ARCC Community Research Capacity-Building Seed Grant 2026/Round 19

Request for Applications

Application Deadline: April 23, 2026

The Alliance for Research with Chicagoland Communities (ARCC) will fund Seed Grants that support the development of community research capacity, partnerships, and research projects that are driven by Chicagoland communities most impacted by health inequities. These seed grants can lay the groundwork for community impact, health equity, as well as increasing the trustworthiness, relevance, quality, and impact of health research. The Seed Grant program has a strong focus on supporting communities and partnerships to address inequities in their proposed projects, partnerships, and practices.

The Community Research Capacity Building Seed Grant is intended to support community organizations in building or strengthening the knowledge, systems, or infrastructure needed for organizations and communities to engage in and/or lead community-driven research. It is intended to support early-stage efforts that can position organizations for future research collaborations or strengthen community leadership in current research collaborations. The ARCC 2026 Community Research Capacity-Building Seed Grant is exclusive to community organizations who have NOT previously received ARCC Seed Grant funding. 

Note: This 19th round of Seed Grant funding will be more limited in scope and we anticipate awarding fewer grants than in some recent prior rounds. During this round of funding, ARCC is also accepting applications for two other seed grant types: ARCC Partnership Development and Research Pilot. Those Requests for Applications are available here.

Community Research Focus

Community research is an approach to research that honors and centers the knowledge of communities in their local, cultural, practice and lived experiences for improving health equity. While applications may focus along the full continuum of community research partnership and engagement, including community-engaged research (CEnR), community-based participatory research (CBPR), patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR), and/or other types of research collaborations, ARCC encourages community-led and community-driven research that moves beyond more transactional community engagement in academic-led research.

We encourage collaborations that consider power structures and foster community leadership and prioritization and embrace a more transformational approach to the processes and practices that govern research. Health equity means that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. This requires the intentional focusing of resources and power to communities most impacted by structural and root causes of health inequities. This funding opportunity prioritizes community leadership and research aimed at addressing root causes of health inequities that inhibit the ability of communities to thrive.

Community Research Capacity-Building Seed Grants support community organizations in building or strengthening the knowledge, systems, or infrastructure needed for organizations and communities to engage in community-driven research. This is often the first step toward future research partnerships. Note: Applications for this grant type are submitted by community organizations only. A Northwestern partner is not necessary.                      

Possible activities include:

1. Understanding Community Assets/Needs and Readiness

• Assessing community/organizational environment, capacity, and readiness to lead and/or collaborate on research (e.g. understanding community perceptions/attitudes of research, opportunities and challenges, etc.)
• Conducting community listening sessions or data/neighborhood walks to gain a deeper understanding of the health needs, assets and priorities of the community(ies)

2. Building Research Capacity of Community

• Building capacity of community organizations (staff, leadership) and/or community members (residents, patients, caregivers with lived experience relevant to potential research interests) in community-led or engaged research collaboration (e.g., training(s) on community-driven research approaches, design/methods, ethics, etc.)
• Developing community research infrastructure (e.g. organizational research purpose, principles or values; defining staff position research responsibilities; policies/process for assessing/approving/ tracking researcher inquiries & collaboration; research committee formation; template memorandum of understanding; fiscal capacity for federal research grants, etc.)

3. Planning Future Research

• Developing community-led or driven research interests, priorities, and/or questions (e.g. development of community research agenda, may include asset-based and solution-focused research questions to address root causes of health inequities)
• Exploring and developing innovative strategies for building research trustworthiness and engaging communities in research participation and leadership
• Planning future research collaborations (e.g., identifying, preparing for discussions with, and/or engaging with potential researchers with shared interests)

Grant award: $2,500             Grant length: 6 months

Expected number of grants to be awarded in this Round: 4

Applicants may find it helpful to look at or incorporate into their proposed work these materials.  

Eligibility

• Applications must be submitted by at least one community or faith-based organization or public agency with an identified Community Lead as representative (additional community collaborators may also be involved).
• No Northwestern/academic partner is necessary for this grant type
• Applicant community lead organization must not have previously received ARCC Seed Grant funding.
• Before submission, the Community Lead is required to participate in (or view recording of) an ARCC Seed Grant information session.
• Community Lead Organization/application must focus on impacting Chicago Metropolitan area (City of Chicago, Cook County, and the collar Counties: DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will)

Priorities

• Community lead organizations who serve/focus on Chicagoland communities most impacted by health inequities
• Partnerships that focus on health equity & addressing root causes of health inequities

Proposed aims and activities should reflect Center for Community Health Principles of Engagement, and may draw from the following resources for understanding health equity and root causes.

