The UK Department for International Development (DFID), the UK Medical
Research Council (MRC), the National Institute for Health Research
(NIHR) and Wellcome are pleased to announce the launch of the ninth call
for proposals under this initiative to fund global health trials.
DFID, MRC and Wellcome each have a strong history of supporting
research that aims to improve health in low and middle income countries.
The NIHR has recently joined as a partner, under Overseas Development
Assistance (ODA) funding. The four partner agencies share the view that
in order to have maximum impact on health we need to work together to
provide evidence of the best, and most appropriate interventions to
improve health in low and middle income countries. Pooling resources
brings the necessary funds and experience together to achieve
implementable results which address health problems affecting low and
middle income countries.
Together we will fund up to £20 million for the ninth call to be launched under the joint global health trials partnership.
The scheme will give priority to proposals that are likely to produce implementable results and that are designed to address the major causes of mortality or morbidity in low and middle income countries. For call 9, the joint funders would like to stress that applications must engage with the potential users of research for future implementation and impact for policy. Stakeholders, such as policy makers, should be engaged throughout the research process in order to ensure trial results are implementable, scalable and in line with policy needs.
The scheme is open to the best proposals which address any major health related problem affecting low and middle income countries, particularly those that affect the most vulnerable populations. Although the breadth of the scheme is deliberately wide, we particularly welcome proposals for research into chronic non-communicable diseases, including mental health, and reproductive, maternal and new born health.
The Joint Global Health Trials scheme focuses on late-stage (equivalent to phase III/IV) clinical and health intervention trials that evaluate efficacy and effectiveness. We may consider Phase IIb trials of major relevance to the objectives of the call, but please contact the office to discuss this beforehand. The scheme is aimed at funding randomised controlled trials (RCTs), although other types of methodologies can be used alongside intervention trials to explore implementation and operational issues. Nested studies are encouraged to explore these issues and support future implementation.
The scope of the scheme includes, but is not limited to:
Successful trial proposals do not need to be large multi-centre trials. Proposals will be evaluated on value for money and on whether the proposed scale of research is necessary and cost-effective for answering the research question.
You may request support for:
Together we will fund up to £20 million for the ninth call to be launched under the joint global health trials partnership.
Objectives and remit
The purpose of this scheme is to provide funding for the best proposals to generate new knowledge about interventions that will contribute to the improvement of health in low and middle income countries.The scheme will give priority to proposals that are likely to produce implementable results and that are designed to address the major causes of mortality or morbidity in low and middle income countries. For call 9, the joint funders would like to stress that applications must engage with the potential users of research for future implementation and impact for policy. Stakeholders, such as policy makers, should be engaged throughout the research process in order to ensure trial results are implementable, scalable and in line with policy needs.
The scheme is open to the best proposals which address any major health related problem affecting low and middle income countries, particularly those that affect the most vulnerable populations. Although the breadth of the scheme is deliberately wide, we particularly welcome proposals for research into chronic non-communicable diseases, including mental health, and reproductive, maternal and new born health.
The Joint Global Health Trials scheme focuses on late-stage (equivalent to phase III/IV) clinical and health intervention trials that evaluate efficacy and effectiveness. We may consider Phase IIb trials of major relevance to the objectives of the call, but please contact the office to discuss this beforehand. The scheme is aimed at funding randomised controlled trials (RCTs), although other types of methodologies can be used alongside intervention trials to explore implementation and operational issues. Nested studies are encouraged to explore these issues and support future implementation.
The scope of the scheme includes, but is not limited to:
- prevention
- behavioural interventions
- psychological therapies
- disease management
- drugs
- vaccines
- hygiene
- diagnostic strategies.
Funding available
A total of up to £20 million is available. This is expected to fund several full trial awards. Up to £1 million of the total amount is expected to be spent on several trial development grants.Successful trial proposals do not need to be large multi-centre trials. Proposals will be evaluated on value for money and on whether the proposed scale of research is necessary and cost-effective for answering the research question.
You may request support for:
- all research costs that are attributable to the trial. For example, appropriate percentages of the investigators’ time, scientific, technical and administrative staff including statisticians, research nurses and trial managers, consumables, items of equipment, data/sample handling and archiving and travel
- the cost of holding trial steering and data monitoring committees
- training and support for a trial manager.
