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LA CaTS Center Community Scholars Program (LaCoSP) Request for Applications 2026-2027 (Cohort 8)

 

Purpose Requirements & Eligibility Program Details
Application Process Application Review Process Notice of Award

 

LaCoSP Cohort 8

KEY DATES
Dates are subject to change (Revised 9/29/25)

Release Date

October 3, 2025

Informational Session (Zoom meeting) https://xula.zoom.us/j/99120056052

Oct 10, 2025
Recording posted on the LACaTS YouTube channel

LaCoSP Proposal Preparation Webinar Series
Webinars with respective links are listed below:

Available on LACATS YouTube Channel

  • Webinars were designed to provide support during the proposal preparation.
  • Meetings to review learning topics and/or ask questions can be requested at any time before proposal submission. Email mechever@xula.edu

Letter of Intent Due (required)

November 10, 2025 (5:00pm CST)

Invitation for Full Application

November 11, 2025

Mentorship personalized sessions

February 11 to March 31

Project presentations to LA CaTS’s Community Advisor Boards (CABs) (required)

 December 1-15, 2025 or January 12-16, 2026
Meetings are scheduled as needed

Full Applications Due

January 19, 2026 (9:00am CST)

Notice of award announcement

March 16, 2026

Kickoff Retreat: Are we Ready?

TBD (Week of Apr 10-20)

IRB approval, Human Subjects Form, and CITI certificates due

May 1, 2026

NIH approval and start of pilot projects*

July 1, 2026

End of pilot projects

June 30, 2027

* Grant award disbursement requires NIH and IRB approvals. The dates to start project activities vary according to the grant status and the respective university's administrative process.

 

Key Information
  • Community and academic Co-PIs; Up to 2 teams awarded; Funding up to $10,000 total/project
  • Presentations to CABs before proposal submission and participation in formal training are required
  • LA CaTS and NIH approvals required
  • One year to complete pilot project activities
  • Participation in the Kickoff retreat and formal training is required

Applications Details: https://www.lacats.org/research-funding/available-opportunities/funding-opportunity-lacosp.aspx

Application Submission Site: https://sparc.lacats.org 

 

 Contacts
  • LaKeisha Williams, PharmD., MSPH, LACaTS Community Engagement Core, Director, llgeorge@xula.edu  
  • Margarita Echeverri, PhD., MSc, LA CaTS Community Engagement Core, Associate Director, mechever@xula.edu,  504-520-6719

Purpose

The LaCoSP is a research opportunity developed by the Community Engagement and Outreach Core (CEO) of the Louisiana Clinical and Translational Science (LA CaTS) Center to increase the capacity of community-academic partnerships to conduct community-engaged research with mutual ownership of the processes and products. The LA CaTS CEO Core is accepting applications for the LaCoSP Cohort 8 (2026-2027). The program provides formal training and pilot project funds for teams comprised of a community and an academic partner, interested in conducting community-engaged (CEnR) research studies. LACoSP pilot projects are intended to inform future grant applications for state, federal, foundation, and other sponsor funding considerations.  More specifically, data collected in the LACoSP pilot projects could be used to submit applications to the LA CaTS Pilot Grants Program.

The LA CaTS Community Advisory Boards (CABs) and results of community needs assessment identified the following health issues as priorities for research in Louisiana:

  • Obesity
  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Social determinants of health
  • Maternal and child health
  • Mental health

We look forward to seeing how team projects align with these priorities and/or to expanding this list of health research needs based on input from communities and research teams across the state.

 

Program Requirements & Eligibility

Each team must consist of at least one community partner and one academic partner.

An academic partner is an individual(s) with a faculty appointment at any LA CaTS Institutions, including Pennington Biomedical Research Center, LSU Health-New Orleans, Tulane University, LSU A&M, Xavier University of Louisiana, LSU Health-Shreveport. Clinicians from Children’s Hospital or Ochsner Health should have faculty appointments in any of the LA CaTS academic institutions. 

