Community Members’ Guide to Submitting A …...Community Members’ Guide to Submitting A Community-Engaged Research Federal Grant Application More information is available at

Community Members’ Guide to Submitting A Community-Engaged Research Federal Grant Application

More information is available at www.tuftsctsi.org. If you have specific questions or would like to speak with one of our team members, please contact us at [email protected].

CONTRIBUTORS:

Tufts CTSI

Laurel K. Leslie, MD, MPH

Christina Mulé, PhD

Carolyn Rubin, EdD

Nathan Allukian, BA

Joe Hodgkin, BA

Marcia Izzi, MPH

Joseph Braitsch II, MRP

Community Partners

Chien-Chi Huang, MS

Megan Cheung, RN, LICSW

Vivien Wu, BA

Mei-Hua Fu, MS, MEd

Alex Pirie, BA

mailto:info%40tuftsctsi.org?subject=

2

Contents Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

HelpfulAcronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

INTRODUCTION 11

What Is Community-Engaged Research?

ModelsofCommunity-EngagedResearch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

ExamplesofCommunity-EngagedResearch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

COMMUNITY-ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS 16

How to Build Community-Academic Partnerships

AspectsofCommunity-AcademicPartnershipDevelopment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

LearningaboutthePossibilitiesofCommunity-AcademicResearchPartnership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

EstablishGuidelinesandStrategiestoGuideInteractionswithAcademicResearchers . . . . . . . . . . . 18

BuildandMaintainRelationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

EstablishaClearCommunity-AcademicResearchPartnership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

COMMUNITY-ENGAGED RESEARCH APPLICATION 23

Administrative Logistics

ApplicationProcessChecklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Pre-applicationProcess . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

ApplicationProcess . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

3

Pre-ApplicationProcess . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

TaxExemption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

DataUniversalNumberingSystem(DUNS) . . . . . . . . . . . 24

eRACommonsIdentificationNumber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

FacilitiesandAdministration(F&A)Rates . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

ApplicationProcess . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

KnowingtheLandscapeofPotentialFunding . . . . . . . . . 26

LetterofIntent(LOI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

NegotiatingRoles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

HumanSubjectsResearchEthicsRequirements . . . . . . . 29

MemorandumofUnderstanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

ConflictsofInterest(COI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Budget&BudgetJustification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Biosketches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

LetterofSupport(LOS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

GrantText . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

ConclusionsforAdministrativeLogistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

ETHICS & BEST PRACTICE IN RESEARCH 33

Why Is Research Ethics Important?

InstitutionalReviewBoard(IRB)&FederalwideAssurance(FWA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

ConflictsofInterest(COI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

HealthInsurancePortabilityandAccountabilityAct(HIPAA) . 36

RESEARCH BUDGET & BUDGET JUSTIFICATION 38

Developing a Research Budget & Justification

HowtoDevelopaBudget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

ExistingResources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

NeededResources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

FacilitiesandAdministration(F&A)Rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

UnderstandingYourSpecificRoleintheGrantProcess . 40

SharingGrantFunds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

HowtoDevelopaBudgetJustification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

SuccessfullyCollaborating:TheCriticalRoleofCommunication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

CONCLUSION 46

4

Overview

This guide is intended for community-based organiza-

tions that are interested in community-based research

partnerships with academic researchers (defined herein

asresearchersaffiliatedwithacademicuniversitiesandacademic

medicalcenters) .Itwasdevelopedaftercommunity-basedorga-

nizationsandacademic researchersexpressed interest inhaving

a resource that outlines the steps required to submit a federal

grantapplicationtofundingagenciessuchasNational Institutes

ofHealth(NIH),CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention(CDC),

AgencyforHealthcareResearchandQuality(AHRQ),andPatient

CenteredOutcomesResearchInstitute(PCORI) .

Oneoftheprimarygoalsofthisguideistohelpstreamlinethe

processofmeetingfederalresearchgrantapplicationrequirements

forcollaborationsbetweencommunitymembersandresearchers .

Inthisguide,youwillfind

nInformationaboutcommunity-engagedresearch

nInformationyouneedtobuildcommunity-academic

researchpartnerships

nInformationyouneedtoprepareafederalcommunity-

engagedresearchapplication

nUsefultipsandexamplestoguideyouthroughfederal

grantsubmissions .

TheguideisaproductoftheCenterforAligningResearchers

andCommunities forHealth (ARCH)ofTuftsClinicalandTrans-

lational Science Institute (CTSI) . If after reading this guide you

are interested inpursuingacommunity-academic researchpart-

nership, please contact Tufts CTSI for more information . If you

wouldlikespecificconsultation,pleasecompletearequestform:

http://informatics .tuftsctsi .org/pims/request .htm .

Weencourageyoutoexploreourwebsite:www.tuftsctsi.org .

http://informatics.tuftsctsi.org/pims/request.htm

http://www.tuftsctsi.org

5

Glossary 501(c)(3):Anorganizationwiththisstatus isexemptfromsome

formsoffederalincometax .Thisstatusisreservedfororganiza-

tionsworkingfor“religious,charitable,scientific,testingforpublic

safety, literary, or educational purposes, or to foster national or

internationalamateursportscompetition(butonlyifnopartofits

activitiesinvolvetheprovisionofathleticfacilitiesorequipment),

or for thepreventionofcruelty tochildrenoranimals” [26USC

501(c)(3)]) .Organizationswith501(c)(3)statusarenotallowedto

campaignforpoliticalcandidatesorlegislation .Doingsowillresult

intheirtax-exemptstatusbeingrevoked .Moreinformationabout

501(c)(3) taxexemptstatuscanbe foundathttp://www .irs .gov/

Charities-&-Non-Profits/ .

Allowable Costs: Allowablecosts areexpenses that are reason-

ableandnecessary .

Award:Federal fundinggranted intheformofanaward isgen-

erallygrantedinannual installmentsandallowsformoreflexibil-

ityandadjustmentthanfederalfundinggrantedintheformofa

federalcontract .Ateamisheldtolessspecificexpectationsand

consequencesforchangesintheprojectwhenitisfundedthrough

anaward .

Biosketch:Aformsubmittedwithanapplicationforfundingthat

summarizestheeducationandexperienceofaresearcher .Thisis

shortandshouldaimtohighlighttheexperiencethatmakesthe

researcherastrongapplicantforthegrantinquestion .Thetem-

plate for theNational InstitutesofHealth (NIH)biosketchanda

sample can be found at http://grants .nih .gov/grants/funding/

phs398/phs398 .pdf .

Budget Justification Form:Aformthatprovidesanarrativeexpla-

nation for each of the components mentioned in the budget; it

explains,or“justifies,”thecostofthework .Eachitemshouldbe

http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/

http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.pdf


6

explainedbyitsnecessitytoachievetheaimoftheproject,pro-

videsufficientdetailthatdescribesthework,howitrelatestothe

cost,andlinkstotheaim .

Commons ID: ACommonsIDor“eRACommonsID”isanidentifi-

cationnumberrequiredofallinvestigatorssubmittingapplication

toNIH .ItisimportanttorequestanIDwellinadvanceofyourgrant

submissiondeadlinebecausetheprocessofobtaininganumber

cantakeweeks .FormoreinformationoneRACommonsIDnum-

ber,visithttp://era .nih .gov/commons/faq_commons .cfm .

Conflict of Interest:Asituationinwhichinvestigatorsinaresearch

study have a relationship or interest that may conflict with the

goalsoftheproject .Conflictsofinterestshouldbeavoidedatall

costsoraccountedforinprojectproposals .

Consultant:Inagrantapplication,aconsultantisanindependent

(i .e .,he/sheisunaffiliatedwithanotherinstitution)individualfrom

outside the applying institution who will be participating in the

researchandwhowillbepaidforhisorherservices .

Contract:Federalfundinggrantedinacontractiscontingentupon

meetingveryspecificrequirements .Oftenthefundingwillbedeliv-

eredininstallmentsasthegroupmeetsbenchmarksestablishedin

thecontract .Iftheprojectdoesnotproceedaspromised,theteam

willbe subject to legalorfinancial consequences .Contractsare

usuallypaidforonacostreimbursementbasis .

Cost Principles: Costprinciplesarechargesthatcannotbecharged

tograntsandareconsideredunallowableexpenses(e .g .,alcohol) .

Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS): This is a registra-

tion system for businesses that is used by governments around

theworld,includingtheU .S .government .Fundingsourcesusually

requireapplicants tohaveaDUNSnumber .Anorganizationcan

obtain a unique, nine-digit DUNS number by applying to Dun &

Bradstreet,thegroupthatassignsthem,athttp://www .dnb .com/

get-a-duns-number .html .

Direct Costs:Whenapplyingforfundingforaproject,directcosts

makeuptheportionofyourgrantthatisspentsolelyonthecost

ofthatproject .Examplesincludethesalariesandbenefitsofstaff

memberswhoworkfulltimeonthatproject,thecostofsupplies

thatareusedexclusivelyforthatproject,ortravelforthepurpose

ofworkingonthatproject .

http://era.nih.gov/commons/faq_commons.cfm

http://www.dnb.com/get-a-duns-number.html

http://www.dnb.com/get-a-duns-number.html

7

Electronic Research Administration (eRA) Commons:This isan

onlineportaladministeredbytheU .S .DepartmentofHealthand

HumanServices(HHS) .Itsfunctionistomovethegrantapplica-

tionandapprovalprocess (the “grant lifecycle”)online,making

itmoreefficient .Applicants forgrantscansubmitmaterialsand

reviewtheirprogressthroughthetool,whilegranteescanupdate

applicantsandrequestfurtherinformation .TheeRAcommonscan

beaccessedathttps://commons .era .nih .gov/ .

Facilities and Administration (F&A):Afundingapplicationmust

also account for indirect costs, which come from spending that

supports your project, but not exclusively . For example, if your

teamissharingabuildingwithpeopleworkingonotherprojects,

thentheheat,rent,electricity,andphonebillsforthatbuilding,as

wellassalariesofmaintenancestaff,aresupportingyourproject,

butnotexclusively .Rateagreementshaveformulae forcalculat-

ingtheindirectcostofaproject .Institutionsnegotiatetheserates

withthefederalgovernment .

nFoundationsoftensetanindirectrateatapercent

ofthetotalprojectaward(0,10,12,15%) .Thesemay

rangefrom0to100% .

nCommunity-basedorganizationscanalsorequestindi-

rectcosts—itisimportanttodecideasanorganization .

