REQUEST FOR PROPOALS
With funding from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the Interdisciplinary Network on Rural Population Health and Aging (INRPHA) invites investigators to submit proposals for pilot research that enhances understanding of the multilevel and multidimensional drivers of rural health and aging trends and disparities, with emphasis on within-rural heterogeneity. INRPHA seeks proposals that will advance science in this important area and that will lead to fundable NIH grant proposals. Pilot projects will begin as early as December 1, 2024.
RESEARCH FOCUS
The prevailing narrative about rural America is that it is sick, old, and hollowed out. Although rural areas do have larger average shares of older and sicker people, and rural-urban disparities in health and longevity are large and growing, this is only one part of the story – the most pessimistic one. The rural U.S. is diverse in composition and context. While some rural places face significant challenges for health and longevity, others are thriving. Various slow-moving stressors (e.g., industry changes, service closures, climate change) and economic, environmental, and public health shocks (e.g., natural disasters, COVID-19) not only affect rural people and places differently than their urban counterparts, but also have heterogeneous effects within rural America. These shocks and stressors, along with the following three prevailing demographic trends, have implications for rural population health and aging: 1) large and growing rural-urban and within-rural disparities in health and longevity; 2) differential population change, with growth in some places and declines in others; and 3) increasing ethnoracial diversity.
While these trends are well documented, there are several gaps that limit our ability to inform new approaches to programs and policies to improve rural wellbeing, health, and functioning and reduce disparities. First, research on rural health and aging rarely considers heterogeneity across rural places and populations. Rural is not monolithic. Rurality occurs along a continuum, and rural places have not only different population compositions (e.g., racial/ethnic, socioeconomic, age), but also diverse economic, natural, built, social, and policy environments and capacities to cope with shocks and stressors. Health and aging outcomes vary drastically along the rural-urban continuum and across different types of rural places. Second, although some rural areas have persistent poverty, chronic joblessness, outmigration, and poor health profiles, others are resilient and thriving. Some rural areas exhibit protective health factors, such as robust economic opportunities and social and health infrastructures. Yet, research rarely focuses on successful or resilient rural places, failing to capitalize on what we could learn from such places to improve outcomes elsewhere. Third, the causal mechanisms driving rural health and aging trends are not clear, constraining the ability to inform policies across the life course to improve outcomes. Fourth, existing data resources (including those supported by NIH) that may help us better understand and explain rural health and aging trends are not well integrated into rural aging research or used across disciplines.
To fill these gaps, INRPHA welcomes pilot projects that propose innovative, interdisciplinary rural health and aging research that a) have national applicability, while also attending to variation across different rural regions, economies, population change patterns, and population groups; b) illuminate not only rural-urban, but also within-rural variability to better understand variation in outcomes, including what we can learn from thriving rural communities; c) elucidate mechanisms across the life course driving rural-urban and within-rural trends and differences; and d) leverage existing NIH-funded data resources to advance rural population health and aging research. In particular, INRPHA is interested in research using any NIH-funded data resource, but particularly the following:
At least one project using one or more of these data sources will be prioritized; projects using other data are also welcomed and encouraged. Projects proposing original data collection are allowable, but applicants should consider whether they can realistically complete the project within one year.
Example research questions include, but at not limited to:
- How do health, wellbeing, and aging outcomes differ between counties experiencing different patterns of population change (e.g., decline, growth, aging, diversifying, and those that have been consistently defined as rural versus those reclassified to urban in the past 30 years), and what factors explain these differences?
- How do micro-, meso-, and macro-level factors interact to affect health, when in the life course do these factors matter most, and do these factors differ between rural and urban areas and within rural areas (e.g., by sex, race/ethnicity, education)?
- How have county economic conditions and state policies interacted to affect rural health, aging, and/or mortality trends over time and across different rural populations?
BUDGET
Investigators may request total (direct + indirect) costs of up to $35,000. Proposals requesting less than the maximum amount are encouraged. Funds can be used for investigator and/or research assistant salaries, travel, and/or costs associated with data acquisition. They cannot be used to purchase equipment. Proposals must be submitted by a single institution, and funds will be obligated to successful grantees as fixed-price sub-awards. Further sub-awards from the grantee’s institution to other institutions are not allowed. Grantees will receive 80 percent of the award at the beginning of the project, with the remaining 20 percent distributed upon submission of a final report. Grantees will need to provide documentation of IRB approval from their home institution before funds can be distributed. This process can take time but is easier for projects deemed “exempt,” than those requiring an “expedited” or “full” IRB review. Grantees should plan accordingly.
PROPOSAL FORMAT and TIMELINE
Proposals are due by Friday September 27, 2024, 5 p.m. CT. Proposals must be submitted as a single PDF file in NIH format (min. 11-point font) and include the following:
- Cover page with investigator(s) names and contact information
- Specific Aims (1 page)
- No more than 2 single-spaced pages that include the following sections: Significance (approx. ¾ page), Innovation (approx. ¼ page), and Research Design (which mustinclude hypotheses and a detailed description of the proposed data and methods) (approx. 1 page) • Short discussion of plans for NIH grant proposal submission stemming from this pilot grant (including potential agency, funding mechanism, and timeline for submission) (no more than ½ page);
• New NIH investigators (defined as an applicant who has not yet been the PI on an NIH research grant) must identify 1-2 potential mentors with NIH grant funding expertise who will support your development of an NIH proposal (e.g., through meetings to discuss the project, providing feedback on drafts). If you already have a mentor with NIH grant funding experience, please identify that individual and include a letter of support from them with your application. The letter of support should briefly describe how they will support your development of an NIH proposal stemming from this pilot grant. If you do not yet have a mentor, we will assign grantees a mentor from the INRPHA leadership team or advisory board. In your pilot grant proposal, please include the names of 1-2 individuals from the list at the end of the RFP who you think would be most appropriate to serve as your mentor.
