Population health accelerator grants

The Population Health Initiative is especially interested in opportunities that address emerging drivers of population health. These may include advances in artificial intelligence and other technologies, including their effects on health, well-being, work, and economic security; climate adaptation and resilience; evolving demographic and economic conditions; changing health needs; and shifts in the research, policy and funding landscape. Applicants should demonstrate why the opportunity is especially timely, what has changed in the external environment and why the UW is uniquely positioned to lead.

The Accelerator grants program seeks to support projects that:

• Address major population health challenges through innovative and interdisciplinary approaches.
• Advance strategic priorities identified by the University of Washington in its new strategic plan.
• Leverage UW-distinctive capabilities, assets, partnerships, datasets, platforms or expertise that are difficult to replicate elsewhere.
• Generate knowledge, tools, interventions, systems, partnerships or infrastructure capable of producing substantial population-level impact and broader influence beyond the initial project setting.
• Establish durable leadership for the UW in a high-priority area through capabilities, partnerships, infrastructure or other assets that support long-term sustainability and impact.

Project topics may span the continuum from basic and translational science to implementation, policy and community-based interventions, provided they present a compelling pathway to meaningful population health impact. Competitive projects may include, but are not limited to:

• Novel platforms, therapeutics, technologies or datasets with potential for substantial population health impact.
• New models for healthcare, public health or social service delivery.
• Translational science efforts with a credible pathway to population health improvement.
• Policy innovation initiatives.
• Community-engaged initiatives capable of achieving broader influence or impact beyond the initial setting.
• Cross-sector partnership models addressing major population health challenges.
• Prevention and early-intervention strategies designed to improve health outcomes at the population level.
• AI-enabled tools and platforms for population health surveillance, prediction, prevention and care delivery.
• Climate and environmental health initiatives addressing resilience, food systems, migration and population health.

Projects that primarily seek to continue existing activities, support routine program operations or generate incremental advances without a plausible pathway to substantial population health impact will not be competitive.

Faculty members and PI-eligible research scientists from all three University of Washington campuses (Bothell, Seattle and Tacoma) are encouraged to apply. To encourage interdisciplinary collaboration, applications will only be accepted from project teams that include a minimum of two UW co-principal investigators whose primary appointments are in different academic departments.

Community, government, industry and non-profit partnerships are strongly encouraged when relevant to the proposed work. Projects involving implementation, service delivery, policy or community-based interventions should demonstrate substantive engagement with affected communities and stakeholders. For discovery science, technology development, computational research and other early-stage efforts, engagement expectations will be assessed relative to the nature of the proposed work.

Applications should represent a substantial new endeavor that advances beyond ongoing activities. Projects may build upon prior research, datasets, technologies, partnerships or proof-of-concept work, but must represent a substantial advance in ambition, capability, scientific approach, partnership structure or potential impact. Projects that primarily continue, replicate or repackage previously funded pilots, established programs or ongoing activities will not be competitive.

Funds will be disbursed to the department of the lead UW co-principal investigator for day-to-day administration. Budgets must be able to accept non-discretionary gift funds.

If funded, project teams will be required to submit periodic progress updates and a final report documenting outcomes, lessons learned, partnerships developed, external funding pursued and future plans.

• Letter of Intent Deadline: Monday, February 1, 2027 (11:59 p.m. Pacific)
• Invitations to Submit Full Applications Issued: Week of February 22, 2027
• Full Application Deadline: Friday, April 2, 2027 (11:59 p.m. Pacific)
• Funding Decisions Announced: Week of May 3, 2027
• Project Start Date: June 1, 2027
• Project End Date: May 31, 2029

The purpose of this program is to support transformative opportunities. As a result, proposals may involve greater uncertainty regarding outcomes than traditional pilot projects. Competitive proposals should nonetheless demonstrate a credible execution strategy and a realistic pathway to impact.

Letters of intent will be evaluated based on:

• Transformative potential and anticipated population health impact
• Strategic alignment and fit with the objectives of the funding opportunity
• UW-distinctive advantage
• Originality of the proposed concept and strength of the proposed approach
• Long-term sustainability potential

Successful full applications will demonstrate the following characteristics:

Transformative potential

• Present a compelling vision for achieving impact that extends beyond incremental advances.
• Demonstrate the potential to change practice, policy, systems or scientific understanding at meaningful scale.
• Demonstrate how the proposed effort advances beyond existing models, programs, technologies or lines of investigation and represents a meaningful departure from current approaches.

Strategic opportunity

• Clearly explain why the opportunity is especially important at this moment.
• Describe developments in the scientific, technological, environmental, policy or funding landscape that create a compelling opportunity.
• Demonstrate how the project can establish a durable leadership position for the UW or otherwise strengthen the University’s reputation for impactful population health innovation.

Alignment and strategic advantage

• Demonstrate strong alignment with priorities identified through the UW strategic plan, particularly Objective 2.B: Launching breakthroughs that shape tomorrow, Objective 3.B: Driving technological innovation that meets the needs of humanity, and/or Objective 3.C: Shaping healthier populations and flourishing communities.
• Clearly articulate how the proposed effort leverages UW-distinctive capabilities, assets, partnerships and expertise.

Team, governance and execution

• Bring together expertise from multiple disciplines, sectors and/or stakeholder groups with an effective plan for collaboration and project governance.
• Demonstrate existing relationships, partnerships or collaborative structures that position the project for successful execution and long-term impact.
• Describe how partners and stakeholders will contribute to project success and impact.
• Where appropriate, describe additional educational, workforce-development or student-training benefits associated with the proposed work.