Federalwide Assurance (FWA):Anagreementwith thegovern-

ment tocomplywith federal standards forethical researchwith

humansubjects .AnFWAisrequiredfororganizationsthatconduct

humansubjectsresearchsupportedbyorpaidforbyanyagency

of theU .S .DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices (HHS) .A

projectconductedatanorganizationwithanFWAisapprovedby

anInstitutionalReviewBoard,whichhelpsresearchstayincompli-

ancewithfederalregulationsandprotecthumansubjects .Instruc-

tionsforobtaininganFWAnumbercanbefoundathttp://ohrp .cit .

nih .gov/efile/FwaStart .aspx .

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA):This

1996federallawputinplaceasystemfortheprotectionofpatient

privacy .Healthcareprovidersmustbetrainedbytheirinstitutions

intheseprivacypractices .AsummaryoftheHIPAARulecanbe

found at http://www .hhs .gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/

summary/index .html .

https://commons.era.nih.gov/

http://ohrp.cit.nih.gov/efile/FwaStart.aspx

http://ohrp.cit.nih.gov/efile/FwaStart.aspx

http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/summary/index.html

http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/summary/index.html

8

Human Subjects Training Requirements:Thecurriculumaninsti-

tution requires researchers tocomplete if theyareworkingwith

humansubjects .Theserequirementsaredesignedtobeincompli-

ancewiththeregulationsregardinghumansubjectsresearchlaid

outbytheU .S .DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices(HHS),

includingHIPAA .

Inflation: If a project will take place over years, the researchers

andfundersmaytaketheincreaseinpricesoverthattime(infla-

tion) intoaccountwhenplanningfunding .Adjustingfor inflation

increasestheprojectedcostofaproject;however,somefunding

agencieshavediscontinuedinflationary increases . It is important

toconsiderthiswhenyoudraftyourinitialbudget .

Informed Consent: Participants in medical research must give

researchers their documented consent to participate . For this

consenttobe“informed,” itmustbeproventhatallthe implica-

tionsofparticipatinginthestudywereexplainedtoparticipants;

theyunderstoodtheexplanation;andtheyagreedtoparticipate

withafullunderstandingofwhattheywereagreeingto,without

beingcoerced inanyway .Foraproject toproceed, researchers

mustdemonstratetotheirpotentialfundingsourcestheirplansfor

obtaininginformedconsentfromparticipants .InstitutionalReview

Boardsareexpectedtoreviewastudy’s informedconsentplans

beforeapprovingit .

In-Kind:Anin-kindparticipantinaprojectissomeonewhodoes

notexpect reimbursement forhisorher role .This is sometimes

referredtoas“cost-sharing .”

Institutional Review Board (IRB): A committee that reviews

researchinvolvinghumansubjects .TheIRBisresponsibleforpro-

tectingthesafety,rights,andwelfareofhumansubjects,aswellas

ensuringcompliancewithregulationsandpoliciesforhumansub-

jectsresearch .Thefederalgovernmentsetsstandardsforthecom-

positionandfunctionofreviewboardsthroughtheFoodandDrug

AdministrationandtheDepartmentofHealthandHumanServices .

Information about Tufts IRB can be found at http://viceprovost .

tufts .edu/HSCIRB/ .

Letter of Support:Thisisadocumentsubmittedbyaninstitution

orsupporter(butwrittencooperativelybythecollaborators)and

submittedwithagrantapplication . Itdemonstratesthatthecol-

laboratorwhoisnottheprimarygrantsubmitter isonthesame

http://viceprovost.tufts.edu/HSCIRB/

http://viceprovost.tufts.edu/HSCIRB/

9

page,knowshisorherrole,andispledginghisorhersupportto

theproject .

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or Memorandum of

Agreement:Thisisanexternaldocumentdraftedbycollaborators

onaprojectthatspecificallydefinestherolesofeachcollaborator

andwhatisexpectedofeachofthem .Thisisanimportantstepin

collaborating,sinceitpreventslaterdisagreementsoverresponsi-

bilities .MOUsareusuallydefinedinthesubcontractpackages .A

guide towritingamemorandumofunderstanding fromtheU .S .

DepartmentofHealthandHumanServicescanbefoundathttp://

aspe .hhs .gov/daltcp/reports/mouguide .htm .

Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP):Thebranchof

the U .S . Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that

oversees ethical standards for human subjects research . OHRP

approvesIRBsandgrantsfederalwideassurances(FWAs)toinsti-

tutions conducting human subjects research supported by HHS .

OHRP’s tools for investigators can be found at http://www .hhs .

gov/ohrp/policy/investigators/index .html .Abrochureforpotential

research participants can be found at http://www .hhs .gov/ohrp/

education/brochures/3panelfinal .pdf .

Prime Institution: Whenmultipleinstitutionsororganizationsare

involvedinagrantapplication,oneinstitutionmustbedesignated

as the prime institution, and funding for the other institution(s)

must be requested via a subcontract to be administered by the

primeinstitution .Theprimeinstitutionistypicallytheorganization

bywhichtheprimaryinvestigatorisemployed .

Subcontract/Subaward:Whentheprimeinstitutionwantstocol-

laboratewithresearchersatanotherinstitution,asubcontract,or

subaward,mustbearrangedsothatfundingcangotobothinsti-

tutions .An important requirement is that the rolesofallparties

areclearlydefined .Thedifferencesbetweencontractsandawards

(discussedabove)applytosubcontractsandsubawardsaswell .

http://aspe.hhs.gov/daltcp/reports/mouguide.htm


http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/policy/investigators/index.html

http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/policy/investigators/index.html

http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/education/brochures/3panelfinal.pdf

http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/education/brochures/3panelfinal.pdf

10

Helpful Acronyms

Researchprojectsmayinvolvealotofresearchjargon,which

canbeachallengewhencommunitygroupsandresearchers

collaborate . We compiled a list of acronyms that are commonly

usedinresearchprojects,whichmaybehelpfulforyou .

ACRP:AssociationofClinicalResearchProfessionals

AHRQ:AgencyforHealthcareResearchandQuality

Biosketch:BiographicalSketch

CBO:Community-BasedOrganization

CBPR:Community-BasedParticipatoryResearch

CEnR:Community-EngagedResearch

COI:ConflictofInterest

CTSA:ClinicalandTranslationalScienceAward

DUNS:DataUniversalNumberingSystem

eRA Commons:ElectronicResearchAdministrationCommons

IAA:InstitutionalAuthorizationAgreement

IIA:IndividualInvestigatorAgreement

LOI:LetterofIntent

F&A:FacilitiesandAdministrativeCosts

FDA:FoodandDrugAdministration

FWA:FederalwideAssurance

HHS:DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices

HIPAA:HealthInsurancePortabilityandAccountabilityAct

IRB:InstitutionalReviewBoard

NIH:NationalInstitutesofHealth

OHRP:OfficeforHumanResearchProtections

PI:PrincipalInvestigator

RFA:RequestforApplications

FOA:FundingOpportunityAnnouncement

RFP:RequestforProposals

MOU:MemorandumofUnderstanding

11

INTRODUCTION

What Is Community-Engaged Research?

Community-engaged research (CEnR) is defined as

research that engages in “the process of working col-

laborativelywithandthroughgroupsofpeopleaffiliated

by geographic proximity, special interest, or similar situations to

addressissuesaffectingthewell-beingofthosepeople”(Centers

forDiseaseControldefinition,1997) .

Inthisbroaddefinition,“community”canincludeavarietyof

stakeholders,including

nCommunityleadersandstaffincommunity-based

organizations

nProviders,supportstaff,andadministratorsin

locationslikeclinics,hospitals,mentalhealthsystems,

long-termcarefacilities,schools,andhome-based

programs

nPatientsandtheirfamilies

nIndividualsandgroupspayingfor,purchasing,or

settingpolicyaboutwell-beingandhealth .

CEnRisincreasinglyseenasanessentialstrategyforadvanc-

ing innovative, high-quality research . Communities, researchers,

and federal government funding agencies recognize the advan-

tagesofCEnR,whichincluderesearchthat

nIsfeasibletoconductinreal-worldsettings

nIsrelevanttocommunityneeds

nCanbedisseminatedandimplementedinreal-world

settings

nBalancesscienceandaction .

12

OnekeyprincipleofCEnRisanassets-based approach.CEnR

acknowledgestherearesynergisticassets,orstrengths,thatcom-

munities and researchers collaboratively bring to the table . This

asset-based approach relies on respectful, open communication

andshareddecision-making .

AsecondkeyprincipleisthatCEnRisaction-oriented. CEnR

seeks to link research to changes in practices, systems, or poli-

cies .Often,CEnRincludescommunityleaders,staffincommunity-

basedorganizations,patients,advocacygroups,andcommunity

members aswell as academic researchers from colleges/univer-

sitiesdoing research together to improvehealthofunderserved

populations,geographicalcommunities,orpatientgroups .

A third key principle is capacity-building. Inherent in the

establishmentandmaintenanceofcommunity-academicresearch

partnershipsistheneedtobuildthecapacityforbothcommunity

andacademicpartnerstoworksynergisticallywitheachother .

CommunitymembersvaryintheirrolesinCEnR .Theymay

nIdentifytheneedforresearchonaparticulartopic

nBringthattopictotheattentionoffunderslikethe

federalgovernmentorfoundations,orresearchersat

universities

nCommissionresearch

nServeasco-investigatorsonresearchprojectswith

academicresearchers

nServeonsteeringcommitteesoradvisorypanels,pro-

vidingtheirperspectivesontheresearchbeingcon-

ductedandhelpingtointerpretanyfindings

nRecruitcommunitymemberstoparticipateinresearch

nCollectdataforresearch(conductingneedsassess-

ments,surveys,focusgroups,andinterviews)

nDisseminateresearchfindingstotheirconstituency

nAdvocateforsystems,policy,andpracticechanges

thataresupportedbyresearchfindings .

