NEW PILOT FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
Title: Research Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion (REDI) Pilot Funding Research Opportunity
Available Funds: Up to six awards ranging from $15-$25K
Funding Period: November 1, 2022-June 30, 2023
Application Deadline: Friday, September 30, 2022 at 11:59PM
The Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative (CTSC) at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) request applications for pilot research funding from faculty, clinicians, and staff at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth Medical Center, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, and the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Administration Medical Center. We intend to award up to six pilot grants, with award amounts ranging from $15-$25K. Priority will be given to applications that involve at least two of the CTSC partner institutions noted above. Applications must be submitted electronically no later than Friday, September 30, 2022 at 11:59PM via InfoReady at https://cwru.infoready4.com.
In response to the amplification of health disparities via the pandemic and overdue need to identify, record, and provide open access across the consortium and community, of demographic data, notably race and/or ethnicity, the CTSC has created a Research Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI) Response Pilot Award to support new research initiatives that will make immediate progress toward streamlining race and/or ethnicity data collection of research participants and making the information readily available across the consortium and community to gain: (1) a baseline of how well our research participants reflect diversity of our local population; and (2) an understanding of growth opportunities based on that data. Underrepresentation of racial/ethnic minority groups in clinical research decreases the generalizability of clinical research findings. By ensuring that we systematically collect and disseminate this data, we can influence policy that: (1) requires inclusion of racial and/or ethnic minorities in clinical research to help assess disparities in demographic diversity based on individual disease prevalence rates; and (2) supports an increase in necessary resources to address barriers to participation with special emphasis on acknowledging the effect of social determinants of health on a prospective research participant’s willingness and ability to participate in clinical research.
Priority will be given to projects that have a high impact on expanding knowledge or developing new knowledge on existing challenges with collecting race and/or ethnicity data of research participants, making that information readily available across the consortium and community, and supporting delineation of a clear plan, including currently available and needed access to resources and stakeholders for next steps to inform a model that could be implemented nationwide. Projects that do not directly address or relate to race and/or ethnicity data collection and dissemination (i.e., making information readily available across the consortium and community) will not be considered within this solicitation.
Case Western Reserve University will serve as the fiscal entity through which each award will be distributed and administered. Awardees will receive additional information regarding disbursement workflow.
SECTION I: GENERAL REQUIREMENTS (applies to all applications)
Applicants must read and follow all application instructions in this section as well as funding-specific instructions noted in Section II.
- Principal Investigators (PIs) must have a MD, PhD, JD, PharmD, PsyD, DNP or equivalent doctoral-level degree and must have a faculty appointment at CWRU.
- PIs may be based at any of the CWRU-affiliated hospitals or in any school or college at CWRU.
- Co-PIs are permitted, but each applicant must submit only one application as PI or co-PI.
- Interested prospective applicants who do not have doctoral-level degrees (e.g., non-clinical staff with master’s degrees, undergraduate degrees, high school diplomas or the equivalent) are highly encouraged to apply by collaborating with a PI.
- The institution of record will be the PI’s primary institution.
- Research projects must show significant progress (i.e., meeting milestones per proposal timeline) by February 28, 2023, as documented through a four-month progress report and deliverables. Awards may be withdrawn at any time if challenges are not presented timely, an attempt to access additional resources and support to address those challenges is not sought, and significant progress is not demonstrated.
- If human/animal subjects are involved, approved IRB/IACUC # or copy of IRB/IACUC application must be included with the application. Studies involving human subjects must include IRB approval before funds will be released and will not change the expectation for significant progress to be made within three-to-six months. The likelihood of gaining IRB approval in a timely manner will be considered as part of the feasibility criteria.
- PI, co-PI(s), and/or study team staff salaries are not permitted.
- Indirect costs (e.g., payment to community members or interdisciplinary staff involved in proposal development) are not permitted.
- PI, co-PI(s), and study team must complete a Research Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI) Consultation requested via SPARCRequest, with the CTSC, while preparing their response to take place via Zoom no later than Friday, September 16, 2022.
- PI, co-PI(s), and study team members are encouraged to attend or review recordings or content of supplementary enrichment opportunities (e.g., pilot award information session, webinars with experts, journal articles) that will take place or be made available during the application period.
- PI, co-PI(s), and study team members must involve interdisciplinary institutional departments, as appropriate, in the development of their pilot proposal.
- PI, co-PI(s), and study team members are encouraged to leverage feedback from community organizations and individual members when developing their response (as appropriate).
- Proposed project cannot have current funding, or only modest related intramural or extramural funding that will be enhanced by the pilot activities, representing a distinct sub-aim.
- All award funding must be spent by Friday, June 30, 2023. No-cost extensions (i.e., the project end date will not be extended nor will additional funds be added by the funder to cover the extension) will not be granted.
- All awardees must provide a mandatory four-month progress report (no later than Tuesday, February 28, 2023) and eight-month final report (no later than Friday, June 30, 2023). Progress reports will be submitted through InfoReady, that will be forwarded to the CTSC.
