Deadline: 15 January 2018
Grand Challenges India has announced a fourth call ‘Immunization Data: Innovating for Action (IDIA)’ with technical partnership from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Department of Health Research (DHR). The overall goal of the program is to conceptualize and demonstrate innovations in data systems for immunization to aid in real-time visibility of correlation between consumption and coverage of immunizations.
The Department of Biotechnology, Government of India and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation under Grand Challenges India seek proposals that address the challenges in immunization data systems in India that are different from current approaches and stretch the frontiers of the programme. The solutions submitted to this GCI program may deal with integrated health information, or may focus specifically on immunization only. They should have the potential to be scaled up in multiple settings.
Funding Information
- Phase I – Grant for developing proof of concept (12-18 months): Funded at up to $200,000 USD each project, these awards require preliminary data and are meant to provide an opportunity to develop, refine, and rigorously test approaches that have previously shown promise in controlled or limited settings.
- Phase II – Grant for validating impact (18-24 months): This grant is envisaged for follow funding to scale the most successful and impactful projects from Phase I, with the ultimate aim being integration into the government program.
Cross-Cutting Issues
The immunization data is also challenged by some cross-cutting systemic issues:
- Accountability and performance management: Performance of the delivery system is inadequately driven by programmatic data at both individual and collective level.
- Sustainable human capability: The training of data people has not got sufficient attention till date. The vacancy and turn-over of key staff compound the problem. The basic skill set to use data for programmatic improvement is widely variable across the functionaries.
- Horizontal vs. vertical: As the EPI/ UIP precede RMNCH+A programmes, it provides the base platform to deliver the entire basket of RCH services. Consequently, the data produced by immunization programmes is nested within the broader health data systems and get influenced and complicated by the broader system-demands.
Eligibility Criteria
- This RFA is India-led; the programme is open to academics, research institutions, medical research institutions, for-profit companies, not-for-profit organizations, trusts and foundations.
- Grants will be made to researchers and innovators who are Indian individual or Indian entities, and also encourage partnerships with researchers of national/international expertise.
- Experts of the relevant discipline as mentors should be a part of the proposal such as healthcare professionals, data analytics experts, mhealth specialists, management experts, logistics experts, immunizations specialists, M&E experts and market analyst among others.
- Through national and international collaboration, we expect that sharing experimental methods, data, and resources will ultimately improve the ability to compare and validate local research findings and to develop interventions and products that can have impact at a greater scale.
How to Apply
Applicants must apply online via given website.
For more information, please visit Grand Challenges India.