Mapping the Landscape, Journeying Together: Request for Literature Review Proposals

The 2017 Requests for Proposals (RFP) is now closed.  RFP’s for Mapping the Landscape are typically issued annually in June. To be notified of future RFP’s, please subscribe to News and Notes or our Research Roundup newsletter.

Mapping the Landscape, Journeying Together is an initiative of the Gold Foundation Research Institute

A rigorous review of the literature is foundational to any effort to advance practice, theory, or research in a given field of inquiry. Since 2013, the Gold Foundation Research Institute has solicited proposals for grants of $5,000 to complete rigorous reviews on topics related to humanism in healthcare. The selected teams must complete a submission-ready manuscript within 18 months, and come together to share their findings at an annual symposium typically held in late April or early May.

Sixty-nine percent of teams from our first cohort have had their papers published in peer-reviewed journals and our second cohort has begun having their work accepted as well. Grantees have commented that this external funding provided an impetus for them and in turn, their institutions, to prioritize humanism-focused projects. They have also told us that they especially appreciate the chance to become part of a vibrant community of practice dedicated to advancing humanism in healthcare.

We are particularly interested in projects that link humanistic care/education with Quadruple Aim outcomes (patient experience of care, quality of care, cost of care and provider or trainee burnout/wellness). We also seek the review and synthesis of studies that focus on implementation, dissemination, design-thinking, and advocacy approaches (i.e. what are the best ways to make change on the ground?). We encourage the incorporation of literature from non-medical disciplines such as business, organizational psychology, sociology, etc.

Successful applicants will:

  1. Become a part of the Mapping the Landscape community of practice dedicated to developing the evidence-base for humanism in healthcare and making positive change in teaching and practice environments.
  2. Send a work-in-progress abstract of their project by February 28, 2018 for inclusion in the 2018 Symposium printed program. Send at least one team member to present a poster on their work in progress at the Symposium, which will take place May 6-8, 2018. Up to $1,000 in travel expenses will be reimbursed per team in addition to the grant amount.
  3. Prepare a submission-ready manuscript, including abstract, as a final report, due 18 months from acceptance (February 28, 2019).
  4. Send at least one team member to give an oral presentation at the Spring 2019 Mapping the Landscape Symposium. The dates are not yet determined but it typically takes place in late April/early May and lasts for 2.5 days, 2 overnights. Up to $1,000 in travel expenses will be reimbursed per team in addition to the grant amount.

The Research Institute intends to support up to 10 grants of $5,000 each which will be awarded to the primary author via institutional transfer: $2500 when the project begins and $2500 at the close of the grant. The team will be reimbursed an additional amount of up to $1,000 for travel to the 2018 Symposium and up to $1,000 for travel to the 2019 Symposium.

How to Apply

Eligibility and Team Composition:

  • At least one team member must be a current faculty member at an accredited allopathic or osteopathic medical school, residency program, or other accredited institution of higher learning, in the USA or Canada.
  • At least one team member must be a health science librarian (having a librarian co-author is correlated with higher quality search strategies) or have equivalent search expertise.
  • At least one team member should have successfully completed one or more rigorous reviews of the literature.
  • We encourage you to consider including team members who:
    • Are health professions learners (medical students, nursing students, medical residents, etc)
    • Have complementary experience such as policy experts, practicing clinicians, health professions educators, and patients/families
    • Are based in other departments or at other institutions

Dates: 

  • Proposals are due: July 14, 2017
  • Decisions are sent: August 28, 2017
  • First payments will be sent: October 1, 2017 (assuming grant contracts have been signed and returned prior to this date)
  • Work in progress abstract due: February 28, 2018
  • 2018 Symposium: May 6-8, 2018
  • Submission-ready manuscript, including abstract, due: February 28, 2019
  • 2019 Symposium: Spring 2019, dates TBD

Proposal Format:

Proposals must be sent using our online submission system, for which you must create an account. You will be asked to upload the following documents:

  1. Evidence of the tax-exempt status of the PI’s institution. For US applicants, this might be a 501c3 letter or other official document. For Canadian applicants, documentation might look similar to this Confirmation of Registration.
  2. A brief description of your team members’ experience with reviews of the literature, including citations of published reviews.
  3. Compilation of abbreviated curriculum vitae: Each author must submit a two -page abbreviated CV. Within the two-page limit, the CV may include a brief description of experience in literature reviews, research-based advocacy, or communicating research findings via the popular press or social media. CVs for all authors should be combined into a single document for submission.
  4. Your proposal, which shall not exceed 600 words. Title, authors and references do not count toward word limit. You may include 1 table or figure. Proposals must be single-spaced, with minimum 1 inch margins and 11 point font. Your proposal must include the following sections:
    • Title of proposal  
    • Authors and their institutional affiliation(s)
    • Brief background on the topic— Describe reviews or summaries related to your topic that have been previously published. Indicate how your review will improve upon this work.
    • Central research question– Define what you are trying to discover by conducting the proposed review. Explain how the findings will impact the practice or teaching of humanistic healthcare. Describe the potential this review has for identifying important areas for future study or advocacy.
    • Methods –Describe methods to be used during review, your process for identifying gaps in the knowledge base within your topic area and your reasons for selecting those methods (see our list of suggested reading at the bottom of this page for guidance on method selection)
    • Literature sources to be searched
    • Proposed inclusion and exclusion criteria (we realize that this is an iterative process and that these criteria may evolve as the project develops)
    • Feasibility – Clearly indicate how you will accomplish the review, synthesis, and paper submission in 18 months.
    • References

Budget: You do NOT need to submit a budget showing how you will spend the $5,000. Grant funds may be used for all project related costs with the exception of purchasing computer hardware. Grant funds may also be used to bring additional team members to either symposium. The Arnold P. Gold Foundation does not pay overhead or Dean’s tax.

Proposals will be evaluated on the following four criteria:

  1. Importance of topic to practice, theory or research on humanism in health professions education/healthcare.
  2. Soundness of proposed methodology.
  3. Potential impact of the review and analysis on the practice or teaching of humanistic healthcare.
  4. Potential for completion in 18 months, including the collective expertise of the investigator team.

Special consideration will be given to projects that link humanistic care/education with Quadruple Aim outcomes (patient experience of care, quality of care, cost of care and provider or trainee burnout/wellness) and to projects that focus on implementation, dissemination, design-thinking, and advocacy approaches (i.e. what are the best ways to make change on the ground?).

Proposal Submission

Proposals must be sent using our online submission system, for which you must create an account.

Suggested Reading 

  1. Overview of the Mapping the Landscape, Journeying Together initiative
  2. Introduction to Qualitative Evidence Synthesis by Martina Kelly et al
  3. Suggested Resources on Systematic Reviews
  4. Humanism, Compassion and the Call to Caring by Elizabeth Gaufberg and Brian Hodges
  5. Program book for the 2017 Mapping the Landscape Symposium including abstracts, bios and agenda
  6. Program book for the 2016 Mapping the Landscape Symposium including abstracts, bios and agenda
  7. Program book for the 2015 Mapping the Landscape Symposium including abstracts, bios and agenda

Questions?

Email Brandy King at researchinstitute@gold-foundation.org