Building Research Infrastructure and Capacity Speaker Series at Minority Serving Institutions

Deadline: Nov. 30, 2018

The Building Research Infrastructure and Capacity Speaker Series (BRIC-SS) Initiative seeks to increase the capacity of ethnic minority serving postsecondary institutions and faculty to engage in health disparities research and to encourage student involvement in health disparities research training at early levels of the educational tiers. This new fund, evolved from the Promoting Psychological Research and Training on Health Disparities Initiative, offers small grants to college/university psychology departments at minority serving institutions to help to strengthen the departments' ability to support and facilitate health disparities research among its faculty and students through an invited expert speaker series.

Eligible applicants for these funds are department heads, chairs, co-chairs, division heads or other leadership administrators at departments/schools/programs of psychology at educational institutions serving primarily ethnic minority populations. Project directors or lead faculty/staff for the project must be APA members at the time funding awards are approved.

All proposals must be received by the APA Ethnicity, Race, and Cultural Affairs Portfolio (ERCA) on or before Nov. 30, 2018. It is anticipated that one proposal will be funded up to a maximum of $6,000.

Proposed projects should seek to increase the capacity of their psychology program to conduct health disparities research, and the availability of health disparities research experience for undergraduate and graduate students. The funds should be used to hire an expert consultant to provide a lecture on the capacity building topic of choice and another form of development (workshop, training, consultation) for the faculty and/or students. The funding requires that the lecture be video recorded and will be used to create a capacity building video series resource for other minority serving institutions looking to build research infrastructure and capacity. Examples of fundable expenditures that can be used to supplement the lecture and development experience include the purchase of software licenses and/or assessment tools, skills training or workshops, professional development for faculty (e.g., grant writing workshops, seminars on publishing health disparities research, methodology or analytic procedures, research training experience for students, etc.). Funds may not be used to conduct research, but rather improve the capacity of the psychology department to train faculty and students to conduct health disparities research in the future.

There is a standard cover sheet that must accompany the application. Successful applications (in no more than five pages) should describe:

1. The needs of the department and how the funds will benefit and/or contribute to resolving the issue.
2. Procedures, including the expert consultant and topics/plan for consultation.
3. Detailed expected outcomes (e.g., number or percent increase of publications/grant proposals from faculty and graduate students, number or percent increase of undergraduate students applying and successfully admitted into research focused graduate programs, etc..
4. A detailed budget for the funding amount requested, supporting documentation to include any possible additional support/funding which has been offered and/or secured for the proposed project (i.e. in-kind contributions, matching funds, etc.).
5. Information and/or details of a contingency plan which would be activated/engaged should the proposed project not be funded or receive reduced funding.
6. A rational specifying how the proposed effort aligns with the goals of BRIC-SS.

No more than 10 percent of the total proposed budget can be used for food and no funds may be used for room rental or facilities. The budget may include any materials related to actualizing the video recorded lecture or the capacity building consultation/workshop. BRIC-SS funds may not be used to support indirect or overhead costs. Similarly, funding to support independent research and/or a specific study will be ineligible for consideration. Funding for travel may be considered only if it is directly linked to the career development of students and faculty in the area of health disparities research. Such exceptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

It is hoped that the BRIC-SS grant award will serve as a demonstration model for other programs. Therefore, a detailed timeline must be submitted with a proposed project end date. Progress reports are expected to be submitted annually by December 1, and a final report must be submitted within 60 days of completion of the funded project.

All application materials must be received by ERCA on or before Nov. 30, 2018.

Please direct all inquiries and submissions (email, fax or regular mail) to:

APA ERCAopens in new window
ATTN: BRIC
750 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002-4242
Phone: (202) 336-6029
Fax: (202) 336-6040

BRIC-SS is funded by the APA Science Directorate's "Academic Enhancement Initiative" and administered by the APA Public Interest Directorates' Ethnicity, Race, and Cultural Affairs Portfolio in collaboration with the APA Minority Fellowship Program.