Introduction and Purpose

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is dedicated to taking bold leaps to transform health in our lifetime. One of the ways the Foundation is addressing structural racism and other barriers to health is through its leadership programs. RWJF’s Leadership for Better Health (LBH) strategic portfolio invests in the leadership of people and organizations who are committed to using their power and resources to advance health equity, antiracism, and the long-term work of structural change.

RWJF is focused on supporting the leadership of academic health professionals because of the essential roles they play within the healthcare and public health systems that directly impact the health of all people. Health professionals can also help mitigate the impact of racism on community conditions, policy, and other areas that affect health and wellbeing.

The Program

We seek a consultant who can catalogue and synthesize the activities and resources needed to support the leadership of academic health professionals from marginalized backgrounds who are focused on advancing systems change to improve the health and wellbeing of communities who have experienced the highest burden of poor health. The consultant can work with and/or subcontract with others to bring additional expertise.

This funding opportunity ensures that RWJF and others who aim to support academic health professionals from marginalized communities can ground their efforts in lessons from existing programs and insights from health professionals. These leaders can describe the contexts in which they operate  that may have relevance for future efforts to support them to address structural racism in their institutions and in their fields with the goal of eliminating health inequities and improving health and wellbeing in their communities.

We recognize that there may not be many programs focused squarely on addressing structural racism through systems change, so we may need to look at a broader set of leadership development programs: those focused on supporting academic health professionals from marginalized backgrounds, programs focused on health equity, and programs aimed at systems change.

The products from this funding opportunity will provide lessons, best practices and additional evidence-based knowledge for funders, institutions, policymakers and others who may be interested in supporting academic health professionals who are addressing structural racism to achieve good health and wellbeing for all. These findings can also be used to inform the development of future leadership programs.  

The working key questions driving this assessment are:

• What are the opportunities for academic health professionals to address structural racism (inclusive of conducting research aimed at addressing structural racism)
• What are key capacity-building activities that will support leaders in their work to address structural racism?
• What are the biggest barriers to addressing structural racism for health professionals in academic institutions and how can they be overcome
• What is the role of organizations and academic institutions in creating the conditions and reducing the barriers for leaders to address structural racism?

The consultant(s) will:

• Refine the key questions;
• Determine the criteria for inclusion for the scan of both RWJF and non-RWJF leadership development programs focused on addressing structural racism;
• Review publicly available documents and websites of programs that are addressing structural racism;  
• Conduct a literature review on best practices in systems change leadership development programs;
• Conduct interviews with key constituents (e.g., health professionals and social science researchers who are doing research to address structural racism; program directors and alumni of leadership development programs; deans of medical, nursing and dental schools; and funders); and
• Summarize key components, activities, and best practices of leadership and leadership development programs focused on supporting academic health professionals from marginalized communities who are focused on addressing structural racism.

Deliverables include:

• A publicly shared final report summarizing findings.
• A webinar to share findings with the field.

Funding Details

• Type of Award: Awards funded under this opportunity will be structured as a contract.
• Number of Contracts: One contract will be awarded.
• Amount of Contract: The contract will be up to $250,000.
• Contract Duration: Contract will be up to 12 months.
• Use of Funds: The Foundation will not accept fixed-price contract proposals. We are seeking the most qualified contractor to complete this work, and competitiveness in rate structures also will be taken into consideration. We are looking to contract with firm(s) that are committed to budgeting and managing funds in a manner that reflects responsible stewardship of resources, including the ability to enter into and manage subcontracts (if relevant). Contract funds may be used for project staff professional fees, consultant fees, and other direct costs, such as meetings, supplies, project-related travel, and other direct project expenses. The primary beneficiary of this contract work must be grantees, communities, collaborators, and/ or the public.
• Payment of Contract: Payment of this award will be made in response to monthly invoices reflecting actual hours and costs incurred for services rendered and a brief narrative summary describing the work completed during the invoice period. We expect invoices to be itemized.

