The purpose was to explore challenges and solutions associated with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) competing and winning a larger proportion of federal medical/health field grant awards from agencies like the Department of Defense and National Institutes of Health. The problem was HBCUs encountered challenges and federal grant funding disparities regarding competing and winning a fair proportion of federal grant awards. Qualitative data collection included semistructured interviews with 10 participants who worked at HBCUs and pursued federal grant awards. Each semistructured interview session was about 45 minutes and conducted at mutually convenient times from Monday through Friday after normal working hours. The research design was the qualitative exploratory case study design. The phenomenon explored was barriers and solutions to HBCUs’ grant proposal competitiveness. An analysis of the data was conducted using the interpretive thematic data analysis procedure. Findings for Research Question 1 conveyed four themes aligned with challenges associated with HBCUs competing and winning a larger proportion of grant awards from medical/health field federal funding agencies. Examples of the barriers were (a) minimum university funds and staff support from the HBCU Office of Sponsored Research and (b) insufficient federal technical training support and inadequate federal marketing, focused on HBCUs, regarding publicizing grant opportunities. Results for Research Question 2 revealed five themes aligned with solutions associated with HBCUs competing and winning grant proposal awards. Examples of the solutions were (a) frequent service by faculty on federal government peer review panels; (b) attendance at no cost Federal webinars, symposiums, and technical assistance workshops with participation stipends; and (c) senior leadership creates a positive HBCU culture of support for writing grant proposals. The analyzed data for Research Question 3 provided five themes aligned with practical recommendations to support winning grant proposal awards. Examples of the recommendations were (a) senior leadership coordinates strategic alliances and partnerships with funding agencies and (b) HBCUs capitalize on artificial intelligence software to help respond to grant proposal queries.
| Date of Award | Jan 1 2024 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | Gary Reglin (Supervisor) & Shery Bennett (Advisor) |
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