Workshop for Engaging Social, Behavioral, and Economic Scientists through Social and Policy Entrepreneurship

Additional Information:
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2013/nsf13046/nsf13046.jsp?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_ev=click

Description:
Building on the National Science Foundation's commitment to increasing the broader impacts of its science, the Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) seeks to explore possible avenues for guiding scientific discoveries closer to the development of public policy and social ventures. To this end, SBE would like to invite proposals for organizing interdisciplinary, multi-sector workshops that focus on (but are not limited to) the following topics and issues:

• What is the nature of the system within which scientific knowledge is transformed into public policy or social action? What interactions characterize this system? What system failures or barriers impede the utilization of non-commercial science by governments, non-profit organizations, community groups, and other social ventures? How can universities and scholars best serve this system?
• What non-commercial pathways best connect academic science to public policy and management and to social ventures designed to meet public needs? What types of interactions with scientists are most fruitful in these contexts?
• How should scholars, social entrepreneurs, policy-makers, and administrators engage each other to facilitate better application of SBE science?
• What skill sets and partnerships do scientists need to develop in order to optimize the transformation of their science into actionable and useful knowledge in the non-commercial contexts of public policy, management, and social need?
• What types of curricula or educational activities should be developed to advance knowledge in the area of social and policy entrepreneurship?

Ideally, the reports generated by these workshops could be used by a variety of audiences as starting points for the development of a curriculum or a specific set of activities designed to facilitate the transformation of fundamental SBE science into actionable knowledge.

Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Nutrition Training Program

Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Nutrition Training Program HRSA-13-180

https://grants3.hrsa.gov/2010/Web2External/Interface/FundingCycle/ExternalView.aspx?&fCycleID=449cd4f3-3ece-4ff2-b31c-0c98c9c4b810&txtAction=View+Details&submitAction=Go&ViewMode=EU

Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) grant funds are awarded to establish and enhance nutrition centers of excellence to improve MCH by promoting the healthy nutrition of the mother, child, and family. The Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Nutrition Training Program improves access to quality health care by providing graduate education to nutritionists designed to: 1) foster leadership in administration, systems integration, continuous quality improvement, education, and nutrition services with a public health focus, for populations of women and children (infants through adolescents) and families; (2) the development and dissemination of curricula, teaching models, and other educational resources to enhance MCH nutrition programs; and (3) the continuing education, consultation and technical assistance in nutrition which address the needs of the MCH community with a special focus on Title V programs, community-based programs, and other Federal programs, such as the US Department of Agriculture’s WIC and Summer Feeding Programs. Unlike other master’s level nutrition training programs, MCH Nutrition students receive specialized training in core MCH public health principles, epidemiology, environmental approaches to population intervention, leadership skills, and the development and evaluation of nutrition-related, cost-effective interventions for specific populations. Training is also provided in identifying and designing outcome evaluations and in evaluating the potential physiological and biochemical mechanisms linking diet and nutritional status with risk or disease status. Training is designed to provide both clinical and public health approaches to working with the MCH population. Nutrition as a discipline focuses on life course for the population, and is a critical link between public health and chronic disease prevention. The program closely supports HRSA Strategic Goals: Goal 1, improve access to quality care and services, Goal 2 strengthen the health workforce, and Goal 4 improve health equity. Nutrition as a field is recognized as a critical factor in health promotion and disease prevention and a vital contributor to reducing the alarming rates of pediatric obesity in the US. The increase in prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity in the US since the 1960s has been well documented. Overweight and obese children are more likely to develop risk factors that can lead to respiratory, metabolic and cardiovascular illness over their life course. The MCH Training programs have addressed the obesity epidemic in numerous ways. Some examples are: working with the American Medical Association (AMA) and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) on the development of national obesity guidelines; developing the credentialing test for the pediatric nutrition specialty of the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics; developing competencies for graduate nutrition programs; serving on the national AAP Bright Futures Steering Committee and serving on various Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committees on Obesity and Prevention. This MCH Nutrition investment is training the Nutrition leaders of the future for the country. 

Obesity Policy Evaluation Research (R01)

Additional Information:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-13-110.html

Description:
This Funding Opportunity Announcement  (FOA) encourages Research Project Grant (R01) applications that propose to evaluate large scale policy or programs that are expected to influence obesity related behaviors (e.g., dietary intake, physical activity, or sedentary behavior) and/or weight outcomes in an effort to prevent or reduce obesity.
Examples of appropriate studies include, but are not limited to, the following:
·         Introduction of food or beverage taxes/subsidies/price changes/other incentives;
·         Infrastructure initiatives such as retailers offering healthier food options in underserved areas;
·         Changes to workplace food and/or physical activity environment;
·         Polices expected to influence available options and purchasing, such as calorie labeling in restaurants, menu or food product reformulation, and supermarket layout or pricing strategies;
·         Significant changes in policy or practice in large healthcare organizations that are expected to improve weight outcomes; such as changes in reimbursement, incentives, or wide scale implementation of prevention or treatment services;
·         Modifications to the built environment to encourage active transportation or leisure physical activity, such as the implementation of bike lanes in urban areas, multi-use trails, subsidies for public transit, upgrades of sidewalks, or improved access to parks and recreation facilities.

