UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State’s Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse (CCSA) and Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) are announcing a call for proposals for the Community Fellows Program to support faculty members seeking to develop university-community collaborations that address substance abuse and its spillover effects to families and communities.
The program provides release time for faculty members to develop community collaborations and build sustainable, evidence-based or evidence-informed programs, policies and practices that can effectively address substance misuse/abuse issues within a targeted community.
Another goal of this initiative is to build the faculty member’s applied/translational research expertise by allowing successful candidates to participate in webinars and workshops aimed at developing community engagement, program development, implementation and evaluation, partnering with government officials to promote evidence-based policy, and grant-writing.
The Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse is housed within the Social Science Research Institute and is led by Interim Director Stephanie Lanza, professor of biobehavioral health and director of the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center.
The mission of the consortium is to leverage the University’s research, education and outreach capacities toward a world free from addiction as a step toward enabling individuals, families and communities can reach their full potential. To advance this mission, Penn State has provided funds for a range of new activities, including supporting the development of interdisciplinary and translational research, education and outreach to combat substance abuse and related public health problems.
The request for proposals for the Community Fellows Program and instructions on how to apply can be found on CCSA’s and SSRI’s funding webpages.