Request for Proposals (2020): Mini-Grants

To help MSU junior investigators establish partnerships with a community, public health agencies, and/or clinical organizations in Montana, or to help a Montana community find a faculty investigator partner, CAIRHE will offer a limited number of Project Development Mini-Grants during the period of October 2020 through June 30, 2021. A one-page application (described below) is due September 30, 2020. These Project Development Mini-Grants are made possible through generous support from the MSU Vice President of Research, Economic Development, and Graduate Education.

NOTE: Project Development Mini-Grants are completely separate from the CAIRHE Pilot Project grant program, funded by the National Institutes of Health, though they are designed to facilitate the development of a community-based Pilot Project application that is consistent with CAIRHE's research mission. CAIRHE's Request for Pilot Project Applications will post later this fall, with a deadline of April 2021.

ELIGIBILITY: Applicant must be an MSU junior faculty member who holds a full-time faculty appointment, or a local government or nonprofit community organization. CAIRHE encourages the involvement of one or more graduate or undergraduate students. Past recipients of a Project Development Mini-Grant are not eligible unless the community and research topic differ substantially from the previous award. Please contact James Burroughs at [email protected] with any questions about eligibility.

PURPOSE: Project Development Mini-Grants are intended primarily to support travel around the state to establish community connections and also the early formation of a Community Advisory Board (CAB). (Travel and in-person meetings may have to be restricted due to current COVID-19 conditions.) Funds may be used toward participation incentives for CAB members. Mini-Grants also are intended to help the junior faculty member submit a competitive Pilot Project application to CAIRHE's 2021 Request for Pilot Proposals. Mini-Grant applicants are strongly encouraged to apply for Pilot Project funding in April 2021 (with funding for awarded applications to begin September 1, 2021). Applicants who are awarded Mini-Grants will receive support from CAIRHE's Community Engagement Core at no cost. Project Development Mini-Grants cannot be used to fund actual research, which requires MSU Institutional Review Board (IRB) pre-approval and greater pre-award scrutiny from CAIRHE.

AMOUNT: Most Project Development Mini-Grants will total between $5,000 and $10,000 (maximum). 

TIMELINE: Funding will begin in early October 2020, and spending must be concluded by the end of MSU's fiscal year on June 30, 2021. There can be no carryover of funds past June 30.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: September 30, 2020.

APPLICATION CONTENTS: In one page (using Arial 11 pt. font, single-spaced, minimum 1/2-inch margins), please provide the following:

• Your full contact information, including departmental or community affiliation, and the identity of any other known participants in the proposed Mini-Grant.
• A 200-word-or-less synopsis of the proposed pilot project research that identifies community/stakeholder partnerships that would be part of the future pilot project. Include plans for applying to CAIRHE's RFP (in 2021 or later) or an external grant-funding agency. (Again, the Mini-Grant itself cannot support actual research.)
• A description of how the Mini-Grant would be used to develop partnerships in advance of the future pilot project. (This description is not included in the 200-word synopsis.)
• A budget for how the funds would be used. (Not included in the 200-word synopsis.)

WHERE TO SUBMIT: E-mail your one-page application as a PDF by end-of-day on September 30 to James Burroughs, [email protected]. 

REVIEW AND NOTIFICATION: Applications will be reviewed by the Center Director/PI and an internal review committee. Applicants selected for funding will be notified in early October, with funding to begin immediately.

QUESTIONS: Please direct any questions about the Mini-Grants to James Burroughs, 406-994-4407, [email protected].