2022 UROC Research Agenda Grant Competition — Deadline: 8 p.m. Monday, October 24

UROC Research Agenda Annual Grant Award Competition

Proposals due 8 p.m. Monday, October 24, 2022

The University of Minnesota Robert J. Jones Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center (UROC) seeks proposals by University of Minnesota faculty to address the critical issues outlined in the UROC Research Agenda through collaborative, community-based research projects. Grants of up to $15,000 will be awarded to three tenure-track or tenured faculty members at the University of Minnesota to support either one 0.25 FTE graduate research assistant to help plan, establish, implement, and evaluate strategic initiatives that advance the agenda's priorities, or to support other specific project needs. Proposals will be reviewed by a committee made up of University faculty, staff, and community members.

Applicants should submit the attached UROC 2022 Research Agenda Grant Application (including the proposal face page) by 8 p.m., Monday, October 24, 2022 as a Word or PDF document to [email protected], with a subject header: “2022 UROC Research Agenda Grant Awards Selection Committee.” Only those applications received by the deadline will be considered for funding. All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their grant application by December 16, 2022.

The UROC Research Agenda is a framework for healing, equity and financial well-being that addresses three themes that community members and University of Minnesota researchers and practitioners identified as being critical to a thriving North Minneapolis and Twin Cities urban core. The agenda and its corresponding annual award competition aim to stimulate and guide collaborative research in the topic areas while improving outcomes through robust, long-term partnerships.

Learn about previous UROC Research Agenda Grant Award recipients.

Grant Award Research Areas and Priorities

  1. Community Healing and Wholeness
    Urban residents today are faced with many challenges and difficulties (e.g., historical trauma, marginalization) that have a tremendous effect on the community. Existing research on community healing and wholeness has primarily focused on the development of community healing models and frameworks, and to a lesser extent, the assessment and effectiveness of those models. We hope to add to that body of research with a deeper examination of the role behavioral health, spirituality, and faith practices can play in those interventions.
     
  2. Systems and Systemic Racism
    Urban communities are complex entities that historically have been shaped by planners and policy makers. At the root of many of these planning and policy practices is racism, and therefore, modern urban communities have had to bear that legacy of discrimination. One of the most salient issues voiced by UROC stakeholders was a need for more critical, multidisciplinary research that focuses on addressing systems that perpetuate racism and systemic racism.
     
  3. Individual, Family, and Community Financial Wellbeing
    Over the years, conversations about whether our nation is on a sustainable economic path have multiplied and emerged across various disciplines and sectors. Central to this debate is the growing concern around wealth inequality and the increasing racial wealth gap, particularly in urban communities. Similar to racism, research on individual, family, and community financial wellbeing cuts across many sectors and disciplines including housing, higher education, and employment. 

Values and Guiding Principles

All research at UROC is conducted by University of Minnesota faculty, staff, and students in partnership with a community-based resident, group of residents, or organization. UROC’s community-University partnerships are built on mutual respect and long-term trust – values that have established the culture and foundation upon which we have conducted research at UROC. All projects addressing the Research Agenda will meet the following requirements:

  • Place-based
—UROC has the unique ability to leverage its place-based location in North Minneapolis and role as an anchor institution.
  • Collaborative
—All research conducted at UROC will be in partnership and collaboration with communities.
  • Intergenerational and Intragenerational—Research will incorporate an intergenerational and intragenerational lens, with particular attention paid to the inclusion of elder and youth voices.
  • Multiple Forms of Knowledge—Research will honor multiple ways of knowing, including various values, beliefs, and lived experiences.
  • Reciprocal Engagement
—Research will foster engagement and learning that is reciprocal for all partners.
  • Wholeness and Intersectionality
—Research will reflect the entirety of the human condition through multiple lenses.

Timeline

September 20, 2022—UROC Research Agenda Grant Award Request for Proposals (RFP) announced
October 24, 2022—RFP deadline
November 2022—RFP Review committee scores proposals
December 2022—Notification to RFP awardees
January 2022—Official Announcement of RFP awardees

Contact

Nicollete Moore, UROC Graduate Research Assistant,  [email protected].

Document download

UROC 2022 Research Agenda Grant Application