Call for Letters of Intent - UNICEF-TDR

Call for Letters of Intent: Joint UNICEF-TDR Implementation Research Project to strengthen the equity strategy in Africa

UNICEF headquarters, its Eastern and Southern African Regional Office (ESARO) and West and Central African Regional Office (WCARO), in collaboration with TDR, with the purpose of developing regional implementation research platforms and supporting a number of research activities in targeted African countries have issued a call for letters of intent for the Joint UNICEF-TDR Implementation Research Project to strengthen the equity strategy in Africa.

Objectives

Objectives of the Regional Implementation Research:

• Intersectoral approaches to vector control based on environmental management practices, combined with community mobilization, for example, through partnerships between communities and municipal services to improve water management and solid waste disposal. Improved water management and vector control efforts focusing on productive water container types.
• Propose and implement innovative strategies for strengthening human resources for implementation research and accompanying M&E frameworks at the interface between implementation research and health systems.
• Support UNICEF strategic results areas level 3 activities and improve the measurement and understanding of progress (or lack of progress) and its drivers.

Topics

African country offices of UNICEF are invited to submit Letters of Intent in the following proposed priority topics, under respective research areas:

• Equity and access
• Program effectiveness and improved results
• Health systems and health behavior

Eligibility criteria

All sub-Saharan African countries are eligible. Letters of intent should demonstrate involvement of key stakeholders at the country level. The country implementation research team will be responsible for defining the research question/s, developing the country focused proposal and protocol. TDR and UNICEF HQ will provide technical assistance as needed. It is recommended that the country team should include at the minimum the following representation; UNICEF country office, Ministry of Health, relevant health authorities or public health agencies, research institutions and/or university departments, relevant NGOs. 

Depending on the intended research questions, necessary expertise within the national research team will include all or a combination of the following: epidemiologist, statistician, social scientist, economist, vector control, nutritionist, water sanitation and medical doctor (public health officer). The linkage between research and control is necessary. Although it is preferable for each country to submit only one letter of intent, consideration of two letters of intent will be given where the research questions need two separate teams because of the type of expertise and partnership involved.

Last date for submission of letters of intent is September 19, 2011.

For more information and details, you can visit this link.