Models of Community-Engaged Research

CEnRliesonacontinuumandmayvarybywhoowns,oper-

ates,andconductstheresearch .Itacknowledgesthatthere

TheCTSAProgramatNIH:OpportunitiesforAdvancingClinicalandTranslationalResearchhttp://www .iom .edu/Reports/2013/The-CTSA-Program-at-NIH-Opportunities-for-Advancing-Clinical-and-Translational-Research .aspx

PrinciplesofCommunityEngagement,SecondEditionhttp://www .atsdr .cdc .gov/communityengagement/pdf/PCE_Report_508_FINAL .pdf

More information and free materials on CEnR is available at

http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2013/The-CTSA-Program-at-NIH-Opportunities-for-Advancing-Clinical-and-Translational-Research.aspx






http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/communityengagement/pdf/PCE_Report_508_FINAL.pdf



13

aremultipleapproachesforcommunitymemberstoengagewith

academic researchers: Theapproachchosenwill dependon the

identifiedgoalofthecollaboration,theexpertiseofeachcollabo-

rator,andavailableresources(seeFigure1) .

Often,anacademicresearchermayleadaprojectwithacom-

munitygroupservinginmoreofanadvisoryorconsultancycapac-

Shared Leadership

•Strongbidirectionalrelationship

•Finaldecisionmakingisatcommunitylevel

•Entitieshaveformedstrongpartnershipstructures

•Outcomes:Broaderhealthoutcomesaffectingbroadercommunity .Strongbidirectionaltrustbuilt

Collaborate

•Communityinvolvement

•Communicationflowisbidirectional

•Formspartnershipswithcommunityoneachaspectofprojectfromdevelopmenttosolution

•Entitiesformbidirectionalcommunicationchannels

•Outcomes:Partnershipbuilding,trustbuilding

Involve

•Bettercommunityinvolvement

•Communicationflowsbothways,participatoryformofcommunication

•Involvesmoreparticipationwithcommunityonissues

•Entitiescooperatewitheachother

•Outcomes:Visibilityofpartnershipestablishedwithincreasedcooperation

Consult

•Morecommunityinvolvement

•Communicationflowstothecommunityandthenback,answerseeking

•Getsinformationorfeedbackfromthecommunity

•Entitiesshareinformation

•Outcomes:Developsconnections

Outreach

•Somecommunityinvolvement

•Communicationflowsfromonetotheother,toinform

•Providescommunitywithinformation

•Entitiescoexist

•Outcomes: Optimally,establishescommunicationchannelsandchannelsforoutreach

Reference:Modifiedbytheauthorsfromthe“PrinciplesofCommunityEngagement,SecondEdition .”

Incre

ase

d L

eve

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f C

om

mu

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nvo

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me

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Im

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om

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ati

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Figure 1:ContinuumofCommunity-EngagedResearch

14

ity .Overthelastseveraldecades,community-based participatory

research (CBPR)hasincreasinglygainedinternationalrecognition

as a means of creating social change . In CBPR, the entire pro-

cessisjointlyownedamongresearchersandcommunitygroups .

Othernames for this typeof research includecommunity-based

participatoryactionresearchandparticipatoryactionresearch .A

third model of CEnR also occurs when community groups con-

duct research at their organization with one or more academic

researchersservingasconsultantsoradvisors .

Examples of Community-Engaged Research

CEnRtopicareasmaybeidentifiedbycommunitygroups(e .g .,

thepublic,communityagencies,patients,patients’ families,

providers, etc .), academic researchers, or community-academic

partnerships .BelowareexamplesofCEnRresearchprojectsthat

arecommunityinitiated,researcherinitiated,orjointlydeveloped .

Theprinciplesofengagementdiscussedabovearealsodemon-

stratedthroughtheseexamples .

Example 1: Youhaveidentifiedagrowingneedinyourcommunity.

Youwanttounderstanditscausesanddeveloppotentialinterven-

tions.Youmaywanttocollaboratewithacademicresearchersto

conductresearchthatwillhelpmeettheneedsofyourcommunity.

You and your organization are excited to engage in an in-depth

researchproject.

Helenarunsanafter-schoolprogramandiscommittedtopre-

ventinggangviolenceinhercommunity .Shewouldliketoapply

forlargefederalgrantsorfoundationgrantstopursueherefforts .

Sheislookingforacollaborativeresearchpartnershipwithanaca-

demicresearcheratthelocaluniversity .Helenawillinitiateconver-

sationswithanacademicaboutherresearchideas .Shemaywant

tobealeaderoftheresearchprojectoruseaCBPRapproach .

Example 2: Youareaskedbyaresearchertohelpwitharesearch

study.Yourtasksmayincluderunningfocusgroups,findingpeople

toparticipateinthestudy,orparticipatinginaninterviewasakey

stakeholder.

Fredworksforahousinginitiativeandisaskedbyresearch-

erstofindpeopletoparticipateinastudyonasthmatriggersin

low-incomehousing .BecauseFred iscentral to thedailyopera-

tionsofhisorganization,histimeismostlyspentonfront-lineser-

vices .Fredisalsoveryinterestedintheimpactofmoldycarpets

Community-BasedParticipatoryResearch:ConferenceSummaryhttp://www .ahrq .gov/news/events/other/cbpr/index .html

DevelopingandSustainingCommunity-BasedParticipatoryResearchPartnerships:ASkill-BuildingCurriculumhttp://depts .washington .edu/ccph/cbpr/index .php

WellesleyInstitute http://www .wellesleyinstitute .com/presentations/cbr_100_series/

More information and free materials on CBPR are available at

http://www.ahrq.gov/news/events/other/cbpr/index.html



http://depts.washington.edu/ccph/cbpr/index.php



http://www.wellesleyinstitute.com/presentations/cbr_100_series/




15

onpeoplelivinginthepublichousinginhisarea .Hemaychooseto

servemoreofanadvisoryroleontheresearchprojectandbeless

hands-onfortheday-to-dayactivitiesoftheproject .Alternatively,

hemayfeelthisprojectissynergisticwithhisorganization’smis-

sion,therearesufficientresourcestocoverhisshiftingworkload,

andhewantsmoreinvolvementwiththeresearchteam .Fredcan

decidehislevelofinvolvementintheproject .

Example 3: Youwouldliketoconsultwitharesearcheraboutavail-

abledataregardingneedsinyourcommunityormethodstostudy

aninterventioninyourorganization.

MaiisinterestedinpeersupportgroupsforAsianwomenwith

breastcancerandhasanideaforherorganization .Shewouldlike

tofindoutwhathasbeenpublishedonpeer supportprograms

withAsianwomenandmethodsforpossiblysettingupandevalu-

atinganintervention .Maiwasnotoriginallylookingforapartner-

shiptodoresearch;however,sherealizeshowlittleisknownabout

caringforAsianwomenwithbreastcanceranddecidestojointly

submitagrantproposalwiththeresearcher .

Example 4: Anacademicresearcherisexploringriskfactorsrelated

tosocioeconomicstatusandparentingpractices.Theresearcher

seekshelpindisseminatinginformationtothecommunity.

Juan isthedirectorofacommunitymentalhealthcenter .A

researcher is completing a study regarding parenting practices

among socioeconomically disadvantaged families . In addition to

producing academic manuscripts, the researcher is producing a

seriesoffactsheetstosharewiththecommunity .Theresearcher

seeksJuan’ssupporttodisseminatetheinformationtothecom-

munity . Juan invites the researcher to talk with his community

mentalhealthcenterstaffaboutthecontentandtoneofthefact

sheet,andpossibilitiesfordistributingthefactsheetsatcommu-

nityevents .

“Chapter3:SuccessfulExamplesintheField,”PrinciplesofCommunityEngagement,secondeditionhttp://www .atsdr .cdc .gov/communityengagement/pdf/PCE_Report_508_FINAL .pdf

More CEnR examples are available at




16

How to Build Community- Academic Research Partnerships

COMMUNITY-ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS

Collaborating on research can be an exciting experience

andapowerfultoolforfurtheringthegoalsofyourorga-

nizationandcommunity .Itiscriticaltoacknowledgethat

buildinganeffectivepartnershipbetweenyourorganizationand

academicpartnerstakeshardwork,time,andresourcesfromboth

parties .Communityorganizationsandacademicinstitutionshave

differentculturesandmissions .Developingacommunity-academic

researchpartnershiprequirescloseattentiontobothofthem .

Aspects of Community-Academic Partnership Development

Before enlisting in a research partnership, it is important to

consider four aspects of community-academic partnership

development:

nLearnaboutthepossibilitiesforcommunity-academic

partnership

nEstablishguidelinesandstrategiesthatwillguide

interactionswithacademicresearchers

nBuildandmaintainrelationships

nEstablishaclearcommunity-academicresearch

partnership .

We discuss each of these four aspects of community-

academicpartnershipdevelopmentinmoredetailbelow .

Theconvening

organization“must

havesufficient

organizational

capacity,commitment,

leadership,andvision

tobuildaneffective

coalition .”

(Butterfoss,2007,p .254)

17

Learning about the Possibilities of Community-Academic Research Partnership

Thefirstaspectisaimedatbetterunderstandingthepossibilities

ofcommunity-academicresearchpartnerships .Asacommunity-

basedorganization,theaimistoevaluateyourgoalsinpartnering

withanacademicresearcheranddetermineiftherearepossible

synergies with an academic researcher’s goals . You will need to

knowwhether researchfitswithyourorganization’soverarching

mission, strategic plan, and goals . Here are some questions you

mightaskyourselfasacommunity-basedorganization,andques-

tionsyoumightdiscusswithyourpotentialacademicpartners:

Community-Based Organization

Academic Partner

Mission & Goals

•Howwouldresearchhelpmyorganizationachieveitsgoalsandobjectives?

•HowcanIguidetheresearchprojecttobeconsistentwithmyorganization’smission?

•Doourorganizationalvision,mission,andvaluesalignwiththeacademicresearchers’vision,mission,andvalues?

•Whatareourgoalsfordoingresearchtogether?

•Whatarethegoalsandobjectivesofourpartnership?

•Howmightourpartnershiphelpuseachbetterachieveourowngoalsandobjectives?

•Whoarethekeystakeholdersinourpartnership?

•Howcanthesekeystakeholderstakepartintheresearchprocess?

•Howcanweguidetheresearchprojecttobeconsistentwiththemissionofourrespectiveorganizations?

Benefits & Risks

continued on next page

•Howmightmyorganizationbenefitfromaresearchproject?

•Whataresomeofthebenefitsanddrawbacksofresearch?

