Health Data for Action (Data Access Award)

Introduction & Purpose

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) commitment to reach a national Culture of Health that provides everyone in America a fair and just opportunity for health includes efforts to gather evidence and produce tools to advance health and health equity. Recognizing that access to rich data is a cornerstone of producing timely and objective research, RWJF’s Health Data for Action (HD4A) program is designed to leverage health data for actionable insights.

HD4A aims to reduce the barriers often faced in accessing rich data by serving as a conduit between unique data owners and interested researchers. Under this 2023 HD4A call for proposals (CFP), successful applicants for Data Access Awards will be provided free access to selected data sets, while limited funding is available for a small number of projects from First-Time Investigators who will receive both funds and access to conduct studies using selected data sets.

The HD4A program will support innovative research that uses the available data to answer important research questions and inform health policy. Applicants will write a proposal for a research study using anticipated data sets listed in the CFP. Eligible research projects can focus on a variety of topics, including, but not limited to national practice patterns in long-term care; public health surveillance and population health; rehospitalization rates; the opioid epidemic; maternal and infant health; home- and community-based services; racial and ethnic disparities; healthcare costs and utilization; prescription patterns and medication adherence; prevalence of chronic disease; trends in insurance markets; consolidation and competition; and rate comparisons. More topics are listed in the full CFP.

Eligibility & Selection Criteria

Applicant organizations must be based in the United States or its territories.

Preference will be given to applicants that are either public entities or nonprofit organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and are not private foundations or Type III supporting organizations. The Foundation may require additional documentation.

Projects may be generated from disciplines including health services research; economics; sociology; program evaluation; political science; public policy; public health; public administration; law; business administration; or other related fields.

Use of the data under this CFP is restricted to noncommercial purposes.

Consistent with our Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Commitment, we particularly encourage applications with project directors or team members from backgrounds historically underrepresented in research disciplines as a result of their race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, disability, or other factors.

Key Dates & Deadlines

• June 21, 2023
  Call for proposals released
   
• July 18, 2023 (1 p.m.–2 p.m. ET)
  Optional applicant webinar.  View webinar recording.
   
• August 18, 2023 (3 p.m. ET)
  Deadline for receipt of brief proposals.
   
• November 3, 2023
  Applicants notified whether invited to submit full proposals.
   
• January 12, 2024 (3 p.m. ET)
  Deadline for receipt of full proposals.
   
• May 1, 2024
  Notification of finalists.
   
• June 15, 2024
  Grants start.

Total Awards

Data Access Award:

Type of Award: Awards funded under this opportunity will be structured as grants. Successful applicants will be given access to the selected data set at no cost to the grantee.

Number of Awards: Up to 20 awards will be funded solely for data access, and no specific breakdown by data set is prescribed.

Amount of Award: No financial award will be given with these study awards.

Award Duration: Data access will accommodate studies of up to 12–24 months. Data providers have varying lengths for data access (described herein) that should be considered by applicants in determining their project lengths.

First-Time Investigator Awards:

Type of Award: Awards funded under this opportunity will be structured grants. Applicants who are first-time investigators on a grant award at the time of application will be awarded funds to conduct studies using the selected data set, and no specific breakdown by data set is prescribed. Successful applicants will be given access to the selected data set at no cost to the grantee.

Number of Awards: Up to six First-Time Investigator Awards will be funded.

Amount of Award: Up to $600,000 will be available, with recommended project funding up to $100,000 per project.

Award Duration: Data access and project funding will accommodate studies of up to 12–24 months. Data providers have varying lengths for data access (described herein) that should be considered by applicants in determining their project lengths.