Systems for Action research program – Sep 6

Posted by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation on August 9, 2022

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation invites proposals for Systems for Action research program

Systems for Action (S4A) is a signature research program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) that seeks to test new ways of connecting the nation’s fragmented medical, social, and public health systems. The program supports research teams from across the United States in conducting scientific studies that evaluate the implementation and impact of novel approaches to systems alignment. The system alignment mechanisms studied take many forms, including shared governance models, data exchange and integration platforms, bundled and blended payment models, and cross-cutting workforce components such as navigators and integrators.

This 2022 call for proposals will provide funding for a new cohort of research studies to produce new, actionable evidence to help medical, social, and public health systems work together to address structural barriers to health and health equity, including racism and the social conditions that impact health. Applicants must propose to study a systems alignment approach that engages stakeholders in all three types of systems implicated in the S4A research agenda—medical care, public health, and social services.

This 2022 CFP offers two distinct categories of research awards, distinguished based on the completion of pilot testing and feasibility testing with the proposed systems alignment strategy. Applicants must read the following descriptions to determine which category of award they are eligible for and apply only to that category:

Developmental Studies: Grants of up to $100,000 over 12 months will be awarded to support pilot testing of the proposed system’s alignment approach to examine its feasibility and acceptability for stakeholders in the relevant medical, social, and public health systems and its potential to dismantle forms of structural racism and inequity embedded within these systems. This award category is for applicants who have not previously completed a pilot study of their proposed systems alignment approach and do not yet have preliminary evidence about the feasibility of implementing the approach and related research strategies. The pilot studies supported by this award should also test the feasibility of key research strategies, including issues related to participant recruitment and retention, data exchange and linkage, measurement strategies, and random assignment or other statistical control methods, if applicable. After completing a successful pilot study under this award category, applicants will be well-positioned to pursue subsequent studies of the impact of their proposed system alignment approach, either by applying to a future call for S4A Impact Studies or by applying to other research funding opportunities.

Impact Studies: Grants of up to $500,000 over 36 months will be awarded to support studies that examine the impact of the proposed system alignment strategy on relevant measures of health and health equity, with a focus on understanding the strategy’s success or failure in dismantling forms of structural racism and inequity embedded within systems. This award category is open only to applicants who have completed a pilot study of their proposed system alignment approach. It can provide results confirming the approach’s feasibility and acceptability to key stakeholders within the relevant medical, social, and public health systems. Applicants must provide documentation of pilot test results as part of their application, which may include a publication, report, working paper, or research brief. If the pilot test study was completed by an organization other than the applicant organization or a partnering organization, applicants must explain how their organization will ensure that it has the necessary knowledge, experience, community relationships, and trust to replicate the results of the pilot test.

Applicants must be either public entities or nonprofit organizations tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and not private foundations or non-functionally integrated Type III supporting organizations.

An informational webinar will be held on August 15, 2022, at 3:00 p.m. ET and letters of Intent are due September 6, 2022, with full proposals to be due October 5, 2022.

For complete program guidelines, application instructions, and to register for the webinar, see the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation website.

Deadline: September 6, 2022 (Letters of Intent)