On Wednesday, April 19, the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute (IHSI) and the Office of Foundation Relations jointly hosted “Funding for Health Equity Research | MacArthur Foundation and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation." The event featured two foundations that fund engaged research centered on health equity and attracted researchers from 36 units and 10 colleges across campus.
“Increasingly, research funders are prioritizing community engagement, equity, and impact in their decision-making,” said Kelsey Hassevoort, a research development manager at IHSI. “Foundations have long been on the forefront of supporting research with direct impact. This makes them a good fit for researchers at the University of Illinois whose work centers on matters of equity and involves community-engaged research methods.”
During the event, Professor Ruby Mendenhall and Professor Andrew Greenlee shared their successes with these funders and provided advice for researchers interested in seeking similar funding. Rajeev Malik and Julie Elzanati, from the Office of Foundation Relations, augmented the discussion with an overview of each foundation and shared relevant funding opportunities as well as best practices learned while serving campus.
Ruby Mendenhall is a professor of Sociology, African American Studies, and Urban and Regional Planning, and the associate dean for Diversity and Democratization of Health Innovation at the Carle Illinois College of Medicine. In her remarks, she emphasized the importance of teamwork and collaboration in the context of health equity research. “When you see me, that’s not me, it’s like a whole organization. There’s a lot of people that are associated with this,” said Mendenhall. “I think that’s where a lot of the strength and energy come in, because it’s a lot to do.” Prof. Mendenhall recommended several campus units that were instrumental in developing her proposal for a recent award from the MacArthur Foundation.
Andrew Greenlee, associate professor of Urban and Regional Planning, shared advice with researchers interested in seeking funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “Don’t give up. I would encourage you to submit as often as you can,” said Greenlee, “I’d also encourage you to try permutations of ideas, taking the time after each push to revisit the “soul” of your proposal.”
“IHSI was very excited to support Professor Mendenhall in her pursuit of funding around this community-engaged project,” said Brandi Barnes, a research development manager at IHSI. “We offer several services to faculty in securing funding, from identifying potential community collaborators to providing proposal development support. We hope events like this will demonstrate to researchers on our campus what our institute, as well as many others, like the Center for Social and Behavioral Science (CSBS) and the Office of Foundation Relations, have to offer.”
The IHSI Community-Academic Partnerships core creates and supports community and academic collaborations to improve health, promoting shared goals among partners to strengthen the community impact of health research. Please contact Kelsey Hassevoort with questions about our programs or to discuss your community-based projects or needs.
The IHSI Health Equity core provides guidance for designing, conducting, and disseminating research that reduces health disparities and works towards positive health outcomes for all members of society. Please contact Brandi Barnes regarding research development services and support for community-academic collaborations during all stages of the research process.
The Office of Foundation Relations is dedicated to securing support from private foundations for Illinois’ academic and public engagement programs. Please contact their office to advance partnerships with these funders through communications, proposal development, stewardship, and other activities.
Subscribe to the IHSI e-newsletter to learn about upcoming webinars hosted by the Community-Academic Partnerships team and teams from other IHSI cores aimed to help health sciences researchers increase impact at each stage of the research cycle.