• References;
• PHS 398 budget page and budget justification. Note that when calculating the total requested budget, indirect costs are part of the total budget, which cannot exceed $35,000.
• Protection of Human Subjects description. All awarded projects will require institutional IRB approval before funding can be distributed, even if the project is deemed “exempt.”
• NIH formatted biosketch for all investigators. If multiple investigators are included, a biosketch is requested for each investigator. However, a single PI must be identified.
November 1, 2024: We will notify applicants of decisions and request budget modifications (when necessary) and human-subjects approval.
December 1, 2024: We expect that investigators will begin their projects as early as December 1, 2024. However, final award receipt is contingent upon submission of IRB approvals/exemptions and final approval from NIA. Budget funds will be transferred to your institution as soon as possible thereafter.
Duration of Pilot Projects: December 1, 2024 - April 30, 2025. A no-cost extension (NCE) for project work beyond April 30, 2025 can be requested and will be granted contingent on NIA’s continued funding of INRPHA.
EXPECTED OUTCOMES
Pilot grantees will be expected to (1) Provide a presentation about their project at the 2025 INRPHA meeting to be held virtually in Summer, 2025; (2) Participate in INRPHA grant proposal mentoring activities (see more about this in the Grant Proposal Mentoring section below); and (3) Provide a report upon completion of the project (due by April 30, 2025 or later as negotiated if an NCE is granted). Subsequent outcomes stemming from the pilot, including the submission of external funding proposals, receipt of external funding, and publications must be reported to INRPHA. All research resulting from the pilot project must credit NIA grant R24AG089064. All publications must be submitted to PubMed Central.
SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
Submit proposals to inrpha@umn.edu as a single PDF file by 5 p.m. CT on Friday, September 27, 2024.
SELECTION CRITERIA
Proposals will be evaluated for: (a) the significance of the proposed research; (b) rigor and quality of the research design; (c) likelihood that the research will expand beyond description to uncover explanations; (d) likelihood that the project will be completed within one year; (e) likelihood that the proposed research will result in submission of a competitive NIA proposal within 2 years; (f) likelihood the research will result in important publications that advance the science on rural population health and aging; and (f) expertise of investigator(s). Additionally, priority will be given to at least one project based on its use of one of the aforementioned NIH-funded datasets.
Researchers holding a doctoral degree, at any career stage, and from any disciplinary background are eligible to apply. Early career investigators are especially encouraged to apply. Investigators without a history of research funding are encouraged to collaborate with scholars who have funding experience. While not required, interdisciplinary proposals, junior-senior teams, and budgets indicating matching institutional support will be regarded favorably. Note that INRPHA will provide mentorship and/or assistance to grantees for follow-up NIA/NIH proposal development.
We anticipate funding 2-3 awards during this cycle.
GRANT PROPOSAL MENTORING
A unique strength of INRPHA’s pilot grant program is its formal mentorship. This mentorship has three components:
- INRPHA pilot grant recipients who have not yet been the PI on an NIH grant will be matched with a senior mentor with NIH grant experience and relevant subject area, data, or methodological expertise. Mentors will meet with pilot grantees to discuss project design and provide feedback on NIH proposals stemming from the pilot grant.
- All pilot grant PIs (regardless of new investigator status) will attend two meetings (virtually) with the INRPHA leadership team to discuss project progress, roadblocks, and ideas for NIH proposals stemming from the pilot grant.
- As pilot grantees’ NIH proposals near completion, the INRPHA leadership team will organize mock reviews of the specific aims and research strategy to help strengthen the proposal prior to submission to NIH.
Collectively, these activities will provide pilot grantees with opportunities to learn from experienced PIs and each other and prepare competitive NIH grant proposals.
For more information about this RFP, please contact: Carrie Henning-Smith, University of Minnesota, henn0329@umn.edu
INRPHA is funded by NIA grant 1R24AG089064-01 and led by Carrie Henning-Smith (University of Minnesota), Leif Jensen (Penn State), Shannon Monnat (Syracuse University), John Green (Mississippi State University), and Lori Hunter (University of Colorado Boulder).
INRPHA Leadership Team and Advisory Board:
Leadership Team:
John Green, Southern Rural Development Center
Carrie Henning-Smith, University of Minnesota
Lori Hunter, University of Colorado
Leif Jensen, The Pennsylvania State University
Shannon Monnat, Syracuse University
Advisory Board:
Alex Adams, Montana State University
Ty Borders, University of Kentucky
William Copeland, University of Vermont
Irma Elo, University of Pennsylvania
Pamela Herd, Georgetown University
Arie Kapteyn, University of Southern California
Amy Pienta, University of Michigan
Jennifer Schrack, Johns Hopkins University
#announcements#call-for-papers-proposals