Extramural Coordinated Funding

UM Submission Instructions: Healthy Connections: Building Connections and Reducing Social Isolation 2023

Sponsor:	Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS)
Award Title:	Healthy Connections: Building Connections and Reducing Social Isolation
Amount:	$200,000 up to $100,000 per year for up to 2 years
UM Deadline:	02/21/2023
Sponsor Deadline:	04/06/2023
Description:	The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation’s mission is to build strong community partnerships to advance racial and health equity. The goal of this funding opportunity is to increase social connections within and across communities and generations to reduce social isolation. Increasing community connections is one way the Foundation works to build healthy generations so families, young people, and older adults can achieve their healthiest life. People experience better health outcomes when they’re connected to their community and feel a sense of belonging. Conversely, significant negative health impacts are related to social isolation — like increased stress, cardiovascular disease, obesity, cognitive decline, and an increased risk of unhealthy behaviors, such as commercial tobacco use and excess alcohol consumption. Many factors impact people’s ability and opportunity to connect with each other, including structural racism, discrimination, age, ability and geographic location. The result can be social isolation and loneliness, which affect one in four older adults. In addition, people who identify as Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color, and other historically marginalized communities are disproportionately affected by social isolation. To achieve our goals, we will fund eligible organizations working to eliminate racial and health inequities that impede social connections.
Number of Applicants University is Allowed to submit:	1
Additional Requirements:	None
Sponsor Guidelines:	https://www.bluecrossmnfoundation.org/healthy-connections-2023-funding/
UM Nominations Process:	The University of Minnesota Foundation and the Office for the Vice President for Research collaborate to forward proposals to the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation. For more information, please contact Wolfe Molitor at the University of Minnesota Foundation at 651-261-7356 or molit005@umn.edu. To be considered, please complete this half page concept paper and email to collabor@umn.edu by the deadline.
Peer Review Coordination:	Research and Innovation Office contact email
Status:	No longer accepting applications.
Please note:	To be considered for peer review and internal selection, faculty must follow the above submission guidelines and meet the UM deadline as set by the office coordinating the peer review for this opportunity.

General Information

Each posting has information about the external sponsor and opportunity as well as the internal application instructions.
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Internal Requirements

Sponsor: Name of funder.
Award Title: Funding opportunity nameAmount: Range/Maximum dollar amount awarded.
UMN Deadline: Submission deadline for internal proposal as determined by the coordinating office.
Sponsor Deadline: External deadline identified by the sponsor.
Description: General information about the sponsor and the funding opportunity. Usually describes the purpose of the funding opportunity, overview of what the sponsor is looking for, including distinctive criteria. This is not meant to take the place of the sponsor guidelines; please read the sponsor guidelines before deciding to apply.
Number of Applicants University is Allowed to Submit: The maximum number of applications the sponsor will allow the university to submit.
Additional Requirements: Identifies any special requirements such as cost sharing, partners, etc.
Sponsor Guidelines: Link to the sponsor’s funding opportunity website.
UMN Nominations Process: Contains specific internal submission requirements including internal proposal instructions, deadline, eligibility, internal nomination process, contact information.
Peer Review Coordination: The name and contact email of the office coordinating the funding opportunity. RIO coordinates most limited submissions, but opportunities coordinated by other offices or programs are also posted on this webpage.
Status:
- Open: UM deadline has not passed and the opportunity is open for application.
- Forecasted: The funder has not yet formally published the opportunity. The deadline has yet to be determined.
- Archived: The opportunity has been archived by the funder.
- Spots Remaining: UMN deadline has passed, with some applicant spots still available. Contact collabor@umn.edu if interested
- First-Come, First-Served: Applicants accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Contact collabor@umn.edu if interested
- Contact Us: The internal deadline has passed, but no applicants were selected. Please contact the office coordinating the peer review for more information.
- In Review: Peer review process is in progress for the opportunity.
- PI Selected: The PI(s) have been selected as the official UMN nominees.
- Closed: UMN is no longer accepting applications.

UMN Selection Process

Once the internal deadline has passed, if the number of applicants is less than or equal to the number of spots the university is allowed to send forward, the applicants automatically become the UMN nominee(s).
If the status of an opportunity is "First-Come, First-Served", there was not time to hold an internal review. Applicants will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.
If there are no applicants, the status will change to "Contact Us". At this point, the opportunity changes to a first-come, first-served opportunity.
If there are multiple applicants, the office coordinating the nomination will determine the review criteria and coordinate the review process. The status will change to "In Review".
Once the review has been completed all parties will be notified via email.
Nominees will be provided with an email from RIO (or the designated coordinating office) indicating that they are the university's nominee. This letter should accompany the nominee's proposal.
SPA is notified of the university's nominee(s) and the status is updated to "PI(s) Selected".

*If you have questions about the University's process related to extramural funding opportunities requiring nomination or if you have any technical issues with the site, contact collabor8@umn.edu.