Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation GCE Round 21: Innovations in Immunization Data Management, Use, and Improved Process Efficiency

Deadline: 2 May 2018

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is seeking applications for the 21^st round of the Grand Challenges Exploration on the topic “Innovations in Immunization Data Management, Use, and Improved Process Efficiency”.

Within this call to promote the effective use of timely and relevant data to drive programmatic performance, and thus increase the number of children vaccinated globally, they are looking for innovative ideas in the following specific areas:

Innovative ideas for improving the measurement approaches for immunization data (e.g., process, equity, coverage indicators) with a focus on data use by program managers, triangulation across data sources, and methods to measure and quantify data use.
Novel approaches for improving process efficiency that will lead to improved quality of service delivery.

Grant Information

Awards of $100,000 USD are made in Phase I.
Phase I awardees have one opportunity to apply for a follow-on Phase II award of up to $1,000,000 USD.

Eligibility Criteria

GCE is open to both foreign and domestic organizations, including non-profit organizations, for-profit companies, international organizations, government agencies, and academic institutions.
Consider funding that:
- Innovative ideas for improving measurement of coverage and equity data for use by program staff and managers. Specifically, their ability to collect and deliver the right data at the right time to the appropriate audiences would benefit from:
  - Incorporating advances in technology to support decision makers in planning and executing program strategies
  - Integration of immunization data systems, as well as the ability to address data use demands from multiple stakeholders.
  - Enabling a culture that supports data quality and use e.g. provides feedback on data at multiple levels.
  - Alignment of incentives to promote reporting of accurate data above coverage estimates.
- Innovations in process efficiency toward improved service delivery. These may stem from lean healthcare, or other approaches, but should have the end goal of improving the experience of healthcare workers, caregivers, or both. Proposals might reflect, but need not be limited to:
  - Improvements in processes such as data recording, set-up, session flow, or other, that will allow healthcare workers to have more time to interact with caregivers; ideas for how additional time may be leveraged for improved quality of service delivery, including time-motion analysis.
  - Improvements to, or new approaches to how health education and information is provided during an immunization visit, with a focus as to how that might improve the service delivery experience and caregiver behavior.
  - A study on how new approaches/structures for healthcare worker/caregiver interaction might positively impact experience and caregiver behavior.
  - Operational research on the application of lean healthcare principles to reduce waiting time (through re-designed immunization session structure, or other).An integration of approaches to reducing Missed Opportunities for Vaccination through improved process efficiency.