NRS Application and Review

Whether and what type of IRB approval is required is determined by the type of research being conducted. Applicants do not need to have IRB approval prior to submission of the LOI or Full Proposal. The IRB process can be built into the workplan/project timeline.

Successful LOIs will provide a clear explanation of how the proposed research project, and associated funding, will be especially impactful to advancing racial and Indigenous health equity in the current sociopolitical context. LOIs should clearly demonstrate how the proposed work meets the selection criteria outlined in the call for proposals. 

LOI narratives should adhere to the template provided in the RWJF Application & Review system, addressing the overarching rationale for the project, describing implications for findings, and providing an overview of the research approach and activities. 

E4A and RWJF program staff will NOT review letter of intent narratives or other application materials prior to submission in the RWJF Application & Review System.

Letters of intent and full proposals will be reviewed using the below criteria. We anticipate that funded projects will meet or exceed all selection criteria. For more detailed information on these criteria, please review the call for proposals. 

• Relevance and significance to advancing racial and/or Indigenous health equity: Applicants should provide evidence that the research reflects the needs and priorities of Indigenous and other historically oppressed and marginalized communities of color, including how it was conceived and co-developed; the project should reflect real-world considerations, and address the root causes of structural racism and/or settler colonialism, and identify the specific, practical systems-level changes that could result from this research project to advance racial and/or Indigenous health equity.
• Actionability: Applicants should explain how the research findings will be solutions-oriented, ensure tangible benefits to impacted communities, and will be used in the real world, especially given the current context. We consider projects to be actionable if findings have the potential to inform real world actions and decisions to advance racial and Indigenous health equity. You should be able to state the specific audiences, communities, or decision-makers that would be able to take action as a result of the research and how those people will be influenced by findings - and how these may vary depending on whether findings are positive, negative, or null.
• Methodological appropriateness: Applicants should clearly state the research questions, approach, theoretical framework guiding the work, outcomes and how they will be measured, and a data collection and analysis plan.The research and outcomes must be guided by appropriate concepts, frameworks and worldviews. Appropriate methods could include Indigenous approaches, methods, and frameworks, and/or Western research methods, and frameworks.The proposed study design and methodological approach should align with impacted communities’ values and priorities, and Indigenous data sovereignty principles.
• Equitable research practices: Equitable research practices should be centered in both the research questions and approach as well as the research process. Principles of equity, power-sharing, and distributed leadership should be evident throughout the research proposal. Language and framing in the application should be strengths and assets based.
• Clear and compelling connection to health: Applicants should be able to demonstrate a clear connection between the research and the impacted communities’ health and wellbeing. Health outcomes must be included as either primary or secondary measures and may include diverse dimensions of physical, mental, and socio-emotional health and well-being, cultural connectedness, or intermediary outcomes that are well-established predictors of health, assessed using measures that are valid/credible and appropriate for the research question(s) and the impacted community. 
• Feasibility: Applicants should demonstrate the existence of relationships or agreements that will enable data collection and analysis. The study population should be representative of people or communities directly impacted by a particular issue – not chosen solely based on convenience. The identification strategy should adequately distinguish those who should be included in the research. There should be consideration for equitable engagement of study participants and shared ownership of the data.
• Project team expertise: Applicant research teams should demonstrate they have appropriate skills and background to conduct, analyze, interpret, and disseminate the proposed research. Expertise should reflect relevant cultural, contextual, methodological, analytical, and practical experience. The perspectives of community members should be reflected in project leadership and decision-making throughout all phases of the research process, from conception through dissemination. Traditional community advisory boards are not sufficient representation for integrating perspectives into the research team.

LOIs and FPs are reviewed by members of the E4A leadership and review team and RWJF. All final funding decisions are made by leadership within the Foundation's Research-Evaluation-Learning department.

For those invited, Full Proposals are due December 17, 2025 at 3pm EDT.

• Full proposal notifications will be sent the week of February 16, 2026.
• Grants are anticipated to begin April 15, 2026.

Applicants must present an evident connection between the solution being studied and health equity, conceptualized and guided by relevant worldviews and culturally specific understandings of health and wellbeing. For research measuring the impact of a solution, health outcomes must be included as either primary or secondary measures and may include diverse dimensions of physical, mental, and socio-emotional health and wellbeing, cultural connectedness, or intermediary outcomes that are well-established predictors of health, assessed using measures that are valid/credible and appropriate for the research question(s) and the impacted community. 

We do not consider health care access or utilization alone to be a sufficient health outcome measures.

Measures or instruments that have been standardized and undergone appropriate tests to ensure they are accurately measuring what they are intended to measure, and that are trusted by the relevant community are considered valid and credible.

We are most interested in outcomes that indicate community and population health. Sometimes this may be captured by aggregating individual responses or outcomes; other times, it may be best measured using community-level indicators of health or equity.

Actionability means that the research findings are applicable to real-world decision-making to inform policy, program, and other mechanisms to advance racial and Indigenous health equity. Applicants must demonstrate why and how the proposed research will be especially impactful given the current sociopolitical climate. Applicants should clearly describe when and how the findings from your research will be used to benefit the health and wellbeing of communities of color and/or Indigenous Peoples. Be specific and practical. For example, what decisions will be influenced by the findings, who makes those decisions, and what is your relationship with them? Are they poised to act on what you learn?

Approximately 5% of applicants have advanced from the LOI to full proposal stage, with an anticipated 20-25% of full proposal applicants receiving funding.