Health Impact Project Announces 2014 Call for Proposals

About the 2014 Call for Proposals

Brief proposal deadline: April 2, 2014

The Health Impact Project is issuing its fourth call for proposals to support two types of initiatives:

• health impact assessment, or HIA, demonstration projects that inform a specific decision;
• and HIA program grants that enable organizations with experience with HIAs to develop sustainable HIA programs that integrate the assessments and related approaches in policymaking at the local, state, or tribal levels.

Preference will be given to HIAs in one or more of the following categories:

• HIAs that focus on an innovative topic for which relatively few assessments have been completed — for example, criminal justice, education, fiscal and economic policy, and disaster recovery. Preference will be given to proposals on topics other than land use, built environment, or transportation. However, for HIA program grant applicants, many experienced teams have established strong partnerships in the arena of land use, transportation, and other built environment policies and may wish to continue HIA practice on this topic as a way to build the HIA program. Therefore, strong proposals on any topic will also be considered.
• HIAs proposed by federally recognized U.S. tribes.
• HIAs proposed in states with limited or no HIA activity and no ongoing, systematic efforts to build the field. This includes U.S. territories and Alabama, Arkansas, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming. The preference for proposals in areas that have had limited experience with HIAs does not apply to program grants.

For more information on the regional distribution and diverse topical application of HIA practice, please refer to the searchable map of HIA activity in the United States.

More information:

HIA demonstration project grants
HIA program grants
Application process
Additional funding opportunities
Call for Proposals: Overview (PDF)

HIA demonstration project grants

• Up to six demonstration projects will be awarded.
• Grants will be up to $100,000 each and the deliverables must be completed within 18 months.

Each grant will support a single HIA intended to inform a specific upcoming decision on a proposed local, tribal, or state policy, project, or program. The Health Impact Project seeks to produce a balanced portfolio of completed HIAs that builds a compelling case to policymakers regarding the utility and potential applications of HIA.

HIA experience is not required for demonstration project applicants. We encourage public health organizations and agencies, along with applicants whose primary focus is not health, to apply.

Applicants invited to submit a full proposal can attend an HIA training session Wednesday, May 28, 2014, in Washington. More details on the training will be provided with the full proposal invitation. Travel scholarships will be available to invited applicants that wish to attend but would not be able to do so without financial assistance Through partnerships with experienced HIA practitioners, the Health Impact Project also provides tailored HIA training and ongoing technical assistance throughout each demonstration project grant.

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HIA program grants

• Up to five grants will be awarded.
• Grants will be up to $250,000 each, and the deliverables must be completed within 24 months.
• Program grants must include $100,000 in matching funds or in-kind support from the grantee or partner organizations. (See the full call for proposals for complete details.)

HIA program grants will support organizations with experience conducting HIAs to develop and implement tools and approaches that stably integrate the consideration of health in other sectors’ decision-making. The grants will also help support implementation of a plan that establishes the relationships, systems, and funding mechanisms needed to maintain a steady HIA program that endures after the grant ends.

When the brief proposal is submitted, program grant applicants must have completed one high-quality, successful HIA that achieved valuable results such as influencing the outcome of a decision or developing a collaborative partnership with policymakers outside the health sector. (Read more about existing HIA programs.)

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Application process

There are two stages to the application process. First, applicants submit a brief proposal that describes the project and includes an estimated budget. If invited, select applicants then submit a full proposal, budget, budget narrative, and other documentation.

Interested applicants are strongly encouraged to:

• Read the full call for proposals.
• Read the Frequently Asked Questions.
• Join an informational webinar (or listen to the recordings after the live event):
  • Demonstration projects: March 5, 2014, 3 p.m. ET; registration required. 
  • Program grants: March 6, 2014, 3 p.m. ET; registration required.
• Begin a brief proposal by requesting an online application system account. All brief and full proposals must be submitted via the online application system.

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Additional Funding Opportunities

In addition to the awards offered through the national CFP, funding for three demonstration projects is available for HIAs in Minnesota, thanks to support from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation. Interested applicants should refer to the national CFP for all details on the selection criteria and application process and note the following differences:

• Preference will be given to HIAs focused on community development, education, social or economic policies relevant to health and health equity in Minnesota.
• Additional preference will be given to HIAs specifically examining the links between health and school discipline and/or criminal justice policies.
• Eligible organizations include nonprofits; local agencies, tribal agencies, and educational institutions. State agencies, except regulators of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, are also eligible (Examples of regulators include the Department of Commerce, the Department of Human Services, Minnesota Department of Health and Minnesota Management & Budget). Regulating agencies can, however, serve as partners on projects.
• The HIA must inform a decision in Minnesota.
  

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