A community partner is defined as an individual(s) who maintains a primary affiliation (employed full time) with a community organization and who is not affiliated with an academic and/or healthcare institution.  For this program, a community organization is defined as an organization that has:

  1. a documented interest in improving the health of the relevant community (e.g., a mission statement); and
  2. a history of serving the health needs and interests of the relevant community.

These organizations may include, but are not limited to, public schools, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, community-based health provider organizations, and/or advocacy groups.

 Notes:

  • The intent is to foster community organizations to conduct research. Community partners with high prior research experience will not be allowed to apply as the community principal investigator.
  • Due to the size of this program, proposals considering clinical trials are not allowed. Please review the NIH definition of clinical trial when designing your study.

 

Project management and performance: Following the principles of community-engagement research, both the academic and community principal investigators assume similar responsibilities in the management and performance of the project. However, the academic PI is responsible for the submission of the proposal, IRB protocol, and the general administration of the project and funds received.

Program Details

The program is divided into three key components:

I.  Proposal submission

During the application period, each team prepares and submits a pilot grant proposal as part of the LaCoSP application. Teams submitting a proposal should follow instructions provided along this document. 

II. Formal Training

Considering that team members may have different levels of expertise when writing a proposal as well as working on community engagement projects, LaCoSP provides formal training and mentorship to help in the improvement of the proposal and successful submission for LA CaTS and NIH revision and final approval, as well as during the conduct of the project activities.

As the formal training is developed to ensure that LaCoSP scholars and prospective applicants gain the necessary skills to carry out a community-engagement project, it is divided into two components: The LaCoSP Proposal Preparation Webinar Series, already available in the LACATS YouTube channel and recommended to be reviewed before the deadline to submit full proposals, and the LA CaTS/CEO Seminar Series that is conducted after the awardees are confirmed. 

The sessions in the Seminar Series would be approximately 60-90 minutes each. They could be scheduled together (one day-long or two half-days) and delivered using different approaches (in-person, online, or hybrid), according to the needs.  However, dates for in-person training will be provided in advance. The sessions may address topics related to community engagement and building and sustaining partnerships; grantsmanship following NIH requirements; working with culturally diverse populations; addressing low health literacy; understanding and applying ethical principles in community research; developing evaluation plans; and career development, among others.  Inter-professional faculty and community members conduct these training sessions. Optional online modules, as needed, will be recommended to all participants to help build research capacity.

III.  Mentorship

Prospective LaCoSP applicants may take advantage of mentorship provided during the proposal writing and during the study timeline.

  1. Mentorship for proposal preparation: An important component of the formal training provided as part of the LACoSP program is the personalized mentorship sessions provided to teams while writing the proposals. During this mentorship period, teams are encouraged to submit questions and requests for mentorship to LaCoSP staff. The personalized sessions will be scheduled and conducted through Zoom meetings and/or email, as needed. Mentorship may include revising the proposal, consents, IRB applications, budgets, study materials (e.g., surveys and interview scripts), bio-sketches, and anything else that the team may need to submit a competitive application.
  2. Mentorship for study activities: In the proposal, each team may identify a community and/or academic mentor, according to the team’s needs and field of choice.  A statement about how the mentor(s) will help guide the development, implementation, and evaluation of a pilot project should be included in the proposal, as well as the respective letter(s) of support.  Study mentor(s) should have expertise and success with community engagement methods, data collection/analysis, and/or with the health topic addressed by each team.  Teams are expected to meet with their mentor(s) at least once a month. If you need a mentor(s) for your project but still do not have one identified and/or committed to the project, contact the LaCoSP staff during the Mentorship for proposal preparation and describe the expertise required. LaCoSP staff will help you to find one.

Application Process

LaCoSP application materials are available for download at the LA CaTS Funding Opportunities webpage:   https://www.lacats.org/research-funding/available-opportunities/funding-opportunity-lacosp.aspx

I.  Letter of Intent

Email a Letter of Intent (LOI) to info@lacats.org,  using this LOI template.

