ARCC Research Pilot 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 forms of inequity in their proposed projects, partnerships, and practices.

The Research Pilot Seed Grant is designed to support established community–academic partnerships. Grants support preliminary research activities, data collection and/or analysis, and/or preparation for external research funding—while continuing to strengthen partnership sustainability/capacity for research and community impact.

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 Community Research Capacity-Building and Partnership Development. 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 inequity and the root causes of health inequities. This funding opportunity prioritizes community-academic partnerships and research aimed at addressing root causes of health inequities that inhibit the ability of communities to thrive.

Research Pilot Seed Grants support established community–academic partnerships. Grants support preliminary research activities, data collection and/or analysis, and/or preparation for external research funding—while continuing to strengthen partnership sustainability/capacity for research and community impact. Applications must include some form of data collection or analysis (examples below).

Possible activities include:

• Identifying needs and/or assets and/or collecting pilot data;
• Reviewing and interpreting existing data to inform further study, community impact, and/or demonstrate potential impact/capacity for application for future funding;
• Collaboratively developing/pilot testing interventions to inform further study, community impact, and/or application for external funding;
• Collaboratively designing components of a community research project (e.g. research questions, methodologies, recruitment & retention approaches, data collection/analysis instruments and protocols, interventions, dissemination and implementation plans) and preparing proposals for external research funding; (this may include asset-based and solution-focused research approaches to address root causes of health inequities);
• Community-academic partnership-building activities focused on deepening relationships and capacity development for longer-term research and community impact collaboration.

Grant Award: $25,000                                   Grant length: 24 months

Expected number of grants to be awarded in this Round: 1

Eligibility

• Applications must be submitted jointly by a community-academic partnership (including at least one community or faith-based organization or public agency with an identified Community Lead as representative AND at least 1 Northwestern faculty member as academic lead). Additional community and academic collaborators may also be involved.
  • Note: If you do not have a current relationship with a Northwestern researcher or community partner, an ARCC Partnership Development Seed Grant is a better fit.
• Before submission, the Community Lead and/or Academic Lead applicant is required to participate in (or view recording of) an ARCC Seed Grant information session.
• Focus on impacting Chicago Metropolitan area (City of Chicago, Cook County, and the collar Counties: DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will)

Priorities

• Priority will be given to proposals that build on partnerships and projects that have previously received and completed ARCC Seed Grant funding, including:
  • Community leads that completed Community Research Capacity-Building grants, and/or
  • Community-academic partnerships that have completed Partnership Development grants
• 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 Requirements

Welcome/Orientation, mid-project, and conclusion 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 Community Capacity-Building and Partnership Development 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 both community and academic representatives with experience in and respect for community-academic collaboration, lived experience expertise, health equity and research. Review criteria include: quality and feasibility of partnership collaboration; quality and feasibility of proposed activities; potential for future positive community impact, research collaboration, funding; and alignment with priorities. The review form and scoring rubric will be available here shortly. 

Intention to Submit

Partnerships interested in applying are asked to complete a brief Intention to Submit form by April 1. The form includes two short questions:

• whether the partnership 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.edu