Funding opportunities for South Africans. Yolande Harley Research methods workshop Mthatha

Transcription

1 Funding opportunities for South Africans Yolande Harley Research methods workshop Mthatha August 2017

2 the health and well-being of most South Africans remain plagued by a relentless burden of infectious and noncommunicable diseases, persisting social disparities, and inadequate human resources to provide care for a growing population Mayosi & Benatar, NEJM 2014

3 Health research: scope Proportional representation of subject areas in Africa ( )

4 Health research: scope Proportional representation of subject areas in Africa within Medicine ( )

5 Health research: growth Growth in publication output in Africa

6 Health research: growth Growth in publication output worldwide

7 Health research: growth Growth in publication output in South Africa

8 Health research: citation impact Change in Field-Weighted Citation Index within Medicine

9 Health research: excellence & relevance Excellent globally, relevant locally Awareness of landscape: see the bigger picture zoom out/in Finding niche Entrepreneurial approach to funding Never to early to start bringing in your own funding

10 Academic research entrepreneurship Scientific research relies heavily on soft funding There are insufficient scientific posts for all who wish to be researchers (esp. research leaders) Finding funding is an integral part of the role We do not prepare early-career researchers well enough for this

11 Academic research entrepreneurship

12 Funding: seeing the bigger picture What is needed to do the research? Can you conduct it on your own? Who should you collaborate with? What are the relevant funding schemes? What is the contemporary funding situation like?

13 Funding: seeing the bigger picture What is needed to do the research? Other Core Personal Project Pending

14 Funding: seeing the bigger picture Funding would ideally include researchers applying for own fellowships significant core support grant(s) strategic group/collaborative projects Consider the gaps in your funding Avoid dependency on any one funder Take advantage of contemporary situation

15 Funding Practically: Learn the schemes of major funders and their timelines Subscribe to funding alerts As soon as you have a grant start looking for the next Apply for your own fellowships, but also co-apply on project grants Do not wait for somebody else to find the funding (esp. future research leaders) build your own capacity

16 Funders Institutional Government, local/foreign Country specific differences Charitable and NGOs (foundations, trusts) Industry Partnership initiatives

17 National funding SA National Research Foundation (NRF) SA Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) Poliomyelitis Research Foundation (PRF) Technology Innovation Agency (TIA)

18 International funding European Commission research & innovation ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/ home.html [European South Africa Science and Technology Advancement Programme (ESASTAP) The European & Developing Countries in Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) TDR

19 International funding National Institutes of Health (NIH); and Fogarty Wellcome wellcome.ac.uk/funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation gcgh.grandchallenges.org/grant-opportunities Newton Fund UK MRC

20 Types of grants Fellowships / investigator grants Seed grants Project grants Programme grants Training grants Travel / meeting grants Public engagement grants Infrastructure grants Technology development grants

21 Personal funding schemes (e.g. fellowships) Institutional schemes National SA MRC SA NRF Poliomyelitis Research Foundation Discovery Foundation Hamilton Naki Clinical Scholarship International UK MRC Wellcome Trust EDCTP NIH (K43) AXA Newton Fund

22 National Research Foundation Broad investment areas Next generation Emerging researchers (incl. Thuthuka programme) Established researchers Strategic investments

23 SA Medical Research Council Some annual calls, e.g. SAMRC Self-initiated Research Grants National and International Conferences Some irregular, e.g. SAMRC Extramural Research Units Strategic Health Innovation Partnerships (SHIP) Scholarships and Grants

24 SAMRC Self-initiated Research Grants To support original research initiated by a researcher at a recognised research institution in selected areas of health Focus of 2017 call is early-career scientists; but mid-level & established researchers can apply, provided clear focus on capacity building Up to R / yr for max 3 yrs SAMRC deadline: 25 Aug 2017 An institutional deadline will apply (require institutional support) Online submission (you need to register on system)

25 Calls targeted at health professionals SAMRC Clinician Researcher Programme For medical/dental graduates for doctoral study; 1-4 yrs SAMRC National Health Scholars Programme For health professionals (e.g. clinical psychologists, nurses, registrars) for doctoral study; 1-4 yrs Discovery Foundation Academic Fellowships For registrars or recently qualified specialists for postgraduate research (masters or doctoral) Must work in SA public sector for min 2 yrs after Hamilton Naki Clinical Scholarship (Netcare) For clinical specialists or subspecialists for doctoral or postdoctoral research Must work in SA for min 3 yrs after

26 Finding niche in the landscape Study the health research landscape Find your niche Learn to source funding No matter the size, keep it excellent, keep it relevant

27 Thank you