Community Engaged Partnerships Grants

Award Cycle: Annual 

Limit on Proposals per PI: An individual may participate as PI on one Grant once per year 

Next Due Date: April 3, 2024

Award Period: One year from start date 

Applications:  Accepted through Arizona Cultivate (link will update once competition launches)

Description: The RII Community Engaged Partnerships Grant is designed to foster research relationships between University of Arizona researchers and their community partners. The goal of this grant is to build, maintain, and increase community engaged partnerships and the societal impact that results from the research relationships. Additionally, this grant is intended to support communication and dissemination of outcomes and societal impact within the partnering communities and beyond.  

The University of Arizona has a special interest in community engaged partnerships Community engagement as defined by the Carnegie Foundation, "describes collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities (local, regional/state, national, global) for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity." Applicants are encouraged to tailor their submissions accordingly.  

There are two tracks available for application: 

• Track 1: Building New Partnerships: Proposals should describe how this funding will support the identification, initial outreach, planning, and creation of new partnerships. 

• Track 2: Developing Existing Partnerships: Proposals should describe how this funding will augment existing partnerships via community focus groups, identifying research questions, identifying and applying to new external funding opportunities, disseminating outcomes, and similar activities.  

Award: 

The maximum award amount is $25,000 and may be used for items outlined in the Budget Preparation section that begins on page 5 of the Proposal Preparation Guide (PPG). Funds cannot directly pass to the partner, however they can support the partnership in many ways including, honoraria, participant stipends, workshops, catering, and travel. Please note that this solicitation is intended solely for partnership and relationship-related costs. Publications are not covered in the scope of this grant, recipients should consult the Publication Grants solicitation following the closure of their award period of performance.  

Eligibility:  

Single investigators and teams of up to five (including PI of record) are invited to apply for this grant. The Principal Investigator of record must meet the PI eligibility requirements Applicants who fall under the categories of Career Track or Professor of Practice with a Teaching Emphasis (non-research focus as primary job duty) should include a letter from the Director or Assistant Dean of Research in their unit or college that confirms approval to conduct research as part of, or in addition to, job duties.  

Proposal preparation, submission, and processing information is available in the RII Proposal Preparation Guide (PPG) v9, which is downloadable in the Arizona Cultivate competition. The PPG includes requirements for the project narrative and supplemental documents; it is strongly encouraged that interested applicants read the PPG in full as proposals that do not match the PPG will be returned without review. 

Solicitation specific information below supersedes information presented in the PPG.  

Solicitation Specific Information: 

1. Proposal Narrative (two pages single-spaced): the narrative should 

   1. Describe the aims, objectives, and reciprocity of the proposed partnership and/or research project

   2. Articulate how the proposed partnership will support the land-grant or Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) mission of the university, and    

   3. Where appropriate based on track selected, discuss the plan for developing and disseminating the broader/societal impact of the proposed collaboration and resulting research   

2. Supplemental Documents: 

   1. Budget template and justification outlining itemized budget request 

   2. As appropriate, community partners may be presented with purchased items that are a representation of local or cultural significance to promote goodwill and relationship building. 

   3. CV/biosketch of Principal Investigator

   4. CV(s)/biosketch(es) of co-investigators

   5. For Track 1 Applicants: Table of possible collaborators/partnerships to pursue 

   6. For Track 2 Applicants: Letter of Collaboration/Support to document the proposed collaboration, collaborators, and/or matching or in-kind support 

   7. Required for applicants who fall under the categories of Career Track or Professor of Practice with a Teaching Emphasis (non-research focus as primary job duty): A letter from the Director or Research Dean in their unit or college that confirms approval to conduct research as part of, or in addition to, job duties. 

Recommended Campus Contacts and Offices who may provide consultation on building and maintaining partnerships: 

• Office of Societal Impact 

• Native American Advancement, Initiatives & Research 

• Native People Technical Assistance Office (NPTAO) 

• Hispanic Serving Institution Initiatives 

• Cooperative Extension Offices 

• UArizona Tribal Extension 

• UArizona Cooperative Extension Tribal Extension Staff 

• Federally Recognized Tribes Extension Program (FRTEP) 

• Greg Hitt, Research Development Associate, Economic Development & Community Engaged Research Development – specializing in municipalities 

Questions about the Application Requirements or Arizona Cultivate: resdev@arizona.edu 

Last updated: September 14, 2023