Deadline:

Feb 24, 2009 - Closed

Program Area:

Childhood Obesity

Purpose:

Healthy Eating Research, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), supports research on environmental and policy strategies with strong potential to promote healthy eating among children to prevent childhood obesity, especially among low-income and racial/ethnic populations at highest risk for obesity. Findings will advance RWJF’s efforts to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic by 2015.

This funding opportunity is for New Connections grants awarded through the Healthy Eating Research program. New Connections grants are for early career investigators from historically disadvantaged and underrepresented communities who bring special experience and expertise regarding the racial/ethnic and low-income populations and communities targeted by the Healthy Eating Research program.

This round of funding focuses on studies of policy and environmental strategies in four areas:

1. food pricing and economic approaches;
2. food and beverage marketing;
3. improving access to healthy foods in low-income communities; and
4. evaluations of promising food-related policy and environmental strategies in settings where children and their families make food choices.

Program Information:

• Call for Proposals

Eligibility & Selection Criteria:

Investigators must:

• have completed a doctorate or terminal degree (e.g., Ph.D., M.D., J.D.) within seven years prior to the award date for the grant (after November 1, 2002);
• be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States or its territories;
• be affiliated with or sponsored by a university or an organization that is tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and is not a private Foundation under Section 509(a) of the Code. The sponsoring institution must agree to receive and administer the grant; and
• be from a group that has been historically disadvantaged and underrepresented in research, including people from ethnic or racial minorities, first-generation college graduates and people from low-income communities.

Complete selection criteria are described in the call for proposals.

Key Dates:

• February 24, 2009 (3 p.m. ET)—Deadline for receipt of brief proposals.
• May 1, 2009—Select applicants notified if invited to submit full proposals.
• June 12, 2009 (3 p.m. ET)—Deadline for receipt of full proposals.

Total Award:

3A total of up to three grants will be awarded. There are two categories of funding focused on the four areas listed above:

• Small-scale studies to identify environmental determinants or evaluate changes to the food environment or policies in the four targeted areas. (12- to 24-month awards of up to $100,000 each) 
• Macro-level analyses of food and beverage policies and environmental approaches related to the four targeted areas. (12- to 24-month awards of up to $75,000 each)

Funding may not exceed $50,000 in a 12-month period.

Contact:

Laura L. Klein, M.P.H., research coordinator (Healthy Eating projects)
healthyeating@umn.edu
Office: (800) 578-8636

Related Materials:

• View National Program Office


• View Program FAQs