Selection Criteria

Proposals will be scored by a panel of reviewers based on organizational capacity and experience (30 percent); technical abilities (25 percent); commitment to EDI (15 percent); reasonableness of cost/value for service (15 percent); strategic approach (10 percent); and communications and reporting (5 percent).

Candidates will be prioritized based on the depth and degree to which the following criteria are demonstrated.

• Commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion—demonstrated by a track record of advancing racial and/or health equity in career path, life and/or work experience. 
• Deep knowledge of addressing structural racism as evidenced by application of antiracist practices, programs and policies. 
  • Knowledge and experience with: Leadership development programs, with a preference for firsthand experience in leadership development programs;
  • Understanding of the academic health sciences landscape (including medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, and public health) to be able to identify the cultural and structural changes that need to be in place to address structural racism; and
  • Systems change, including seeing overall structures, patterns and cycles in systems, and how things within an ecosystem influence one another. 
• Strong skills in qualitative research methods and analyses—demonstrated by qualifications and experience of the project team and appropriateness of disciplines and perspectives represented. 

OPEN ACCESS

In order to ensure RWJF-supported research is made accessible to a wide and diverse audience, grantees and consultants who publish findings in peer-reviewed publications must do so in open access journals and/or must include funds in their budgets to cover the cost of making the resulting publications open access (typically $2,000–$5,000 per manuscript). See our Open Access policy for more information.

Key Dates and Deadlines

• August 4, 2025 (3 p.m. ET)
  Letters of Intent (LOIs) will be accepted on a rolling basis until August 4, 2025 at 3 p.m. ET. 
• September 12, 2025 (3 p.m. ET)
  Selected applicants invited to submit a full proposal.
• September 24, 2025 (11 a.m.–12 p.m. ET)
• Optional applicant webinar for Phase 2. Registration is required.
• December 5, 2025 (3 p.m. ET)
  Deadline for receipt of full proposals.
• February 1, 2026 Contract start date. 

HOW TO APPLY

There are two phases in this competitive proposal process.

Phase 1: Letters of Intent:

Applicants must submit a two-page letter of intent (LOI) with the following information:

• State your interest in applying for this opportunity and how you and/or your team
  demonstrate alignment with its eligibility and selection criteria.
• Provide a description of the project team and each team member's role. (Please also upload resumes and/or curriculum vitae as supplemental information that is not included in the two-page limit.)
• Describe the project.
• Include a preliminary budget.

Letters of intent will be evaluated based on the applicant’s ability to clearly articulate how they meet the eligibility and selection criteria.

After review, RWJF will invite select applicants to move to Phase 2.

Phase 2: Full Proposals:

A select number of applicants whose LOI meets each selection criteria will be invited to submit a full proposal narrative of up to 10 pages accompanied by a detailed budget, budget narrative, and timeline.

The Phase 2 full proposal narrative should contain the following:

Objectives: State your understanding of the project's objectives. 

Background and Capacity: Describe your experience and work you have done that speaks to the selection criteria. 

Activities and Deliverables: Describe your approach to addressing the key questions. Briefly describe the risks/challenges you may encounter and how they will be addressed.

Timeline: Provide an estimated timeline for the project’s major milestones. Please use your best judgment when projecting the project’s timeline. While it is possible to request a no-cost extension if unforeseen circumstances cause you to not meet the original timeline, we expect that you will make every effort to complete the project on time.

We evaluate those full proposals using the LOI selection criteria, along with additional selection criteria for Phase 2.

Phase 2 proposals (additional criteria):  

• Equitable research practices—Apply principles of equity, and distributed leadership throughout the process. Demonstrates a track record of being collaborative and working in nonextractive ways as demonstrated by participatory approaches and methods. 
• Appropriateness of proposed budget and project timeline, including the realistic feasibility of completing the project within the specified funding period.