Grantee Requirement

Welcome/Orientation & mid-project meetings with other grant recipients. Participate in Seed Grant Support Program (see below). Final report. Annual tracking survey of seed grant outcomes.

Seed Grant Support Program: This program provides structured assistance and resources collectively and individually to ARCC community research seed grantees. This program, currently in the pilot phase, organizes and enhances existing grantee support, adds new types of support, and will then evaluate, implement, and share learnings about the effectiveness and impact of the support program. Learn more here.

Participation in the program is required and will also include ARCC 2026 Partnership Development and Research Pilot grantees.

Required Info Session & Resources

Required Info Session

Before submission, the Community Lead and/or Academic Lead applicant is required to participate in (or view recording of) one of the ARCC Seed Grant information sessions below. These will provide general information about the seed grants and have time for full group question and answer sessions. They may also include panels or breakouts with previous grantees.

• Virtual ARCC Grant Information Session: February 27, 10:30-11:30 am. Register here.
• In-Person ARCC Community Research Learning Exchange: March 18, 12-4 PM

Resources

• ARCC Seed Grant Technical Assistance Office Hours: ARCC is offering short 15-minute Zoom sessions with ARCC Staff for applicants to ask questions or get input as they finalize their applications for submission. Email ARCC@northwestern.edu to reserve a slot.
  • March 4, 9:30 am-12:30 pm
  • March 31, 10 am-1:30 pm
  • April 6, 10 am-Noon
  • April 16, 1-3:30 pm
• Descriptions of past grantees and related items on ARCC website: ARCConline.net.
• Additional resources on ARCC’s online resource directory: ARCCresources.net.

Questions: ARCC@northwestern.edu

Application Instructions

Applicants will download and complete the relevant Application Form and Budget Excel forms below. There is also an option of including three pages of Graphic/Table/Additional Information. These will be available and linked here shortly.

All application materials should be combined into a single PDF file and emailed to ARCC@northwestern.edu by the April 23rd (by 11:59 pm) deadline.

Review:

Applications will be peer reviewed by community representatives with experience in and respect for community and lived experience, health equity, and research. Review criteria include: Quality/feasibility/potential of proposed capacity-building activities and alignment with priorities. The review form and scoring rubric will be available here shortly. 

Intention to Submit

To support planning for the ARCC 2026 Seed Grant review process, organizations interested in applying are asked to complete a brief Intention to Submit form by April 1. The form includes two short questions:

• whether the organization plans to submit an application, and
• which ARCC Seed Grant type they intend to apply for.

Submitting an Intention to Submit form is non-binding, does not obligate an organization to submit a full application, and does not affect eligibility or review of submitted applications. This information will be used solely to help ARCC prepare for the review process. The form will be available here shortly.

Timeline 

Table 1: Important dates and deadlines for proposals.

Virtual Grant Info Session- Register here	February 27, 10:30-11:30 am
In-Person Grant Info Session & ARCC Learning Exchange- Register here	March 18, 12-4 pm
Intention to Submit deadline	April 1
Technical Assistance Office Hours: 20-minute zoom sessions to address applicant questions. Email ARCC@northwestern.edu to reserve a slot.	Mar 4, 9:30 am-12:30 pm   Mar 31, 10 am-1:30 pm   Apr 6, 10 am-Noon              Apr 16, 1-3:30 pm
Application deadline	April 23, 2026
Funding decisions communicated	June 2026
Funding Released	July 2026

ARCC Background

Established in 2008, the Alliance for Research with Chicagoland Communities’ (ARCC) mission is to catalyze and support research partnerships driven by and rooted in Chicagoland communities’ unique assets and experiences to achieve health equity. We support authentic community-academic research partnerships between Chicagoland communities and Northwestern University by providing partnership facilitation, capacity-building resources and technical assistance, seed grants, and advocacy for supportive structural and institutional systems and policies in the research enterprise that center community leadership. ARCC is guided by our Community-Academic Steering Committee of community- and faith-based organizations, public agencies, and Northwestern faculty and staff.

Over our full 18 years of seed grant funding, ARCC has distributed almost $2 million to almost 150 community organizations and community-academic partnerships. The funded partnerships have led to increased community and academic capacity for collaboration and research, new health improvements and policy changes, over $44 million in subsequent grant funding, and 50 peer-reviewed publications.

For more information, www.ARCConline.net or ARCC@northwestern.ed