Thursday, March 5, 2015

Gates Foundation Opportunities

The Gates foundation and its Grand Challenges partners are now accepting applications for the following grant programs – for more information please visit the grant opportunities page at www.grandchallenges.org   

1.    Grand Challenges Explorations, an initiative to encourage innovative and unconventional global health and development solutions, is now accepting grant proposals for its latest application round.  Applicants can be at any experience level; in any discipline; and from any organization, including colleges and universities, government laboratories, research institutions, non-profit organizations and for profit companies.

Proposals are being accepted online until May 13, 2015 on the following topics: 

•    Addressing Newborn and Infant Gut Health Through Bacteriophage-Mediated Microbiome Engineering
•    Explore New Ways to Measure Delivery and Use of Digital Financial Services Data
•    Surveillance Tools, Diagnostics and an Artificial Diet to Support New Approaches to Vector Control 
•    New Approaches for Addressing Outdoor/Residual Malaria Transmission
•    Reducing Pneumonia Fatalities Through Innovations that Improve Pneumonia Diagnosis & Referral of Malnourished Children
•    Enable Merchant Acceptance of Mobile Money Payments 

Initial grants will be US $100,000 each, and projects showing promise will have the opportunity to receive additional funding of up to US $1 million. Full descriptions of the new topics and application instructions are available at www.grandchallenges.org 

2.     Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge for Development has launched its fifth round for innovative prevention and treatment approaches for pregnant women and newborns in poor, hard-to-reach communities around the world. Saving Lives at Birth partners will fund transformative approaches that cut across three main domains: (i) science & technology, (ii) service delivery, and (iii) demand-side innovation. 

The application deadline is March 27, 2015. Details on how to apply for a grant can be found at http://response.notifications.gatesfoundation.org/t?ctl=4C60472:87620EC6E05FE559EB842AA0F63DC43F2B785AAF7A4109CC& 

3.    All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development has launched two grant opportunities:

- As part of the Technology to Support Education in Crisis and Conflict Settings Ideation Challenge, it is seeking technology-supported approaches to provide basic education in one or more of the following situations: health crisis, natural disaster, and conflict zone. Proposed solutions should be usable within the first six months after the onset of the crisis or conflict and be usable within the context of a developing country.  

The application deadline is March 30, 2015.  Details on how to apply can be found at http://response.notifications.gatesfoundation.org/t?ctl=4C60473:87620EC6E05FE559EB842AA0F63DC43F2B785AAF7A4109CC& 

- The Tracking & Tracing Books Prize Competition is seeking innovations to track books destined for early-grade classrooms and learning centers in low-income countries and allow stakeholders, ranging from parents to Ministries of Education and donor agencies, to quickly and easily access tracking information. 

The application deadline is April 1, 2015. Details on how to apply for a grant can be found at http://response.notifications.gatesfoundation.org/t?ctl=4C60474:87620EC6E05FE559EB842AA0F63DC43F2B785AAF7A4109CC& 

4.    The Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT) as part of its new Grand Challenges Japan initiative has launched a Target Research Platform to fund bold ideas in drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics for a set of priority neglected infectious diseases. Applications must be from a partnership between Japanese and non-Japanese organizations.

The application deadline is March 13, 2015.  Additional Information can be found at http://response.notifications.gatesfoundation.org/t?ctl=4C60475:87620EC6E05FE559EB842AA0F63DC43F2B785AAF7A4109CC& 

We are looking forward to receiving innovative ideas from around the world and from all disciplines.  If you have a great idea, please apply.  If you know someone who may have a great idea, please forward them this information.  
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Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Global Infectious Disease Research Training Program (GID) D43 & D71

Global Infectious Disease Research Training Program (GID)

Status: Open

Announcement(s)

Deadlines

  • Deadlines for D43 and D71 letters of intent: 

    30 days prior to the application due date

  • Upcoming deadlines for D43 and D71 applications:
    July 29, 2015; July 29, 2016

Eligibility

Eligibility: Global Infectious Disease Research Training Program (D43)

  • U.S. Institutions with a demonstrated collaboration with a researcher in low- and middle-income country (LMIC) institutions may apply.
  • Foreign institutions in LMICs may also apply.
  • Applicant institution must have robust and high-quality research ongoing in the area(s) proposed.

Eligibility: Planning Grant for Global Infectious Disease Research Training Program (D71)

  • Applicants may only be submitted by foreign institutions in LMICs, as defined by the World Bank Classification system. 
  • Foreign applicants should apply in collaboration with U.S. institutions and must name an individual in the proposed institution as the major collaborator.

