Deadline: 17-Jul-20
SABIN Vaccine Institute is inviting applications for the Social and Behavioral Interventions for Vaccination Acceptance Small Grants Program aims to identify promising social and behavioral research projects and pilot interventions for increasing vaccine acceptance in low- and middle-income countries.
This program will fund novel research projects that both explore the social and behavioral factors affecting vaccine acceptance and use research findings to pilot intervention programs. Sabin is committed to advancing research in this area by awarding grants of $25,000 each to researchers in low- and middle-income countries who will combine rigorous research with robust intervention programs.
In so doing, this program also fosters collaboration between academic researchers and national immunization program managers and health officials. The goal of the Small Grants Program is to generate these relationships and establish an invaluable feedback loop between academic research and immunization programs. By fostering these on-the-ground relationships, research findings can be operationalized to reform immunization program strategies and community outreach tactics, with the ultimate goal of increasing immunization uptake and eradicating preventable diseases globally.
Additionally, proposals must outline ethical considerations to be made when working with human populations, in accordance with standardized human subjects research criteria. If an Institutional Review Board (IRB) proposal has been submitted to the affiliated university, please submit that IRB approval or an intention to submit an IRB approval. In addition to the IRB process, please address the following in your application, taking care to redact any sensitive research information (e.g. names of organizations, exact geographic locations, participant names, etc.):
- List of Primary and co- Principal Investigators (PI), along with their titles, affiliations, and research credentials
- Proof of Established Relationship with research site (e.g., e-mail correspondence with/ letter of permission from the organization/site where research is conducted, with the name of the organization redacted)
- Research Sites: are you conducting research at a site (e.g., a health care provider office)? Please provide site permission/approval (with the name of the organization redacted)
- Research Risk: does the research pose greater than minimal risk to participants? If there are risks, how will you minimize them?
- Research Benefits: what are the types of benefits that may result from participation? Who will benefit?
- Research Subject Relationship: how will the research participant be engaged in the research? How will the study be communicated to the participant? How will the participant’s understanding of their involvement be assessed? Will the participant be encouraged to ask questions and engage?
- Informed Consent Procedure: how will the research participant’s consent to partake in the study be obtained? Who will perform the informed consent procedures, and how will that person be trained?
- Confidentiality: where will the research be stored, and who will have access? Will the participants’ identity be coded and anonymous in the data and all future publications?
- Research with Minors: please provide scientific rationale for the inclusion of minors in the study; please indicate the level of risk associated with your research, according to U.S. federal regulations on conducting research with minors:
- Research involving minimal risk to minors
- Research involving greater than minimal risk to minors with the prospect of direct benefit to the child
- Research involving greater than minimal risk with no direct benefit to the minors but it is likely to yield generalizable knowledge about the subject’s disorder or condition
- Research not meeting the criteria for Categories 1-3 that involves greater than minimal risk to healthy minors and presents no direct benefit to them but presents an opportunity to understand, prevent, or alleviate a serious problem affecting the health and welfare.
Funding Information
Each small grant project will be allocated up to $25,000 to cover associated costs, including project implementation, dissemination of research findings and meeting reporting deliverables.
Eligibility Criteria
- The Small Grants Program is an opportunity to identify and highlight locally designed, social and behavioral interventions to address vaccination hesitancy and improve acceptance. The program is geared towards individuals and institutions with limited opportunities for research funding. For this reason, proposals from high-income countries will not be considered. Proposals from those currently serving on Sabin Advisory or Steering Committees, or currently employed in any capacity with Sabin Vaccine Institute will not be considered.
- Successful proposals will demonstrate collaborations between registered universities, NGOs, and/or ministries of health. Proposed interventions must take place in LMICs in East Asia and Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, South Asia or Sub-Saharan Africa.
Criteria
Proposals will also be considered with respect to the following criteria:
- Demonstrated collaboration between an academic researcher and an immunization/health program manager
- The proposed intervention is research-based and locally relevant, as well as addresses vaccination hesitancy/improving acceptance
- The proposed intervention targets a social and/or behavioral dimension of vaccination acceptance
- Evidence of a participatory approach to designing and/or refining an intervention is considered an advantage
- Robust research collection and analysis plan alongside the proposed intervention is provided
- Proposed project is feasible and achievable within timeline and budget
- Ethical considerations are made prior to submission to IRB (Internal Review Board)
- IRB approval is submitted alongside proposal or human subjects research criteria is addressed in the proposal
- Evidence of successful conduct of research projects by members of collaborative team
- Proposal and resulting publication are written in English (note: research is to be conducted at a proficient level in the language of the population under study)
For more information, visit https://www.sabin.org/programs/vaccine-acceptance#smallgrantsprogram
