Ending the HIV Epidemic SWG Planning Awards

Ending the HIV Epidemic Scientific Working Group (EHE SWG) Planning Awards support the development of new collaborations between academic and community-based members of the EHE SWG. The planning award mechanism pre-positions SWG members to jointly pursue larger EHE grants or supplements within the next 1-2 years. View previously funded EHE SWG Planning Awards.

The RFA from the most recent competition is provided below for reference. 

The activities proposed for EHE planning awards must be distinct from ongoing projects and must help teams leverage local strengths to compete for EHE funding in 2022. During the competitive review process, special (but not exclusive) priority will be given to collaborations with community partners that have not yet received significant CFAR funding. Special consideration will also be given to applications that include community or health department partners outside of Chicago, but within Cook County.

  • Project period will be limited to 3 – 5 months and must be completed by April 30, 2022
  • Up to $10,000 – $20,000 in direct costs may be requested
  • A pre-submission consultation must be requested by September 7, 2021
  • Applications are due on September 27, 2021
  • Funding decisions will be made by late October 2021

To streamline the application and award process, teams must work closely with SWG leadership. Faculty and community organizations interested in exploring a new partnership on a longer timeline should consider applying for a Community Collaborative Award, which will provide funds for the period of January 1, 2022 – December 31, 2022.

Team eligibility

Projects must be led by a collaborative, co-principal investigator team:

  • The academic Co-PI must be a PI-eligible Third Coast CFAR faculty member who is either an early stage investigator (never received an R01-equivalent award from NIH) or an established investigator who is new to HIV research. A faculty member who has current or previous NIH funding for HIV research as a PI at the R01-level may participate, but not as a Co-PI.
  • The community Co-PI must be employed at a community-based organization in Cook County that delivers HIV services funded by DHHS. Organizations that receive these federal funds through CDPH or IDPH are eligible.

The academic and community Co-PIs will work together ensure deliverables and timelines are met.

Project requirements

A proposal must be for a new project or idea that is distinct from, but could build upon, prior or ongoing work. The goal of the project should be to establish or enhance partnerships by planning how the team will respond to EHE RFA/RFPs in the future. Planning projects should innovate, enhance implementation, or address high priority gaps the Treat and/or Prevent pillars of EHE. Topics that address the Diagnose pillar may be included, as long as the focus is HIV prevention and/or care. Work addressing the Respond pillar is not eligible for this opportunity. Applicants are encouraged to look to specific topics of interest described in recent EHE-related RFAs as they consider the goals of an EHE planning award. Some examples include: RFA-AI-21-024, RFA-AI-21-025, RFA-MH-20-520, and several others.

Scope of work

The primary purpose of these awards is to plan a future research-practice partnership or to position an existing collaboration for future competitions for EHE-designated funding opportunities through NIH, CDC, HRSA, and other agencies. Therefore, collecting  new pilot data and/or human subjects research is not required or an advantage for this competition. Teams are encouraged to formulate their plans by examining existing programmatic or clinical data and/or by soliciting feedback from stakeholders (e.g. staff, policymakers, or community). Exceptions to allow pilot data collection and/or human subjects research  may be made for projects that already have IRB approval, maximizing feasibility in the short time frame required for these projects.

Download the full RFA

EHE Scientific Working Group

Inger Burnett-Zeigler, PhD, Northwestern University
EHE SWG Co-Director

Gregory Phillips II, PhD, Northwestern University
EHE SWG Co-Director

To request information about the EHE SWG, contact Justin Schmandt.