Stakeholder and community engagement (when applicable)

• Demonstrate stakeholder, user and/or community engagement appropriate to the project’s goals and stage of development.
• Projects involving implementation, translation or service delivery should show evidence of meaningful engagement with affected populations and stakeholders.
• Projects focused on discovery science, technology development, platform creation or computational research will be evaluated based on the appropriateness of their engagement strategy relative to the nature of the work.

Project approach

• Propose a framework, methods, approach and analyses that are adequate and appropriate to the aims of the project.

Sustainability and long-term impact

• Demonstrate a credible strategy for sustaining and expanding the work beyond the initial funding period.
• Describe primary and alternative pathways for impact, which may include follow-on funding, institutional adoption, policy implementation, commercialization, community uptake, ongoing partnerships or integration into existing systems or practices.
• Explain how the proposed work could achieve broader influence or impact over time, recognizing the scaling pathways may differ substantially across disciplines and project types.

Evaluation and success measures

• Include meaningful milestones, evaluation metrics and outcome measures appropriate to the proposed work.
• Describe both near-term outcomes expected during the funding period and the project’s longer-term pathway to population health impact.
• Describe how success will be assessed and how lessons learned will inform future work.

Members of the Population Health Initiative executive council will review and score all applications, and will, when appropriate, consult subject matter experts as part of the evaluation process. Funding decisions will be informed by application scores as well as strategic alignment, portfolio balance, available funds and the potential of the proposed work to advance the goals of the Population Health Initiative.

Reviewers will place particular emphasis on opportunities that have the potential to fundamentally change how a major population health challenge is understood, prevented, treated or addressed. The Initiative encourages applicants to think beyond incremental improvements and propose ideas commensurate with the scale and urgency of the challenges facing society.

Awards of up to $400,000 per project are available from the Population Health Initiative. We encourage applicants to request no more than is required to complete the proposed work to maximize the number of projects supported by this funding.

Matching support from participating schools, colleges, departments and/or external partners is required to demonstrate institutional commitment. Proposals requesting more than $300,000 from the Initiative must provide matching support equal to at least 20% of the amount requested from the Initiative. Proposals requesting $300,000 or less must provide matching support equal to at least 10% of the amount requested. Matching funds can take the form of either discretionary/non-discretionary monies or in-kind support, including:

• Financial commitments from participating schools, colleges, departments or centers.
• Financial commitments from external partners, when appropriate to the proposed work.
• In-kind contributions, including personnel time, facilities, staff support, data resources or technical support.
• Additional unit-level resources that will contribute to project success and sustainability.
• Other sponsored research projects cannot be counted as matching funds.

Matching commitments are not required at the letter of intent stage and will only be required from teams invited to submit a full application.

Funds will be disbursed to the department of a lead UW co-principal investigator for day-to-day administration. Budgets must be able to accept non-discretionary gift funds. Teams that are invited to submit a full application will be required to propose a milestone-based disbursement schedule for award funding.

Allowed expenses include:

• Personnel (i.e., salaries and benefits for faculty and students as well as staff at the UW or a community-based organization)
• Equipment, materials and supplies
• Travel, including airfare, transportation, and per diem (lodging, meals and expenses)
• Tuition for graduate students
• Other direct costs related to the project (must detail the expense and include rationale)

Unallowable expenses include:

• Indirect/overhead costs
• Publication and patent cost
• Office supplies
• Administrative support
• Hospitality expenses (e.g., receptions, alcohol)
• Marketing efforts

All allowable expenses must adhere to applicable University of Washington policies. Please contact your department’s finance lead with questions regarding such expenses.

An Office of Sponsored Programs review is not needed prior to submitting an application.

Letters of intent and full applications must both meet the following standards:

• Submitted as a single PDF file
• Paper size no larger than standard letter (i.e., 8 ½” x 11”)
• Margins of at least 0.5 inch (top, bottom, left and right)
• Single-spaced
• Eleven-point font or larger using either Arial, Calibri or Times New Roman
• Smaller text in figures, graphs, diagrams and charts is acceptable as long as it is legible when the page is viewed at 100%
• We do not require a specific citation format

Stage 1: Letter of Intent
Letters of intent should include:

• Title of the proposed project.
• Approximate budget request.
• Names, titles, organizational affiliation and email addresses for each member of the current project team. More team members can be added at a later date if you are invited to submit a full application.
• Overview of the proposed project that addresses (750 word maximum):
• Expected population health impact and potential for transformative influence.
• Alignment of your proposed project with the UW’s new strategic plan and the rationale for pursuing the opportunity at this time.
• UW-distinctive capabilities, assets, partnerships or expertise that position the University to pursue this opportunity.
• Overview of the proposed project approach.
• Relationship to existing models (300 word maximum)
• Identify any existing UW effort, national initiative, published model or comparable program that most closely resembles the proposed work.
• Describe how the proposed project advances beyond existing models and why it represents a meaningful departure from current approaches.
• Identify the primary innovation or distinguishing feature of the proposed effort.
• Preliminary sustainability and follow-on funding strategy (150 word maximum)
• Identify one or more anticipated pathways for sustaining or scaling the work following the Accelerator grant investment, including prospective funding organizations, funding mechanisms, partnership opportunities or commercialization pathways where known.

Download the letter of intent template

Letters of intent can be submitted beginning on January 1, 2027. All letters are due by 11:59 p.m. (Pacific) on February 1, 2027.

The letter must be submitted as a single .pdf file through the following online submission portal.

Review by the Office of Sponsored Programs is not needed.

Submit a letter of intent