II.  Full Application

Details for completing each section and the requested information are provided below.  Please complete ALL sections of the LaCoSP application materials in the following order:

A. NIH PHS 398 Forms (https://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html)
  1. Form Page 1: Face Page (signed by authorized institutional representative)
  2. Form Page 2: Project Summary, relevance, project sites
  3. Form Page 3: Key personnel and significant contributors
  4. Form Page 4: Detailed Budget for Initial Budget Period (1 year)
  5. Form Page 5: Budget for Entire Proposed Project Period and Budget Justification. If the budget justification does not fit on Form Page 5, then download and utilize the Continuation Format Page

 

Notes: Funds for the project will be managed by the academic partner’s institution and should follow the academic partner and NIH’s financial policies. The budget amount awarded is dependent on NIH funds and/or available institutional funds, and determined by the LA CaTS’s Executive Council. Each team should discuss budget details with the LaCoSP leaders.

 

B. Community and Academic Partnership (1 page): Please describe:
  1. Team members and purpose of the partnership
  2. Description and dates of the work you have previously completed as partners
  3. The process of identifying project health issues and developing the proposal
  4. The team and institutional environment: your ability as a team to carry out a community-engaged research project in partnership and contributions of each team member, including the role of the mentors, if any, as well as institutional resources and support.

Attach the signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) using this MOI template.

Notes: A biographical sketch, also known as a bio-sketch, is a standardized format to summarize achievements, skills, education and formal training.  LaCoSP Academic partners and mentors, if any, are required to submit an NIH-formatted bio-sketch.  Go to https://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms/biosketch.htm for a template, examples, and for more information. LaCoSP Community partners are encouraged to submit an NIH-formatted bio-sketch.  However, it is also acceptable for Community partners to submit a resume describing their experience, education, accomplishments, and awards.

 

C. Research Plan
(5 to 7 single-spaced pages, Arial 11 font, half-inch margins– excluding references)

1.  Specific Aims:

      • State the aims (recommend no more than 3 aims). For each aim, specify expected outcomes, including how outcomes are being measured and the research hypothesis.

2. Research Strategy

      1. Significance (approx. 1/2 page recommended)
        • Describe the research problem and research question.
        • Why is this problem important?
        • Why is this project worth doing?
      2. Innovation (approx. 1/2 page recommended)
        • How will this work advance the field or contribute to the needed body of knowledge?
        • How will this work lead to changes in health behaviors or health?
      3. Methods:
        • Describe study design and procedures
        • Describe measurements and data collection instruments to be used to collect participants’ data. Note: Attach as appendix any questionnaires, surveys or interviews scripts and any other tools to be used.
        • Include a timeline for project completion with major milestones for project completion over the one-year timeframe.
        • Describe data management and statistical analysis plan including team capabilities to perform the procedures.
          Note: Applicants are recommended to consult with the LA CaTS Biostatistics & Epidemiology Core regarding data management and statistical procedures. Requests for a biostatistical consultation are made online on the LA CaTS Center SPARC Request website (https://sparc.lacats.org). Search the SPARC service catalog for the necessary services.

           

      4. Sample Population and Human Subjects Protection Plan:
        • Describe the target population in the study and your plans to engage your community of interest in terms of participant involvement, support, and the nature of outcomes.
        • Describe estimated enrollment, inclusion/exclusion criteria, possible risks/benefits, and mechanisms to protect privacy and confidentiality of information, including consent and HIPAA protections.
        • Discuss rationale for inclusion/exclusion of women, children, and minorities as research participants
        • Describe the status of the submission process for IRB approval and the CITI trainings required by the institution to complete research with human participants 

          Notes: Information in this section should be consistent with the IRB protocol.
          Each member of the team in contact with research participants must complete the training required by the academic organization through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI). Community partners will receive instructions on how to access the CITI training once accepted into the program. 

          The PHS Human Subjects form -including the Inclusion Enrollment Report (See fillable form and Instructions)-, the IRB approval, and the CITI certificates, are required one month after award notification

           

      5. Impact (approx. 1 page recommended)
        •  Short-term project goals
        • Long-term project and team partnership goals
        • How does this work advance the aims of community engagement and translational research?
        • Why and how will this initial investment of money and effort lead to research that impacts the health of people and communities?
        • Specifically outline next steps leading from this work to additional funding and research dissemination.