Applicant institutions for both the full institutional grant and the planning grant may submit more than one application, provided that each application is scientifically distinct. 

Program Overview

The Global Infectious Disease (GID) program addresses research training needs related to infectious diseases that are predominantly endemic in or impact upon people living in developing countries. The training programs include a variety of research training options to match the needs of the developing country institution. The ultimate goal is to build a critical mass of researchers and support staff to conduct independent infectious disease research in developing country institutions. 

Training programs may include:

  • Long-term (master's or doctoral degree and other training that is six months or longer) training for the full range of skills necessary to support research and research administration with the understanding that the focus of thesis and training-related research will be in their country.
  • Medium-term (three- to up to six-months) training or mentoring, including specialized clinical, laboratory, research or administrative/business skills necessary to support research that is planned or ongoing.
  • Short-term (less than three months) training or mentoring that focuses on research methodology, laboratory skills necessary to support research ethics and compliance issues, program and grants administration and financial management, grant writing, preparation of scientific manuscripts, data management, informatics, and other relevant areas. 
  • Institutional capacity-building efforts such as in-country training workshops in advanced research techniques, distance learning and informatics. 
  • Advanced in-country mentored research undertaken by the trainee in his/her home country upon completion of his/her initial period of long-term training under the program. 

Recent Awards

View a full list of GID Awards, including links to project information in NIH RePORTER.

Inquiries

Programmatic Issues

Barbara Sina, Ph.D.
Program Director
Division of International Training and Research
Fogarty International Center
National Institutes of Health
Building 31, Room B2C39
31 Center Drive, MSC 2220
Bethesda, MD 20892-2220
Telephone: (301) 402-9467
FAX: (301) 402-0779
Email: barbara_sina@nih.gov

Grants Management

Satabdi Raychowdhury
Grants Management Specialist
Fogarty International Center
Building 31, Room B2C29
31 Center Drive, MSC 2220
Bethesda, MD 20892-2220
Telephone: 301-496-9750
Fax: 301-594-1211
Email: Satabdi.Raychowdhury@nih.gov

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Thursday, February 19, 2015

Short-term training grants for research capacity strengthening and knowledge management (2015)

Call for applications

Short-term training grants for research capacity strengthening and
knowledge management (2015)

Submission deadline 12 April 2015

The Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) supports low- and
middle-income country (LMIC) researchers in their efforts towards the generation and use of new
knowledge and tools for the prevention, control and elimination of malaria, tuberculosis and
neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). The focus of the current TDR strategy is on intervention and
implementation research, aimed at improving the health of those burdened by these diseases.

This short-term training grant scheme is designed to help health researchers or research teams
contribute more effectively to disease control through implementation research, in line with TDR’s
strategy. This is the third round of the TDR grant scheme conducted in 2013 and 2014 as the IMPACT grant scheme. The focus of this round is on support for research training.

Applications from previous TDR grantees and from women are encouraged.

Expected outcomes
Researchers’ knowledge and/or skills will be improved in finding solutions to the problems that
impede the translation of innovation to health impact. Successful applicants will be equipped to
contribute to long-term achievements and sustainability of research efforts leading to a decreased
burden of infectious diseases of poverty.

 Eligibility

Applicants must:
1. Be citizens from a low- and middle-income country (LMIC) and resident there
2. Have been employed by a governmental or non-governmental organization for at least 12
months by the submission deadline
3. Be able to complete the training within 12 months of the start of the grant
4. Provide a clear training plan
5. Be endorsed by the head of the home institution

Selection criteria
Applicants must:

  • Show the relevance of proposed training to their career path or institution’s development
  • Demonstrate how the proposed training will address the specific needs or gaps
  • Describe the output of the training and how it will be linked to future implementation research plans
  • Indicate how to extend the benefit of the support to the home institution
Evaluation criteria
A panel of external experts convened by TDR will evaluate eligible applications on the following criteria:
  • Public health relevance of proposed training activities in the context of current TDR strategy (see link below)
  • Quality of proposed training activities in terms of the applicant’s knowledge, skills or tools
  • The added value of the training for the applicant and their home institution, i.e. how the proposed training activities will equip the researcher and the home institution respectively to contribute to future implementation research plans
  • The quality of the budget summary and full justification

Examples of eligible activities (this is not an exhaustive list)
The grant will not fund formal academic degree training or acquisition of skills not linked to a
specific training output.
Targeted short-term training on overall implementation research, e.g. Implementation Research
toolkit (http://www.who.int/tdr/publications/topics/ir-toolkit/en/), or on specific issues, e.g.
systematic reviews, data management (quantitative and qualitative), ethics of public health research.