•Dotheacademicresearchersunderstandourcommunity’schallenges/needs?Ifnot,aretheyopentolearning?Howcanwehelpthemtobetterunderstandourchallenges/needs?

•Whatwillweeachgainthroughthispartnership(e .g .,opportunitiesforstaffdevelopment,learninghowtobestanswerresearchquestions,connectionstokeystakeholders,etc .)?

•Doweeachhavesignificanttimeandenergytodevotetoanewresearchprojectandpartnership?

18

Establish Guidelines and Strategies to Guide Interactions with Academic Researchers

Community agencies or organizations are often asked to assist

withresearchendeavors(e .g .,theymaybeaskedbygraduatestu-

dentswhoneedstudyparticipantsinordertocompletetheirdis-

sertations, or they may be asked by academic researchers who

wanttocollaborativelyaddresssomeresearchquestion) .Commu-

nityagenciesororganizationsneed toestablishguidelinesand/

orstrategiesforhowtheywillmanagerequestsandhowtheycan

effectivelybuildrelationshipswiththeirresearchpartners .Build-

Community-Based Organization

Academic Partner

Benefits & Riskscontinued

•Whataresomeofthechallenges/needsoftraditionalacademicresearchthatImaycomeacrossasIworkwithanacademicresearcher?AmIopentolearning?Howcantheybetterhelpustounderstandtheirchallenges/needs(e .g .,fundingtimelinesandlimits,producingscientificresults,publishinginprofessionaljournals,etc .)?

•Isthereaprocessinplacethatissensitivetobothofourchallenges/needs?

•Whataresomeofthebenefitsanddrawbacksofcommunity-academiccollaborativeresearch?Howmightweaddressthedrawbacksinordertomakethispartnershipsuccessful?

Ability & Resources

•Howwillparticipatinginaresearchpartnershipimpactourday-to-dayoperations?Willthisprojectmeanaddingstafforreorganizingourresources?Ifso,whataretheconsequences(positiveandnegative)ofparticipating?Isitworthourefforts?

•Howwillthestudy’sbudgetaddressourspecificneedforextratraining,staffing,and/oradministrativeresourcesnecessarytoconducttheresearch?

•Inwhatwaysareourrespectiveorganizationspreparedandreadytoengageinanewresearchprojectandpartnership?

•Whathuman,financial,andtechnicalresourcesareneededforagoodandhealthyresearchpartnership?

•Howwillthestudy’sbudgetaddressthepotentialneedforextratraining,staffing,and/oradministrativeresourcesnecessaryforboththecommunityandtheresearchmemberstoconducttheresearchproject?

•Howwilltheresourceswehaveorwillreceivebesharedfairlybetweenus?

Note: Questionsmodifiedfromthe“SelfAssessmentToolforCommunity-EngagedResearch”locatedontheTuftsCTSIwebsite:http://www.tuftsctsi.org/Services-and-Consultation/Community-Engagement/Community-Engagement-Tools-and-Resources.aspx.

http://www.tuftsctsi.org/Services-and-Consultation/Community-Engagement/Community-Engagement-Tools-and-Resources.aspx

http://www.tuftsctsi.org/Services-and-Consultation/Community-Engagement/Community-Engagement-Tools-and-Resources.aspx

19

inga relationshipwithanacademic researcheroftengoesmore

smoothlyifbothgroups

nTakethetimetolearnabouteachother’sworkbefore

proposingprojects

nCometothetablewithoutassumptionsabouteach

other’sprioritiesorinterests

nMoveforwardatanappropriatepace,withoutrushing,

andasklotsofquestionsthroughouttheprocess

nProposeprojectsthathavearangeofpossibleideas

andallowforflexibility .

Someinstitutionshavepublisheddocumentswithguidelines

for how they will do research with academic researchers . These

mayhelpwithnegotiatinghowyouwillworktogether .Forsamples,

pleasego tohttp://www .tuftsctsi .org/Services-and-Consultation/

Community-Engagement/Community-Engagement-Tools-and-

Resources .aspx#SampleDocs .

Build and Maintain Relationships

A community organization’s relationship with researchers will

likelybeginwithone-on-oneconversations,eitherscheduledout

ofmutualinterestorperhapsresultingfromeventsinthecommu-

nityattendedby individuals frombothparties .Onechallenge in

movinganideaforwardisscalinguparelationshipthatisperson-

to-persontoonethat isorganization-to-organization .Whentwo

people form a mutually beneficial relationship and are excited

aboutworkingtogether, ithelps forcommunity-basedorganiza-

tionsandacademicresearchersto

nMeetone-on-onetoshareideasaboutcollaboration .

nAsktogetrespectiveorganizationsonboard .Arethey

likelytoshareourenthusiasmandvision?

nConsiderwhatstepsneedtobetakentogettheproj-

ectapprovedbyeachrespectiveorganization .What

isthestructureoftheorganization,andhowaredeci-

sionsmade?Isitnecessarytomeetwithagovernance

committee,fundraising/developmentcommittee,or

programevaluationcommittee?

Establishingorganizationalsupport,orbuy-in,andestablish-

ing clear research goals can take considerable time . During this

process it is helpful to keep formal and informal conversations

http://www.tuftsctsi.org/Services-and-Consultation/Community-Engagement/Community-Engagement-Tools-and-Resources.aspx#SampleDocs



20

going with your academic partners to assist with strengthen-

ing your relationship . Once you have established organizational

support, you are ready to begin discussing specific community-

academicresearchpartnerships .

Establish a Clear Community-Academic Research Partnership

Once you have built a relationship with an academic researcher

andhavecommittedtoacollaborativeresearchgoal,youmaybe

readytoestablishapartnershiparoundaspecificproject .However,

establishingaclearunderstandingofyourpartnershipiscriticalto

asuccessfulresearchrelationship .Theengagementprocessmust

behonest,andexpectationsmustbeclear,aseffortshavefloun-

deredinthepastduetotheabsenceoftransparencyandreciproc-

ity .Youwillwanttoclearlydelineaterolesandadecision-making

process .Belowaresomequestionsthatwillhelpyouthroughout

thisprocess:

nAretheroles,responsibilities,andexpectationswithin

ourpartnershipclearlydefinedandunderstoodby

everyone?Aretheseexplainedinwriting(e .g .,Who

willdowhat?Whowillultimatelyberesponsible?

Whenwehaveconflictsaboutrolesandresponsibili-

ties,howwillthosebehandled?)?

nWhatkindofdecision-makingprocesswillbeused

throughoutourpartnership(e .g .,ledbycommunity

organizationmembers,ledbyacademicresearchers,

jointlyledbybothcommunityorganizationandaca-

demicresearchers)?

nHowwillfundingbesharedacrosspartners?Ifthe

fundingagencyproposescutstothebudget,howwill

decisionsbemadeaboutthosecuts?

nHowwillthemanypartsoftheresearchproject(e .g .,

definingstudyquestions,writingproposals,designing

methods,analyzingresults,distributingfindings)be

dividedbetweenthecommunityorganizationandthe

academicpartners?

nWhowillhaveownershipofthedatacollectedthrough

theresearchproject,intellectualrightsoftheresearch

produced,andauthorshipofresearchpapers?

21

nWhatistheextentofthecommunity-academic

researchpartnership(i .e .,Isthisalong-termpartner-

ship?Isthisatestcasewherewearelearningabout

eachother?Areweinterestedinthepartnershiponly

foraspecificgrantapplication?)?

Fundamentaltoallofthesequestionsistrust .Doyouhavea

relationshipinwhichyoucantrusteachothertonegotiatedecisions

togetherthatareassynergisticaspossible,withintheconstraints

ofyourdifferentorganizations,overthecourseofthecommunity-

academic research relationship? Once these partnership issues

are addressed, community-academic partners can move toward

addressingconcreteresearchquestions .Werecommendpartners

consultthe“WorkingTogetherforResearchThatMatters:Stepsto

Building Successful Research Partnerships” model developed by

thecityofLawrence,Massachusetts,andschematicallyportrayed

onthefollowingpage .

Note: TheWorkingTogetherModelwascreatedbyLawrenceleadersandcanbefoundathttp://www .tuftsctsi .org/Services-and-Consultation/Community-Engagement/Community-Engagement-Tools-and-Resources .aspx#SampleDocs .



22

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23

Administrative Logistics

COMMUNITY-ENGAGED RESEARCH APPLICATION

Writingagrantapplicationcanbeachallengingpro-

cess . In addition to developing research questions

thatarecompetitiveforgrantfunding,community-

academicpartnersneedtomanagelogisticalissues .Manyofthese

logisticswillneedtobeaddressedconcurrently,whichresults in

numerous,simultaneouslymovingparts .Belowisagrantapplica-

tionchecklisttohelpguideyouthroughtheprocess:

Application Process Checklist

Pre-application Process

nIhaveestablishedlinkageswithresearchers .

nMyorganization’smissionalignswiththegoalsof

thisresearch .

nMyorganizationisonboardfortheprojectandhas

theresourcestocommittotheproject .

nMyorganizationhastax-exemptstatus(e .g .,501(c)(3)

orother) .

nMyorganizationhasaDataUniversalNumbering

System(DUNS)number .

nMyorganizationhasaneRACommonsidentification

number .

nMyorganizationhasanestablishedfacilitiesand

administration(F&A)rate(alsoknownasindirect

costrate[IDC]) .

24

Application Process

nIamawareofpotentialfundingopportunities .

nIhaveidentifiedapotentialfundingsourceandsenta

letterofintent .

nIknowthetitles,roles,andexpectedpayofallcollab-

oratorsintheproject .

nIhavediscussedhumansubjectresearchethics

requirementsandinformedconsentwithmy

collaborators .

nIhaveco-writtenandsignedamemorandumofunder-

standingwithmycollaborators .

nIhavediscussedpotentialconflictsofinterestwithmy

collaboratorsandcompletedconflictofinterestforms .

nIhavedevelopedabudget,takingintoconsideration

directandindirectcosts,inflation,andallocationof

fundsamongcollaborators .

nAllcollaboratorshaveappropriatebiosketchesready .

nIhavecompletedaletterofsupportifIamnotthe

principalinvestigator(PI) .

nIhavewrittenthegranttextthatIamresponsiblefor .

