2024 Health Equity and Nursing Innovations Fund
Frequently Asked Questions

Below are answers to frequently asked questions. We will continue to update this document as questions arise. Please submit additional questions to NursingInnovations@aarp.org.

New Questions – Updated 2/23/2024

What is the grant term?

The grant term is one year. Projects will begin on July 1, 2024 and conclude on June 30, 2025.

Is this grant program limited to the United States?

Yes, this is a United States initiative.

What can grant funds be used for?

Funds may be used for personnel, meetings, supplies, project-related travel, and contractors or consultants. Funds may not be used to subsidize individuals for the costs of their health care, to support clinical trials of unapproved drugs or devices, to construct or renovate facilities, for lobbying, for political activities, or as a substitute for funds currently being used to support similar activities.

Do matching funds need to be provided by the applicant organization?

No. Matching funds can be secured from other partners. A 1:1 match is required for each dollar awarded. In-kind donations are welcome and valued but will not be considered matching funds.

Do matching funds need to be in-hand at the time of application submission?

While matching funds do not need to be in-hand when applications are submitted, applicants must submit letters of commitment from all organizations that will provide matching funds.

Can proposals include several sites to which our intervention(s) will be applied?

Yes, as long as you can demonstrate that impact can be achieved. The required metrics are included in the request for proposals.

We have a system of care with multiple organizations across different states that partner together as related affiliates. Is it acceptable for our project to include nurses in different locations from across our system of care?

Yes.

Are projects required to focus on registered nurses (RNs), or can the project incorporate other nurses, such as nurse practitioners, long-term care nurses, or licensed practical/vocational nurses?

Projects can include licensed nurses at all levels and in any care setting, but the required metrics are tied to RN vacancy and turnover rates.

Can projects focus on certified nursing assistants?

Projects should focus on licensed nurses. The required metrics are tied to registered nurse vacancy and turnover rates.

Can grant funding be applied to nursing students?

Proposals may exercise creativity in this space, however the required metrics for this program are tied to registered nurse vacancy and turnover rates.

Is it possible to add demographics or other questions to the Healthy Work Environment Assessment Tool (HWEAT) for applicants’ purposes?

No, the existing HWEAT contains specific questions and cannot be changed. You can see a list of the included questions on the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN Critical Care) website. We are developing an interdisciplinary version of the tool that will be ready before these grants are launched which will include some demographic questions.

Does the Healthy Work Environment Assessment Tool (HWEAT) capture information about racism in the work environment?

The HWEAT does not ask specifically about racism. The items in the HWEAT correspond to the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses’ six healthy work environment standards. The results will demonstrate areas of strength and areas of opportunity among those six standards. Within the context of your project, you can then think about what interventions would improve areas that scored lower. Even though the HWEAT does not specifically assess racism, there are opportunities to address structural racism within the health care system by implementing one or more of the six healthy work environment standards.

Can applicants copy the Healthy Work Environment Assessment Tool (HWEAT) questions into another platform, such as Qualtrix?

This can be explored; however, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN Critical Care) would not be able to provide the automated report with assessment results. Please reach out to AACN Critical Care at the Healthy_Work_Environments@aacn.org email address to schedule a time to discuss this process.

Application Questions

Who is eligible to apply?

Preference will be given to applicants that are either public entities or tax-exempt nonprofit organizations under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. If your organization does not qualify, we encourage you to partner with a community organization that is a public entity or a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

May more than one application be submitted from the same state?

Yes. Preference will be given to applicants supported by the state Action Coalition. A state Action Coalition may support more than one application.

Is a public university eligible to apply for funding?

Yes. A public university is a public entity and eligible to apply for an award.

Can a 501(c)(6) tax-exempt nonprofit organization apply as a lead applicant?

A 501(c)(6) organization may apply, but preference will be given to projects where the lead applicant is a 501(c)(3) or public organization.

Can applicants submit more than one proposal and receive multiple awards?

