Global Health EDCTP3 JU and contributing partners funded Strategic Training Hubs for Fellowships in Public Health covering Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Modelling

Scope

The objective of this topic is to establish an African cohort of epidemiologists, biostatisticians, mathematical modellers by supporting institutions in SSA and Europe that provide Master’s training in epidemiology and biostatistics or those that process public health data with advanced quantitative methods to inform policy, as part of the Africa CDC’s framework for public health workforce development.

The Master’s degree courses with practical field research experience must be robust and of the level oftraining for the epidemiology and biostatistics that is delivered within reasonable time for the required numbers and high-quality fit-for purpose personnel urgently needed in zones of outbreak/epidemic risks in SSA. Early- to mid-career researchers or data scientists (or similar) are the targeted level of training for the infectious disease modelling.

Proposals must demonstrate all of the following:

• A high-quality training programme as
  • 1/ Master’s training in Epidemiology and/or Biostatistics (broader Master's in public health majoring in epidemiology or biostatistics are also applicable);
  • or 2/ specific training courses/seminars/workshops infectious disease mathematical modelling;
• The Master’s programme must include a research and development component aligned with the scope of the Global Health EDCTP3 JU and must be conducted in a country in SSA;
• An open, fair and transparent procedure for selecting the fellows coming from different geographical regions of SSA, based on quality and with appropriate gender balance;
• Robust mentorship and supervision mechanisms to support fellows through to timely successful course completion;
• The applicant must be an organisation with an established legal entity in SSA (the applicant legal entity);
• Proposals must be submitted by a consortium of institutions which must provide above mentioned trainings for up to 50 early- to mid-career researchers per consortium;
• Proposals should provide details on the methodology for linking clinical research aspects with the translation into healthcare practice and policy;
• The requested Global Health EDCTP3 JU contribution per action shall not exceed EUR 1,25 million.

The fellow must:

• Be resident of or be willing to relocate to a sub-Saharan African country, member of the EDCTP Association;
• Not have been funded under a similar previous EDCTP or Global Health EDCTP3 fellowship scheme before.

In addition:

1/ For the Master’s degree training:

• Proposals should include institutions with a proven track record in the provision of high-quality Master’s training with clear local and regional collaborations with National Public Health Institutes- NPHIs (or similar agencies), Ministries of Health and other academic institutions;
• The maximum fellowship duration shall be 24 months;
• Fellows for the Master training must be employed or have guaranteed employment by the applicant legal entity (the host organisation) where they intend to remain working for a minimum of two years after the expiration of the grant, therefore, applying trainees must provide evidence to demonstrate this through a letter of support from their home institution.

2/ For proposals with modelling training:

Contributing partners, via the Global Health EDCTP3, will provide funding on modelling training, meeting the need for modellers to strengthen NPHIs core functions. The funding will support comprehensive short term training programmes, workshops and/or seminars to interested specialists to empower Africa-based researchers with relevant skills to conduct infectious disease modelling and enhance capacity to respond effectively to outbreaks and pandemics. Supported institutions will offer:

• Modelling training focusing on infectious diseases modelling;
• Workshops or seminars considering different skill levels of trainees to cover key aspects of infectious disease modelling, including but not limited to:
  • i. Mathematical and statistical modelling techniques;
  • ii. Scenario planning and model forecasting;
  • iii. Integration of modelling output into public health policy and response strategies.
• Provide mentorship and support to facilitate the application of acquired skills in real world settings for key LMIC implementors.

Proposals submitted against this topic are expected to leverage financial and/or in-kind contribution from contributing partners. Proposals should define the activities of their project in its entirety, including details of the component(s) for which Global Health EDCTP3 JU funding is requested and the component(s) that are to be financed by contributing partners introduced by the applicant consortium.

In addition to these contributions leveraged by the applicants, Global Health EDCTP3 JU may involve other contributing partners that have expressed interest in supporting this topic with cash or in-kind contribution.

Proposals should describe how participating organisations are expected or plan to have access to large databases that will enable future fellows to work on and with robust data. Proposals are encouraged to include the use of Artificial Intelligence in the training when relevant.

FAIR data principles and open access of publications are required in line with the Model Grant Agreement ^[1].

Proposals should include consortia with strong representation from institutions and researchers across sub- Saharan African countries, demonstrating a broad regional distribution in the SSA region, including involvement of new institutions and Franco/Lusophone countries, and considering previous EDCTP 1 and 2 investments and current EDCTP3 call. Applicants are also reminded of the expectation of reaching out to organisations in countries with high burden of disease with relatively lower research capacities, for which appropriate funding allocations should be proposed. Collaboration with other international research groups with relevant experience and participation in networking and joint activities, as relevant, is strongly encouraged.

^[1] general-mga_horizon-euratom_en.pdf (europa.eu)

Expected Impact

The actions funded under this topic should contribute to increased international cooperation amongresearchers and funders, catalyse research synergies, and leverage resources and investments in order to achieve the establishment of an African cohort of epidemiologists, biostatisticians, mathematical modellers by supporting institutions in sub-Saharan Africa and Europe that provide Master’s training in epidemiology and biostatistics or those that process public health data with advanced quantitative methods to inform policy, as part of the Africa CDC’s framework for public health workforce development. Proposals are expected to include the effective in-kind and/or financial contribution of contributing partners, in order toproduce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the impact of the related research activities.

Applicant consortium

The contributions from contributing partners should correspond to the amounts they have committed in the letter of endorsement requesting to become a contributing partner (Article 9 Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085). Their contributions can consist of financial contributions and/or in-kind contributions. Applicant contributing partners must submit the endorsement letter for approval by the Global Health EDCTP3 Governing Board before the deadline for submission of the second-stage applications. It is recommended that the draft letter is submitted to the Global Health EDCTP3 Programme Office sufficiently ahead of deadline for submission of proposals to allow the review^[1].

In case of in-kind contribution (even combined with financial contribution), contributing partners become a part of the applicant consortium and participate in the project, as appropriate i.e. as beneficiaries orAffiliated entities in the meaning of Article 8 of the Horizon Europe model grant agreement.

^[1] The Global Health Programme Office will ask the applicant contributing partner to revise the letter in case it significantly departs from the template letter published on the Global Health EDCTP3 JU website or is missing any compulsory elements. The preliminary assessment by the Programme Office does not consider the merits of the application. The final decision as to acceptance or rejection of a new contributing partner rests with the Global Health EDCTP3 JU Governing Board