The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is seeking proposals to build the evidence base investigating how preemption policies at the state level may affect racial justice and health equity.
Donor Name: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)
State: All States
County: All Counties
U.S. Territory: American Samoa, Guam, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 08/10/2023
Size of the Grant: $30,000 to $450,000
Grant Duration: 24 months
Details:
The research funded under this CFP:
- should focus on how state-level preemption impacts local authority;
- be intentional about applying a racial equity lens to the policy research processes and outcomes; and
- include community groups and/or members, especially those from historically marginalized communities, as leaders or partners in all stages of the research.
The policies being considered can be ones that have been implemented or proposed, or whose impacts can be estimated through anti-racist processes and methods that are inclusive of Indigenous research methods, critical ethnography, or other appropriate methodological approaches. They also welcome policy research that is more developmental, theoretical, or conceptual in nature but has the potential to support policy reform, creation, or implementation in ways that can significantly boost improvements in racial justice and health equity.
It seeks to support research grants that generate actionable evidence and information about how, as well as how well policies work. They would like research findings to inform and guide legislators; public agencies; public policy advocates; racial, and other justice organizations; community organizers; and others who are developing and implementing policies to create thriving, healthy, equitable communities.
A wide range of policy research questions and policy areas are in scope for purposes of this CFP. Below are some examples, but they welcome additional ones too:
- What is the impact of new state preemption policies (passed since 2020) on racial equity?
- For policies (and policy environments) that seek to optimize racial justice and health equity, what might be the right balance between state and local authorities; what issues should states consider in regard to this balance; what state preemptive policies might promote goals relating to this balance; and what state preemptive policies might promote racial justice and health equity?
- How does preemption interact with civic engagement efforts such as voting and access to ballot measures? And how are coalitions in the fields of civic engagement, democracybuilding, and public health impacted by preemption?
- What factors drive preemption in policymaking (e.g., industry lobbying, political ideologies, intergovernmental relations) and how do these influence the decision to preempt local policies, and in what ways?
- What are the implications of preemption for innovation, experimentation, and adaptation in the policymaking space, and the ability of local and regional approaches to promote racial justice and health equity?
- What are potential future trends and developments of preemption as a policy tool, and how might these shape the balance of power between state and local policy? How can local communities identify policy proposals as preemptive in nature, and what emerging policy areas are most likely to be affected by these emerging trends?
- What is the relative importance of state preemption of local authority in shaping small and mid-size cities’ (defined as those with a population of 50,000 to 500,000) equitable economic development for communities of color?
- How do federal funding streams that flow to states, but not to Tribal nations, impact state reporting and programming requirements on Tribal governments? In what public health-related areas does such ‘delegated preemption’ take place?
- Has state preemption affected Urban Indian Health Care programs or other programs important to the health and wellbeing of American Indian and Alaska Native communities?
The above research questions can be applied to one or more specific policy areas that impact racial justice. Some examples include, but are not limited to:
- Public health, health and safety, such as those relating to infectious disease control, water and air quality, sexual and reproductive healthcare, testing and treatment of COVID-19, and chronic disease policy;
- Employment and labor policies, such as those relating to minimum wage, family leave, union organizing, child labor, and employer-sponsored health plans;
- Housing policies, such as those relating to eviction, zoning, discrimination, affordable housing, and rent control;
- Public education, such as those relating to curricula, book bans, and students’ sexual orientation and gender identity;
- Infrastructure and environmental policies, such as those relating to transportation, broad band, climate change, fossil fuel regulations, and environmental racism;
- Policies relating to other issues and populations including local election management, criminal justice issues such as: prosecutorial discretion, right to protest, and public safety/police reforms; immigration issues such as: sanctuary cities, and community identification cards; and disability rights and related issues; and
- Other policies that either promote or restrict racial justice and health equity.
In addition to carrying out the proposed research activities, each applicant funded under the P4A program will:
- Work and periodically check in with RWJF program officers, the P4A national coordinating center (NCC) at the Urban Institute, and other P4A investigators to identify and leverage potential synergies across research projects and to disseminate results broadly;
- Actively participate in research collaboration, dissemination, and translation activities organized by RWJF and the NCC, including research-in-progress webinars, blog posts, podcasts, research meetings, and policy briefings; and research synthesis work in collaboration with other grantees.
Funding Information
This CFP will award a combined total of $1.5 million for up to 6 grants. Each award has ranged from $30,000 to $450,000 in the past. They recommend that you request the amount of funding you will need to complete your proposed research project and to translate and disseminate the results. The size of the budget will be weighed in relation to the importance and likely contribution of the proposed research.
Project Duration
Awards are typically funded for 24 months.
Uses of Grant Funds
Grant funds may be used for project staff salaries, consultant fees, data collection and analysis, meetings, supplies, project-related travel, other direct project expenses, including a limited amount of equipment essential to the project, and indirect costs to support the applicant organization’s general operations. In keeping with RWJF policy, funds may not be used to support clinical trials of unapproved drugs or devices, to construct or renovate facilities, for lobbying, for political activities, or as a substitute for funds currently being used to support similar activities. Additional budget guidelines are provided in the online application materials.
Eligibility Criteria
- Preference will be given to applicants that are either public entities or nonprofit organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and are not private foundations or Type III supporting organizations. The Foundation may require additional documentation. Applicant organizations must be based in the United States or its territories.
- Awards will be made to organizations, not to individuals.
- This strive to support a diverse group of researchers in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, disability, and seniority. The following groups are especially encouraged to apply:
- Research projects led by researchers who are Black or African American; American Indian, Alaska Native, or Indigenous; Hispanic, Latinx/e, or Latin American; Middle Eastern or North African; Asian or Asian American; and/or Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander;
- Community-led research teams;
- Investigators from organizations that are underrepresented among grantee institutions, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), Alaska Native-Serving Institutions, Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs);
- Interdisciplinary research teams; or
- First-time applicants for an RWJF grant.
- Applicants who have been RWJF grantees OR who currently have other active RWJF grants, are eligible to apply.
- Applicants may also submit proposals that are being considered by other RWJF programs.
- Applicants who are current principal Investigators or co-principal investigators of P4A grants OR who have finished their P4A funding within the past two years are not eligible to apply. This does not prevent other researchers at the home institution of a P4A grantee from applying.
For more information, visit RWJF.