APPLICATION PROCESS
- Application must be submitted electronically no later than Friday, September 30, 2022 at 11:59PM via InfoReady at https://cwru.infoready4.com.
- Schedule and complete your REDI Consultation via SPARCRequest before Friday, September 16, 2022. SPARCRequest is the CTSC's service request system.
- The Project ID number issued to your project, after scheduling your REDI Consultation, will also be the ID number used to apply for the REDI pilot.
- To apply for a CTSC Pilot, you need an ID number from SPARCRequest (called a "Project ID"). Obtaining a Project ID from SPARCRequest will help you access Pilot RFAs and applications in InfoReady and link you to other services provided by the CTSC.
- Successful applicants will be notified by Wednesday, October 26, and if all requirements are met, funding could begin as early as Tuesday, November 1, 2022.
- Applications must meet all general requirements unless an exception is noted. Applications not meeting the requirements may be returned and not reviewed.
- Applicant’s project must address the topic areas and other requirements of the funder to be considered for a pilot grant award.
- Awards will be based on a combination of meritorious proposals and priorities of the funder. Should there be no applications that meet the criteria set, the funder has no obligation to fund an application.
PREPARING YOUR SUBMISSION
The InfoReady System will require the following information or documents to be provided or uploaded.
Formatting
- Please review the online submission form before preparing your final documents.
- All uploaded documents must be PDFs.
- Please use size 11 pt. Arial font with 0.5” margins.
- Maintain margins and adequate spacing between paragraphs and note maximum length for each document.
Information and Documents
- A short summary of the work directed to the general public (i.e., plain language summary) (500 characters, including spaces)
- Specific aims (maximum one page, uploaded as a PDF)
- Significance and urgency, specifically addressing how this project will advance identification, submission, availability, and dissemination of race and/or ethnic data of research participants (maximum one-half page, uploaded as PDF)
- Research Strategy (maximum two pages, uploaded as PDF) that includes:
- Study design, hypothesis, expected results
- Study population
- Approach (recruitment/data collection, measures, analyses)
- Investigative team
- Feasibility
- Dissemination plan and next steps (i.e., extramural funding)
- References or URLS (maximum 10 references uploaded as part of the Research Strategy PDF)
- Study timeline and deliverables (applicants must show significant progress within three-to-four months), including plan and timeline for dissemination of research findings and for seeking extramural funding (maximum one-half page, uploaded as PDF)
- Figures may be included as appendices (maximum two pages total for appendices)
- If human/animal subjects are involved, approved IRB/IACUC or copy of IRB/IACUC application must be included with the application as an uploaded PDF
- Detailed budget (please download and complete the NIH budget form found on InfoReady REDI Pilot Funding Research Opportunity)
- Note: The fringe rate for staff salaries (if applicable) is the current non-federal rate of 34%.
- Note: There are no Indirect Costs associated with this award.
- Budget justification (provide description and rationale for each expense listed in budget)
- NIH-format biosketches for personnel (maximum five pages per biosketch uploaded as a single PDF)
- Letter(s) of support/commitment (as applicable) (maximum five pages, maximum one page per letter uploaded as a single PDF)
REVIEW PROCESS
- Proposals will be reviewed by a scientific review committee (committee) comprised of reviewers from each institutional partner hospital, may include representatives from: offices of diversity, equity, and inclusion, information technology, innovation, community health or community outreach and engagement, and the community at-large. CTSC staff will provide administrative oversight throughout the review process to ensure a standardized review process.
- Reviews will be conducted using NIH-style scoring methods: (1) significance, (2) investigators, (3) approach, (4) feasibility, and (5) overall impact.
- The committee will take the following into consideration:
- Clear articulation of the problem being addressed in the proposed project
- Demonstration of how the proposed work will directly contribute to developing new knowledge on data collection and dissemination of race and/or ethnicity data of research participation
- Significance, innovation, and timeliness
- Expertise of the investigative team and evidence of commitment of investigators and stakeholders to collaborate
- Feasibility
- Evidence of tangible deliverables, a timeline, and plans for future funding
- Likelihood of future success
- Budget and budget justification
- REMINDER: If no applications meet the criteria set by the funder, the funder has no obligation to fund an application.
REPORTING GUIDELINES
- All awardees must provide a mandatory four-month progress report no later than Tuesday, February 28, 2023 and eight-month final report no later than Friday, June 30, 2023.
- REMINDER: If challenges are not presented timely, an attempt to access additional resources and support to address those challenges is not sought, and significant progress is not shown by four months, funding may be withdrawn at that time.
QUESTIONS
Any questions should be directed to Gelise Thomas, Assistant Director, Strategic DEI & Health Disparities, at the CTSC at REDIPilot@case.edu.
FAQs
For common questions and answers about the REDI Pilot, please click here.
Resources
Reporting and Analyzing Race and Ethnicity in Orthopaedic Clinical Trials: A Systematic Review
U.S. racial and ethnic participation in global clinical trials by therapeutic areas
Race reporting and disparities in clinical trials on Alzheimer’s disease: A systematic review