The UNC School of Medicine Office of Faculty Affairs and Leadership Development and the Center for Health Innovation of UNC Health Care and the UNC School of Medicine are pleased to announce the School of Medicine Well-Being Pilot Awards for 2020. Current UNC SOM faculty are eligible to apply and applications are due January 14, 2020. As many as three (3) awards of up to $10,000 each will be announced in March 2020.

This award seeks proposals that promote the well-being of faculty, staff, and/or students at the UNC School of Medicine as well as medical trainees serving within the UNC Health Care System, particularly within the following areas:

• Individual well-being solutions or structural/system changes to improve well-being; at any stage of development (ideation/development, feasibility/proof of concept, hypothesis testing, or implementation)
• Novel and innovative concepts that address well-being and/or proven methods that improve well-being applied in a novel/innovative manner or setting

Questions can be sent to innovatehealthcare@med.unc.edu

The full RFP and cover sheet can be found here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How is the School of Medicine Well-Being Pilot Award different than the Innovation Well-Being Pilot Award?

A. The eligible applicants, award amount, review criteria and application schedule, are all different for the School of Medicine Well-Being Pilot Award.

Q. Can medical students or faculty from other schools (e.g., Pharmacy, Nursing, Dentistry, Public Health, Kenan-Flagler) apply for the School of Medicine Well-Being Pilot Award?

A. Medical students and faculty from other schools can participate as members of a pilot team, but the application must be submitted with a current School of Medicine faculty member as the Principal Investigator.

Q. Although the Principal Investigator/applicant must be a current UNC SOM faculty member, can a School of Medicine Well-Being Pilot Award fund a project that is implemented at a managed entity?

A. Each case will need to be reviewed independently to ensure that no laws or contractual obligations will be violated.

Q. Can the School of Medicine Well-Being Pilot Award be used to fund a study or project already in process?

A. Generally not. However, if there is a discreet and separate scope of work with independent aims that can easily be distinguished from the existing project, it may be considered. In this case it is important to clearly articulate the scope of the existing project vs. the pilot in the application.

Q. Can I apply for the School of Medicine Well-Being Pilot Award if I applied for the Innovation Well-Being Pilot Award?

A. The Innovation Well-Being Pilot Award winner will be announced in December 2019. Non-winning proposals can be modified and submitted for the School of Medicine Well-Being Pilot Award, but please note that these two awards have different requirements including eligibility, review criteria, and award amount. .

Q. Can School of Medicine Well-Being Pilot Award funds be used to pay a consultant outside of the university for services? (e.g., software development, training, etc.)

A. Yes, pilot award funds can be used to pay an outside vendor for services rendered within the scope of the pilot. Even though it is not required for the application, we highly encourage teams to get an estimate or quote for any third-party services before submitting the application.

Q. What makes a great proposal?

A. Successful proposals contain all of the requirements listed in the “Proposal Requirements” section and demonstrate that the pilot project applies to all or most of the criteria outlined in the “Review and Selection Process” section of the RFP. Also, applicants are welcome to request a consultation to review proposal ideas in advance of submission for general guidance and feedback (email: innovatehealthcare@med.unc.edu). Please note: A consult prior to submission does not factor into the scoring or ranking of proposals.

Q. How else can someone work with the UNC Center for Health Innovation outside of participating in the School of Medicine Well-Being Pilot Award?

A. The Center’s mission is to initiate, evaluate, disseminate and support adoption of disruptive innovations in the delivery and financing of health care that are patient centered and increase value with improved health outcomes and lower costs. We are always looking to connect with colleagues and collaborate with partners in new and exciting ways. Feel free to submit an inquiry to innovatehealthcare@med.unc.edu at any time.