Incubating a Public Health Institute in New Jersey

Introduction & Purpose

Public health institutes are unique nonprofits that work closely with governmental public health agencies and others to complement health improvement efforts, increase multisector collaboration, and leverage new resources to advance population health and well-being. As one of just a few states without a public health institute, New Jersey also has chronically underfunded public health systems—leaving state and local health departments without adequate resources to manage routine matters, including a wide-scale pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic poses a unique opportunity for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to help advance a 21st-century public health system for New Jersey—the creation of a public health institute (PHI). A PHI is a critical, long-term strategy to improve the state’s public health infrastructure; address its wide racial disparities for both maternal and infant mortality and racial wealth; and advance racial equity and well-being for all New Jerseyans.

RWJF will make one award of up to $1 million to support an incubating organization to cover the first phase (24 months) of work, during which time the incubating organization will develop and launch a public health institute. The incubating organization will be expected to engage in the following areas of activity:

• Serve as an administrative, operational, and financial temporary home for a public health institute
• Support connections to potential partners across the state within diverse sectors

A commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion and more specifically, health equity, should be reflected through all aspects of this work including, but not limited to, communications about the work and hiring and engagement practices for staff, board members, and contractors. All activities of this project will be supported with technical assistance from the National Network of Public Health Institutes—an active, successful network in 33 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia.

Eligibility & Selection Criteria

For eligibility criteria, please reference the Call for Proposals.

Key Dates & Deadlines

• April 1, 2022 (9 a.m. ET)

        A recording can be found at the link using this passcode 47.5w@1s

• April 13, 2022 (3 p.m. ET)
  Deadline for receipt of proposals.
   
• June 6–10, 2022
  Site Visits—RWJF will conduct a virtual, half-day site visit with each finalist applicant. More information will be provided to finalists once selected.
   
• August 15, 2022 
  Grant start date.

Total Awards

The Foundation plans to identify an incubating organization that will receive up to $1 million for up to a 24-month period. It is anticipated that the activities of the incubating organization will continue after this period, contingent upon appropriate progress toward agreed-upon deliverables within the first 24 months.

Award time period: Program start date will be August 15, 2022, and continue through August 14, 2024.