The Advancing Spiritual Care initiative is requesting proposals for Demonstration Projects in the field of interprofessional spiritual care. These projects will be based on the Generalist-Specialist model of professional spiritual care, in which clinicians (generalists) collaborate with spiritual care specialists, such as board-certified chaplains. The first cycle of this initiative focuses on clinician-chaplain dyad teams that care for patients with serious and/or chronic illness. The goal of this initiative is to support Demonstration Projects in spiritual assessment to include spiritual screening and history as completed by clinicians, and/or a more comprehensive spiritual assessment as completed by chaplains. We will select five U.S. project teams composed of one clinician and one chaplain from the same clinical healthcare setting; we are hoping to receive applications from diverse healthcare settings such as hospitals, clinics, universities, and other health organizations. These teams will represent successful models of collaboration between clinicians and chaplains to build knowledge and evidence for interprofessional spiritual care.

Proposals must address the following areas: background, significance, project purpose, project design and methodology, evaluation, impact on key stakeholders, capacity building, sustainability, letters of support, and budget/budget narrative.

During the two-year project development, implementation, and evaluation at their home institutions, Demonstration Project teams will be expected to:

  1. Participate in the initial in-person ISPEC course and Demonstration Project Launch meeting November 16–18, 2022 in Washington, DC
  2. Participate in all virtual monthly Learning Collaborative sessions
  3. Participate in all monthly mentoring calls
  4. Conduct ongoing project evaluation
  5. Submit (1) article for publication and (1) abstract for presentation based on the completed Demonstration Project
  6. Present Demonstration Projects at the May 2024 ISPEC training in Washington, DC
  7. Participate in the Final Demonstration Project Team Meeting in May 2024 in Washington, DC
  8. Complete program evaluation at the initiation and completion of the two- year project

Deadline for submission: July 1, 2022; 5:00 pm EST

Terms of Funding: Five US projects will be funded through this initiative. Each Demonstration Project will receive funding of $100,000 and the project duration is two years. Funds will be disbursed in (2) $50,000 payments, the first in Year 1 and the second in Year 2. Funds must be spent by November 1, 2024.

Eligibility:

  • This first cohort of Demonstration Projects is limited to applicants in clinical settings within the United States
  • Each project should include a board-certified chaplain and clinician as project leaders. We realize not all settings have board certified chaplains. We will consider applicants with commensurate professional chaplaincy experience to include 8 or more years of clinical chaplaincy or 4 units of CPE and 2000 hours of clinical practice.
  • Demonstration Projects should be focused on spiritual assessment to include projects related to spiritual screening and history as completed by clinicians, and/or more comprehensive spiritual assessment as completed by chaplains.
  • Proposal evaluation criteria include:
    • Applicants’ CVs and clinical backgrounds
    • The Demonstration Project team and local mentor's research or QI experience
    • Quality and feasibility of the proposed Demonstration Project
    • Commitment of the applicants' organization based on the letters of support
    • The potential for clinical implementation and assessment of potential impact for key stakeholders [healthcare system, patients, and clinicians]
    • The potential for models that can be tested in future research or practice
    • Sustainability plan for future years

Application Instructions:

Please read the instructions provided throughout the application carefully and address all required information. Use the checklist in the attachment to make sure that all required information is complete and included in your application. One application is required per team member.

Some sections of the application will be the same information for both team members and these include 1) institution information, 2) proposed demonstration project plan, 3) administrator letter of support, 4) letter of support and cv/resume for research mentor if applicable, 5) budgets and 6) budget narratives. The sections unique to you are, 1) team member #1 information, 2) team member #2 information, 3) informed consent.

Incomplete applications will not be considered. You can save your application to complete at another time by using your return code (outlined below) to continue working on your original application.

To save your application to complete later, select “Save and Return Later” at the bottom of the application. DO NOT HIT SUBMIT. You will be presented with a code – make a note of this code. A box will appear, and you will be asked to enter your email address. A link to the application will be sent to this email. To continue working on your application, click on the link and enter your return code.

Participation as a Demonstration Project includes completion of a series of brief evaluation surveys, each of which will take between 5 - 20 minutes. The surveys are part of the evaluation that we are conducting to better understand the experiences of participants in the Demonstration Projects and Learning Collaborative. Your responses will be kept confidential. When we write about the study, you will not be identified, and your name will not be used in presentations or publications without your permission. In completing the course application and surveys, you confirm your interest in participating in this research study.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: All applications are due July 1, 2022. Recipients will be notified by September 1, 2022. For questions regarding the Demonstration Projects or assistance in completing the application, please contact Cherron Gardner-Thomas at gwish@gwu.edu.

Thank you! We look forward to reviewing your application.

Application Checklist for Each Team Member:

General Applicant Information

CV/Resume

Institutional Information

Proposed Demonstration Project Plan

One Letter of Support from Administrator

One Letter of Support and CV/Resume from Research Mentor (if applicable)

Budget

Budget Narrative

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