Severaloftheaboveitemswerediscussedinearliersectionsof

thisguide(e .g .,howtobuildcommunity-academicpartnerships) .

Thissectionincludesinformationtohelpguideyouthroughaddi-

tionalaspectsofthegrantapplicationprocess .

Pre-Application Process

Tax Exemption

Mostcommunity-basedorganizationsalreadyhaveestablishedtax

exemptionbecauseoftheirnon-profitstatus .Ifyourorganization

doesnotyethavetaxexemption,youwillneedtoobtain501(c)

(3)orothertax-exemptstatusthroughtheInternalRevenueSer-

vice(IRS) .PleaseseeIRSpublication“TaxExemptStatusforYour

Organization”athttp://www .irs .gov/pub/irs-pdf/p557 .pdf .

Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS)

ADataUniversalNumberingSystem(DUNS)numberisaunique,

nine-digit identification number . It is free for all organizations

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p557.pdf

25

requiredtoregisterwiththeU .S .federalgovernmentforcontracts

orgrantsandisnecessaryforyourorganizationtoreceivegrant

funding .YoumayrequestaDUNSnumberviathewebbyvisiting

http://fedgov .dnb .com/webform/index .jsp .

eRA Commons Identification Number

Principal Investigators (PI)andsigningofficials (SO) fromappli-

cantorganizationsneedtohaveaneRACommonsaccount,asdo

otherpeoplewhomaybeassistingintheprocessofgrantapplica-

tionsubmission .ToregisteraninstitutionwithineRACommons,

1. On the Commons home page (https://public .era .nih .gov/

commons/public/login),selecttheRegister Grantee Organi-

zationlink .

2. ReadtheinstructionsandclicktheRegister Nowbutton .

3. Completethe informationfields for the Institution Informa-

tion and Accounts Informationsections,notingthefollowing:

nAllfieldsfollowedbyaredasterisk(*)arerequired .

nAminimumofoneaddressline(Street1)isrequired .

nTheInstitutionNamemaycontainamaximumof100

characters .

nAnOfficial’sTitlemaycontainamaximumof240

characters .

nTheUserNamemusthaveaminimumofsixcharacters

(numbersandletterscanbecombinedbutnospaces

canbeused) .Usernamesmaynotexceedthemaxi-

mumof20characters .

nTheAccountsAdministrator(AA)positionandinfor-

mationisoptional .Whencompletinginformationfor

theAA,fillintherequiredaccountinformationfields

andsubmit .

nTheDUNSNumberisaunique,nine-digitidentification

forsinglebusinessentities .

4. Verify that all entered information is correct before select-

ingSave,whichgeneratesacompletedregistrationformwith

signatureanddatelines .

5. Print,sign,anddatetheregistrationform .

6. FaxthecompletedregistrationformtoNIHat301-451-5675 .

howtorequestaDUNSnumber,andtoaccessotherhelpfulresourcesrelatedtothisguide,pleasevisit:http://www .tuftsctsi .org/Services-and-Consultation/Community-Engagement/Community-Engagement-Tools-and-Resources/Community-Members-Guide-to-Submitting-a-Research-Grant-Application .aspx

For information on

http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/index.jsp

https://public.era.nih.gov/ commons/public/login

https://public.era.nih.gov/ commons/public/login

http://www.tuftsctsi.org/Services-and-Consultation/Community-Engagement/Community-Engagement-Tools-and-Resources/Community-Members-Guide-to-Submitting-a-Research-Grant-Application.aspx








26

NIHwillsendanemailtothedesignatedSOthatcontainsa

hyperlinktoverifytheSO’semailaddress .

7. ClicktheemailhyperlinktoverifytheSOemailaddress .

Theemailverificationscreenconfirmsthattheemailaddress

providedfortheSOisvalid .NIHthenreviewstheregistration,

whichisnowpendingapproval .

8. OncetheSO’semailaddressisconfirmedandtheregistration

request is reviewedby theNIH,asecondemail is sentstat-

ingthestatusoftheapplication(eitherapprovedorrejected)

and,ifapplicable,providingahyperlinktoconfirmandcom-

pletetheregistrationprocess .Ifapproved,selectthehyperlink

inthemessagetofinalizetheregistrationprocess .Oncethe

institution information isconfirmed,the lasttworegistration

emails are sentwith theCommonsusername inoneanda

temporarypasswordforloggingintotheCommonssystemin

another .After successfully logging intoCommonsusing the

temporary password provided in the final email, the user is

promptedtochangethepasswordinaccordancewiththeNIH

passwordpolicy .

Facilities and Administration (F&A) Rates

Itisimportanttoestablishafacilitiesandadministration(F&A)rate

beforeyousubmitagrantapplication,asitisamajorcomponent

of your budget . Please refer to the Research Budget & Budget

Justificationsectionofthisguideforadditionalinformation .

Application Process

Knowing the Landscape of Potential Funding Opportunities

Now that youhaveestablisheda community-academic research

partnershipandyouunderstand the logisticsofgrantwriting, it

istimetolookforfundingopportunitiestosupportyourresearch

projects .Fundingopportunityannouncements(FOA)andrequests

forproposals(RFP)frequentlybecomeavailable;however,these

announcementscanbeunpredictable .Itisessentialthatcommunity-

academicresearchpartnerssharetheresponsibilityofsearching

for fundingopportunities . FederalFOAscan be found at http://

www .grants .gov/web/grants/search-grants .html, a website that

Federalfundingsourceshttp://www .grants .gov/

AssociatedGrantMakershttp://www .agmconnect .org/

Foundations .orgwww .foundations .org/grantmakers .html

Fundsnet .comhttp://www .fundsnetservices .com/

TheFoundationCenter’s“PhilanthropyNewsDigest”http://foundationcenter .org/pnd/rfp

For Additional Sources of Funding, go to

http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html

http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html

http://www.foundations.org/grantmakers.html



http://www.fundsnetservices.com/

http://www.fundsnetservices.com/

27

organizes funding opportunities from 26

federal agencies . Within the public health

sector,community-academicpartnersmight

be most interested in FOAs from the U .S .

DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices

(HHS)(seeFigure2) .

Once you have identified a funding

opportunity,thereareafewdetailsthatwill

requirespecialattention:

Unique rules, requirements, culture, and

language. Each funder, whether a foun-

dationoranagencywithinthe local,state,

or federal government, has its own rules,

requirements, culture, and language . It is

essential to find someone with expertise

whocanhelpyou .

Short timelines. Withshiftingmarketsand

budgetchallenges,recentcallsforresearch

havebeenissuedwithveryshortturnaround

times . Being able to efficiently respond to

requests for applications is critical, but it

can stress organizations and relationships

among community groups and academic

researchers .

Limited infrastructure support for commu-

nity members to participate in the grant

application process. There is an expecta-

tion that academic researchers have fiscal

and/oradministrativehelpwithdevelopingandsubmittinggrant

applications . Many community-based organizations do not have

thisfiscaloradministrative support inplace .Academicuniversi-

tiesalsomaylacktheresourcestoprovideinfrastructuresupport

tocommunitystakeholderstoparticipateinthegrantapplication

process .

Letter of Intent (LOI)

Aletterofintent(LOI)proposestheresearchprojectyourteamwill

beconductingandyourplanstoapplyforfunding .Somefunding

agencieswillrequestthatyousubmitanLOI,andothersmaynot .

Figure 2:U .S .DepartmentofHealthand

HumanServices(HHS)FundingAreas

28

Itiscriticalthatyoureadcarefullyallrequestsforproposals(RFPs)

todeterminewhetheranLOIisnecessary .Formoreinformationon

howtowriteanLOI,visithttp://www .nimh .nih .gov/funding/grant-

writing-and-application-process/letter-of-intent .shtml .

Negotiating Roles

Health research is usually conducted by teams . Common terms

usedby foundations,governmentalagencies,anduniversities to

identify different team members are listed and defined below .

In community-academic collaborations, the research teams are

dividedintostrategicpositionsthatareassignedappropriatelyso

thatrolesandtasksaresuitableforeachteammember’sskillset .

Itwillbehelpfultotalkabouteachperson’srolewithinyourpro-

posed researchprojectbecause this informationwillneed tobe

clearlyoutlinedinyourgranttext .

UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY

Principal Investigator (PI):Thisistheleaderofaresearchteam .ThePIisultimatelyresponsibletothefundingsourcesforthecompletionofprojects .SometimesfundingopportunitiespermittwoequivalentPIs,called“DualPIs .”Inacommunity-basedparticipatoryresearch(CBPR)grant,theremaybeanacademicianandacommunitymemberservingasDualPIs .

Co-Investigator:AninvestigatorwhoisinvolvedinthescientificresearchinadditiontothePI .Co-investigatorscannotallocateuseoffundsintheprojectwithoutwrittenapprovalofthePI .Theymaybecommunitymembersorresearchscientists .

Research Scientist:Auniversityfacultymemberwhoworksonordirectsresearch,oftenfull-time .Dependingontheinstitution,aresearchscientistmayalsobecalledanAssistant,Associate,orFullProfessor .Researchscientistsmayhavetheirsalariescoveredbytheiruniversities .Alternatively,someresearchscientistsareon“softmoney,”whichmeanstheirsalariesareusuallycoveredbyresearchgrants .

Research Assistant/Associate/Coordinator:Theseindividualsworkonresearchprojectsunderthesupervisionofamoreseniorfacultymember .Assistantsusuallyhavesomeexperience;associatesandcoordinatorsmayhaveanadvanceddegree(e .g .,MPH,Master’s) .

Community Outreach/Coordinator/Surveyor: Thispositionisusuallyinthe“field”andservesasfrontlinestaffontheproject(assistswithrecruitment;conductingsurveys,focusgroups,etc .) .

Consultant: Consultantsprovideuniqueinsightintothecommunitythatwillhelpfacilitatetheresearchproject .Thisrolecanprovideavarietyofservicesfromlanguagetranslationstoexploringculturalsensitivities .

Advisory Panel/Member of the Board: Peopleservinginthisroleprovidetheirperspectivesontheresearchbeingconductedandhelptointerpretanyfindings .

