Wisconsin Partnership Fund awards first grants to 20 organizations

The Wisconsin Partnership Fund for a Healthy Future awarded the first round of planning grants for 20 organizations across the state, according to UW Medical School Dean Philip Farrell.

As chair of the Oversight and Advisory Committee (OAC), which made the award decisions, Farrell calls the achievement a unique, unprecedented opportunity for the university and the Medical School.

“This is a milestone for Wisconsin. Many dedicated people have been working dili- gently for five years to make this happen,” Farrell says. “The beneficiaries of these and future grants will be the residents of the state, who can expect to see significant improvements resulting from these partnerships.”

The grants will enable the organizations to develop community-academic partnerships as well as new collaborations that may lead to larger, far-reaching partnerships in the future
The 20 organizations represent communities and counties all over the state, and many have missions to serve the entire state. In addition, Farrell adds, many of the funded proposals aim for a statewide impact.

A full list of organizations receiving grants is available at http://wphf.med.wisc.edu/ docviewer.php?oid=1412.

Funding for the grants stems from the conversion of Blue Cross/Blue Shield United of Wisconsin to a for-profit corporation, the proceeds of which have been divided between the state’s two medical schools. With a total of $485,892 to be disbursed in this first award cycle for the planning grants, most of the organizations winning the one-year grants can expect to receive the maximum of $25,000.

The Wisconsin Partnership Fund estimates that between $4 and $5 million will be available annually for community-based public-health initiatives. Approximately two-thirds of the total will be earmarked for community organizations to fund public-health improvement programs through a competitive request-for-proposal process.

The OAC, which includes public members as well as representatives of UW Medical School, created a thorough and careful process to review the 94 grant proposals it received. A highly diverse and talented group participated in the selection process.

The second round of awards for the collaboration implementation grants, which are for larger projects, will be announced in January. For more information on the Wisconsin Partnership Fund, visit http://wphf.med.wisc.edu/ or call 262-2698.