Placements in disease control programmes to understand and address programmatic and operational
issues affecting disease control activities.

An attachment at another institution to develop research skills through participation in ongoing
research activities mentored by a senior researcher.

Workshops on issues related to implementation/operational research and knowledge management,
such as development of operational tools, developing approaches for translating research results into
policy and practice, and harmonization of protocols or guidelines.

Undertaking a systematic or scoping review of a topical issue relevant to the researcher’s future
implementation research plans.

Cost
Each grant will be up to a maximum of US$ 50 000. The grants will be awarded on a one-time basis
and cannot be extended or funded beyond the 12-month period.

How to apply
Submission deadline is 12 April 2015. Applications received after the deadline will not be reviewed.

Applicants must prepare a proposal in English, French o r Spanish using Times New Roman font (12)
and 1.5 line spacing. Only one application may be submitted by each team or individual.

The proposal, together with the relevant endorsements must be submitted online using the WHO
DataCol portal form https://extranet.who.int/datacol/survey.asp?survey_id=3197 and the following
user name: impact2015 and password: grants

Only applications submitted online through this portal will be considered. An active email address is
required to use the portal. A confirmation email will be sent to this address to acknowledge
successful submission.

Applications must be received before midnight (Geneva time) on 12 April 2015. Access to the online
submission portal will not be available after this deadline.

Please contact TDR (rcstdr@who.int) if you encounter difficulties during the completion and
submission of the application form, or for any other queries.

The online application form provides information about submission, including the documents to be
uploaded.

  • A letter of support from the host/collaborating institution or mentor (as applicable).
  • An official letter of endorsement from the home institution, confirming the applicant’s ability to undertake the proposed training activity, and certifying that the applicant will be granted leave of absence if required.
  • A current summary curriculum vitae including educational and employment history, and professional achievements (maximum 4 pages).
  • Itemized budget with detailed breakdown and justification, indicating other sources of funding (if any). Note that overheads and remuneration for the principal applicant are not admissible in TDR grants. The budget must be submitted using the TDR format. This form is available for download from the TDR website or on request and must be uploaded as a separate file when submitting the application.

For further information contact: Dr Olumide Ogundahunsi (ogundahunsio@who.int )


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Thursday, February 12, 2015

Global Infectious Disease Research Training Program (GID) D43 & D71

Global Infectious Disease Research Training Program (GID)

Announcement(s)

Deadlines

  • Deadlines for D43 and D71 letters of intent: 
    30 days prior to the application due date
  • Deadlines for D43 and D71 applications:
    July 29, 2014; July 29, 2015; July 29, 2016

Eligibility

Eligibility: Global Infectious Disease Research Training Program (D43)
  • U.S. Institutions with a demonstrated collaboration with a researcher in low- and middle-income country (LMIC) institutions may apply.
  • Foreign institutions in LMICs may also apply.
  • Applicant institution must have robust and high-quality research ongoing in the area(s) proposed.
Eligibility: Planning Grant for Global Infectious Disease Research Training Program (D71)
  • Applicants may only be submitted by foreign institutions in LMICs, as defined by the World Bank Classification system. 
  • Foreign applicants should apply in collaboration with U.S. institutions and must name an individual in the proposed institution as the major collaborator.
Applicant institutions for both the full institutional grant and the planning grant may submit more than one application, provided that each application is scientifically distinct. 

Program Overview

The Global Infectious Disease (GID) program addresses research training needs related to infectious diseases that are predominantly endemic in or impact upon people living in developing countries. The training programs include a variety of research training options to match the needs of the developing country institution. The ultimate goal is to build a critical mass of researchers and support staff to conduct independent infectious disease research in developing country institutions. 
Training programs may include:
  • Long-term (master's or doctoral degree and other training that is six months or longer) training for the full range of skills necessary to support research and research administration with the understanding that the focus of thesis and training-related research will be in their country.
  • Medium-term (three- to up to six-months) training or mentoring, including specialized clinical, laboratory, research or administrative/business skills necessary to support research that is planned or ongoing.
  • Short-term (less than three months) training or mentoring that focuses on research methodology, laboratory skills necessary to support research ethics and compliance issues, program and grants administration and financial management, grant writing, preparation of scientific manuscripts, data management, informatics, and other relevant areas. 
  • Institutional capacity-building efforts such as in-country training workshops in advanced research techniques, distance learning and informatics. 
  • Advanced in-country mentored research undertaken by the trainee in his/her home country upon completion of his/her initial period of long-term training under the program. 

