Community Health: Assessment and Improvement Measures Program Partnership Development Award
The goal of the Mayo Clinic Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCaTS) CHAMP Partnership Development Award is to support community-academic partnership activities needed for research engagement.
The CHAMP Partnership Development Award supports two-year projects in which community partners or research teams work in tandem with the CCaTS Community-Engaged Research Program to help with partnership identification, development, project planning or a combination thereof. Applications may be submitted by community partners, such as community-based organizations and patient advocacy groups, or by academic partners (Mayo Clinic researchers).
CHAMP Partnership Development Awards are intended for community partners who would like to build partnerships with Mayo Clinic researchers to address health priorities or Mayo Clinic research teams that are looking to translate existing work to the community or looking to build new research relationships. Research teams must have a clear idea of the type of community partners they would like to develop and the community health priority to be addressed.
The purpose of the two-year award is to allow phased establishment of partnerships and infrastructure (year 1) and completion of the research objectives (year 2). During year 1, the investigators may request to work closely with CCaTS Community Engagement staff.
The goal is that by the end of the two-year project period, the community-academic research team would be ready to submit the project for funding either through the CHAMP Research Award, another institutional research award or extramurally.
Identify community priorities
The project should address a community priority, preferably identified by the community. There are several methods for determining community priorities:
- Compiling preliminary data from past or current partnership work.
- Convening community experts through the Mayo Clinic Community Engagement Studios.
- Connecting with Offices of Community Engagement.
- Meeting with site-based community outreach and engagement teams via a Community-Engaged Research Program consultation.
Past community health needs assessment (CHNA) reports are available from Mayo Clinic Community Engagement for all communities in which Mayo Clinic operates. Individuals are encouraged to review the specific reports for more detailed information.
Eligibility
Applications must include a community-based group and an academic partnership. The primary applicant may be the community partner (community-based organization, patient advocacy group, and so forth) or Mayo Clinic researcher. All Mayo Clinic investigators from any Mayo Clinic campus with an M.D., Ph.D., or other doctoral-level degree are eligible for this award. Research scientists, research fellows, research associates and others may apply as long as the content of the protocol does not overlap with an application submitted by their supervising principal investigator.
Current CHAMP award holders are not eligible to apply.
Funding
CHAMP Partnership Development Awards support up to $22,500. Funding includes direct costs in direct costs plus indirect costs for partnership-related expenses of up to $7,500 in year 1 and up to $15,000 in year 2. Funding in year 2 will be contingent upon the year 1 report. (For more information, see the Reporting section below.) A portion of funds may be directed toward community collaborators if appropriate and justified. Travel to attend community meetings is an allowable expense. Capital equipment, computers, laptops and other general-purpose equipment are not allowable expenses.
The award duration is up to two years; no-cost extensions are considered for compelling reasons.
Recipients of grants or awards supported by CCaTS may be asked to review applications for other CCaTS grants.
Application information
Timeline
- Full application deadline: July 7, 2025, 11:59 p.m. Central time.
- Award activation period: Oct. 1, 2025, through Sept. 30, 2027.
Application requirements
Completed application packets are submitted through the YourCause Grants Platform.
Applicants are required to include:
- Letter(s) of support: Applications initiated by a community partner should include a letter of support from the Mayo Clinic academic partner(s). Applications initiated by a Mayo Clinic academic partner must include a letter of support from community partner(s).
Review criteria
CCaTS applies the following criteria when reviewing applications for the CHAMP Partnership Development Award:
- Details of partnership development processes to promote sustainability of the working relationship. This can be done in collaboration with CCaTS Community Engagement staff.
- Utilization of existing resources and expertise from community and academic partners.
- Alignment with community health priorities.
- Potential for the partnership to be competitive for future extramural support.
- Innovation.
- Feasibility within the time and budget proposed.
- Qualifications of the applicants.
Reporting
At the conclusion of year 1, the awardee should prepare a progress report that clearly describes the progress made toward achieving the stated aims of the proposal, including all community-engagement activities, publications and presentations resulting from this work. The committee reviews the report and determines whether year 2 funds (up to $15,000) should be disbursed. Follow-up reports are solicited annually by CCaTS to capture resulting publications and grants.
Awardees would be expected to contribute to educational modules and enterprise-wide research forums. Additionally, they may be asked to complete evaluation surveys to help enhance the program and gather insights on awardees achievements since receiving funding.
Publications
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Public Access Policy requires that all publications resulting from NIH funding be uploaded to PubMed Central. Recipients of CCaTS awards, including intramurally funded awards, must follow this policy. The Mayo Clinic Public Access Policy intranet site (must be logged in to the Mayo Clinic network) guides awardees through the process of uploading publications.
Please remember to cite the Mayo Clinic CCaTS in your publication.
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