In an effort to address community priorities related to the Flint water crisis, MICHR has funded five community-engaged research partnerships and projects totaling $45,000. These projects are supported by the Building Capacity for Research and Action funding opportunity. MICHR partnered with Community-Based Organization Partners (CBOP) last year to create this opportunity, intended to address health consequences stemming from the Flint water crisis.

Each funded project is required to have at least two partners: an academic partner who is affiliated with a college, school, or university and a community partner who is affiliated with a non-academic community organization or group (such as a non-profit organization or a neighborhood coalition). One innovative aspect of this mechanism is that the academic partners did not need to be affiliated with the University of Michigan.

Applications were reviewed by both academic and community partners. Funded projects are just getting started and MICHR is excited to see the impact of this mechanism.

Here is a full listed of the funded projects:

Forming an Aging Coalition in Flint, Michigan
Leslie Skolarus, Department of Neurology, U-M Ann Arbor
Erica Thrash-Sall, McFarlan Charitable Corporation
$5,000

The eXchange
Patrick McNeal, North Flint Neighborhood Action Council
Todd Womack, Department of Social Work, U-M Flint
$10,000

Increasing community capacity for healthy food provision
Rl Jones, Community Outreach Center
Woojong Kim, Department of Social Work, U-M Flint
$10,000

Leveraging a community-academic partnership to strengthen HIV prevention in Flint, MI, $10,000
Teresa Springer, Wellness Services
K Rivet Amico, School of Public Health, U-M Ann Arbor
$10,000

Flint Youth Research Partnership, $10,000
Bob Brown, WOW Outreach
Vicki Johnson Lawrence, MSU Flint
$10,000