Information for the 2023 Application Cycle
Additional resources on nutrition assistance research and data sources that may be helpful can be found on our resources page.
Applications for the 2023 funding cycle are now closed.
The RIDGE Partnership released a request for grant proposals on December 1, with proposals due January 30, 2023. Grants will be awarded up to a maximum of $75,000 and 18 months in duration. Webinars for applicants will be held on December 9th and January 9th.
Please use the below resources to help answer questions you may have about what to include in the documents required for submission. If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to email our team at ridge@tufts.edu.
Information for 2023 Applicants (Now Complete):
For the 2023 RIDGE program, please review:
- Request for Proposals (RFP)
- Proposal Template
- Budget Template
- Budget Justification Template
- Biosketch Template
- In addition: the proposal submission link will request an abstract (<200 words).
Informational Webinars
There will be two informational webinars:
- December 9, 2022, at 3pm eastern. REGISTER HERE.
- January 9, 2023, at noon eastern. REGISTER HERE.
Proposal Submission Link
Proposals are due January 30, 2023.
Link to Application: https://tufts.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cXSiJEwJS8QNJEq ** Progress will be saved as you make your way through the application, you will be able to come back to an application once you have started it.
Q & As from Webinar on December 9th, 2022
Q&As from Webinar on December 9th, 2022:
Q: Is investigation of federal nutrition assistance combined with private assistance (like food banks) in scope?
A: Yes, that sounds sufficiently closely connected to nutrition assistance programs.
Q: Does the applicant have to be a U.S. citizen?
A: The RFP states that applicants for dissertation and postdoctoral awards must be U.S. citizens. There is no limitation on citizenship for other principal investigators. For all proposals, the institution must be a U.S. institution.
Q: Are postdoctoral fellows only eligible for the dissertation/postdoc award?
A: We believe the postdoctoral award is the most suitable option for postdoctoral fellows. However, so long as the institution agrees that the postdoctoral fellow may be the principal investigator under the institution’s policies, we leave the decision up to the applicant.
Q: Is a multidisciplinary team preferred or is a solo investigator okay?
A: The applicant may decide.
Q: For the dissertation award, is general stipend support an appropriate use of the grant funding?
A: Yes, that is a permitted use of grant funding. Note that the proposal includes a section on budget justification.
Q: Are there any limits on the number of applications per institution?
A: Multiple applications per institution are permitted.
Q: Is the template the same across the 3 different types of awards?
A: Yes.
Q: It looks like both federal/national and/or state-level analysis are acceptable?
A: Yes. State-level study is fine. The proposal should note relevance for federal nutrition assistance programs.
Q&As from Webinar on January 9th, 2023:
Q: What is the duration of the Oct. 2024 outcomes conference (how many days)?
A: One long day in Kansas City or Washington DC. Two nights lodging may be needed if you are traveling.
Q: How would descriptive papers be ranked on research design in terms of strong inference?
A: Descriptive papers are welcomed if they can rank high in overall merit, presumably because they bring novel information resources to bear or have other favorable features.
Q: Is there a salary cap for the proposal?
A: We have no salary cap in the RFP. The proposal process does include a request for a budget justification.
Q: Can the research question be relevant to assistance programs, but not directly working with individuals on assistance programs? I’m interested in understanding the needs of those that are at the cusp of eligibility for SNAP.
A: We cannot commit in advance to a particular proposal, but that sounds well-connected to research on nutrition assistance programs even if the population subgroup is not strictly eligible.
Q: If we have a PhD student (not yet candidate) who will be a substantial collaborator, can they attend the workshop/conference as well?
A: Yes. Please plan for this in your budget.
Q: Could you explain further what it means by “cost-effectiveness” and “key personnel” in the review process?
A: This broadly refers to whether the proposal offers a good value for the funding requested (not some type of formal cost-effectiveness analysis).
Q: Is IRB approval needed for the secondary data for the proposal? I know IRB is needed for the project and research, but will this be a priority for grant approval?
A: The IRB approval is not strictly needed already at the proposal stage, but overall confidence in the probability of success is part of the evaluation criteria.
Q: Would qualitative work that examines participant experiences with outreach, screening, application, etc. from the perspective of key informants, like SNAP outreach workers, be appropriate?
A: We cannot commit in advance to a particular proposal, but that type of qualitative research sounds appropriate.
Q: Is priority given to PIs from universities over those from non-profit research institutions, or are they given equal weight?
A: There is no priority. Equal weight.
Q: If a potential dissertation applicant will have advanced to candidacy by the start of the funding period but not the application due date, could they still be eligible?
A: We regret to say the RFP appears to be strict that the applicant should have advanced to candidacy by the application due date.
Q: Would an ancillary study that expands the quantity/type of data being collected in the parent study be eligible/competitive?
A: This is permitted, and RIDGE has funded such studies in the past, but (a) the other source of funding definitely must be fully disclosed and (b) the distinct value added of the RIDGE funding should be clear in the proposal.