An applicant may submit more than one proposal. However, only one award per applicant will be possible regardless of the number of proposals submitted.

Can two or more organizations apply as a team?

Yes, organizations may collaborate and apply as a team. Joint applications must designate a single lead applicant. The memorandum of understanding to receive funds will be between AARP and the lead applicant, which will represent all applicant partner organizations.

If an organization received a prior Nursing or Health Equity Innovations Fund award, is it eligible for this round of funding?

Yes. If you are a past awardee or currently implementing an award, you may apply again. However, you may not apply using the same proposal submitted before. The grants program seeks new innovative projects or scaling of models shown to be effective.

How does the relationship/partnership between applicant organizations and state Action Coalitions work?

Applicants are encouraged to secure support from their state Action Coalition and collaborate in ways that create systemic change, strengthen and diversify the nursing workforce, expand nurse recruitment and retention strategies, and create or sustain healthy work environments. Examples of ways that a state Action Coalition might support a project include connecting applicants with sources of matching funding, providing peer review of the application, and/or offering mentorship to applicants new to this process.

How can applicants show support from a state Action Coalition?

Applicant organizations affiliated with a state Action Coalition must submit a letter from the Action Coalition supporting their application to lead the project and describing how the Action Coalition will participate.

Where can I find the contact information for a state Action Coalition?

State Action Coalition leaders and contact information can be found on the Campaign for Action website.

What if my state doesn’t have a state Action Coalition?

Applications from a state that does not have a state Action Coalition will be given the same consideration as applicants who have a letter of support from a state Action Coalition.

Are co-principal investigators and/or co-project directors allowed?

Yes. Co-principal investigators and/or co-project directors are allowed. However, one person from the applicant organization still needs to be designated as the official contact on the application.

Should we include a copy of our curriculum vitae (CV) with the application? If so, is there a page limit on the CV?

A curriculum vitae is not required. However, we encourage you to provide qualifications for key staff identified in the budget narrative. All supporting materials (except letters of support) must fall within the 10-page application limit.

If we want to include additional information in an appendix, does that count toward the 10-page limit of the application?

Letters of support are the only items accepted beyond the 10-page limit. All other supporting materials must fall within this limit.

Can we include additional letters of support with our application, such as from key partners we have listed?

Yes, an application may include additional letters of support. Letters do not count toward the 10-page limit.

I’m a physician and want to support a nurse colleague in their application. Is that okay?

Yes. We are looking for interdisciplinary and cross-sectional partnerships. Anyone can apply, but the project team must include nurses.

Are there sample abstracts of previously funded projects?

Information about previous Nursing and Health Equity Innovations Fund awardees can be found on the Campaign for Action website. However, this current 2024 Health Equity and Nursing Innovations Fund is a slightly different iteration and projects must include implementation of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN Critical Care) healthy work environment standards.

Can proposals advocate for specific legislation or partisan policies that address workforce recruitment and retention and/or healthy work environments?

No. Proposals should not advocate for specific legislation or partisan policies.

When is the application due?

Applications must be submitted to NursingInnovations@aarp.org by 10 p.m. ET on April 5, 2024.

Healthy Work Environment Questions

Where can I find information about healthy work environment standards?

You can learn more about the Standards for Establishing and Sustaining Healthy Work Environments on the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN Critical Care) website, where hyperlinks navigate to pages that describe and give specific resources for each standard. The same landing page has an infographic summarizing the results of AACN Critical Care’s latest national Healthy Work Environment (HWE) survey, and a link to the Healthy Work Environment Assessment Tool (HWEAT). By creating a free AACN Critical Care account with your name and email address, you can download a PDF file of the standards and use the assessment tool. AACN Critical Care membership is not required to use these resources. Please send any questions to healthy_work_environments@aacn.org.

What care settings do the healthy work environment standards apply to?

The American Association of Critical Care Nurses Standards for Establishing and Sustaining Healthy Work Environments apply to all care settings. Although the standards were originally developed with acute and critical care settings in mind, the standards apply to all care settings across the continuum of care. We encourage proposals from all care settings to expand awareness and application of the standards.

