Partnerships and Services

How Can the Center for Health and Human Services Partner with You?

The Center for Health and Human Services partners with community organizations, agencies, and other external partners, as well as MTSU faculty and academic units, to develop and implement collaborative projects that advance the health and well-being of Tennesseans. Whether you have an established project or funding opportunity, need a partner for implementation or evaluation, or simply have an idea you would like to explore, we welcome the opportunity to talk about how we might work together.

Our Areas of Work

CHHS develops and implements evidence-based community initiatives that incorporate program evaluation and applied research to improve outcomes and inform future practice. Our projects span areas such as rural and community health, mental health and substance use, chronic disease prevention and health promotion, maternal and child health, workforce development, youth health and safety, community-based prevention, and other emerging health and human service needs.

For Communities and Organizational Partners

CHHS works with nonprofit and for-profit organizations, community coalitions, health departments and government agencies, service providers, and other partners throughout Tennessee. We may serve as the lead applicant on a collaborative funding opportunity or join your organization as a project partner, bringing grant development, implementation, evaluation, training, research, and administrative capacity to the partnership.For MTSU Faculty and Academic Partners

Faculty bring valuable subject-matter and scholarly expertise to CHHS projects. Depending on the project, faculty may serve as co-PIs, investigators, evaluators, subject-matter experts, trainers, advisors, or other key collaborators. CHHS provides substantial grant-development, implementation, and management infrastructure, allowing faculty to focus more of their time on the expertise they bring to the work. Collaborations may also create opportunities for applied research, publications, presentations, student engagement, and community impact.

Ways We Can Partner

• As an applicant entity for grant opportunities: This may be of interest to smaller non-profit organizations or MTSU partners without established track records of grant writing and award management or with limited experience in a given area, as well as to partners who do not have the time or resources to submit a grant application.  CHHS is not a grant-writing service. We lead grant development when it is part of a collaborative project that aligns with the Center’s mission and includes a meaningful role for CHHS in project implementation, evaluation, administration, or related activities.
• As a collaborator: We would be pleased to partner with your organization or academic unit on a proposal that your organization is already submitting for funding or has already received.   The Center can provide administrative functions as and overall project implementation and management for work that aligns with our mission and where the center has a significant role, allowing your organization or department to focus on its primary work.  The CHHS can also enhance the  proposed or existing scope of work through professional development and training expertise, evaluation services through our faculty partners, and development of a research component through our community of scholars. 

What CHHS Can Provide

• Grant proposal development and submission coordination;
• Hiring and supervision of project personnel;             
• Ordering supplies, materials, and meeting ongoing procurement needs;
• Preparing and submitting required reports to funding agencies and preparing reports for your board or stakeholders;
• Provider training along with continuing education credits, as well as direct implementation of programmatic activities;
• Program evaluation services;
• Research opportunities: Within MTSU’s community of scholars, a research component can be added to proposed service projects and programs serving to inform scientific and practitioner communities on important public health issues. We are also pleased to assist with research-focused initiatives as the lead partner or as a collaborator.  

For MTSU Faculty: Put Your Expertise to Work

You bring the subject-matter expertise. We bring grant-development and management experience. Together, we can build and implement funded projects with real-world impact.

CHHS partners with faculty across disciplines to develop and implement externally funded projects. Faculty may serve as co-PIs, investigators, evaluators, subject-matter experts, trainers, advisors, or other key project partners, depending on the needs of the project and their interests and expertise.

Our work spans areas such as rural and community health, mental health and substance use, chronic disease prevention and health promotion, maternal and child health, workforce development, youth health and safety, community-based prevention, program evaluation, and applied research.

CHHS provides much of the infrastructure needed to move projects from idea to implementation—including grant development, project coordination, personnel and budget management, funder and university reporting, partner coordination, implementation support, and evaluation—allowing faculty to focus more of their time on the expertise they bring to the project.

Depending on the project, collaborations may also create opportunities for applied research, publications, presentations, student engagement, interdisciplinary partnerships, and community impact.

Interested in exploring where your expertise might fit?
You do not need to have a grant opportunity or fully developed project in mind. We welcome exploratory conversations with MTSU faculty about potential areas of collaboration.

Interested in exploring a partnership?

Please contact us to start a conversation. Whether you represent a community organization or agency, an MTSU academic unit, or are a faculty member with expertise or an idea you would like to explore, we welcome exploratory conversations about where our interests and capabilities may align. You don’t need to have a fully developed project or identified funding opportunity to start the conversation.