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Community Engaged Scholars Program 2014-2015 Call for Applications

Purpose and Overview The South Carolina Clinical & Translation Research Center for Community Health Partnerships (SCTR/CCHP) will be accepting applications for the Community Engaged Scholars (CES) Program (Cohort 5) in February 2014. This program will provide training and pilot funds for up to three teams consisting of a community and academic partner who have interests in community-based participatory research (CBPR). Priority will be given for pilot research projects that have a higher potential for continued research funding. The goal of this program is to increase the capacity of community-academic partnerships to conduct research with mutual ownership of the processes and products, and ultimately, improve the health of our communities in South Carolina and beyond. After successfully completing the CES Program, participants will meet the following competencies:

1. Understand the concepts and components of CBPR and other methods for community engaged research.

2. Apply CBPR principles in the conduct of research 3. Incorporate CBPR principles and approaches in grant proposals 4. Demonstrate CBPR efforts in a career portfolio 5. Communicate with audiences in both community and academic settings about CBPR

principles and components 6. Implement a pilot CBPR initiative (with high potential for continued research funding)

Program Details Didactic Training The didactic portion of the CES Program will consist of 12 required sessions (online except for 3 in-person sessions at MUSC) that address definitions, principles, theories and methods of CBPR, grantsmanship, building and sustaining partnerships, evaluation, and career development. Interprofessional faculty and community members will conduct the sessions. Optional online modules will also be available to help build research capacity. Consultations Each team will meet with a community or academic consultant to help guide the development, implementation, and evaluation of a pilot CBPR project. SCTR/CCHP staff will assist each team in the identification of a consultant in the team’s field of choice. This consultant will have expertise and success with CBPR. Teams are expected to meet with their consultant on a monthly basis.

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Pilot Grants After the submission, review, and acceptance of a quality pilot grant proposal, as well as Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, each team will receive up to $10,000 to implement a community-based research project. Teams will develop the grant proposals during the first three months of the CES program. All pilot grants must be completed by June 30, 2015, in addition to a final project report due July 31, 2015. The pilot grants are a mechanism to inform future grants to be funded by state, federal and other sponsors by the partnership team. Important Dates Information Session (conference call) January 27, 2014@12 pm Applications Due February 21, 2014 @ 5 pm Application decisions made March 7, 2014 Confirmation of participation March 12, 2014 Didactic training begins March 21, 2014 Pilot grant proposal due May 16, 2014 IRB forms due June 30, 2014 Didactic training ends June 27, 2014 Program Ceremony June 27, 2014 Start of pilot projects July 1, 2014 Grant award disbursement Following IRB Review and Approval Project midpoint summary due December 31, 2014 End of pilot projects June 30, 2015 Final project report due July 31, 2015 *Dates are subject to change Program Requirements & Eligibility Team Structure Each team must consist of at least one community partner and an academic partner from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) or another state-wide university/academic institution (Claflin, Clemson, SC State, USC, Voorhees). A community partner is defined as an individual(s) who maintains a primary affiliation, whether employed or volunteer, with a community organization. For the purpose of this program, community organization is defined as an organization that:

1) Has a documented interest in improving the health of the relevant community (e.g., a mission statement); and

2) Has a history of serving the health needs and interests of the relevant community.

These organizations may include, but are not limited to public schools, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, and/or advocacy groups. An academic partner is an individual(s) with a faculty or postdoctoral appointment on a research track at MUSC or other state-wide university/academic institution.

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Supervisor Signature: Each supervisor, for both community and academic partners, must approve of participation to assure ability to fully participate in the CES Program. Attendance To ensure that each participant has the ability to meet each CES competency and that each team gains the necessary skills to carry out a CBPR project, the following attendance policy will apply:

At least one member of the team must be present (either in person or online) for each didactic session. For each individual participant, only two absences will be allowed. Failure to comply with the stated attendance policy will jeopardize the pilot money award for a team and the certificate of completion for an individual member.

Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Training Teams accepted into the CES Program must complete the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) training before the first didactic session. Team members must complete the training individually. Teams will receive additional information on how to complete CITI training if they are accepted into the program. Application Process Application material can be downloaded at: https://sctr.musc.edu/index.php/funding-opportunities.

1. Please complete ALL sections of the CES Program application materials including: A. Community Partner and Academic Partner Information and Proposal. B. Memorandum of Understanding. C. Supervisor Consent Forms (both Community and Academic Supervisors). D. Biographical Sketches (both Community and Academic Partners).

2. Covert completed application materials into ONE .PDF file.

3. Go to the online application website: https://sctrweb2.musc.edu/appsite/ces_applications/new. First time users will need to create a Login and Password as prompted.

4. Please complete the online fields for both community and academic partners. Fields marked with an asterisk are necessary to submit your application.

5. Upload completed application to the online application site as indicated at “Upload Supporting Application Materials.”

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6. Once you have completed the online fields and uploaded your completed application materials, click on the “Submit CES Application” button. If you are not ready to submit your application, you also have the option to click, save and exit from your application at “Save CES Application and Exit”.

Submit one application per team. Complete application material and supporting documents must be received no later than 5:00 PM, Friday, February 21, 2014. Application Review Process All applications will be reviewed and scored under a two-step process: 1) Eligibility Criteria Screening Process – All applications will be screened for eligibility by

SCTR/CCHP staff and leadership, based on the online information and completed CES Program Application submitted. Applications received after the due date will not be accepted.

2) Panel Review Process – All applications successfully meeting the minimum eligibility requirements will be reviewed and scored by a community-academic review panel. Applications will be scored according to the criteria listed below:

1. Strength of partnership to carry out stated goals including:

a. Capacity of partnership to work together to achieve stated goals b. Resources and support available to community and academic partners c. History of partnership d. Experience of both partners in the targeted community and health promotion

topic e. Training of community and academic partners f. Potential for continued research funding

2. Significance of the community health issue to be addressed in the pilot project.

Priority will be given to projects related to obesity and related complications but projects that focus on any health-related topic are welcome.

3. Proposed approach of pilot project: a. Incorporation of participatory methods for community and academic partners b. Innovation c. Appropriateness of approach to meet short-term and long-term goals of project d. Potential for future funding by the team

Notice of Award

The teams with the strongest proposals will be admitted into the CES Program. Successful applicants will be notified if they have been accepted into the program by Friday, March 7, 2014.

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NOTE: We understand that if the community partner is to directly receive and manage pilot project funds, the community partner must have or obtain a valid tax identification number prior to managing funds. Otherwise, the funds must be managed by the academic partner. Further Information

1. An informational conference call will be held on January 27, 2014, 12:00 – 1:00 PM. The conference line number is Tel. # 843-876-5790 and the passcode is 239411. Space is limited to the first 20 callers but the session will be recorded and available to those unable to join the conference call.

2. Further information regarding the Community Engaged Scholars Program application can be found at https://sctr.musc.edu/index.php/funding-opportunities. Please contact Anna Patton tecklenb@musc.edu with any questions.