The Academy of Architecture for Health (AAHF) awards annual research grants each fall to support research to enhance environments for health and healthcare.

AAHF has allocated $30,000 for research in the FY 2017-2018 program. Favorable consideration will be given to proposals that include committed budgetary match and/or other financial support. Funds will be disbursed incrementally, with 50 percent of the awarded funds issued upon contract for the research, an additional 25 percent following the mid-point review and the final 25 percent upon completion to be released upon receipt of requisite deliverables.

The Foundation is seeking proposals on all areas related to advancing healthcare environments, and especially proposals focusing on the following areas:

  • Healthcare Guidelines Validation – Investigating an aspect of the Facility Guidelines Institute’s (FGI’s) recommendations to determine the impact of that aspect on health or behavioral outcomes. Coordination with FGI is recommended.
  • Environment and Perception Tool Validation – The creation and/or validation of instruments for evaluating the built environment and how it impacts outcomes (e.g., evaluation of efficiency, staff perception of the environment, noise).
  • Primary Care and Federally Qualified Health Centers – Understanding how the built environment impacts the delivery of whole-person healthcare and the success of interprofessional care teams. Examining the effectiveness of different team centers, collaboration spaces, layouts, approaches, etc.
  • Surgery Environments – Examining the environments impact on efficiency, flow, errors and omissions, and infection control (e.g., support spaces, induction rooms, prep/recovery flow, room turn-around). Special focus on outpatient surgical environments.
  • Behavioral and Mental Health Environments – Examining the effects of design on safety and therapeutic care effectiveness.
  • Integration of Human Factors– Examining the interaction of the built environments with organizational, cultural and human factors in a healthcare or health setting.

Applications must be received electronically as Adobe PDF files to architectureforhealth@gmail.com by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, October 2, 2017.

A team designated by the Board of Trustees will review applications. The application review team will recommend selected projects for approval to the Board. The Board of Trustees will announce the successful applicant(s) on or before Monday, December 18, 2017.

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