If I am a grant awardee, how should I incorporate the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN Critical Care) healthy work environment standards?

If you are a grant awardee, the first step in this aspect of the project will be to use the Healthy Work Environment Assessment Tool (HWEAT) within three weeks of project launch. The tool includes items related to each of the six AACN Critical Care Standards for Establishing and Sustaining Healthy Work Environments. The project team member who initiates the HWEAT will provide their name and email address to open a free online account from the AACN Critical Care website. That project team member will establish the survey and distribute the link to all team members. Each member uses that link to complete the survey to provide their input about the work environment. Answers are anonymous and it usually takes 10-15 minutes to complete the survey. The survey’s close date is determined when it is set up so the project team can determine its duration.

How do we get the survey results?

Once the survey closes, the team member who set up the survey can log in using their free online account and access a report of the results. These results are available within 24 hours of the survey closing. These results include a composite score and a separate score for each standard. As teams review their HWEAT results, they can identify what is happening (or not happening) in their shared work that has contributed to these scores. Project teams will then incorporate the results by leveraging items with higher scores and developing action plans to address lower scores. A PDF version of the healthy work environment standards is available for free download on the AACN Critical Care website and includes critical elements for implementation of each standard. By using the standards as a framework, project participants collaborating across different organizations will have common language to discuss their work environment.

Does a member of the project team have to be an American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN Critical Care) member to use the Health Work Environment Assessment Tool (HWEAT)?

No. Anyone can use the HWEAT at no charge. The project team member who initiates the HWEAT will provide their name and valid email address to open a free online account from the AACN Critical Care website. They will then access the survey and share a unique link with all project participants. Additional assistance can be requested by emailing healthy_work_environments@aacn.org.

My team just completed a Health Work Environment Assessment Tool (HWEAT) survey. Do we need to resurvey for the project?

If you have used the HWEAT 2.0 survey (either the nurse or interprofessional version) in the six months before your project launches, you can use those results as your baseline for the grant funded project. When you repeat the survey, within three weeks of project completion, you will need to use the same survey tool (nurse or interprofessional) as previously used to ensure appropriate comparison.

What kind of projects might simultaneously meet AARP’s and RWJF’s goals and include implementation of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN Critical Care) healthy work environment standards?

A variety of projects can meet the criteria for this grant. As a help to applicants, the following categories and questions offer prompts to generate discussion to identify project strategies:

Projects addressing transition to practice: How can healthy work environment standards be leveraged to bridge new nurses’ entry into practice? How can healthy work environment standards be incorporated intentionally into nurse recruitment and retention programs, promote equity and inclusion, and increase workforce diversity? Can we use the healthy work environment standards as a framework to support dismantling institutional racism within nursing education and practice?

Projects addressing care delivery: Can the healthy work environment standards bridge the gap between inpatient and outpatient care? How do home care nurses communicate/collaborate with inpatient care nurses? How can patients and families who are at highest risk for ineffective care delivery be identified and appropriately supported? Can we build a system that supports health equity during care transitions by providing additional support to those most at risk? Can healthy work environment standards support the development of new care delivery models?

Projects that address structural changes: How can we apply the healthy work environment standards to build a structure in which equity is achievable and nurses’ role in achieving it is realized? How do nurses navigate corporate priorities within a care delivery organization? How do nurses develop leadership and communication skills to advance effective decision making and support health equity?

Program Questions

What types of projects will be funded?

We seek to fund creative, replicable, and promising solutions that create systemic change, strengthen and diversify the nursing workforce, expand innovative nurse recruitment and retention strategies, and create and sustain healthy work environments. We are looking for projects that have measurable impact. Projects need to be completed within one year. Applicants are welcome to email NursingInnovations@aarp.org to ask questions or discuss project ideas before applying.

How many applications will be funded?

Up to 12 projects with a maximum award of $25,000 each can be funded. Additional projects may be funded if applications with lower budgets are awarded.

