W26011_Notice of Intent

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) Bureau of Community Health and Prevention is pursuing a Research to Advance Racial and Indigenous Health Equity grant opportunity through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). The procurement seeks to develop and test a rapid qualitative data collection process that supplements the existing Community Health Equity Survey (CHES), with a primary focus on engaging historically marginalized racial and Indigenous communities. Key objectives include creating an adaptable qualitative data collection method that can respond to emerging public health issues and provide actionable, context-driven health equity research. The MDPH plans to partner with the Institute for New England Native American Studies (INENAS) and the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts (PHIWM) to achieve these goals. The project has a specified grant duration of three years with a total award value of $500,000. Potential respondents are required to submit any questions to Caroline Stack via email by July 23, 2025, at 4 P.M., which is also the final submission deadline for the Notice of Intent.

The grant opportunity appears to have no specific set-aside designations or strict restrictions on organizational respondents, though the selection process emphasizes partners with extensive experience in community engagement and qualitative research methods. Partner organizations will have estimated budgets ranging from $150,000 to $350,000 over the three-year project period. INENAS will specifically focus on ensuring Indigenous community members are actively involved in the evaluation process, while PHIWM will support qualitative data process development and model evaluation. RWJF plans to award approximately eight grants in this funding cycle, with individual grant amounts ranging from $250,000 to $500,000. The competitive nature of the grant suggests that respondents will be evaluated based on their demonstrated capacity for community-driven research, prior collaborative work, and potential to address health inequities through innovative data collection and analysis methodologies.