San Antonio: Apply for Money to Help Translate Science to Benefit Public Health

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The Institute for Integration of Medicine & Science (IIMS) at UT Health San Antonio and the UTSA College for Health, Community, and Policy (HCaP) are now accepting proposals for one-year Community Engagement Small Project Grants. 

The grants, which are worth up to $5,000, are given in hopes of promoting, developing, and expanding community and scholarly research partnerships aimed at turning science into clinical reality. 

Funds awarded can be used for community-engaged research or assessment, education or training, and the distribution of research results, project details, or policy implications. 

“The goals of community engagement are to build trust, discover new resources and allies, create better communication, and improve overall health outcomes as successful projects evolve into lasting collaborations,” the announcement explained. 

Proposal Topics and Areas of Interest 

The grant committee is encouraging applicants to explore intersectionality.

“[Intersectionality] describe(s) the way social categorizations such as gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, and class create overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage,” the announcement explained.

Selected topics should emphasize community-identified health problems, such as those identified in the Bexar County Health Collaborative’s Community Health Improvement Plan.

This year, the award selection committee has a strong interest in projects involving the needs of incarcerated or formerly incarcerated individuals and/or their families. 

Among last year’s recipients were projects on the employment needs, diabetes management, the influence of church on health, and more.  

Read about previous projects here. 

Proposal Submission and Guidelines 

To be eligible to participate, you must be part of a community-campus research partnership in South Texas with members (faculty and students) representing the following institutions: 

• UT Health San Antonio 
• UTHealth School of Public Health in San Antonio 
• University of Texas at San Antonio 
• South Texas Veterans Health Care System 
• Texas Biomedical Research Institute 
• Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC)  
• UT Austin College of Pharmacy 
• UT Austin Dell Medical School 
• Other local universities 

However, each group must have at least one UT Health San Antonio investigator on the team. 

Projects can also involve community partners, such as practice-based research networks, translational advisory boards, and other groups or agencies like community health centers, non-profits, schools, and more. 

Submissions should include supporting application documents such as a proposed project plan, history of community academic partnership, community engagement plan, and a detailed budget. 

Community grant proposals will be scored and chosen based on a variety of factors, including significance, novelty, and innovation, how the project expands a community-campus partnership, and potential for improving health outcomes. 

There’s an estimated $35,000 available to fund seven or more proposals. 

Awards are anticipated to arrive starting Wednesday, May 1, 2024, and can be used toward expenses, such as supplies, equipment, staff salaries, software, consulting, and more. 

Applications are due on Friday, March 1, 2024, at 5 p.m.

Update: The deadline has been extended to March 15, 2024.

Click here to apply.