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/funding/grant-writing-and-application-process/letter-of-intent.shtml

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/funding/grant-writing-and-application-process/letter-of-intent.shtml

29

Human Subjects Research Ethics Requirements

Itisessentialthatcommunity-basedorganizationsdiscusshuman

subjectsresearchethicsrequirementsandinformedconsentwith

theircollaboratorsbeforesubmittingagrantapplication .Thefund-

ingagencywillwanttoknowhowyouwillprotecthealthinforma-

tionandyourparticipants .PleaserefertotheEthics & Best Practice

in Researchsection(page33)ofthisguideformoreinformation .

Memorandum of Understanding

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) is an external docu-

mentdraftedbycollaboratorsonaprojectthatspecificallydefines

therolesofeachcollaboratorandwhatisexpectedofthem .This

is an important step in collaborating since it prevents later dis-

agreementsoverresponsibilities .MOUsareusuallydefinedinthe

subcontractpackages .WhendevelopinganMOU, it ishelpfulto

considerthefollowingquestions:

nAretheroles,responsibilities,andexpectationswithin

yourcollaborationclearlydefinedandunderstoodby

everyone?Aretheseexplainedinwriting?

nWhatkindofdecision-makingprocesswillbeused

throughoutyourcollaboration(e .g .,ledbycommunity

organizationmembers,ledbyacademicresearchers,

jointlyledbybothcommunityorganizationmembers

andacademicresearchers)?

nHowwillyouhandleconflict?

nHowwillthemanypartsoftheresearchproject(e .g .,

definingstudyquestions,writingproposals,designing

methods,analyzingresults,distributingfindings)be

dividedamongthecollaborators?

nWhowillhaveownershipofthedatacollected

throughyourresearchproject,intellectualrightsof

theresearchproduced,andauthorshipofresearch

papers?

nHowwillyoudistributeproducts,shareresults(e .g .,

publishedpapers,topicpapers,presentations),and

communicatemessagestorelevanttargetaudiences

(includingotherresearchers,funders,government

agenciesandrepresentatives,stakeholders,andthe

community)?

30

nWhentheprojectends,howwillyoumakesurethat

resourcesareavailablefrominternaland/orexter-

nalsourcestocontinueyourresearchprojectand

collaboration?

AguidetowritinganMOUfromtheU .S .DepartmentofHealth

andHumanServicescanbefoundathttp://aspe .hhs .gov/daltcp/

reports/mouguide .htm .

Conflicts of Interest (COI)

Aconflictofinterest(COI)isasituationinwhichinvestigatorsin

aresearchstudyhavearelationshiporinterestthatmayconflict

withthegoalsoftheproject .COIsshouldbeavoidedatallcostsor

accountedforinprojectproposals .COIsshouldbediscussedwith

research collaborators, and all team members should complete

aCOIform .Most institutionshavetheirownCOIforms .Referto

thehttp://grants .nih .gov/grants/policy/coi/websiteforadditional

information .

Budget & Budget Justification

A budget and budget justification are necessary to and critical

componentsofeachgrantproposal .PleaserefertotheResearch

Budget & Budget Justificationsection(page38)ofthisguidefor

moreinformation .Youmayalsorefertothehttp://grants .nih .gov/

grants/funding/phs398/phs398 .htmlwebsite forupdated,fillable

forms .

Biosketches

Abiosketchisaformthatsummarizestheeducationandexperi-

enceofaresearchteammember .Thisisshortandshouldaimto

highlighttheexperiencethatmakestheresearcherastrongappli-

cantforthegrantinquestion .ThetemplatefortheNationalInsti-

tutesofHealth(NIH)biosketchandasamplecanbefoundhere:

http://grants .nih .gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398 .pdf .

Letter of Support (LOS)

IfyouarenotthePIonagrantapplication,youmayneedtowrite

aLetterofSupport(LOS) .Thisletterdescribesyourcommitment

totheprojectandwhatyouwillspecificallybedoing .Thegoalsof

anLOSareto

nSpecifywhattheconsultant/collaboratorwillcontrib-

utetotheresearch



http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html


31

nConvincethereviewerthattheconsultant/collaborator

willfulfilltherequest

nConveyenthusiasmforthework

nLendcredibilitytoyourproposal .

As long as your letter demonstrates specifically what you

willbecontributingtotheproject,thereisnorightorwrongway

todraft a strongLOS .Furtherguidancecanbe foundathttp://

viceprovost .tufts .edu/grantwriting/resources/letter-of-support/ .

Grant Text

Youmaybeaskedtocontributetotheactualgranttext .Forexam-

ple,youmaybeassignedtowriteaspecificaimoftheresearch

projectortoprovideadescriptionofyourorganization(e .g .,mis-

sion,targetpopulation,activities,space,funding)aspartofyour

roleintheapplicationprocess .Makesureyouareawareofdead-

linesandwhetheryouareabletomeetthem .Grantapplications

areateameffort,andallcollaboratorsneedtorespondtorequests

responsibly .

Inadditiontotheprocessofdevelopinggranttext,itisessential

thatwritersfollowtheguidelinesspecifiedbythefundingagency,

suchasthenumberofpagesandtheformatforreferences .These

guidelinesshouldappearwithintherequestforproposalsandon

thefunder’swebsite .

Finally, before submitting any grant application, it is critical

thatseveralpeopleproofreadthedocumentfortyposandclarity .

Ifareaderneedstopauseandrereadaparticularsection,itislikely

confusingorpoorlywritten . Inthiscase it isworth investingthe

timetostrengthenthatparticularsection .Asageneralrule,you

donotwanttooverlytaxthegrantreviewers .Insteadofrereading

yourapplication,thereviewersaremorelikelytodeductpoints .

Conclusions for Administrative Logistics

Every grant application requires attention to many logisti-

caldetails,andtheycanbedifficulttoprioritize .Community

organizationsshouldprepare themselves forgrantopportunities

by addressing all of the pre-application process items before a

request forproposal ismadepublic .Thiswillallowyouto focus

onmoreimportantaspectsofthegrantproposal,ratherthanget-

tingboggeddowninthedetails(e .g .,applyingfortaxexemption) .

http://viceprovost.tufts.edu/grantwriting/resources/letter-of-support/

http://viceprovost.tufts.edu/grantwriting/resources/letter-of-support/

32

Additionally, these pre-application process items take time and

maypreventyoufromsubmittingyourgrantproposalbeforethe

deadline .Althoughtheprocessmayseemdaunting,onceyouhave

submitted one grant application, each one thereafter should be

easier .

33

Why Is Research Ethics Important?

ETHICS & BEST PRACTICE IN RESEARCH

When people participate in research studies, that

researchistermed“humansubjectsresearch”todif-

ferentiate it from other research, such as research

withbacteriaoranimals .Humansubjects research raisescritical

ethical issues focused on how we protect research participants

fromharm .Severalprocessesare inplacetoensureethicalcon-

ductofresearchthatinvolveshumansubjects .Thefollowingitems

shouldbeconsideredwhenresearchproposalsaredraftedand/or

afterproposalsarefunded:

nInstitutionalReviewBoard

nConflictsofInterest(COI)

nHealthInsurancePortabilityandAccountabilityAct

(HIPAA) .

Institutional Review Board (IRB) & Federalwide Assurance (FWA)

Duringthe20thcentury,anumberofeventsoccurredwhere

ethicalconcernswereraisedabouttheresearchconducted .

Some examples include research conducted in concentration

campsduringWorldWarII,researchwithAfrican-Americansinthe

Tuskegeestudy,andresearchwithhospitalizedchildrenwithdevel-

opmentaldisabilities .Inresponse,theU .S .governmentpublished

the BelmontReport in1979,establishingtheethicalframeworkfor

humansubjectsresearchintheU .S .TheBelmontReportspecifi-

callycalledforresearchtoconformtotheprinciplesofrespectfor

persons,beneficence(i .e .,concernforthewelfareofresearchpar-

ticipants),andjustice .In1991,theCommonRule(officiallytermed

45CFRpart46)waspublished,givingadditionalprotections to

34

vulnerablepopulationsincludingpregnantwomen,humanfetuses,

neonates,children,andprisoners .Inaccordancewiththeseethical

mandates,academic institutionswererequiredtosetup Institu-

tional Review Boards (IRBs)tooverseehumansubjectsresearch

studiesandreviewthesestudiestomakesuretheyareconducted

inanethicalmanner .

Every institutionthatconductsfederallyfundedhumansub-

jects research is required to enter into an agreement called a

Federalwide Assurance (FWA) . An FWA provides an assurance

of compliance, usually negotiated with the U .S . Department of

HealthandHumanServices(HHS),thattheorganizationwillfol-

lowtheethicalprinciplesoutlinedintheBelmontReportandthe

CommonRule .TheOfficeofHumanResearchProtections(OHRP)

withinHHS isresponsibleforoverseeingFWAs,registering IRBs,

andenforcingcompliancewiththeCommonRule.

Communityorganizationsparticipatinginresearcharerequired

tocomplywiththeseregulations .Somecommunityorganizations

mayneedtoobtaintheirownFWAandhavetheirownIRBs;others

mayobtainanFWA,butrelyonanotherorganization’sIRB .

If a communityorganization is relyingonanotherorganiza-

tion’s IRB, there are two types of agreements to keep in mind:

IndividualInvestigatorAgreement(IIA)andanIRBAuthorization

Agreement(IAA) .Theseagreementsareeasilyandoftenconfused

becauseoftheirsimilaracronyms .

An Individual Investigator Agreement (IIA) is a written

agreementbetweenaprincipal investigatorat theFWA-assured

institution,likeamedicalhospitaloruniversity,andorganization/

individuals outside of the assured institution (e .g ., community

agencyorserviceorganization) .Theprincipalinvestigatoratthe

FWA-assuredinstitutiondirectsandsupervisestheresearchactivi-

tiestobeperformedbythecollaboratingindividualinvestigator(s)

outsideof theassured institution (e .g .,acommunityagency) . In

essence,acommunityagencywithoutFWA-assurancewillbecov-

eredundertheFWAoftheassuredinstitutionthroughtheIIA .An

IIAisappropriateforsmallcommunityagenciesororganizations

thatareparticipatinginresearchandhavenointentionofcontinu-

ing their research beyond their current involvement (i .e ., do not

plantoapplyforfederalfundsortoconductafollow-upstudy)and

arenotnamedresponsibleforoverseeingtheresearchactivities .

