2021 Call for Innovations to Advance Wisconsin’s Health Workforce

Funding Summary / Webinar Series / Merit Review / Application Resources

Funding Summary

Funds Available: Up to $1.5 million is available to support approximately three to five meritorious community-led collaboration projects, and approximately $500,000 is available to support approximately two meritorious MCW-led collaboration projects.

Application Deadline: LOI Applications due by 5 PM (CST) on November 16, 2020

Funding Timeline: Project funding will begin July 1, 2021. There is no limit on project duration; however, projects generally request project durations between 24 and 36 months.

Funding Details: AHW’s Call for Innovations to Advance Wisconsin’s Health Workforce will support projects seeking to develop innovative and sustainable programs, tools, and resources to advance Wisconsin’s health research, health care, and community health workforces.

Successful projects should result in a sustainable workforce development resource or product that has been institutionalized within an existing system for ongoing workforce development beyond the project period.

Project teams will need to identify a Wisconsin-based health workforce development need supported by appropriate data and evidence, and propose a feasible, innovative resource to address the need.

Funded projects will be expected to:

Build, develop, and/or adapt a resource to support development of Wisconsin’s health workforce that delivers content in actionable formats that incorporate best practices in adult learning and develop sustainability, promotion, and evaluation plans for the resource
Test and pilot the resource and evaluation approach and refine the resource based on initial outcomes to ensure it meets the identified need, serves to advance the desired health workforce(s) in Wisconsin, and is accessible to reach the desired sectors and fields of the health workforce where they are and when support is needed
Institutionalize the resulting resource and its associated sustainability, promotion, and evaluation plans into an existing system to support ongoing accessibility, promotion, and evaluation of impact on Wisconsin’s health workforce
Commit to long-term evaluation of the impact of the resource to demonstrate workforce advancements and impact on Wisconsin’s health beyond the project period

Successful applicants will demonstrate alignment with AHW priorities including focus areas, determinants of health, and health equity and will engage either a community-led or MCW-led project team.

webinar series

Recording: 2021 Innovations to Advance Wisconsin’s Health Workforce RFA Informational Webinar

On September 9, 2020, AHW hosted an informational webinar providing interested applicants with information on AHW, an overview of the current grant opportunity, an introduction to the application process and timeline, as well as an opportunity to ask initial questions. View the recording below:

AHW Funding Virtual Open House

Have questions? We’re here to help. AHW program managers will be available on a regular basis to share answers to frequently asked questions and take any questions from interested applicants or merit reviewers. Register at the links below to receive the webinar log-in information.

merit review

Merit Review Panels

Merit reviews will be conducted for all LOIs and full proposals that pass technical review by a combination of internal (MCW) and external (non-MCW) merit reviewers based on the project team type and stage of the application process.

APPLICATION RESOURCES

Useful Documents & Links

AHW 2019-2024 AHW Five-Year Plan (PDF)

Innovations to Advance Wisconsin’s Health Workforce Key Documents

Open AllClose All

Who is eligible to apply for the Innovations to Advance Wisconsin’s Health Workforce funding opportunity?

This opportunity is open to eligible community-led collaboration projects and MCW-led collaboration projects. All LOIs and full proposals for this funding opportunity must be submitted jointly by a project team of individuals and organizations collectively bringing the necessary experience, influence, and expertise to carry out the proposed project. All successful project teams will reflect the principles outlined in AHW’s Community-Academic Partnership Model [link] in their project team structure and practices. See the Eligibility section of the RFA for details.

How does my team apply?

Applicants under this RFA are highly encouraged to have a pre-submission meeting with AHW Program Manager Tracy Wilson. Please contact Tracy early in your application process to set up a meeting.

Applications will be accepted only through the official online form. Applications must be received by 5 PM (CST) on November 16, 2020. Applicants must answer all required fields and follow the restrictions set within the online form. No attachments or paper or emailed applications will be accepted. AHW will confirm receipt of the submission via email to the primary partners.

Following successful submission of the online form, signatures from key project personnel will be required via DocuSign in order to complete the LOI submission and be eligible to advance to merit review.

What are allowable expenses under this funding opportunity?

AHW uses a cost-reimbursement model. Funds may only be used for direct, project-related expenses. Please review a complete list of AHW’s Allowable and Unallowable Costs (PDF) as you prepare your application.

In addition, AHW funds may not supplant funds or resources otherwise available. Please see AHW Supplanting Criteria (PDF) for details.

How long does the application process take? When will award announcements be made?

The Innovations to Advance Wisconsin’s Health Workforce is a two-stage application process:

Application Stage 1: Letter of Intent (LOI) applications due by 5 PM (CST) on November 16, 2020. Applicants will be notified in January 2021 of invitation to move to stage 2.
Application Stage 2: Selected applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal application by 5 PM (CST) on March 15, 2021.
Award Determination: Award determinations will be made in May 2021 with funded projects beginning their work in July 2021.

Please see the full RFA for review criteria and details regarding the application process.

Contact us

For further information or to schedule a pre-application consultation, contact Tracy Wilson at (414) 955-4364 or trwilson@mcw.edu.

Please note that AHW staff are currently working remotely and email is the preferred form of communication.