Request for Proposals: Increasing Effectiveness of Delivery of Preventive Chemotherapy against NTDs

THIS CALL IS NOW CLOSED.

The Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Support Center, a program of The Task Force for Global Health, with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the COR-NTD grant, is soliciting proposals to improve the delivery of preventive chemotherapy for the elimination of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

Although NTD programs have achieved elimination targets in many settings, these goals have been hard to attain in some contexts due to implementation challenges, preventing countries from achieving their elimination goals. A number of distinct health system, contextual and community factors are responsible for reducing the overall effectiveness and impact of NTD interventions along the delivery continuum. Focused operational and implementation research to understand barriers and to test feasible solutions to overcome them can improve the overall delivery of NTD programmatic interventions and their equity and impact, especially if research is guided and supported by national programs.

Research proposed for this call will investigate and develop solutions to persistent challenges associated with the implementation of NTD programs, focusing on scalable solutions that can be incorporated into program implementation plans. 

With this call, the NTD-SC – which serves as Secretariat of the Coalition for Operational Research on Neglected Tropical Diseases (COR-NTD) –seeks proposals that are nested within national programs and target lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis or trachoma. Projects will be funded with support from USAID through the NTD-SC.

Deadline for submission: Jan. 31, 2022.

Award Information

Maximum amount available for award: $75,000 in COR-NTD funding.  Up to four awards will be made.

Maximum duration of project: 12 months.

Details

Successful proposals will include a clear strategy i) to test strategies to improve NTD intervention delivery in districts where challenges have been identified; ii) quantify this improvement; and iii) describe how research outcomes will be translated into policy change and program practice. A key requirement for proposal submission is the documentation of Ministry of Health (or other Ministries) support for the research representing at least 50% of the total project cost through direct financial or in-kind support for the project.

 

Examples

Examples of potential projects within the scope of this call include, but are not limited to:

  • Addressing barriers to accessibility, acceptability, and uptake of mass drug administration (MDA) among specific population groups through context-specific approaches.
  • Testing of novel and cost-efficient ways to motivate and sustain the cadre of people who deliver NTD interventions, whether part of the formal health system or part of a non-formal workforce.
  • Developing new strategies to reach persons who have never participated in MDA (i.e., persons who are systematically non-treated).

 

Proposal Evaluation Measures

Proposals in line with the scope of this RFP will be reviewed by a panel of objective reviewers from the NTD Support Center, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USAID, World Health Organization and other partner organizations based on how well they address these criteria:

Technical merit

Proposals must be technically sound, well written, with clear objectives and contextual evidence justifying the proposed research.

Alignment with programmatic needs

Proposals must address specific challenges identified  by the program 

Scalability and Potential for impact

Proposed research must have the potential to solve program delivery challenges that impair the NTD program performance 

Sustainability

Proposals should outline plans for knowledge translation and program uptake of research outcomes and ideally, policy change

Commitment

Budgets should provide evidence of Ministry of Health (or other Ministries) commitment to the project

 

Submission Instructions

Submissions are made through the following web form:  https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/fab15e3e5ada468a9636e6e793cdb41c

Deadline for submission: Jan. 31, 2022.

For questions about this RFP, please contact Elizabeth Long (elong@taskforce.org).