The South Jersey Institute for Population Health has issued its first call for proposals, it announced this week.
SJIPH will provide $240,000 in grants — up to $20,000 each — for research projects that involve collaborative partnerships between Rowan University and Rutgers University-Camden researchers and community-based organizations in seven South Jersey counties: Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem.
SJIPH, established by the Rowan/Rutgers-Camden board of governors to improve health outcomes in the region, said this represents its inaugural funding initiative for 2021.
“We are extremely excited to see this first round of funding opportunities get underway, and for the growth of the innovative SJIPH to really begin,” joint board CEO Dana Redd said in a prepared statement. “Over the lifespan of these projects, we will see new collaborative partnerships formed between government agencies, nonprofit organizations and our region’s premier academic and research institutions.”
It is accepting proposals starting Thursday, and prospective grantees must submit a letter of intent by May 31. Final proposals will be due Nov. 1, and funding decisions are expected by Dec. 15.
Projects are expected to use a public health, population health or population medicine approach to improving health or reducing health disparities in South Jersey, as well as promoting health equity, SJIPH said.
“We are well aware of the impact of structural and systemic barriers to achieving equitable community health and well-being, but most have yet to achieve a comprehensive understanding of how specific populations in South Jersey have been and continue to be impacted,” joint board Chairwoman Michellene Davis said in a statement. “The institute was created to develop a local understanding of how structural and systemic racism, socioeconomic, environmental and other population characteristics are affecting health outcomes in our communities, and to ensure that, through collaboration and cooperation, that data is easily accessible for those seeking to stimulate change.”
Nationally recognized researchers from both Rowan and Rutgers-Camden will co-lead the initiative and oversee an eight-member committee of community leaders, faculty and public health representatives that will assist in the review and selection process.
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