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R2HC Call for Research to Strengthen Health System in Humanitarian Settings

Donor: Elrha

Mar 14, 2022

Elrha is seeking proposals for research that will strengthen the evidence base for public health interventions in humanitarian crises and contribute to better health outcomes for people affected by crisis.

Proposals should be informed by the needs of people who use the health system in the humanitarian setting(s) in which your study will be conducted, and applicants should engage with relevant stakeholders to determine the key health system challenge to be addressed. Your proposal must demonstrate how the research findings will be used by identified stakeholders to strengthen the health system and improve health outcomes at a local, national or global level.

Funding Information
  • You should ask for a level of funding that is justifiable for your proposed research. They anticipate this will be between £100,000-£400,000, depending on the scope of the study and research uptake objectives.

  • Successful Full Proposals will have up to 18 months in which to undertake the research and uptake activities. Studies should plan to start in January 2023 and end in July 2024.

Eligibility Criteria
  • They do not fund research in countries that are not included in the DAC list of ODA recipients, or research involving non-crisis affected populations in low- and middle-income countries.

  • As a minimum, your research consortium must include:

  • A research institution from the country(s) or region(s) in which the research study will take place

  • An operational humanitarian organisation

  • As a minimum, your research team members must include:

  • A principal investigator (or co-PIs)

  • A research uptake focal point

  • Team members can come from a range of organisations including academic or other research institutions, operational humanitarian organisations, governmental organisations, individual experts, and local non-governmental or community-based organisations. They encourage the building of collaborative partnerships that respect national leadership and research expertise.

  • Research teams will need to be ‘positioned for impact’, with established stakeholder relationships in place, and contextual knowledge and understanding reflected in the proposal, demonstrating how uptake and application of research will take place. You must demonstrate that your study team is highly familiar with the key stakeholders relevant to the health system which your research is intended to strengthen. The end users of research findings generated through the study must be closely associated with the team – either as direct team members, or as members of a research Steering Committee or similar.

  • Given the relatively short time frame of this Call, they particularly encourage applications from established research-practice partnerships with a track record in collaborating on their chosen topic and who can demonstrate a shared focus on working together post-grant to sustain uptake and impact.

  • Principal Investigator/s: Research teams must be led by an experienced Principal Investigator(s). This individual must have:

  • A PhD in a relevant academic field

  • Experience of conducting similar research in equivalent settings

  • Multiple peer-reviewed articles on relevant topics published in academic journals

  • Lead Applicant

  • The lead applicant is the organisation which submits the proposal and will manage the research grant if awarded. Any organisation represented by members of the research team can be the lead applicant. They encourage LMIC lead applicants. The lead applicant cannot be a profit-seeking enterprise or an individual (although these may form part of the research team).

  • The PI is not required to be employed by the lead applicant but can be located within another partner organisation.

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