Addressing the Harms of Financialization in Healthcare

Introduction & Purpose

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is committed to helping ensure that every individual in the nation has a fair and just opportunity for health and wellbeing, including access to high-quality and stable healthcare that treats all people with dignity and respect, rectifies past harms, and prevents future ones.

Conditions such as decentralized regulation and strained enforcement infrastructure have attracted increased investment and ownership in the healthcare system from an array of financial sector actors. The resulting heavily financialized healthcare system has harmful implications for patient care; healthcare costs; and the clinical workforce. The harms of financialization may be particularly acute for communities with a history of health inequities driven by structural racism and other forms of oppression. The impact of financialization on the health and wellbeing of BIPOC communities is under-studied.

This call for proposals will support actionable research that augments data on the intersection of financialization and structural racism to help counter the harms of financialization in the healthcare system. We seek proposals for research projects that bolster advocacy campaigns and organizing efforts; build on opportunities afforded by the political and social landscape; and produce timely and useful information for use by advocates, community organizers, policymakers, and other decisionmakers.

We are especially interested in projects that explore the mutually reinforcing issues of financialization and structural racism in the U.S. healthcare system; that use racial justice as an entry point and/or lens; and community-engaged work that fosters new partnerships and allies among researchers and advocates.

Proposed projects should fall into one of the following three priority topic areas, with the understanding that topic areas are not mutually exclusive and will likely overlap. The research areas are (1) Policy and Systems, (2) Narratives and Storytelling, and (3) Financialization and Structural Racism. A variety of research designs and analyses can be used to address key research questions, including nontraditional approaches. We encourage a flexible definition of “research” for purposes of these grants, which may fund the collection and/or dissemination of information that supports action.

Eligibility & Selection Criteria

• Applicant organizations must be based in the United States or its territories.
• Awards will be made to organizations, not to individuals. 
• Government agencies are not eligible to apply as lead applicant but are encouraged to participate as key partners, where appropriate. Applicants can include but are not limited to community-based, state, and national advocacy organizations or coalitions; policy think tanks; and professional or workforce organizations representing the medical workforce. The Foundation may require additional documentation to confirm that eligibility requirements have been met. 
 

Key Dates & Deadlines

January 23, 2024 (1:30 p.m. ET)
Optional applicant webinar.  Webinar recording and webinar slidedeck are available.

February 12, 2024 (3:00 p.m. ET)
Deadline for receipt of concept papers.*

March 8, 2024
Invitations to submit a full proposal (select applicants).

April 8, 2024 (3:00 p.m. ET)
Deadline for receipt of full proposals.*

Mid-May 2024
Finalist notifications.

July 15, 2024
Awards begin.

Total Awards

• Type of Award: Awards funded by this opportunity will be structured as grants. 
• Number of Awards: The program will distribute up to $1.2 million in funding. 
• Amount of Award: Each award will be between $100,000 and $300,000. Applicants should request the amount of funding they will need to complete the proposed research project. 
• Award Duration: Grants will be awarded for projects that are 12 to 18 months in duration.