Time-Sensitive Obesity Policy and Program Evaluation (R01)

Additional Information:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-12-257.html

Description:
This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is issued by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institute on Aging (NIA), Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), and the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR), at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This announcement establishes an accelerated review/award process to support time-sensitive research to evaluate a new policy or program expected to influence obesity related behaviors (e.g., dietary intake, physical activity, or sedentary behavior) and/or weight outcomes in an effort to prevent or reduce obesity.  This FOA is intended to support research where opportunities for empirical study are, by their very nature, only available through expedited review and funding.  All applications to this FOA must demonstrate that the evaluation of an obesity related policy and /or program offers an uncommon and scientifically compelling research opportunity that will only be available if the research is initiated with minimum delay. For these reasons, applications in response to this time-sensitive FOA are eligible for only one submission.  It is intended that eligible applications selected for funding will be awarded within 3-4 months after the application submission/receipt date. However, administrative requirements and other unforeseen circumstances may delay issuance dates beyond that timeline. 

School Nutrition and Physical Activity Policies, Obesogenic Behaviors and Weight Outcomes (R01)

Additional Information:
http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do?&mode=VIEW&oppId=218695

Description:
This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is issued by the National Institutes of Health's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR). The FOA encourages Research Project Grant (R01) applications that propose to: (1) foster multidisciplinary research that will evaluate how policies (federal, state and school district levels) can influence school physical activity and nutrition environments, youths obesogenic behaviors (e.g., nutrition and physical activity behaviors), and weight outcomes; (2) understand how schools are implementing these policies and examine multi-level influences on adoption and implementation at various levels (e.g., federal, state, school district, and school); and (3) understand the synergistic or counteractive effect of school nutrition and physical activity polices on the home and community environment and body weight. 

School Nutrition and Physical Activity Policies, Obesogenic Behaviors and Weight Outcomes (R03)

Additional Information:
http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do?&mode=VIEW&oppId=218694

Description:
 This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is issued by the National Institutes of Health's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR). The FOA encourages research project grant (R03) applications that propose to: (1) foster multidisciplinary research that will evaluate how policies (federal, state and school district levels) can influence school physical activity and nutrition environments, youths obesogenic behaviors (e.g., nutrition and physical activity behaviors), and weight outcomes; (2) understand how schools are implementing these policies and examine multi-level influences on adoption and implementation at various levels (e.g., federal, state, school district, and school); and (3) understand the synergistic or counteractive effect of school nutrition and physical activity polices on the home and community environment and body weight. The R03 grant mechanism supports different types of projects including pilot and feasibility studies; secondary analysis of existing data; small, self-contained research projects; development of research methodology; and development of new research technology. 

School Nutrition and Physical Activity Policies, Obesogenic Behaviors, and Weight Outcomes (R21)

Additional Information:
http://www07.grants.gov/search/synopsis.do;jsessionid=QTnQRSyS6YChQdqTVJLTnZm6HvBvwcYs2p7QbpP31ZTLZFMqzKjW!1991528615


Description:
This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is issued by the National Institutes of Health's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR). The FOA encourages Research Project Grant (R21) applications that propose to: (1) foster multidisciplinary research that will evaluate how policies (federal, state and school district levels) can influence school physical activity and nutrition environments, youths obesogenic behaviors (e.g., nutrition and physical activity behaviors), and weight outcomes; (2) understand how schools are implementing these policies and examine multi-level influences on adoption and implementation at various levels (e.g., federal, state, school district, and school); and (3) understand the synergistic or counteractive effect of school nutrition and physical activity polices on the home and community environment and body weight. 

Determinants and Consequences of Personalized Health Care and Prevention (U01)

Determinants and Consequences of Personalized Health Care and Prevention (U01) RFA-RM-12-024

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RM-12-024.html

Deadline February 28, 2013

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) solicits U01 applications for economic research on the determinants and consequences of personalization in health care and prevention. The objective of the research program is to support foundational research on economic aspects of individualized health interventions that will provide a framework for subsequent applied analyses. Program Director(s)/Principal investigator(s) for projects funded under this FOA are required to participate in a Steering Committee that will help identify key strategies to support critical research advances in this field. Research to be supported by this FOA includes analyses and development of research tools to advance understanding of: factors that affect the value of personalized interventions to individuals and their families, health care providers and payers, and society at large; incentives and constraints facing individuals and their families, health care providers, research organizations, drug and device manufacturers, and others and how they affect the actual and optimal extent to which interventions are tailored to patients’ personal characteristics or preferences; and strategies to promote improvements in health and cost outcomes through personalization of health care and preventive interventions. The purpose of this FOA is to expand generalizable understanding of the determinants and consequences of personalization in health care and prevention; it is not primarily intended to support evaluation of specific interventions or strategies for addressing particular health conditions.

Healthy Eating Research: Building Evidence to Prevent Childhood Obesity

Healthy Eating Research: Building Evidence to Prevent Childhood Obesity
http://pweb1.rwjf.org/applications/solicited/cfp.jsp?ID=21418&cid=XEM_A6764 

Deadline: March 27, 2013

Healthy Eating Research: Building Evidence to Prevent Childhood Obesity is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). The program supports research on environmental and policy strategies with strong potential to promote healthy eating among children to prevent childhood obesity, especially among lower-income and racial and ethnic populations at highest risk for obesity. Findings are expected to advance RWJF's efforts to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic by 2015. This call for proposals (CFP) is for two types of awards aimed at providing advocates, decision-makers, and policy-makers with evidence to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic. The award types are: Round 8 grants and RWJF New Connections grants awarded through the Healthy Eating Research program.