MRC-NIHR TMRP Global Health Pump Priming Awards 2020
At the start of 2020 the MRC-NIHR TMRP and The Global Health Network announced new funding call for small pump-priming grants of between £2000 and £10,000 specifically for trials methods research relevant to Low and Middle Income Countries.
Priority areas of trials methodology research have been identified from a LMIC survey by Rosala-Hallas et al 2018 in collaboration with the Global Health Network and is also described in this webinar.
Over 270 applications were invited for research project, travel or workshop funding. Seven were awarded funding:
Project title: The practice of pilot/feasibility studies in informing the conduct of HIV related clinical trials in sub Saharan Africa.
Lead investigator: Dr. Sylivia Nalubega, Lecturer Soroti University, Uganda.
Co-investigators: Mr Lawrence Obado Osuwat, Soroti Univesrity Uganda. Dr. Matovu John Bosco Junior: Ministry of Health, Uganda.
Report: The practice of pilot/feasibility studies in informing the conduct of HIV related clinical trials in sub Saharan Africa.
Project Title: Exploring barriers to data reuse.
Lead Investigator: Naomi Waithira, Mahidol Oxford Research Unit.
Outputs:
Waithira N., Kestelyn E., Chotthanawathit K., Osterrieder A., Mukaka M., Lang T., Cheah P., 'Investigating the Secondary Use of Clinical Research Data: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study,' JMIR Res Protoc. 2023 Mar 6;12:e44875. doi: 10.2196/44875. PMID: 36877564; PMCID: PMC10028503.
URL: https://www.researchprotocols.org/2023/1/e44875
Project Title: Cultural competence in trial design and conduct.
Lead Investigator: Nandi Siegfried, South African Medical Research Council, Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Research Unit, South Africa.
Project Title: Pilot implementation of Short Message Service for randomisation in a multisite pragmatic factorial clinical trial in Kenya (PRISMS Study).
Lead Investigator: Mercy Chepkirui Terer, KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Nairobi, Kenya.
Project Title: Optimising Informed CONsent in clinical trials in low- and middle-income settings: feasibility of an adapted QuinteT Recruitment Intervention (QRI) in India (OrION-I).
Lead Investigator: Sangeetha Paramasivan, University of Bristol, UK.
Report: Optimising Informed CONsent in clinical trials in low- and middle-income settings: feasibility of an adapted QuinteT Recruitment Intervention (QRI) in India (OrION-I).
Project Title: Assessment of the challenges encountered in implementing vaccine clinical trial methodologies in low income countries.
Lead Investigator: Wigilya P. Mikomangwa, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences,Tanzania.
Project Title: Photovoice to explore community members perspectives regarding health and healthcare challenges in Mukono District, Uganda.
Co- Investigators: James O’Donovan, University of Oxford, UK and Dr. David Musoke (Award host), Makerere University, Uganda.
Publications
Nalubega S, Osuwat LO, Agyeiwaa PB, Evans C, Matovu JB. The practice of pilot/feasibility studies in informing the conduct of HIV related clinical trials in sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review. Contemp Clin Trials Commun. 2022 Jul 8;29:100959. doi: 10.1016/j.conctc.2022.100959. PMID: 35865280; PMCID: PMC9294242.
Siegfried NL, Hopewell S, Erasmus-Claassen LA, Myers B. Evaluation of cultural competency in a South African cluster randomised controlled trial: lessons learned for trial reporting standards. Trials. 2022 Oct 29;23(1):918. doi: 10.1186/s13063-022-06767-y. PMID: 36309756; PMCID: PMC9617747.
Allen E, Wang D, de la Horra A, Chepkirui Terer M, Mikomangwa W, Musoke D, Nalubega S, O’Donovan J, Paramasivan S, Siegfried N, Waithira N, Williamson P, Lang T. The Trials Methodology Research Partnership; A global community of practice for improving design, conduct, & analysis of trials everywhere. Poster & oral presentation at the EDCTP Forum. Maputo, Mozambique. Oct 2021.
Terms and conditions for award holders
- Applicants may submit multiple entries, but only one will be funded per round/grant call.
- The maximum award is £10,000.
- Applications will be assessed by a panel comprising the Global Health Working Group co-leads, the TMRP Executive Committee and/or invited reviewers from other Working Groups of the TMRP. Reviewers’ decisions are final.
- Applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application no later than the 30th April 2020.
- The Partnership will issue a Research Collaboration Agreement contract (drafted and executed by University of Liverpool) which must be signed by a formal representative of the Host Institute (usually the research manager at the University or similar of the Lead Applicant).
- 20% of the award will be retained until a post-project/event/visit written report or publication (final or draft) is submitted by the awardee (within a limit of 6 months of the end of the award period) summarising the outputs and/or relevance to trials methodology research. This report (or link to subsequent publication) will be published on the websites of the TMRP and The Global Health Network.
- We advise a maximum award length of 12 months.
- A ‘Statement of Expenditure’ or list of transactions will also be required.
- Any published or presented material from these grants will need to acknowledge the Partnership funding support – including statements such as “This work was supported by the MRC-NIHR Trials Methodology Research Partnership (MR/S014357/1 Global Health AWARD)”.
