Description

Background
Failure to translate research findings into policy and practice prevents research from achieving maximum public health benefit. Despite substantial investment in clinical research in HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, the exploitation and use of research results beyond academia is often limited. Limited opportunities for engagement between researchers and policy-makers, lack of experience in exploiting research results beyond academia, and structural and cultural differences between research and policy-making are some of the barriers to an efficient uptake of research results. Health managers and policy makers can also face challenges in dealing with a large volume of research evidence and difficulties in adapting evidence from systematic reviews to make it locally relevant.

Scope
The purpose of this Call for Proposals is to accelerate translation of research findings from EDCTP-funded activities into policy and practice in order to maximise their public health impact in sub-Saharan Africa. Applications must be based on research findings from previously EDCTP-funded activities. Applications from multidisciplinary consortia are particularly encouraged. Proposals should focus on the translation and uptake of research findings from the former EDCTP-funded research activity into policy guidelines and defined changes in health systems or clinical practice, including advancing public health interventions; developing methodological tools for the successful translation into public health programmes or practices; or optimising strategies for widespread adoption and institutionalisation of research results within the public health systems. Examples of relevant activities include but are not limited to guidelines, development initiatives, roll-out of new interventions, and contributions to changes in policy and practice. Proposals could also include the evaluation of translational research activities. Applications should clearly define the activities and mechanisms to be used within the project, including details of any collaboration with public authorities, international organisations or commercial partnerships that will be established in order to achieve the expected impact. Dissemination activities, which constitute an integral component of the original research proposal, such as scientific publications, and feedback to trial participants and community advisory boards, are outside the scope of this call.

EDCTP considers that proposals for activities of between 24 and 36 months duration would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals for activities of a different duration.

Expected impact
Activities funded under this Call for Proposals should contribute towards the formulation and adoption of national and international guidelines and policies as well as contribute to evidence-based policies within the public health systems in sub-Saharan Africa.

Eligibility
Consortia of researchers composed of at least one legal entity can apply. The requested EDCTP contribution per activity shall not exceed 500,000 Euros.

Procedure

Submission and evaluation procedure
This is a single-stage application procedure. A full proposal must be submitted via EDCTPgrants by 16 March 2015 at 17:00 CET (16:00 GMT).

The evaluation results will be available by 30 June 2015.

Evaluation criteria, scoring and thresholds
This call follows a single-stage application procedure. Following an admissibility and eligibility check, full proposals are evaluated by external, independent experts. Proposals are evaluated according to the criteria Excellence, Impact and Implementation. Each criterion is scored between 0 and 5. The threshold for individual criteria is 3 and the overall threshold for the sum of the three individual scores is 10. Applicants have the opportunity to submit a written response to the expert reviewers’ comments prior to an expert review committee meeting convened by EDCTP to finalise the funding recommendations.

The following aspects are considered under the evaluation criteria:

1. Excellence

• Fit with the scope and objectives of EDCTP2 and the call topic description
• Importance, relevance and clarity of the objectives
• Credibility of the proposed approach
• Clarity, pertinence and importance of the strategic vision.
• Soundness of the concept.
• Quality of the proposed coordination and/or support measures.

2. Impact

• Contributes towards the expected impacts listed for the call
• Likelihood to result in major advances for the field
• Effectiveness of the proposed measures to exploit and disseminate the project results.
• Sustainability of capacity beyond the end of the grant, where relevant.
• Contribution to networking, where relevant.

3. Quality and efficiency of the implementation

• Coherence and effectiveness of the proposed work, including appropriateness of the allocation of tasks and resources
• Feasibility and appropriateness of the methods and project management to achieve the objectives within the timeframe of the grant
• Appropriateness of the management structures and procedures, including risk and innovation management, and how responsibilities for research data quality and sharing, and security will be met
• Compliance with national and international standards of research, Good Clinical Practice, ethics and safety related issues
• Complementarity of the participants within the consortium and gender balance among consortium members (when relevant)
• Participants have the operational capacity, to carry out the proposed work, based on the competence and experience of the individual participant(s).

Financial provisions
The indicative call budget is 3 million Euros(1).

The total requested EDCTP contribution (direct + indirect costs) shall not exceed 500,000 Euros per project. Indirect costs may constitute up to 25% of direct costs. There is no co-funding requirement: EDCTP may fund 100% of eligible project costs.

EDCTP considers that proposals of between 24 and 36 months duration would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals of a different duration.

Grant agreement
A grant agreement with EDCTP (general EDCTP2 mono-beneficiary or multi-beneficiary grant agreement) should be signed within three months of receipt of the conditional award letter. In the case of projects involving multiple beneficiaries, all participants in the project must sign a consortium agreement prior to the conclusion of the EDCTP2 grant agreement.

Application process

• The application must be submitted online via EDCTPgrants
• Only registered users of EDCTPgrants system can apply for grants and therefore you are advised to register on the system as soon as possible
• Please read the guiding notes embedded in the online application and the EDCTP2 workplan carefully before submitting an application

Note:

1. Grant awarding by EDCTP will depend on the successful conclusion of a delegation agreement between the European Commission and the EDCTP Association for implementation of the EDCTP2 programme.

Call documents and more information

• Guide for Applicants (PDF)
• Call text (PDF)

More information

For questions and issues about EDCTPgrants and the online application submission please contact EDCTP via EDCTPgrants[at]edctp.org or +31 (0) 70 344 08 80.

Projects funded under this call

IMPACT
Improving the impact of existing malaria products – ACTs

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom with partners from Malawi, South Africa and United Kingdom
Project coordinator: Dr Anja Terlouw, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom
Starting date: 1 January 2016
Duration: 24 months
Grant amount: EUR 499,294
Grant agreement: CSA-2014-282
Go to web page ERA-LEARN2020 and Webpage LSTM

IMPPACT
Maximising the public health impact of interventions to control malaria in pregnancy through the translation of EDCTP-funded evidence-based global policies to country-level policies and plans

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom with partners from The Gambia, Malawi, Mali and  United Kingdom
Project coordinator: Dr Jenny Hill, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom
Starting date: 1 January 2016
Duration: 24 months
Grant amount: EUR 487,464
Grant agreement: CSA-2014-276
Go to webpage ERA-LEARN2020 and Webpage LSTM

TRIP
Translating Research into Practice (TRIP): Evaluating and speeding up the adoption of an evidence-based innovative REMSTART package to reduce mortality in advanced stage HIV patients starting antiretroviral therapy in Tanzania

National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), Dar es salaam, Tanzania with partners from Tanzania and the United Kingdom
Project coordinator: Dr Godfrey Sayoki Mfinanga. NIMR, Tanzania
Starting date: 1 March 2016
Duration: 36 months
Grant amount: EUR 499,434
Grant agreement: CSA-2014-279
Go to website

TWENDE
Tuberculosis: working to empower the nation’s diagnostic effort

University of St Andrews, United Kingdom with partners from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda
Project coordinator: Dr Wilber Sabiiti, University of St Andrews, United Kingdom
Starting date: 1 January 2016
Duration: 24 months
Grant amount: EUR 439,048
Grant agreement: CSA-2014-283
Website University of St Andrews

WISH
Improving HIV prevention and sexual and reproductive health care in high-risk women in Rwanda using lessons learnt from previous Rinda Ubuzima projects

University of Liverpool, United Kingdom with partners from Belgium, and Rwanda
Project coordinator: Prof. Janneke van de Wijgert, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom
Starting date: 1 January 2016
Duration: 24 months
Grant amount: EUR 499,741
Grant agreement: CSA-2014-273
Go to ERA LEARN 2020 webpage or University of Liverpool webpage