by:

The National Institutes of Health, the nation’s medical research agency and the world’s largest source of funding for medical research, is soliciting applications as part of Community Partnerships to Advance Science for Society (ComPASS) Program’s Community-Led, Health Equity Structural Intervention Initiative. The Research Opportunity Announcement (ROA): Community-Led, Health Equity Structural Intervention (CHESI) Initiative (OTA-22-007) will support the development, implementation, assessment, and dissemination of community-led, health equity structural interventions, co-created in partnership with research organizations, that intervene upon structural factors that produce and perpetuate health disparities. Applicants are required to submit a letter of intent by November 18th, 2022, 11:59 PM ET. Applicants will be selected from the LOIs to submit full applications, which will be due by January 23rd, 2023.

Who is eligible?
Applicants must be community organizations (non-profits with and without 501(C)(3) IRS Status) defined as a non-Federal, non-academic or non-research organization that provides goods, services, support, resources, or advocacy to members of a defined community. (See “Eligibility” section in the ROA and abstracted below in this email*)
Do I need a research partner?
Additionally, applicants must propose at least one potential research organization/research investigator, who has agreed to support and participate in the community organization’s full application. The research organization(s)/research investigator(s) can be academic or non-academic institutions.
What is the deadline?
A letter of intent (LOI) is required and due by November 18th, 2022, 11:59 PM ET. Email LOIs to Dr. Yvonne Owens Ferguson at CFComPASS@od.nih.gov
LOIs will be used to select those invited to submit full applications, which will be submitted through the NIH Application Submission System & Interface for Submission Tracking (ASSIST) system by January 23, 2023.

How do I get technical assistance from NIH?
NIH staff will hold technical assistance webinars for the required letter of intent (LOI) on October 4th and October 11th at 2 PM-3 PM ET. Registration is required.
Register here: bit.ly/compass-roa-webinar
To help prepare a LOI for this ROA, applicants are encouraged to watch a pre-recorded technical assistance presentation and view slides. Additionally, answers to Frequently Asked Questions about OTA-22-007 are available on the ComPASS website.
How can I learn more and stay updated on ComPASS?
Visit https://commonfund.nih.gov/compass for more information about the Common Fund’s ComPASS program, and please sign up for the ComPASS listserv to receive announcements about upcoming funding opportunities and additional program information.

*Eligibility

The Community-Led, Health Equity Structural Interventions initiative expects community organizations to lead research efforts in collaboration with research partners. For the purposes of this opportunity announcement, a community organization is defined as a non-Federal, non-academic or non-research organization that provides goods, services, support, resources, or advocacy to members of a defined community. Examples include community or faith-based organizations, local businesses, Tribal serving organizations, neighborhood authorities and associations, labor unions, patient or consumer advocacy groups, regional/local and public healthcare systems, school districts, law enforcement or criminal/juvenile justice agencies, or social service agencies. Non-federal governmental organizations are eligible, and this includes local, regional, Tribal, or state level governments and their respective departments of public health, commerce, labor, transportation, housing and recreation. Academic research centers, academic healthcare organizations, and private healthcare organizations are not eligible for this opportunity. These organizations may be identified partners in the application, however. This opportunity invites applications from a broad range of community organizations including non-traditional industry and non-profit organizations. NIH is particularly interested in applications led by organizations that have a core mission to serve underrepresented or underserved groups impacted by health disparities.

Applications must meet the below corresponding eligibility requirements:

Organizations

Academic research centers, academic healthcare organizations, and private healthcare organizations are not eligible to apply. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign applicants) are not eligible to apply. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply. Foreign components are not allowed. Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is scientifically distinct. Individuals not affiliated with an organization, or who want to submit an application independently of their current organization, may not apply.

The following entities are eligible to apply under this ROA:

Non-profits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education

• Non-profits with 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)

• Non-profits without 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education),

including but not limited to:

• Faith-based or community-based organizations

• Tribal serving organizations

• Patient or consumer advocacy groups

• Social service organizations

• Healthcare systems and providers (including Federally Qualified Health Centers)

• School districts

• Law enforcement and criminal/juvenile justice agencies

• Neighborhood associations

• Labor unions

For-Profit Organizations

• Small Businesses

• For-Profit Organizations (Other than Small Businesses)

Governments

• State Governments

• County Governments

• City or Township Governments

• Special District Governments

• American Indian/Alaska Native Tribal Governments (Federally Recognized)

• American Indian/Alaska Native Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized)