Community Medicine and Population Health Mini-Grants Program

The Community Medicine and Population Health Mini-Grant program engages medical students, graduate students, residents and fellows of UCR in service and advocacy projects within the Inland Empire communities. Its goals include:

Engaging the UCR community in service driven projects that serve the underserved.
Improving access to medical care and resources for at-risk populations.
Provide direct funding to initiatives addressing social and political issues negatively affecting the health of community members.
Promoting cross-departmental collaboration and community-partnered research.
Increasing community engagement opportunities for the School of Medicine.

The program will award up to two (2) $5,000 grants to support projects focused on community medicine and population health.

Award winners will be announced in early December 2022.

Program Eligibility

The program is open exclusively to the University of California Riverside, such as School of Medicine (SOM) medical students, and all SOM and non-SOM graduate students, residents, and fellows.
Applicants must be in good academic standing (cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better and not on academic probation).
Applicants must be available to attend all key events and complete all key assignments by their due date.
Projects should focus on community medicine, population health, and social justice reform in the Inland Empire. Priority will go to grants that also focus on community engagement, show sustainability beyond the grant funding, and include collaborative work.
Applicants MUST disclose any other sources of funding they have applied for, or have received, in relation to their proposed project.
Special preference will be given to projects that are focused in providing COVID-19 relief, reducing racial/social injustice, and lowering health disparities & inequities within underserved and at-risk populations in the Banning, Hemet, Mt. San Jacinto, and San Bernardino areas.

To apply, submit our application form.

Selection Process

Evaluation and Scoring

An application review committee will be formed and will consist of a representative from the community, Center for Healthy Communities, and the School of Medicine. The review panel will score applications using only the established evaluation and scoring criteria. Competitive applications will be consistent with the intent of this grant opportunity. CHC reserves the right to reject any or all applications, or to reduce the amount funded to an applicant.

Final Selections

A representative from CHC will contact the recipient(s) via email and/or phone call. The formal, public announcement will be made live via CHC’s Instagram in early January.

There will also be a mandatory orientation for all awardees and their teams in late-January via Zoom. Details will be confirmed mid-December.

Application Information

How to Apply: Submit our Application Form
Deadline: October 10, 2022, 11:59 p.m.

All applications must be submitted online and no paper applications will be accepted.
A saved application is not a submitted application.
Keep a copy of your submitted email as proof your application was completed.

Key Dates

Awards: Two grants of up to a maximum of $5,000
Announcement Date: December 2022
Orientation: TBA, January 2023
Project Implementation Start Date: Jan. 2, 2023
Mid Point Check-In: April 3 through 7, 2023
Project End Date: June 12, 2023
Reimbursement Submission Deadline: June 13, 2023 at 5 p.m.
Reports & Deliverables Due: June 26, 2023 at 5 p.m.

Contact

Michelle C. Burroughs, M.P.H.
Director, Center for Healthy Communities
Email: michelle.burroughs@medsch.ucr.edu
Phone: (951) 715-2705

Data Collection

For projects that include components of data collection, proposals must provide the intended use of the results (e.g. improve local care, publish in an academic journal, present at a local/national conference), the data collection procedures and proposed analysis. Awardees must provide proof of IRB approval prior to beginning any data collection and to ensure the protection of data collected within their proposed projects.

If you have questions about whether or not your project includes data collection or research related components that require IRB review, or the IRB process, please contact/visit:

UCR Office of Research Integrity
University Office Building Suite 200
(951) 827-5535

Reports and Deliverables

Awardees shall submit a final report to the SOM’s CHC by June 26, 2023. The final report shall include, but is not limited to, the following information:

Project Summary and Implementation Details
Description of activities and impact. Information about partnerships formed, challenges, and lessons learned. Data summary on all program participants (if applicable) including qualitative and quantitative response/outcome summary of pre and post surveys and workshop/presentation highlights (if applicable).
Budget Accountability
Describe how grant funds have been spent
Pre- and Post- Participant survey
Mid-Point Check-In
Awardees must schedule a meeting with Director of the Center for Healthy Communities Michelle C. Burroughs between April 3-7, 2023 of the project implementation period to ensure project success and completion by June 12, 2023.

Financial Information

The grant may fund project-related expenses, e.g. incentives, food for meetings, local transportation, and software.

Budget

All applicants are required to submit an itemized budget with their application, not to exceed $5,000 per application. The CHC reserve the right to modify or reduce any or all portions of applicant’s submitted budget and/or increase the number of awards if additional funds become available. Budget categories include:

Advertising
Meals
Supplies
Transportation
Facility costs
Other direct costs
Related work plan activities

Any changes to project funding must be requested in writing via email to chc@medsch.ucr.edu

Payment

Funds will be paid out as reimbursements submitted by the attendee. Awardees will be responsible for paying for the approved expenses up front and reimbursement requests will be processed within one week of being received. Payment may take two-to-three weeks from the submission date.

All expenses must comply with UCR policy to receive full reimbursement. Funds cannot be used for out-of-state travel, gifts, entertainment, or for salaries of any kind. Please see the purchasing section below for information on items that can be purchased by the department that do not require a reimbursement.

To request reimbursement, applicants must complete this Expense Reimbursement Form and submit it before the end of the grant period, June 1, 2023. Reimbursements can be submitted to: chc@medsch.ucr.edu

Reimbursement for 80 percent of the award will be made until the final report and deliverables are submitted.

Purchasing

Awardees will have the option to have some items purchased by the department before implementing their project. Items that can be purchased by UCR Health or the CHC on behalf of the awardee include:

Office/medical supplies
Printing
Software
Some equipment

Please be sure to review the Restrictions and Limitations to Low Value Purchase Authority policy for university guidelines on how funds may be spent.