding period is 18 months. For signature grants the funding period is 24 months. Budgets should be planned for this timeframe. Reporting requirements will be outlined at the Sandbox Event. All funded projects will be expected to provide quarterly updates on their project progress and data.

---

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, or 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?

---