Community-Academic Partnership Pilot Grant Program

  • 2027 award range: $5,000–$25,000
  • Grant period: 12 months
  • Indirect costs: Not permitted
  • Awards available: Up to three

Upcoming Important Dates

The 2026 grant application cycle is closed. Important dates for the 2027 grant cycle are below:

  • Application deadline: June 15, 2027
  • Award notification: Mid- to late August 2027
  • Funding begins: Sept. 1, 2027

Overview

The Osher Center for Integrative Health at Northwestern University invites applications for Community-Academic Partnership Pilot Grants to support established collaborative projects between Chicago-area community-based organizations and Northwestern University faculty.

These awards are designed to catalyze equitable, mutually beneficial partnerships to develop, implement and/or evaluate integrative health programs that advance whole-person health and address community-identified priorities.

This program seeks to strengthen bidirectional learning between community and academic partners, build sustainable programmatic infrastructure and generate preliminary evaluation data, implementation experience or evaluative insights that can support future longer-term programmatic impact and external funding.;

Scope of Projects

Projects should align with the Osher Center's mission to advance whole-person health and may address physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual dimensions of well-being. Proposed projects may include, but are not limited to:

  • Co-development of integrative health programs or services, such as mind-body, culinary medicine, music or nature engagement
  • Pilot implementation of integrative health programs in community settings
  • Feasibility, acceptability or pilot evaluations
  • Community-engaged or participatory research approaches
  • Implementation science, dissemination or sustainability planning
  • Workforce or community capacity-building related to integrative health

Partnership Requirements

This award is intended for established community-academic partnerships (see Eligibility section). Applications must be jointly developed and submitted by one community-based organization and one Northwestern faculty member.

Partnerships should demonstrate shared leadership, clearly defined roles and reciprocal benefit. Proposals should reflect meaningful community engagement in project design, implementation and interpretation of findings.

Funding and Project Period

  • Maximum award: up to $25,000 in total direct costs
  • Number of awards: Up to three
  • Project period: 12 months
  • No indirect costs are permitted for either academic or community partners, including sub-awards
  • Allowable costs may include personnel effort, program materials, participant incentives, evaluation activities and other expenses necessary to carry out the proposed work

Regulatory and Data Considerations

Projects involving human subjects that meet criteria for Institutional Review Board (IRB) review will be submitted through Northwestern University's IRB, with the academic lead serving as the responsible investigator.

The community-based organization will retain data ownership, and partners will collaboratively develop agreements for shared access, analysis and publication to ensure transparency, trust and appropriate stewardship. Authorship and dissemination plans should reflect equitable contributions and recognize both community and academic partners.

Eligibility

Community Partner Eligibility

Community partners must:

  • Be nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status or fiscal sponsorship
  • Be located in or primarily serve communities in the greater Chicago area
  • Have an existing or emerging interest in integrative health-aligned programming
  • Demonstrate organizational capacity to participate in a one-year collaborative project
  • Identify an organizational member to serve as the community co-lead

Academic Partner Eligibility

Each application must include a Northwestern University faculty member who will serve as the academic co-lead. The Northwestern co-lead will be responsible for regulatory oversight, including IRB submission if applicable, and serve as the primary liaison with the Osher Center.

Application Components

Submit the following materials as a single PDF with your application.

1. Cover Letter (One Page)

Include:

  • Community need or opportunity
  • Rationale for the partnership
  • Alignment with the Osher Center's mission and integrative health priorities
  • Anticipated benefit for the community and academic partner

2. Title Page (One Page)

Include:

  • Project title
  • Community organization name, address and primary contact
  • Academic principal investigator (PI) name, department, appointment and contact information
  • Key personnel and roles

3. Project Narrative

Maximum: Five pages, single-spaced, 11-point Arial font with 0.5-inch margins

Include the following sections:

  • Background and Significance
  • Community Context and Need
  • Specific Aims or Objectives
  • Partnership and Engagement Plan
  • Project Design and Methods
  • Evaluation Plan and Outcomes
  • Timeline and Milestones
  • Sustainability and Future Funding Potential
  • Roles and Responsibilities of Community and Academic Partners

4. Budget and Budget Justification

Maximum: Two pages

Include:

  • Itemized budget with no indirect costs
  • Clear allocation of funds between community and academic activities
  • Justification for all requested costs

5. Biosketches and Organizational Profiles

Include:

  • NIH-style biosketch for the academic PI
  • Brief organizational profile for the community partner (up to two pages)

Review Criteria

Applications will be evaluated based on:

  • Community relevance and potential impact
  • Strength, equity and clarity of the partnership
  • Scientific, programmatic and evaluation rigor
  • Feasibility within the one-year timeline and $25,000 budget
  • Alignment with integrative and whole-person health principles
  • Potential for sustainability and future external funding

Awardee Expectations

Funded teams will be expected to:

  • Participate in a mid-project progress meeting with the Osher Center
  • Present project outcomes at an Osher Center-sponsored research or community forum
  • Share final products, data summaries and lessons learned with the Osher Center
  • Acknowledge Osher Center for Integrative Health support in all resulting presentations and publications

Apply

Compile all proposal materials listed in the Application Components section into a single PDF and upload the document using the submission button below.

Submit an application

Questions

For questions about the Community-Academic Partnership Pilot Grant Program, please contact Bruriah Horowitz at bruriah.horowitz@northwestern.edu.

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