1. Identify two SPECIFIC funding sources for the design phase of your project and two SPECIFIC funding sources for the dissemination (implementation / distribution / commercialization) phase of your project. For each funding source, explain why this is a good fit for your project, and what SPECIFIC aspect of your project might the funding source support.

Design: 

1. The National Institute of Health is the largest publicly funded medical health research fund that awards grants to help build the research foundation that drives discovery. They have a new initiative- Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) Against COVID Disparities that seeks to work with the communities hit hardest by COVID-19, which aligns with the goals of our project. Receiving grants is very competitive, and it would be an ideal funding source as they aid in finding public health solutions.
2. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is philanthropically funded that not only rewards grants to bring change that will help people live healthier and more productive lives, we seek to understand the world’s inequities but also nativates grantees.

 

Dissemination: 

1. The Pennsylvania Department of Health issues Formula and Non-formula grants annually. The Formula grants are non-competitive and are issued in conjunction with grants awarded by the National Institute of Health. Their support could help in expanding our reach/data retrieval 

 

1. A second source of funding could be the Lehigh Valley health bureau as we are working to provide health literacy to the minority communities specifically within the Lehigh Valley and they are a smaller municipality that has its own entire health bureau and would have the funds available for that.

 

1. Identify five specific partnerships that you need to forge to advance your project forward with the ultimate goal of positively impacting Lehigh University AND ten other universities. Describe exactly how each partnership might help you achieve scale and why that entity might be willing to work with you.

Partnerships

1. Lehigh Valley Health Network 
2. Allentown Health Bureau 
   1. The Allentown Health Bureau was responsible for addressing and responding to the pandemic. The Bureau may be our best source for empirical data and understanding of government response. 
3. Pennsylvania Department of Health 
   1. The department of health contains data both locally and state-wide. Both data sets are invaluable to understanding how different areas with distinct demographics and economic sectors are responding to the pandemic. 
4. La Mega Allentown
   1. La mega is a regional Latin radio station based in Allentown. However, they operate as an NGO because they seek to improve the latino community’s access to healthcare, improve health literacy, and advocate for public health officials who better represent their needs. The radio station could be a source for primary data as well as suggestions to improve healthcare guidelines and standard operating procedures. 
5. Allentown Dioceses 
   1. The church is an effective way to gather survey data of minority communities most affected by the pandemic. Could be an excellent partnership for our field work. 

Potential University Partners

1. University of Pennsylvania 
2. University of Michigan
   1. https://michr.umich.edu/news/2020/12/14/u-m-receives-14m-in-nih-funding-to-expand-covid-19-outreach
3. Penn State University
4. Drexel University (Advancing Urban Health Initiative)
5. Carnegie Mellon University (CAUSE)
6. University of Pittsburgh (CSTI)
7. University of Texas (specifically UTHealth)
   1. https://www.uth.edu/news/story.htm?id=b1ef5333-a9ab-4e5e-9602-5075dd61a98e
8. University of North Carolina (ACCORD)
9. Temple University
10. Villanova University

 

All of the universities listed above currently have initiatives with goals similar to ours, and we could potentially collaborate with them.