The Sabin Vaccine Institute’s Vaccine Acceptance & Demand (VAD) offers Social and Behavioural Research Grants in 2022.
The Sabin Vaccine Institute’s Vaccine Acceptance & Demand (VAD) initiative partners with organizations around the world to better understand the social and behavioral drivers of vaccine acceptance and demand in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) and to better inform traditional health information gatekeepers about vaccines and immunization. Through VAD’s Social and Behavioral Research Grants program, we invest in a global network of interdisciplinary researchers and partners who support the design, piloting, and evaluation of community-based and social media and digital health interventions within LMIC populations. Working with professionals closest to communities, we leverage and translate contextualized and evidence-based knowledge into action. Findings and recommendations surfaced from the research shape advocacy to inform and influence policy and programs across the global landscape to improve vaccination uptake.
Given these current priorities, Sabin is inviting proposals for research projects within one or more of the following tracks (with topical examples provided but not exhaustive):
1. Recovering lost gains in routine childhood immunizations as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Understanding the structural determinants of zero-dose children in urban slum communities
- Evaluating an intervention to catch-up children who have fallen behind on local routine immunization schedules in rural healthcare settings
- Impact of COVID-19 on routine childhood immunization uptake
2. Building effective adult immunization and life-course vaccination programs in a post-pandemic world
- Characterizing “zero-dose adults”
- KAP study on seasonal influenza vaccination among adults 65+ years of age
- Impact of COVID-19 on life-course vaccination programs
3. Operationalizing the WHO Behavioral and Social Drivers (BeSD) framework
- Application of BeSD framework to understand acceptance of HPV vaccine among refugee youth
- Evaluation of the BeSD framework and/or identification of new indicators
Proposals focusing on research with historically marginalized communities (e.g., LGBTIA+, indigenous communities, mobile populations, people living with disabilities) are particularly encouraged.
Worth of Award
- Successful applicants will be awarded funding for projects to conduct research and implement solutions for up to 18 months beginning in March 2023.
- Sabin intends to make awards of up to US$70,000 per funded project.
Eligibility
Primary applicant organization and any proposed subaward organization(s) must:
- Be a not-for-profit entity, as this program supports individuals and institutions with limited opportunities and resources for funding. Proposals from for-profit entities will not be considered.
- Conduct the research project in LMIC settings; projects in high-income settings will not be considered
- Have established partnerships with local immunization program(s), civil society organization(s), and/or other non-governmental organizations
Proposed project Principal Investigator(s) and Co-Investigator(s) across primary applicant organizations and any sub-award organizations must:
- Be interdisciplinary in nature and exhibit proof of skillsets from at least three disciplines (e.g., medical anthropology, communications, global health)
While multiple proposals may be submitted by the same Principal/Co-Investigator, Sabin will only fund the individual(s) for one project.
How to Apply
- Proposal narratives – in written English – are not to exceed three written pages using 10-point font.
- A list of key personnel with contact information and institutional affiliations, an annotated budget, project timeline (Gantt Chart), and references are not included in this three-page allotment.
- Any proposal submitted in alternate languages will not be reviewed.
- Any proposal that does not include an annotated budget or project timeline with a Gantt chart will not be reviewed.
- Any proposal exceeding the three-page limit for the specified sections, will be deemed ineligible.
Deadline: Applications close Monday, October 31, 2022, 11:59 pm EST.