What outcomes are expected?

This program seeks innovative solutions that create systemic change, strengthen and diversify the nursing workforce, expand nurse recruitment and retention strategies, and create and sustain healthy work environments. Use of the Healthy Work Environment Assessment Tool (HWEAT) will measure the project’s impact across the six healthy work environment standards. Proposals need to describe how the following outcomes will be impacted, monitored, and evaluated during the project’s one-year timeframe:

number of nurses impacted by the program or project over the grant period
retention of RNs as indicated by RN vacancy and turnover rates in the care setting at the beginning and end of the project
change in HWEAT scores

What criteria will reviewers use when determining finalists?

Proposals must:

offer innovative solutions that create systemic change, strengthen and diversify the nursing workforce, expand innovative nurse recruitment and retention strategies, and create and sustain healthy work environments
support the advancement of one or more of the recommendations in the National Academy of Medicine report, The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity
describe how the project will implement one or more of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN Critical Care) Standards for Establishing and Sustaining Healthy Work Environments
confirm the project will use AACN Critical Care’s Health Work Environment Assessment Tool (HWEAT) as a pre- and post-measure
show evidence of the project’s potential replicability and sustainability
clearly explain the role of each partner identified for this project
show evidence of diverse and genuine community partnerships
describe how the following outcomes will be impacted, monitored, and evaluated during the project’s one-year timeframe:
- number of nurses impacted by the program or project over the grant period
- retention of RNs as indicated by RN vacancy and turnover rates in the care setting at the beginning and end of the project
- change in HWEAT scores
secure 1:1 matching funds (a maximum of $25,000 to be awarded)
comply with application details and formatting requirements.

Applications submitted by a Campaign for Action state Action Coalition, or an approved organization affiliated with the state Action Coalition, will be viewed more favorably. Applicant organizations affiliated with a state Action Coalition must also submit a letter from the Action Coalition supporting their application to lead the project and describing how the Action Coalition will participate. State Action Coalition leaders and contact information can be found on the Campaign for Action website.

Who will decide which proposals are awarded?

All funding decisions will be made by a subject matter expert review team consisting of AARP and American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN Critical Care) leadership, staff and advisors.

When will applicants be notified of funding decisions?

Applicants will be notified of funding decisions in May. Awards will be dispersed after a memorandum of understanding (MOU) is executed. MOUs must be completed in June.

How will the award be distributed?

AARP will distribute the full award, in one payment, after the applicant and AARP have both signed a memorandum of understanding.

What are the reporting requirements for awardees?

Awardees must report on the impact of their Health Equity and Nursing Innovations Fund project at the funding period’s end. A reporting template will be provided by AARP.

What technical assistance will be offered to awardees?

Awardees may receive assistance with optimizing projects for impact, communicating project success, stakeholder engagement, coalition-building, and fundraising. Awardees will receive a social media toolkit with materials to announce their award across multiple platforms.

When do projects need to start?

Projects will start no later than July 1, 2024.

For those not awarded funding, can their ideas be shared on the grant program website?

We are exploring that possibility. The possibility of offering additional grant funding rounds is also being explored.

Budget Questions

Is there a requirement to raise matching funds?

Yes. A 1:1 match is required for each dollar awarded. In-kind donations are welcome and valued but will not be considered matching funds.

May an application budget be less than $25,000?

Yes, applicants may apply for any amount up to $25,000.

Will there be “seed funding” for each state to increase impact?

Seed funding will not be provided.

What is an indirect cost?

Indirect costs are overhead expenses incurred by applicants to support a project but are not easily identifiable within the project. These are often administrative expenses related to overall operations and shared among projects and/or functions. Examples include executive oversight, accounting, grants management, legal expenses, utilities, and facility maintenance. Indirect costs cannot exceed 12% and should be included within the total budget requested in the application. The total proposed budget requested may not exceed the maximum award of $50,000 ($25,000 from the grant award + $25,000 matching funds obtained by the applicant).