Summary 

The Addiction Consortium on Research and Education Network's (ACORN) mission is to inform research, practice, and policy surrounding substance use, addiction, and health. By bringing together MSU faculty and staff working in addiction, ACORN seeks to change the lives of those impacted by substance use within our MSU community, state, and nation who face significant hardship and adversity through our collective expertise in engagement, advocacy, public policy, research, patient care, and teaching.

ACORN, servings as a centralizing hub to improve the lives of those impacted by substance use, includes five distinct pillars with activities centering around three communities: the MSU Community, Local Michigan Communities, and National Communities.

1. Community Engagement: Support and grow community engagement.
2. Clinical Care: Create an innovative, comprehensive addiction treatment service network by leveraging existing collaborations.
3. Research: Center our research around a health equity framework in addiction science, focusing on community assessments and stakeholder engagement.  
4. Education: Grow SUD teaching and training and couple these with ongoing research.
5. Advocacy: Be a nidus for state and national advocacy to support equitable, evidence-based legislation and policymaking.

Eligibility

• Eligibility is limited to teams that include Michigan State University employees as Principal Investigators or Co-Principal Investigators. 
• Priority will be given to teams that include MSU faculty or staff who are already actively engaged in scholarships that are focused on addiction science.
• Teams applying for the funds are encouraged to include a community partner as a Co-Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator.

Topic

Proposals should include: 

• The 5 pillars and how they will be a focus within the proposed project
• Description of the interdisciplinary nature of the team and how each team member will contribute to the project
• How an intentional partnership with community members will be cultivated within the proposed project
• Plans to incorporate community outreach and dissemination within the proposed project
• Future direction of the proposed project 
• How the proposed project aligns with ACORN’s mission to inform research, practice, and policy surrounding substance use, addiction, and health
• Proposal should be 1 page in length but not to exceed 2 pages in length and submitted via PDF 

RFP Timeline

Below please find a schedule of key dates and milestones for this RFP process

Mini-Grant Processes and Requirements

When preparing your 1–2-page (max) PDF response to this RFP, please adhere to the following requirements and guidelines: 

1. The Responder’s proposal should consist of the following sections, in the order listed below:
   1. Title 
   2. Identify which of the 5 pillars will be of focus within your project 
   3. Project description 
      1. Clearly demonstrate intentional partnership with community members 
      2. Incorporate community outreach and dissemination 
   4. List of key partners and their roles 
      1. MSU faculty or staff required from 2 or more colleges, with priority given to applications with student involvement 
   5.  Future direction of project/proposal 
      1. Research proposal 
      2. Ensure community engagement 
   6. Align with ACORN’s mission to inform research, practice and policy surrounding substance use, addiction, and health
2. Reporting Requirements:
   1. Present project findings as a PowerPoint presentation to the ACORN Collaborative that describes the following:
      1. Money spent 
      2. Timeline
      3. Actions completed
      4. Next steps/future directions
   2. 6 -month progress presentation to the ACORN Collaborative in November 2023
   3. Final presentation May 2024

RFP Contact 

The contact person for the purposes of this request is: 

Cara Poland, MD, MEd
Michigan State University-College of Human Medicine 
Department of OBGYN & Reproductive Biology 
15 Michigan St NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Email: Polandc2@msu.edu 

All proposals must be received by the contact above no later than 5:00 PM EST on March 17, 2023, to be considered.