D. Required appendices

      1. Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). See template below
      2. NIH-formatted bio-sketches from key academic personnel, mentors, community partners.

        Note: A biographical sketch, also known as a bio-sketch, is a standardized format summarizing achievements, skills, education, and formal training.  LaCoSP Academic partners and mentors, if any, are required to submit an NIH-formatted bio-sketch.  Go to https://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms/biosketch.htm for a template, examples, and more information. LaCoSP Community partners are encouraged to submit an NIH-formatted bio-sketch; however, it is acceptable for them to submit a resume of their experience, education, and accomplishments.
      3. Letters of support from mentors, institutions, project sites, and additional collaborators
      4. Tools (questionnaires, surveys, interview guides, etc.) used to collect participants’ data. Although study tools do not have to be finalized for the initial application, drafts and/or validated tools to be used/adapted should be attached to the proposal

Additional appendices: Reasonable appendices (no more than 5 pages) can be included to describe details related to figures, trainings, etc., and are not counted as part of the 10-page proposal.

 

III. Submission Process

All application materials must be approved through each PI’s campus Sponsored Program’s Office before submission. PIs must adhere to their institution’s established policies and procedures for grant submission.

  1. Combine all completed application materials in the order above (A-D) and additional appendices into ONE PDF file.
  2. Applications should be submitted on the LA CaTS Center SPARC Request online system at https://sparc.lacats.org.
  3. First-time users need to create a Login and Password as prompted on the LA CaTS Center SPARC Request online system at https://sparc.lacats.org.
    Applicants can also review services and request consultations with the LA CaTSCores through SPARC at any time.

Submit one application per community-academic team.  The complete application must be received by the date/time specified at the KEY DATES Table at the top of this document.

Application Review Process

All applications are reviewed and scored under a two-step process:

  1. Eligibility Criteria Screening Process – All applications are screened for eligibility by LA CaTS/CEO staff and leadership, based on the online information and completed LACoSP Application submitted. Applications received after the due date are NOT accepted.

  2. Panel Review Process – All applications successfully meeting the minimum eligibility requirements are reviewed and scored by a community-academic review panel. Applications are scored according to the criteria listed below:
    1. Partnership capacity - strength of partnership to carry out stated goals:
      1. Ability of partnership to work together to achieve stated goals
      2. Resources and support available to community and academic partners
      3. History of partnership
      4. Experience of both partners in the targeted community and health promotion topic
      5. Training of community and academic partners
      6. Quality of the proposed research
      7. Potential for continued research funding

    2. Significance of the community health issue to be addressed in the pilot project.

    3. Approach of pilot project:
      1. Incorporation of participatory methods for community and academic partners
      2. Innovation
      3. Scientific sound of research methods proposed
      4. Appropriateness of approach to meet short-term and long-term goals of project
      5. Potential for future funding by the team

  3. Scoring – Applications are scored following the 9-point NIH scoring system, ranging from 1.0 (outstanding, few weaknesses) to 9.0 (major weaknesses). Reviewers are asked to provide scores and include comments on the significance and potential impact of the proposed work, relevance, and overall project strengths and weaknesses

Notice of Award

Teams with the best scores will be admitted into the LaCoSP.  Successful applicants will be notified if they have been accepted into the program. See timeline on the KEY DATES Table at the top of this document

LACATS/NIH FINAL AWARD APPROVAL AND FUNDS DISBURSEMENT: Each pilot project full proposal and the associated IRB application submission is peer-reviewed by LaCoSP/LA CaTS and NIH staff. The LA CaTS Center Administrative Core facilitates the administrative and NIH approvals of projects. All community scholar pilot projects MUST receive LA CaTS administrative approval (which includes NIH prior approval) before the project can begin and funds (up to $10,000 in total costs) can be released.

Related files:
2026-2027 Community Scholars RFA