Through an IIA, the collaborating individual investigator(s)

confirmthefollowing:

35

nThecollaboratingindividualinvestigatorisnotworking

foranorganizationwithanFWA

nTheconductoftheresearchispermittedatthat

organization

nThecollaboratingindividualinvestigatorandhis/her

organizationwillabidebythedecisionsoftheIRBand

thepoliciesoftheassuredinstitution

nThecollaboratingindividualinvestigatorandhis/her

staffwillcompleteanyethicaleducationaltraining

required(e .g .,manyinstitutionsrequireresearchers

tocompletetheCollaborativeInstitutionalTraining

Initiative[CITI]forHumanSubjectsResearchonline

training) .

An IRB Authorization Agreement (IAA) is a written agree-

ment between two organizations that are FWA-assured . In this

agreement,oneorganization(OrganizationA)agreestoserveas

the IRBof record for ahuman subjects researchproject for the

secondorganization(OrganizationB),whichcedestheresponsi-

bilityoftheIRBreviewtothefirstorganization .Eachorganization

retainsresponsibilityforitsownresearchers’conductintheeyes

ofthegovernment .Thisdocumentmustbekeptonfilebyboth

partiesandprovidedtoOHRPuponrequest .

OrganizationAagreesto:

nProvideanIRBreviewthatwillmeetthehumansub-

jectprotectionrequirementsofOrganizationB’sFWA

nFollowagreed-uponproceduresforreportingits

findingandactionstoappropriateofficialsatOrgani-

zationB

nMakeavailablerelevantminutesofIRBmeetingsto

OrganizationBuponrequest .

OrganizationBagreesto:

nEnsurecompliancewiththeIRB’sdeterminationsand

withthetermsofitsOHRP-approvedFWA

nEnsureproperconductoftheresearchbyits

investigators

nReportnecessaryinformationabouttheconductof

thestudytotheIRBatOrganizationA .

36

SpecificquestionsshouldbedirectedtotherespectiveIRBs

ofanyorganizationsparticipatingintheresearchproposal .Please

note:theIndianHealthService(IHS)maintainsitsownprocesses

for research conducted at HIS facilities or with IHS staff and

resources(seelinkinsidebaratleft) .

Conflicts of Interest (COI)

The term“conflictof interest” (COI) in research refers tosit-

uations in which personal or financial considerations may

compromise or cloud a researcher’s professional judgment in

conductingor reporting research .COI isdifferent from research

misconduct(i .e .,fabrication,falsification,andplagiarism) .Evenif

researchersareconductinghigh-quality research, concernshave

beenraisedaboutthepotentialbiasesthatresearchersmayhave

in interpretingresults .Forexample,aresearcherwhogivestalks

forapharmaceuticalcompanywithregardtopsychotropicmedi-

cationuseinadultsmaybeinadvertentlybiasedintermsofhow

heorsheinterpretsresearchdata .

Asnewchallengesarisewithhumansubjects research,new

requirementsareinstituted,withthegoalofmakingsureresearch

is conducted in an ethical manner . Newer requirements include

that all named investigators complete conflict of interest forms

describinganypossible financial or relational interests thatmay

influenceastudy .

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

(HIPAA)PrivacyRuleestablishestheconditionsunderwhich

protectedhealthinformation(i .e .,anypersonallyidentifiableinfor-

mation about a patient including name, address, social security

number,anddateofbirth)maybeusedordisclosedbycovered

entities(e .g .,healthplans,hospitals,clinics)forresearchpurposes .

ThePrivacyRulealsodefinesthemeansbywhichindividualsmust

beinformedofusesanddisclosuresoftheirmedicalinformation

forresearchpurposes,andtheirrightstoaccessinformationabout

themheldbycoveredentities .Whereresearchisconcerned,the

PrivacyRuleprotectstheprivacyofindividuallyidentifiablehealth

information,whileatthesametimeensuringthatresearcherscon-

TheBelmontReporthttp://www .hhs .gov/ohrp/humansubjects/guidance/belmont .html

TheCommonRulehttp://www .hhs .gov/ohrp/humansubjects/commonrule/

HIPAAPrivacyRulehttp://www .hhs .gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/special/research/research .pdf

UnderstandingCommunity-BasedProcessesforResearchEthicsReview:ANationalStudyhttps://ccph .memberclicks .net/assets/Documents/FocusAreas/ajph .2010 .194340v1 .pdf

IndianHealthService(IHS)InstitutionalReviewBoard(IRB)Checklisthttps://www .ihs .gov/Research/pdf/irb-form .pdf

More information related to research ethics is available at

http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/guidance/belmont.html



http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/commonrule/



http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/special/research/research.pdf




https://ccph.memberclicks.net/assets/Documents/FocusAreas/ajph.2010.194340v1.pdf




https://www.ihs.gov/Research/pdf/irb-form.pdf



37

tinuetohaveaccesstomedicalinformationnecessarytoconduct

vitalresearch .Toaccesshealthinformation,researchersmusthave

IRBapproval .Todiscloseprotectedhealthinformation,research-

ersmusthavebothdocumentedIRBapprovalandpatientconsent .

38

Developing a Research Budget & Justification

RESEARCH BUDGET & JUSTIFICATION

Whenpreparingyourorganizationforsubmittingafed-

eralgrantapplication,youwillneedtodecidewho

willsubmittheapplicationasthe“lead”or“prime .”

Forfederalgrants,theleadistypicallytheacademicresearcher’s

institutionbecauseofeligibilityrequirements,andbecausefederal

grantsoftenhavemoreadministrativerequirementsthanprivate

andfoundationfunding .Mostresearchinstitutionshaveadminis-

trativestaffexperiencedinnavigatingthesecomplexapplications .

Iftheacademicinstitutionfunctionsasthelead,itisimportant

todevelopyourbudgetintandemwiththatinstitutionwhilemain-

tainingconsistencywiththeexistingfinancial,administrative,and

fundraisingproceduresofyourorganization .Developingaproposal

without considering these items could yield a non-competitive

proposal or cause an administrative burden and/or unwanted

organizationalchallenges if thegrant is funded .Closecollabora-

tiveworkontheinitialproposalbudgetisimportantbecausecom-

munitypartnersmaybeawareofadditionalcoststhatacademic

researchersmayormaynotknowabout .

Onetypeofadditionalcostistranslation .Whenworkingwith

non-English–orlimited-English–speakingcommunities,thetrans-

lationofconsentforms(andthentranslationbackintoEnglish)is

necessarytoensureconceptsareappropriatelycapturedinanother

language,oratranslatorisn’tusingatermparticulartoonearea

thatisn’tusedinanotherarea .Forexample,theword“depression”

has no comparable word in Chinese . As another example, some

phrasesusedbySpanish-speakingnatives inMexicomaynotbe

used by Spanish-speaking natives in the Caribbean; alternative

wordingmayneedtobeconsidered .

39

How to Develop a Budget

Developingastrongbudgetiscriticaltoobtaininggrantfund-

ing .On theonehand, it is important tobeconservative in

yourbudget .Ontheotherhand,itisimportantthatyourequest

adequatedollars for theproposedproject .With the recenteco-

nomic downturn, some funded applications have had their bud-

getsreduced .Therearealsoinstancesoffundingbeingreduced

duringthegrantperiodbecauseoffederalbudgetreductions .This

isalmostimpossibletoplanfor,butshouldbetakenintoaccount .

Thereareafewconsiderationstokeepinmindwhendevelop-

ingabudget,including:

nWhatresourcesdoyoualreadyhavetocommittothe

project?

nWhatresourcesdoestheproposedprojectneedin

termsofstaffing,supplies,travel,andothermaterials?

nTowhatextentdoyouneedtofactorinfacilitiesand

administration(F&A)rates(i .e .,indirectcosts)?

nWhatistheorganization’srole(i .e .,prime,subcontract,

orconsultant)andwhataretheexpectations?

nHowwillfundsbesharedacrosscommunity-academic

researchpartners?

Wediscusseachoftheseareasinthesectionsthatfollow .

Existing Resources

Community-academicresearchpartnersmayalreadyhaveanum-

berof resources thatprovidesupport toa researchproject .For

example,acommunity-mentalhealthclinicmaybereceivingreim-

bursementforitsclinicalcarethroughinsurancebilling .Therefore,

onewouldcautionagainstrequestingfundstocoveraclinician’s

clinicaltime .Similarly,aresearchermayhaveaccesstowork-study

studentswhomayassistonaprojectbutrequireasmallerstipend

thanresearchassistants .

Needed Resources

Althoughitisimportanttobeconservativewhencreatingabud-

get,itiscriticalthatcommunity-academicresearchteammembers

accountforallofthenecessarymoneytheywillneedtosuccess-

fullycarryouttheirproposedresearch .Inexperiencedgrantwriters

mayforgetmiscellaneousdetailswithintheirbudgets,whichcan

40

laterresultinunderfundedwork,soitishelpfultohaveamentor

reviewyourapplicationmaterialsbeforethesubmissiondeadline .

Resourcesyoumaywanttoconsiderinclude

nSalaryandfringesupportforpersonnel(fringe

includesinsurance,disability,sick/vacationtime,etc .)

nConsultants

nEquipment(e .g .,software,iPads,etc .)

nTravel(relatedtothestudyifconductingsitevisits,

reimbursingstudyparticipants’travelcosts,orrelated

topresentingatconferences)

nConferenceregistrations

nProjectcosts(e .g .,remunerationforparticipants,tran-

scriptionservices) .

Facilities and Administration (F&A) Rates

BudgetsalsoneedtotakeintoaccountFacilitiesandAdministra-

tion(F&A)rates .F&Aratesincludeindirectcoststhatcannotbe

allocated to a specific research project . These include the costs

of rent,phones, internet,accounting,custodial services,building

depreciation,andotherutilities .WithregardtoF&Arates,some

large not-for-profit organizations such as universities, hospitals,

and larger social service agencies have an approved negotiated

F&A rate with the federal government, which can be anywhere

from15%to65%orhigher .Theseorganizationshavesuccessfully

coordinatedarigorousproposalprocessbetweentheiradministra-

tion,boardofdirectors,andafederalagency .

Othernot-for-profitorganizationsmayneedtoestablishtheir

ownF&Arate .Thislinkoffersmoreguidance:http://www .fcadv .org/

sites/default/files/Sample%20Indirect%20Cost%20Proposal%20

Format .pdf .

