Research to Advance Racial and Indigenous Health Equity Call for Proposals ( New Research Support ) Grant

Research to Advance Racial and Indigenous Health Equity Call for Proposals ( New Research Support ) Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Amount: US $250,000 - US $500,000
Last Updated: December 13, 2025

Summary

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation invites proposals for research aimed at advancing racial and Indigenous health equity. This initiative focuses on community-driven research that addresses systemic inequities in health, targeting root causes such as housing, education, and healthcare access. The Foundation seeks actionable studies that empower marginalized communities, shifting power dynamics in health research and policy. Eligible applicants include community-based organizations with a strong track record in health equity work, fostering solutions that promote holistic community well-being.

Overview

Introduction and Purpose The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is committed to improving health equity in the United States. RWJF has deepened its focus on partnering with affected communities to promote health equity and combat structural racism as the most fundamental barrier to health in America. One of the ways the Foundation does this is through Evidence for Action (E4A), a national program that funds action-oriented health equity research, which prioritizes community knowledge and facilitates the relationships and governance structures that build community power, ownership of research, and systems change. To make progress toward racial and Indigenous health equity, we work toward upstream solutions that target the root causes of inequities, like housing, education, food access and affordability, employment, and healthcare, all of which drive economic and other forms of opportunity. Core to this approach is the recognition that communities most impacted by systemic inequities hold valuable cultural assets, knowledge, power, lived experiences, and leadership necessary for creating meaningful change. Research that is centered in and directly partnered with affected communities is a vital step toward shifting power imbalances within the system of knowledge production, policy advocacy, and issue prioritization. The purpose of this call for proposals is to meet the current moment through two approaches: to support timely, actionable health equity research that has been interrupted by shifts in federal funding; and support community-driven research that uplifts the knowledge, expertise, and power of historically marginalized racial and Indigenous communities to develop or test solutions that advance racial and Indigenous health equity. We seek to build an actionable body of evidence to construct fair systems (i.e., laws, policies, norms, practices, and power dynamics) that determine resource distribution and support health equity. E4A will fund Rapid Response Research grants at least to partially offset losses in federal funding for existing research, as well as New Research Support for action-oriented research to address ongoing threats to racial and Indigenous health equity. Purpose The purpose of this call for proposals (CFP) is to meet the current moment through two approaches: support timely, actionable health equity research that has been interrupted by shifts in federal funding; andsupport community-driven research that uplifts the knowledge, expertise, and power of historically marginalized racial and Indigenous communities to develop or test solutions that advance racial and Indigenous health equity. New Research Support Funding New Research grants aim to support research that centers community needs, experiences, assets, and expertise and deeply and critically interrogates upstream solutions to root causes of racial and Indigenous health inequities. We welcome applications that employ an intersectional lens to explore and combat the multifaceted ways in which multiple systems of oppression collude, ultimately fostering more holistic and effective strategies for promoting the social, political, and economic conditions that support health and health equity. We are particularly interested in strategies that promote healthy and equitable communities (both the people and the places in which people live), support economic inclusion for family wellbeing, and facilitate equitable, accessible, and affordable public health and healthcare systems (learn more about RWJF’s focus areas here). Project teams are encouraged to submit solutions-oriented, strengths-based (or assetbased) proposals that are rooted in the values and beliefs of communities of color and/or, Indigenous Peoples. New Research Support Selection Criteria can be found on pages 7-10

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Only one organization may serve as the lead applicant. The lead applicant organization must be a community-based organization (CBO) with a strong track record of racial and/or Indigenous health equity work. CBOs eligible to serve as applicant organizations include Section 501(c)(3) charitable organizations, certain for-profit organizations, local and state government agencies, and tribal organizations.If necessary, the applicant organization may utilize the services of a fiscal sponsor to support the project’s financial management and grants management and reporting activities.Applicant organizations must be based in the United States and/or its occupied territories. Submissions from teams that include both U.S. and international members are eligible, but the lead applicant organization must be based, and the research must focus on improving health equity in the United States or its occupied territories.

Ineligibility

Given the focus on addressing structural and systemic root causes of health inequities, studies that develop or test solutions that encourage individuals to modify their personal behavior in the absence of greater environmental, structural, and/or systems level changes are not a fit and will not be considered.Research that aims to solely describe problems or document inequities is also not a fit.Research institutions such as universities and contract research organizations are not eligible to serve as lead organizations for this CFP, but may partner with eligible applicant organizations as contractors, consultants, or fiscal sponsors.