Recent Awards

Inquiries

Programmatic Issues

Barbara Sina, Ph.D.Program Director
Division of International Training and Research
Fogarty International Center
National Institutes of Health
Building 31, Room B2C39
31 Center Drive, MSC 2220
Bethesda, MD 20892-2220
Telephone: (301) 402-9467
FAX: (301) 402-0779
Email: barbara_sina@nih.gov

Grants Management

Satabdi RaychowdhuryGrants Management Specialist
Fogarty International Center
Building 31, Room B2C29
31 Center Drive, MSC 2220
Bethesda, MD 20892-2220
Telephone: 301-496-9750
Fax: 301-594-1211
Email: Satabdi.Raychowdhury@nih.gov
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Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge for Development [Grants]

SAVING LIVES AT BIRTH ROUND 5
 
The Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge for Development partners invite global problem solvers to answer their fifth call for groundbreaking prevention and treatment approaches for pregnant women and newborns in poor, hard-to-reach communities around the time of childbirth.

The Challenge seeks to identify and develop transformative approaches that integrate new technologies, better service delivery models and improved "demand side" innovations that empower pregnant women and their families to practice healthy behaviors and be aware of and access health care during pregnancy, childbirth and the early postnatal period, especially the first two days after birth. 

This year, in addition to the seed and transition awards used in previous rounds, the partners introduced a third funding stream.  'Validation' funds will be used to introduce and validate the effectiveness of innovations to reach proof-of-concept. Round 5 will also place an increased focus on advancing the most successful and transformational innovations as they transition to scale. The actual number of awards in each category varies.

The Challenge will be accepting applications starting February 16 through March 27, 2015 (closes at 2:00 p.m. ET).

For more information, join the Twitter Chat on February 12 and visit www.savinglivesatbirth.net/apply. ***

Twitter Chat

To herald the launch of Round 5, join us for a live #SavingLivesRd5 Twitter chat this Thursday, February 12th at 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. ET. Joined by a panel of MNCH experts, Saving Lives at Birth will focus the discussion on the future of maternal and newborn health innovation. Follow @GCDSavingLives and #SavingLivesRd5 to participate. We hope you will join!

Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge for Development partnership, launched in 2011, includes the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Government of Norway, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Grand Challenges Canada (funded by the Government of Canada), and the U.K’s Department for International Development (DFID).

***The Challenge

USAID, the Government of Norway, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Grand Challenges Canada, and DFID have joined together to launch Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge for Development, to find the tools and approaches to help the mothers and newborns during their most vulnerable hours.
We seek groundbreaking prevention and treatment approaches for pregnant women and newborns in poor, hard-to-reach communities around the time of delivery. 
This is the period when the majority of maternal and newborn deaths occur and the population that has been the most difficult to reach.
We seek innovative ideas that can leapfrog conventional approaches in three main domains: (1) technology; (2) service delivery; and (3) “demand side” innovation that empowers pregnant women and their families to practice healthy behaviors and be aware of and access health care during pregnancy, childbirth and the early postnatal period, especially the first two days after birth.

Seeking Breakthroughs

Significant breakthroughs in innovation often come about when new ideas and disciplines are applied to long-entrenched problems.  New technologies and approaches transform insurmountable development challenges into solvable problems. To harness this ingenuity, we encourage partnerships that bring together diverse expertise from non-traditional partners. And to foster sustainability, we encourage the private sector to bring their expertise and experience to bear on these problems. 

How It Works

Five partners - USAID, the Government of Norway, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Grand Challenges Canada, and DFID -  came together to support this single challenge. The World Bank is also an affiliate of this program. Projects will be jointly selected through a unified application process. Successful innovators will be funded and managed independently by one of two funding mechanisms – pooled resources from USAID, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Government of Norway, or Grand Challenges Canada – and supported collectively as a community of innovators by all five partners.

Building a Community of Innovators

Partners will work with this community to foster learning and continued innovation.  Awardees will receive support and networking assistance from each of the partners, engage with other innovators, and participate in high-level meetings including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s annual Grand Challenge meetings.