Understanding Your Specific Role in the Grant Process

Whendevelopingyourbudget,beginbyunderstandingyourrole

intheresearchproject .Acommunityorganizationcanplayanyof

afewdifferentrolesinsubmittingafederalgrant,suchaslead,or

prime,organizationorsubcontract,orconsultant(definedbelow):

Applicant or Prime Institution: Whenmultipleinstitutionsororga-

nizationsareinvolvedinagrantapplication,oneinstitutionmust

http://www.fcadv.org/sites/default/files/Sample%20Indirect%20Cost%20Proposal%20Format.pdf



41

bedesignatedastheprimeinstitution,andfundingfortheother

institutionsmustberequestedviaasubcontractorconsultancyto

beadministeredbytheprimeinstitution .Theprimaryinvestigator

istypicallyemployedattheprimeinstitution,whichhastheadmin-

istrativecapacitytomeetfederalfundingrequirements .

Subcontract/Subaward: WhenthePrimeinstitutionwantstocol-

laboratewith individuals at another institution, a subcontractor

subawardmustbearranged .Animportantrequirementisthatthe

rolesofallpartiesbeclearlydefined .Thereisgenerallyakeyper-

sonnel section written into the subcontract that describes who

fromtheorganizationwillbeprovidingwhatservices,atwhatper-

centtime,andforwhatduration .Asasubcontract,theorganization

isrequiredtosubmitseveralgovernment-issuedforms(discussed

below)andaformalbudget .Academicinstitutionalgrantadmin-

istrationdepartmentshaveexperiencewiththeseformsandcan

provideclarityandsupportforacommunity-basedorganization .

Oftenthereisspecificlanguagetobeused(suchas“Primeorga-

nization”)thatagrantsadministrationdepartmentwillknowwell

andcanexplaintoorganizationsthatmaynothavebeenexposed

to this typeof languagebefore . It isworthnoting that someof

theseformsandspecific languagemaybenewtothe investiga-

toraswell,particularlyifheorsheisnewtocommunity-engaged

researchorhasneverbeforesubmittedagrantwithasubcontract .

Consultant: Inagrantapplication,aconsultantisanindependent

individualororganizationfromoutsidetheprimeinstitutionthat

willbepaidhourlyforservicesprovidedfortheproject .Thecon-

sultantwillneedtoprovideasocialsecuritynumber(foranindi-

vidualconsultant)orataxidentificationnumber(ifthepayment

willbegoingtoanorganization)ontheappropriateforms .

Sharing Grant Funds

It is essential that the community-based organization and aca-

demic partners have open and clear communication about the

budget(e .g .,bothpartiesreviewandsignoffonthebudgetpro-

posalbefore it is submitted toa funding institution) .Discussing

howgrantfundsshouldbesplitorallocatedcanbeuncomfortable .

Whengrant fundsareallocated tocertainpeople (regardlessof

theirorganization),theyneedtobeclearaboutwhatthosefunds

arepayingforthemtodo .Jobdescriptionsshouldbeclearand

specify certain responsibilities (e .g ., study recruitment,datacol-

42

lection, data management, manuscript preparation, etc .) and/or

deliverables(e .g .,monthlyprogressreport,publicationofresults,

etc .) . If a community-based organization is shouldering most of

the research responsibilities, it makes sense that more research

dollarsareallocatedtoit; ifmoreoftheresearchresponsibilities

areassumedbytheacademicpartners,moredollarsmayneedto

beallocatedtothem .

How to Develop a Budget Justification

Abudget is a simple representation of what a specific and

definableprojectwill cost inorder tobe successful .Costs

thatareenteredintoabudgetmustbe

Allowable: Allowable expenses are reasonable and necessary,

allocable to sponsored projects, given consistent treatment and

conformtoany limitationsorexclusionssetforth intherelevant

federalregulations(ifapplicable),thesponsoredagreement,and

theacademicinstitution’spolicy .

Allocable: Anexpenseisallocableifitisincurredsolelytoadvance

theworkundertheagreement,orifitbenefitsboththesponsored

agreementandotherworkof the institution, inproportions that

canbeapproximatedthroughuseofreasonablemethods .

Reasonable: Acostisreasonableifitisonethataprudentperson

wouldhaveincurredunderthecircumstancesprevailingwhenthe

purchasewasmade .

Consistently treated: Costs incurred for the same purpose, in

like circumstances, must be treated consistently as either direct

or indirect (F&A) costs . This means that if an organization nor-

mally includesanexpenseaspartof itsF&Arate,then it should

not includethatsameexpenseasadirectcostinaproposal .For

example,ifabusinesslistsphonesaspartofitsF&Arate,itcannot

includephonesasadirectcostinagrantproposal .

Abudgetjustificationisawrittendocumentthatexplainsin

detaileachof the items includedandexplainswhytheproject’s

successrequireseachitem .Differentfederalagenciesusedifferent

formsandhavedifferentbudgetingguidelines .TheU .S .Depart-

mentofHealthandHumanServices(HHS)isacommonsupporter

ofacademicandmedicalcenterresearch,sotheexamplesbelow

useasetofitsforms .Itisimportanttoreadthroughthenoticeof

fundingavailabilitycarefullyandtolearnthebudgetrequirements

43

foryourspecificgrantsubmission .Ifyourorganizationisactingas

aconsultantorasubcontract,itisessentialtocoordinatethebud-

getdevelopmentandformproductionwiththeprimeinstitution .

The HHS grant application guidelines are called PHS 398

Guidelines .Nomatterwhattheorganization’srole,thefollowing

formswillneedtobecompletedbyyouorbytheprimeinstitution:

nFormPage4

nFormPage5

Oncetheseformsarecompleted,theprimeinstitutionwilllist

thesumofthesecostslistedintheFormPage4sandFormPage

5s under “Consultant Costs” or “Consortium/Contractual Costs .”

Yourformsandjustificationwillbeincludedinthebudgetsection

ofthefinalproposal .

Form Page 4:

Tocompletethispageitishelpfultohavethebudgetplannedand

broken out by year including staffing, salary allocation, and any

othernecessarycosts .

Afewthingstonote:

nBudgetstofederalagenciesoftenuseanacademic

calendartodefineaperson’spercenteffortonaproj-

ect .Thiscanbeveryconfusing,butyoucanusea

basicformula:every10%ofafull-timeequivalent(e .g .,

fourhoursina40-hourworkweek)isequivalentto1 .2

monthsintheacademiccalendar .

nIncreaseincostsfromyeartoyearfrominflationisnot

allowed .

nTheprimeinstitutionmayhaveaceilingamountfor

yourengagement .

nBespecificinthejustificationandhavecleardelivera-

blesforthecosts .

Consultant:Iftheorganizationisconsultingonanapplication,the

primeinstitutionwillfill inthetotalcostsonFormPage4inthe

ConsultantCostssection .Itisimportantfortheconsultanttopro-

videanhourlyratetotheprime institutionthatcanbesubstan-

tiatedwithaclear formula .Aconsultantcanalsoworkwith the

primetodraftthescopeofworkatthisstagetoensuretheformula

relatesbacktotherequiredwork .

44

Example Formula for Consultant Hourly RateAnorganizationwasaskedbyanotherorganizationtoconsulton

aproject . It is expected that the scopeof serviceswill take the

organization40hourstocompleteandrequireboththedirector

andprogrammanager .Theprimeinstitutionrequestedanhourly

ratetouseinthepreparationofthebudget .Belowisatablethat

outlineshowthisiscalculated:

Theorganization’shourlyrateis$127perhour .Smallercom-

munityorganizations,particularlythoseengagedindirectservice

oremergencyresponse,oftenhaveadifferentandlessstructured

approachtohowtimeiscounted .Thistopicshouldbediscussed

withtheacademicresearchpartnersothatallpartnersareclear

abouttheirrespectivecommitments .

Subcontract:Iftheorganizationisasubcontractonanapplication

thenitwillneedtocompleteitsownFormPage4foreachofthe

yearsoffunding .Thesameplanningandmethodologyisusedin

creatingtheseforms .However,insteadoflistinganhourlyrate,the

actualcostsareputontheforms .Also,asasubcontract,anorga-

nizationisallowedtoincludeindirectcostsontheforms .

PERSONNEL

Budget Item NoteBase Salary

Fringe @25% Total

Monthly Rate

Hourly Rate @180 Hours/Month

Total # Hours

Total Cost

CheryilynSarkisian

Director/KeyPersonnel 75,000 18,750 93,750 7,813 43 40 1,736

DemiGuynes

ProgramManager 42,000 10,500 52,500 4,375 24 40 972

ResearchSupplies

SurveyPrinting,ParticipantIncentives 2,000

TotalDirectCosts 4,708

F&A RateUsedis8% 377

TotalCost 5,085

HourlyCostfor40Hours 127

45

Form Page 5:

Consultant:Aconsultingorganizationdoesnotneedtocomplete

thisform .

Subcontract:Asubcontractorganizationneedstocompletethis

summarypageusingtheinformationenteredintheseparateForm

Page4documents .

Successfully Collaborating: The Critical Role of Communication

Workinginacommunity-academicresearchpartnershipcan

be a rich and mutually beneficial experience . Establish-

ingopenandcompletecommunicationduringtheproposalwrit-

ingprocessisessentialforaproductiveandcollaborativeresearch

relationshipover thecourseof the fundedgrant . If specificsare

discussed,defined,andagreeduponatthebeginningoftheproj-

ect,itwillbeeasiertomanageunexpectedeventsandchallenges

encounteredalongtheway .

46

Conclusion

Thisguidewasdevelopedforcommunity-basedresearch-

ers by academic and community partners . It provides a

foundationforcommunity-engagedresearchandhowto

successfullysubmitacommunity-academicresearchgrantappli-

cation . We hope this guide will be helpful in fostering mutually

beneficial community-academic partnerships and research proj-

ects .Formoreinformation,pleasevisithttp://informatics .tuftsctsi .

org/pims/request .htmtosubmitarequest .

LeslieLK,MuléCM,RubinCL,AllukianN,HodgkinJ,IzziM,BraitschJ,HuangC,CheungM,WuV,FuM,PirieA .CommunityMembers’GuidetoSubmittingaCommunity-EngagedResearchFederalGrantApplication.Boston,MA:TuftsClinicalandTranslationalScienceInstitute,TuftsUniversity;2014 .

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