The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's (RWJF) Aligning Forces for Quality (Aligning Forces) initiative seeks to help targeted communities across the country set and achieve ambitious goals to improve the quality of their health care. The goal of Aligning Forces is to build on RWJF's past and current investments in improving health care and partner with communities that are trying to promote substantial and meaningful change.

RWJF is seeking to expand the number of Aligning Forces communities from the current 14 up to no more than 20. RWJF is currently working with two communities, New Jersey and Albuquerque, in a planning process as part of that expansion. RWJF will achieve the remainder of that expansion in a two-step process. First, with this solicitation we will conduct a limited, invitation-only competition for up to four planning phase grants. Provided the four selected communities that participate in that planning phase successfully complete that work, we will invite them to submit proposals for the four remaining Aligning Forces slots.

Sixteen communities were invited to apply for this planning grant opportunity. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is in the process of selecting four communities to receive Aligning Forces planning phase grants.  If your community receives one of these planning grants your community's team will enter into an Aligning Forces planning process that, if successful, would culminate in the opportunity for your community to seek participation in the full Aligning Forces initiative.

The grant period for these planning grants will start in May 2009. The funding period is six months. The application deadline was November 19, 2008. In fairness to other applicants, the program will not accept late applications.