Types of Awards

We will invest in a portfolio of projects.  Through this portfolio, we will seek groundbreaking innovations by providing: 
  • Seed Funds to support the development and validation of ideas capable of impacting health outcomes for pregnant women and their babies in low-resource settings, 
  • Validation Funds to introduce and validate the effectiveness of innovations to reach proof-of-concept, and
  • Transition to Scale Funds to develop, refine, and rigoursly test the impact of integrated solutions that have previously measured promising health outcomes in a controlled or limited setting and have the potential to credibly scale to improve the lives of millions of pregnant women and newborns in multiple countries.  Transition funding is limited to integrated solutions that unite technology, service delivery, and demand. 

Key Features

  • A brief application.
  • Rapid turnaround time. We aim to select awards within 5 months from the proposal submission deadline.
  • Opportunities for shared learning and collaboration among innovators, funders and other public health experts.
  • A review process designed to identify potentially groundbreaking ideas that show great promise. 

What We’re Looking For

Interventions that:
  • Substantially increase demand for and access to primary health interventions for women and newborns (for example, by at least 50 percent for interventions with low coverage);
  • Substantially improve the quality of care as measured by health outcomes; and
  • Improve and sustain healthy behavior.

Solutions Should

  • Be "off the beaten track," daring in premise, and clearly differentiated from standard practice; 
  • Enhance uptake, acceptability and provide for sustained use (potential for sustainability as defined as cost-recovery, sustained use, and sustainable impact);
  • Be low-cost or highly cost-effective solutions;
  • Have a strong likelihood of achieving a substantial impact on one or more important adverse maternal, fetal, or neonatal health conditions;
  • Be scalable in resource-poor settings;
  • Be able to be monitored, measured and evaluated.
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Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Global Health and Innovative Technology Fund - Funding announcements

The Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund is announcing the following funding opportunities accepting proposals:

◆　Target Research Platform in partnership with Grand Challenges (TRP)
This program focuses on early stage development of drugs, vaccines or diagnostics to prevent and treat Malaria, TB, Chagas disease and Leishmaniasis.
Please visit the website for key dates, RFP and Intent to Apply form >>> https://www.ghitfund.org/afag/trp/en

◆　Product Development Platform
This is the GHIT Fund's conventional "grant" program which covers preclinical and clinical studies and registration of new drugs, vaccines and diagnostics for Malaria, TB and NTDs.
Please visit their website for key dates, RFP and Intent to Apply form >>> https://www.ghitfund.org/afag/grant/en

Please see the links above for full details, and do not hesitate to get in touch with Paul, Glad, or Tim, at the Office of Research Services if you have any further questions, or if you are interested in applying.
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Thursday, January 22, 2015

Fogarty HIV Research Training Program

Announcement(s)

The Fogarty HIV Research Training Program solicits applications under three different Funding Opportunities Announcements (FOAs).
For all future D43 and D71 receipt dates please use the newly reissued FOAs and associated application packages. See instructions for Correct Application Package for PAR-13-126 (D43) - NOT-TW-13-006 and PAR-13-214 (D71) - NOT-TW-13-007.

Deadlines

  • Letter of Intent Due Dates: 30 days before the application due date
  • Upcoming Application Due Dates: July 24, 2014; July 30, 2015

Eligibility

Program Overview


The overall goal of the Fogarty HIV Research Training Program is to strengthen the human capacity to contribute to the ability of institutions in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) to conduct HIV-related research on the evolving HIV-related epidemics in their country and to compete independently for research funding. (See The World Bank Country and Lending Groups to identify countries with low- or middle-income economies.)
With co-funding from other NIH Institutes, Centers and Offices, Fogarty has provided 25 years of support to HIV research through two HIV research training programs: the AIDS International Training and Research Program (AITRP) and the International Clinical, Operations and Health Services Research Training Award for AIDS TB program (ICOHRTA AIDS TB). Fogarty has consolidated these two programs into the new Fogarty HIV Research Training Program.
While the areas for training permitted under the new program will be broad - to include HIV-related research and selected critical research infrastructure areas - each application should focus on building or strengthening capacity in a particular scientific or critical research infrastructure area at a LMIC institution. Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is programmatically and scientifically distinct.
The new program will move beyond simple output indicators (number and type of people trained) to outcome indicators (increased research capacity at an institutional level) for more meaningful monitoring and evaluating both of individual awards and of the program as a whole. It is anticipated that this approach will allow applicants to be more responsive to an emerging need at an LMIC institution for research capacity, and will provide more opportunities for LMIC institutions to collaborate with NIH and other U.S. government funded efforts.
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