IHDSC Partnership Development Program 2023-2024: Call for Applications

IHDSC is pleased to announce its first Partnership Development Seed Award Program! The program is designed to invest in the cultivation of new and existing research-practice-partnerships (RPPs), which we know are central to equity-driven scholarship. The Institute is committed to creating and strengthening partnerships that are mutually beneficial, equitable, and sustainable and that center the voices of community stakeholders. This new call is intended to move the needle on institutional barriers that have historically limited the development and sustainability of RPPs. Together, we aim to stimulate social impact locally and globally through the expansion of RPPs that represent our core principles: equity, collaboration, and interdisciplinarity.

Group of people lined up each holding a small pile of dirt with a growing plant in their palms.

Through the Partnership Development Seed Award Program, IHDSC aims to:

Inspire the formation or fortification of new and existing partnerships with stakeholders outside of academia including non-profit and community-based organizations, advocacy groups, governmental agencies, and non-governal organizations (NGOs)
Support scholarly affiliates’ commitment to developing sustainable RPPs by investing financially in the early stages of relationship development
Amplify research and collaboration strategies that center the voices and experiences of community stakeholders in the creation of new knowledge for social impact

While IHDSC’s long standing Seed Award program provides funds for pilot research projects, this new program is intended to fund partnership development activities. Research activities are allowed within this program but are not required.

IHDSC’s Role

The IHDSC team will work collaboratively with the NYU PI(s) and partner(s), as needed, to ensure the team has the necessary support to scaffold the partnership. This may include scheduling quarterly check-in meetings, co-determining budgetary needs, facilitating connections to other scholars and partners, sharing resources, discussing potential products and next steps, and more.

Eligibility Requirements

All active IHDSC scholarly affiliates are eligible to apply. Active is defined as an affiliate who receives grants support from IHDSC, has recently participated in IHDSC events, or has contributed to the intellectual community of the Institute in recent years.
Lead applicants must have PI status at NYU. This includes full-time, tenure-track faculty members as well as research scientists or clinical faculty who have PI status.
Those without PI status are encouraged to join a project team as a Co-investigator but cannot serve as a project lead.
At least one of the investigators must be from one of the core schools affiliated with IHDSC:

Grantee Expectations & Benefits

Participate in IHDSC-sponsored activities whenever possible and engage in the Institute’s intellectual community
Meet with IHDSC staff to discuss RPP sustainability strategies and possible opportunities to acquire additional resources. IHDSC can support the development of future proposals for external support for the partnership. Collaborative submissions between IHDSC, partnering organizations, and other units at NYU may also be a possibility and should be discussed
Contribute content to IHDSC’s communications activities or give a presentation about the project to the IHDSC community
Alert Institute staff of any external publications or media coverage resulting from the project and acknowledge the Seed Award in any publications or presentations.
Sign off on financial reports generated by center staff and NYU's central accounting office
Sign a letter agreeing to meet award requirements

How to Apply

Applications will be submitted via the NYU InfoReady portal during the application period. Applications are due January 19th 2024 by 5:00 PM ET. Applicants will be prompted to enter project information into text fields within the portal and will also be required to upload PDF attachments. A summary of required sections is as follows:

1. Personal Details: Applicant name and contact information (Text fields)

2. Key Collaborator/Partner Information: Include names, affiliations, and project titles (e.g. Co-PI, Co-I, Advisor) for key members of the project team (Text fields)

3. Proposal Title (Text field)

4. Project Period: (Text field)
Enter a suggested start and end date. Project periods can range considerably based on the emergent partnership activities. IHDSC will work with you to co-determine the appropriate end date for your award. The earliest possible start date is April 1, 2024.

5. Requested budget: Awards will range from $5,000 - $10,000. (Text field)

6. Budget narrative (2-3 sentences): (Text field)
Describe the kind of support you may need. This may include faculty or research effort, travel, food and beverage costs, supplies and materials, subawards and consultants, etc. Please note: IHDSC will schedule follow-up conversations with the project team to discuss the budget in more detail to support its development.

7. Other forms of support: (Text field)
Describe additional forms of support beyond monetary investment. This may include IHDSC or other NYU staff time, support for the development of partnership agreements, access to space, etc.

8. Partnership Description: (Attachment)
The partnership description should be no more than 2 single-spaced pages including all pictures, graphs, and tables. References can be included, as needed, and will not count toward the 2-page limit. Please be succinct, avoid jargon, and spell out acronyms when used for the first time.

Please consider including responses to the following sections within your partnership description:

Partner information: Name, location, mission, primary point of contact
Rationale for how this partnership aligns with your short and long term scholarly interests and goals: How will the requested Seed Award funding contribute to your short and long term research, impact, and/or funding goals? How will the requested Seed Award funding contribute to the partner organization’s short and long term research, impact, and/or funding goals?

History of relationship between NYU Investigator(s) and partner: For new partnerships, please explain how/why you connected and the nature of the conversations or activities to date. If you are not yet connected, describe why you feel this is an important partner to pursue.
Ideas for relationship building and partnered activities: Describe how you plan to engage with the partner. This may include meetings, site visits, observations, travel, research support or evaluation, capacity building initiatives, data infrastructure projects, technical assistance and training, event coordination, communications and dissemination effort, etc.
- Please note: This may change upon further discussion with IHDSC staff.
Ideas for products and/or outcomes: Describe potential products and/or outcomes that may result from the activities described above. This may include developing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or other type of partnership agreement that establishes the relationship, the development of data access and sharing plans, establishing collaboratively identified work to pursue, creating an outline and/or timeline for proposed collaborative work, identifying future funding opportunities, etc.
- Please note: Interim products/outcomes and long term goals may be modified or changed upon further discussion with IHDSC staff and partners
Sustainability plan and long term goals: Describe your plans to sustain the relationship with the partner organization. What are some long term goals for the future of the partnership?

9. Curriculum Vitae and Partner Details: (Attachment)
Include CVs, resumes, biographies, or biosketches for any named NYU investigators or key academic personnel involved in the proposal. Please provide a brief description of your main (or targeted) contacts at the external partner organization and their role, and include a CV, resume, or biography for them if available. All CV and bio information should be combined and attached as one file.

10. Letter(s) of Support: (Optional; Attachment)
If you have an established relationship and feel comfortable asking for a letter of support, it would be helpful to receive a letter as part of the application. If you are establishing a brand new partnership, you can skip the letter of support for now

Applications are due via the NYU InfoReady portal on January 19th 2024 by 5:00 PM ET. Please reach out to ihdsc.research@nyu.edu with any questions.

Partnership

IHDSC's approach to partnership is guided by a set of partnership principles and the aim to create new knowledge of effective policies and practices and their implementation across multiple sectors and settings, and build the capacity to eliminate disparities and foster learning, health, and development for children and youth in our communities.

IHDSC Seed Award Program

IHDSC's longstanding Seed Award Program is also accepting applications for FY 2024. IHDSC is committed to funding new projects that bridge multiple domains of expertise, further the mission of the Institute, and demonstrate a commitment to innovative and equity-driven scholarly research.

Learn more about the Seed Award Program.

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