Community Partnership Development Seed Grants

The UB Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) provides seed grants that support the planning of community-based participatory research partnerships and engagement of communities on research teams. The goal is to prepare community-academic partnerships to successfully collaborate on the design of research projects. The primary objective of the funding is to provide resources to build community-academic partnership capacity and planning opportunities for future research. This RFP does not require research implementation as part of the proposed project to be funded. However, if research elements are included, they should be a secondary to partnership development. The projects must address:

• Health disparities or health equity
• How the partnership will generate a research plan for submission of larger grants

Seed grants not exceeding $5,000 will be awarded to community-academic teams for:

• Developing community-engaged research partnerships that align with the mission, vision, and culture of the partnering community-based organization
• Aligning priorities and exploring possibilities for collaboration (for example, program evaluation, intervention developments, resource development)
• Developing innovative community-engaged research proposals to be submitted for intramural and external funding

Grants are awarded only to teams co-led by researchers and community partners in which each partner has an essential and equitable role. Proposals must exhibit active engagement between partners and demonstrate that the topic area is of mutual interest. Funding will not support research projects.

Community applicants can be:

• 501(c)(3) community-based organizations located in Western New York
• Grassroots organizations
• A coalition, collaborative, or other community task force

Researcher applicants can be:

• Full-time, junior/senior faculty member at UB or an institution within the Buffalo Translational Consortium

Awards may fund (but are not limited to) partnerships that:

• Develop a research or intervention program that addresses a health disparity
• Develop plans/proposals for funding from other funding agencies
• Obtain technical assistance or educational activities to develop the partnership
• Create shared goals, plans, policies, to work together more effectively
• Disseminate best practices, information, or research findings
• Facilitate open dialogue around strengths, challenges, and research opportunities to address community health needs
• Develop innovative methods for engaging and building understanding/interest/participation of underrepresented communities in translational research (rural, low-income, bilingual, indigenous, people of color, LGBTQ+, etc.)
• Build capacity for meaningful participation in partnered research (e.g., developing advisory committees, training on research design/methods, ethics training, community context, community engagement mechanisms, etc.)

Proposed activities must be completed by December 31, 2024. Please note that no cost extensions are not allowable.