HBHI requests proposals for pilot projects or workgroup initiatives that incubate or accelerate collaborative research within the domains of at least one of the HBHI strategic pillars: (1) market competition and healthcare policy; (2) health delivery performance; (3) health of populations and health equity: and (4) innovation – health technology and systems. Previous awards can be found HERE.

ELIGIBILITY: Faculty from any division or School across Johns Hopkins University can apply.

Due Date: October 17, 2025

Max Award Amount:  Pilot projects, max budget of $25,000.  Workgroups, max budget of $10,000.

The HOPKINS BUSINESS OF HEALTH INITIATIVE integrates the scholarship across Johns Hopkins University including the Carey Business School, Bloomberg School of Public Health, School of Nursing, and School of Medicine around a shared vision of a healthier America, supported by an affordable and equitable, high-value health system. In pursuit of this vision, our work focuses on the role of business and incentives through rigorous, objective, non-partisan, interdisciplinary research. Our pilot grant program seeks to advance HBHI’s mission to incubate, accelerate, and disseminate impactful, world-class, collaborative research across the divisions of Johns Hopkins University that aims to improve the productivity of the nation’s health system.

HBHI Strategic Pillars

Market competition and healthcare policy:

Competition among and between insurers, providers, and suppliers relates to prices, access, quality and equity and is affected by health policy. Our work seeks to understand how these complex interrelationships can best achieve an affordable and equitable, high-value health system.

Health delivery performance:

How can firms and workers that operate within the health sector deliver the most health for the costs they incur? We address this question through interdisciplinary teams that consider management, operations, marketing, workforce optimization and the role of policy and payment in shaping the incentives that reward value and performance.

Health of populations and health equity:

We focus on the role of business and incentives play to advance health of communities, addressing social determinants and inequity, public health, and healthy behavior.

Innovation – health technology and systems:

Healthcare markets, health organizations, and health of populations can benefit from effective and cost-effective innovation. We focus on how health technology innovation and innovative systems of care can best advance the productivity of the nation’s health system.

With so many opportunities for novel research from newly available datasets in the health space, HBHI has established the Health Analytics Research Platform (HARP) computing environment to facilitate access to data for HBHI Affiliates. Learn more about the HARP and HBHI data assets here. We encourage pilot projects to take advantage of these resources. When HARP resources are access through an HBHI pilot, HARP fees are waived. 

SCORING CRITERIA FOR PILOT PROJECTS:

  1. Impact. The significance of the problem and the potential for new insights advancing health and/or health services.
  2. Topic. The degree to which the topic of the proposal is consistent with HBHI strategic pillars. See earlier description of how HBHI prioritizes a focus on the business of health.
  3. Methods. The appropriateness and methodological rigor of the scientific plan.
  4. Future potential. The likelihood that successful completion of this pilot project would lead to external funding and/or a larger research program that would support the development of the collaborative and innovative HBHI community.
  5. Investigators. The qualifications of the investigators drive this scoring category. Multidisciplinary teams formed from Hopkins investigators in multiple divisions can boost score. 

 

APPLICATION FOR PILOT PROJECTS: Please submit proposals to [email protected] with subject line “2026 HBHI Pilot Proposal.” Proposals should be a combined pdf of the following elements:

  1. Project description. Up to two pages, single-spaced, 11-point font minimum which has the following information:
    1. Statement of the project’s significance, specific aims, impact, and connection to HBHI’s strategic pillar(s).
    2. Description of the research plan, timeline, and methodologies to be employed including discussion if using existing HBHI data products and how the data and key variables will be measured and analyzed.
    3. Discussion of future potential, i.e., ideally a plan for external funding or implementation of a program or intervention.
  2. Project budget. Describe and justify the specific items to be funded by the grant (one page). Formal budget and application approvals will be required after the proposal is selected. Indirect costs are not permitted. Funds are intended to support research assistants, data acquisition, and survey costs. Faculty salary support is permitted, but not preferred. Timeline limited to 12 months.
  3. Bio sketches or CVs. For the Principal Investigator and Co-Investigators.

 

SCORING CRITERIA FOR WORKGROUP INITIATIVES:

What is a workgroup? “Hopkins Business of Health Initiative supports workgroups to incubate new lines of interdisciplinary research in emerging areas of interest among HBHI members.” Current workgroups HERE.  Successful workgroup requires 4 important elements that form the basis of the scoring criteria:

  1. Significance. The significance of the problem to be solved by the workgroup initiative such as (a) address a research process barrier for a core group of HBHI affiliates or (b) catalyzing collaborative projects around new ideas that will be important for transforming health care 3-5 years from now.   
  2. HBHI Fit. The workgroup initiative is consistent with an HBHI strategic pillar and our cross-school approach to collaboration.
  3. Methods. There is a mechanism proposed that can credibly draw a group together in a sustainable way.  This can be a new and important area for future research, new funding opportunity, or a new data source to acquire and learn together. 
  4. Leadership. The leader or leaders of the initiative demonstrate a commitment to the success of the objectives of the workgroup and the capabilities to achieve them. 

 

APPLICATION FOR WORKGROUP INITIATIVES: Please submit proposals to [email protected] with subject line “2026 HBHI Workgroup initiative.” Proposals should be a combined pdf of the following elements:

  1. Project description. Up to two pages, single-spaced, 11-point font minimum which has the following information:
    1. Problem statement.  Problem the workgroup aims to solve and its connection to HBHI strategic pillars and mission. For example, the Health Econ Workgroup addresses communication between the many econ seminars across settings at Hopkins with health economists and the challenge of fostering community across all of JHU among health economists sitting in multiple settings.  The MA Data Lab and Truveta User Community shares insights on use of data and data platforms access by many HBHI core faculty and associate trainees. The AI and healthcare workgroup aims to deploying AI effectively in clinical settings. HBHI Work in Progress program is a forum for interdisciplinary feedback on work in progress among HBHI affiliates.
    2. Significance of problem, specific aims, and impact of achieving aims.
    3. Description of workplan: the leadership of workgroup, its activities, and how resources can be leveraged to achieve aims. 
    4. Discussion of future potential, e.g. how a new area of research will emerge that can compete for funding or support junior investigators. 
  2. Project budget. Describe and justify the specific items to be funded by the grant (one page). Formal budget and application approvals will be required after the proposal is selected. Indirect costs are not permitted. Funds are intended to support research assistants, data acquisition, and survey costs. Faculty salary support is permitted, but not preferred. Timeline limited to 12 months.
  3. Bio sketches or CVs. For the Principal Investigator and Co-Investigators.

 

TIMELINE:

October 17, 2025                         Application deadline

December 15, 2025                     Award announcements

January 1, 2026                                          Projects start

Winter Retreat 2026                   Grantees will present their research ideas and get feedback from the broader HBHI community          

July 1, 2026                                   Interim report due

Dec 29, 2026                                Final report due