Arthritis Foundation Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Request for Proposals

LOI Deadline: Monday, April 24, 2023 by 5 PM ET

Application Deadline: Wednesday, September 20, 2023 by 5 PM ET

This funding opportunity is aimed at supporting the first part of a two-phase process with the primary goal of increasing the overall number of underrepresented in medicine (URiM) individuals, including rheumatology fellows and allied health professionals (AHP). The first phase of the proposed work is intended to focus on building infrastructure, relationships, and processes, while the second phase (to be funded later) is intended to focus on delivering a more diversified pipeline of URiM fellows and/or AHPs to the rheumatology workforce by Year 5. However, applications that accelerate URiM fellows/AHPs recruitment in Phase 1 are highly encouraged and will be viewed favorably. The Arthritis Foundation welcomes new approaches to achieving our goal of increasing diversity within our workforce. These include, but are not limited to, additional programmatic features for:

Proposals that also incorporate innovative pipeline enrichment opportunities and/or multi-institutional collaborations with HBCUs and/or medical institutions supporting underserved patient communities.
Proposals that also develop and test innovative curricula on cultural sensitivity and other approaches for the recruitment and retention of URiM individuals interested in Clinical Rheumatology Fellowships or current fellows.
While research to rigorously examine impact and test innovative curricula components is encouraged, this RFP is not intended to fund specific equity-related research projects.

This RFP invites applications for planning grants aimed at supporting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in cultivating a new generation of Health Care Professionals (HCPs), including clinical rheumatologists, to serve all patients with arthritis.

For more information, please see the Arthritis Foundation website.