Expanding Capacity in Rural Georgia Through Grant Writing Workshops
In partnership with the Georgia Office of Rural Health, the Georgia Clinical and Translational Science Alliance (Georgia CTSA) Community Engagement program sponsored a two-day Grant Writing Crash Course at the State Office of Rural Health in Cordele, GA. The goal of the workshop was to increase the capacity of community, academia, and health-oriented agencies and organizations to partner and collaborate in health promotion research in an equitable fashion to improve healthcare and health status among all Georgians and beyond.
“The Georgia CTSA’s partnership with the State Office of Rural Health (SORH) is strategic in our efforts to advance community-engaged clinical and translational research capacities and partnerships across the state of Georgia. SORH is a member of the Georgia CTSA Community Engagement Program’s Community Steering Board, designed to advance the art, science and practice of community-engaged research. Community members can engage the Steering Board by submitting a request on the GeorgiaCTSA.org website,” explains Tabia Henry Akintobi, PhD, MPH, director of Georgia CTSA’s Community Engagement program.
“Research opportunities are often lost in rural areas due to limited capacity and partnerships with preventative care and health organizations. By conducting these grant writing workshops for local investigators and community stakeholders using culturally and contextually competent training, we aim to increase the capacities of our community partners and academic researchers in developing research projects that better address community health and wellness needs.”
Over 65 participants attended from organizations across Georgia and as far away as Aiken, SC. Several hospitals were represented, along with medical centers, health clinics, EMS and trauma offices, healthcare systems and the Mercer University School of Medicine in Macon, GA.
By the end of the workshop, participants were able to:
- Describe at least five important things to know about a fundable grant
- Develop SMART objectives to match the goals identified in a proposed program
- Develop an effective Logic Model
- Develop an evaluation plan that will tell you if you have reached your objectives
- Provide a critical review of a project budget
Continuing Education Unit (CEU) certificates were awarded to those completing the two-day course. Evaluations completed by the participants included the following comments:
“Thank you for hosting this great workshop! I feel like I have a handle on the important facets of grant writing.”
“This was an excellent class. Very informative, and easily understandable.”
“This was fantastic. A lot of information in a short amount of time.”
“This was an awesome event!”
Georgia CTSA’s Community Engagement is a core component of a collaborative effort between Emory University, Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), and University of Georgia (UGA). The program improves the way biomedical research is conducted and disseminated throughout Georgia and across the country. It works to unite existing academic-community research partnerships, facilitate community input into university research, and to increase health research in community settings that is both responsive and relevant to the health needs of the community.
The Georgia CTSA is a statewide partnership between Emory, MSM, Georgia Tech, and UGA and is one of over 50 in a national consortium striving to improve the way biomedical research is conducted across the country. The consortium, funded through the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) and the National Institutes of Health’s Clinical and Translational Science Awards, shares a common vision to translate laboratory discoveries into treatments for patients, engage communities in clinical research efforts, and train the next generation of clinical investigators.