Application Information and Instructions

Only government agencies and nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply. Project funds are not payable to individuals; the organization acting as the fiduciary agent must be listed in Section 1 of the proposal.

Filing deadline and instructions

Applicants should send any questions about the project or application process to Seth LaJeunesse at lajeunesse@hsrc.unc.edu. All questions and responses will be posted online at http://www.walkinginfo.org/psw/faq within 5 business days.

Applicants must submit proposals online as a Word or PDF file at http://www.walkinginfo.org/psw/rfp by the close of the business day on Friday May 7, 2010. Letters of support should be uploaded at the same location. Alternately, these may be sent to:

Attn: Pedestrian Safety Workshop Mini-Grants
UNC Highway Safety Research Center
730 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
CB# 3430
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3430

If you experience any difficulty submitting your proposal, please contact Seth LaJeunesse at lajeunesse@hsrc.unc.edu.

UNC HSRC will announce demonstration sites by mid June, 2010.

Criteria for selection

Proposals will be judged on the following criteria:

  • The proposal includes a strong statement of need for improving pedestrian safety for older adults. This need may stem from specific characteristics of older adult population, the living setting of certain older adult populations, and/or a history of older adult traffic injuries or fatalities.
  • The organization demonstrates the ability to fully meet the requirements of project participation as described above and has a reasonable plan for doing so.
  • There is at least one lead and one back-up organizer/instructor.
  • The community has a commitment to improving pedestrian safety and walkability for older adults that extends beyond participation in the project.
  • The organization can provide, if possible, letter(s) of support from an additional group documenting existing partnerships or support from other organizations within the community.

In addition, the selection committee will seek to have a diversity of community characteristics among selected demonstration sites.

Responding to the RFP

Each organization responding to this RFP must specifically address the following requests and provide complete information. The total length of response to items one through five should be no longer than four single-spaced pages. Respondents should repeat the heading (in bold) before providing an answer, but there are no other formatting requirements.

  1. Contact information: Provide the name of the lead and back-up contact persons, name of organization, mailing address, phone, fax, and e-mail.

  2. Statement of need and community description: Why would you like to bring the Workshop to your community? Describe the need for improving pedestrian safety for older adults and any challenges your community faces in doing so. Mention any specific groups of older pedestrians who have a particular need for improved walking conditions; if relevant, describe the living setting of groups that may benefit from improved conditions (for instance, active aging community, subsidized housing, single family home, continuing care community, development under construction, etc.). Provide some basic demographics of your community with a specific focus on the older adult population. If applicable, describe any opportunities to reach underserved older adult populations (such as low-income groups). Though not required, census or crash data may help to illustrate a community's need for improving pedestrian safety for older adults.

  3. Ability to participate: Describe the organization's ability to participate in the Pedestrian Safety Workshop: A Focus on Older Adults demonstration project throughout the project's timeframe, including the existence of partnerships with relevant organizations within the community; the availability of workshop participants; access to resources needed to deliver workshops, such as staff time and facilities; any previous teaching experience; and the organization's capacity to complete four workshop deliveries and participate in all required project components.

  4. Proposed activities: Describe your proposed plan for teaching the four workshops, the first of which must be completed within three months of the project start date and the last by month 10 of the project. Include potential locations, instructor training preparation, participant recruitment methods, timeline for engaging key stakeholders, and plans for completing the project's evaluation components as well as the quarterly and final reports.

  5. Workshop integration: Describe how teaching this workshop will fit into your organization and/or community's broader plans for improving walking conditions for older pedestrians. Mention any ways that the Workshop will be used after the 12-month period of the demonstration project or potential opportunities for the Workshop to lead to changes in your community.

  6. Letter(s) of support: Provide, if possible, up to two letters of support demonstrating existing partnerships or other evidence of your organization's capacity for teaching successful workshops.