FAQs
Please select a category from the drop down list above.
- New as of 2008/01/08 (Project Leadership and Staffing) Can the Principal Investigator and the co- Investigator (if applicable) come from two different institutions, but both are universities? Must the co-Investigator be from a non-profit organization?
- New as of 2009/03/03 (Eligibility) Can a doctoral student be a principal investigator?
- New as of 2009/03/03 (Budget) Does the proposed budget of $100,000 to $300,000 include indirect costs?
- New as of 2009/03/03 (Eligibility) The Call for Proposals suggests that early career investigators might apply for smaller awards. Is there a restriction that early career investigators apply only for smaller awards?
- New as of 2009/01/28 (General) What is the definition of "self-care" games for this round of funding?
- New as of 2009/03/03 (General) The Call for Proposals indicates that the game proposed for study can be a prototype and also indicates that the software or technology used in the game be "...easy to use and are currently, or soon-to-be, widely available." Is there a conflict?
- New as of 2009/03/03 (General) The Call for Proposals speaks of a focus on a specific target population. Could this specific target population be a group of people who have a particular disease such as diabetes or does it need to be more specific?
- New as of 2009/03/03 (General) Does my project idea match with your funding program goals? Is my study design strong?
- New as of 2009/03/03 (General) Can you provide a list of past grantees and their award amounts?
- New as of 2009/03/03 (General) Can clinicians or other people assist study participants with game play?
- New as of 2009/03/03 (General) When will the next Call for Proposals be released?
- New as of 2009/03/23 (General) Who are the members of your National Advisory Council?
- Can the Principal Investigator and the co- Investigator (if applicable) come from two different institutions, but both are universities? Must the co-Investigator be from a non-profit organization?
The co-Investigator is not required. The Principal Investigator and the co-Investigator (if applicable) may come from two different non-profit organizations, including two different universities. Both the Principal Investigator and the co- Investigator must be from non-profit organizations.
- Can a doctoral student be a principal investigator?
Doctoral students are eligible to apply for Health Games Research grants as Principal Investigators, as long as their university allows them to apply and they meet all the eligibility criteria for Principal Investigators stated in the Call for Proposals. Eligible PIs, for example, must be employed at the applicant organization for more than 50-percent time and they must have a strong record of research accomplishment in a relevant field.
- Does the proposed budget of $100,000 to $300,000 include indirect costs?
Yes, the total amount of your grant request should include any indirect costs requested. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation limits indirect costs to 12 percent.
- The Call for Proposals suggests that early career investigators might apply for smaller awards. Is there a restriction that early career investigators apply only for smaller awards?
No, there is no restriction. And, a proposal's budget size is not a selection criterion. All proposals have an equal chance to be awarded funding.
- What is the definition of "self-care" games for this round of funding?
In this funding round, "self-care" is broadly defined as any activity in which an individual takes care of his or her own health. This would include, for example, making healthy lifestyle choices; engaging in prevention behaviors; avoiding addictive substances; quitting an addiction; avoiding relapse to an addiction; adhering to one's prescribed treatment plan; self-managing one's chronic condition; self-monitoring (for example, measuring one's weight, blood pressure, or blood glucose, or conducting a breast self-exam) to record one's health status and to detect health problems early so they can be treated early; or engaging in activities that contribute to one's physical therapy or rehabilitation. Self-care skills could be rehearsed during game play and/or the game could motivate the player to engage in better self-care in daily life. In summary, self-care involves any activity in which a person might improve their own health, prevent their own health problems, or take care of their own existing health problems.
In addition to games dealing with physical health, games designed to improve mental health, cognitive health, or social skills are also included in the definition of "self-care" games and are acceptable in this round of funding. They include, for example, games intended to improve self-esteem or that give the player a chance to rehearse the social skills involved in recognizing facial expressions and emotions.
Self-care games improve health behaviors that individuals carry out themselves. This is different from clinical care. In this current round of funding, Health Games Research will not fund research that investigates clinical care games that a health care clinician (doctor, nurse, physical therapist, technician, psychologist, etc.) might use to diagnose or treat a patient and that requires the clinician's participation. Games that involve coaching or social support from other people, and games that clinicians have recommended to their patients, are acceptable, as long as the player does not need to have a clinician's attention in order to play and as long as the game improves the individual's ability to engage in self-care on their own.
- The Call for Proposals indicates that the game proposed for study can be a prototype and also indicates that the software or technology used in the game be "...easy to use and are currently, or soon-to-be, widely available." Is there a conflict?
There is no conflict between these statements because it is the technology platform that must be widely available, not the game or prototype to be played by your study participants on that platform. If the software or technology (e.g. web browser, mobile phone, Windows computer, Playstation 3, Nintendo DS) used to deliver the game or prototype in your study is currently or soon-to-be available to buy or is widely used, then many people would be able to play the game because the platform is already easy to obtain. Preference will be given to studies of games or prototypes that can be played on widely available platforms. If your study will be conducted with a proprietary platform that is not widely available, it would strengthen your proposal if you explained how your game or prototype could easily be transferred to game platforms that are currently in use or that are soon-to-be available.
- The Call for Proposals speaks of a focus on a specific target population. Could this specific target population be a group of people who have a particular disease such as diabetes or does it need to be more specific?
People in a target population share unique characteristics that differentiate them from others in some way, such as by disease, health risks, , gender, age group, culture, and/or education level. These differences would likely make a difference in the way an electronic game would be received and in its effectiveness. Applicants should use their experience and judgment to select their study's target population, to justify their selection, and to explain how study findings could apply to the target population and to broader populations that may have similar characteristics. The size of the target population is not a factor in the funding decision.
- Does my project idea match with your funding program goals? Is my study design strong?
In fairness to all applicants, we are unable to give feedback about the appropriateness or strength of particular study ideas or study designs. We encourage you to consider the goals and selection criteria outlined in the Call for Proposals and the explanatory material found in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on our web site www.healthgamesresearch.org.
- Can you provide a list of past grantees and their award amounts?
Health Games Research is a program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Pioneer Portfolio. You can find our Round 1 grantees and their grant amounts here and information about other Pioneer Portfolio grantees here. You can see an announcement of last year's grantees on www.healthgamesresearch.org where you can click on "First round of grantees announced," on the right side of the screen. Please keep in mind that the characteristics of past Pioneer projects are not predictive of future funding in Health Games Research. The Call for Proposals should be your guide.
- Can clinicians or other people assist study participants with game play?
It is acceptable for another individual, including a clinician of any sort, to set up the game and/or train the player. The individual participating in the study, however, must play the game on their own after training. The focus of this Call for Proposals is on games played by individuals, and not on games that clinicians would use to diagnose or treat a patient.
- When will the next Call for Proposals be released?
At this time, there are no plans to issue an additional Health Games Research Call for Proposals.
- Who are the members of your National Advisory Council?
We are pleased to have esteemed members of the Health Games community on our National Advisory Council:
Chair: Leighton Read, M.D., Alloy VenturesSteve Cole, Ph.D., HopeLab
James Gee, Ph.D., Arizona State University
Muki Hansteen-Izora, Intel
Marguerita Lightfoot, Ph.D., Core Center for AIDS Prevention Studies
Rosalind Picard, Sc.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Nichole D. Pinkard, Ph.D., University of Chicago Urban Education Institute
Kevin Patrick, M.D., M.S., University of California, San Diego
Elsie Taveras, M.D., M.P.H., Harvard Medical School
James Watt, Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Nick Yee, Ph.D., Palo Alto Research Center
Program Advisor: Robin Nabi, Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara
