Grant writing Winning competitive research grants, fellowships and awards is one of the most vital skills in research, yet many African health researchers lack the confidence, knowledge and support required to win competitive funding from regional, national, and international funders. This represents a significant obstacle for African researchers with aspirations of pursuing their own research questions or leading their own research groups. . Our programmes are facilitated by world-class research experts and experienced research managers, who all have vast experience in writing successful grants, serving on or managing grant review panels, and cultivating research leaders of the future. CLOSED: Essential Grant Writing Skills Programme May/July 2022 AREF works to strengthen the health research capacity of scientists in Sub-Saharan Africa who are engaged in tackling the sub-region’s significant health challenges. We are calling for applications from scientists who are active, emerging biomedical/health researchers in Sub-Saharan African countries to participate in our eighth Essential Grant Writing Skills Programme. . This fully online programme will be held over eight 3-hour sessions during the weeks of 23rd May 2022 and 11th July 2022. There will be a six-week break in between the two sessions, where you will be expected to write a mini proposal. . This is an intensive programme that is designed to produce tangible progress towards a grant proposal by the end of the workshop series. Your commitment to the entire series and to the additional work outside of sessions will be necessary to achieve these outcomes. . To fully benefit from this programme you will be at a stage in your research career where you are actively seeking independent funding, and perhaps have won smaller grants, but have yet to secure that big grant necessary to support your research independence. Programme aim The programme aim is to enable talented early-career health- and health-related researchers from countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to build skills to develop their own research and fellowship proposals of the quality required to win competitive international, regional and national funding. What the programme will cover Developing and expressing your unique research niche Formulating your compelling research question Understanding funders’ requirements Writing in plain English Writing the different sections of a proposal Key parts of a typical Case for Support / Project Description Planning your proposal project plan and budget Principles of managing your collaboration and team Understanding and practicing peer review Preparing for a Fellowship interview. What the programme will not cover . The programme will not cover the following: how to seek research ethics approval; how to complete individual funders’ application forms; the details of intellectual property management; practice in research communication. . The facilitators will use examples of real funding applications. However, they will not be assisting participants directly with the participants’ own specific proposals. Format of the programme The programme will be held as follows: Monday 23 May to Friday 27 May 2022: daily 3-hour on-line sessions, 09:30 – 12:30 BST Tuesday 12 July to Thursday 14 July 2022: daily sessions 3-hour on-line sessions, 09:30 – 12:30 BST Participants will be provided with appropriate learning materials including preparatory exercises before the first session and between sessions. Each session will be delivered through Zoom. Participants will work in on-line groups and offline subgroups. All sessions will be conducted in English. Expenses AREF does not provide funding for participants to access equipment or internet services with which to participate. Nor do we reimburse you or your institution for any other expenses associated with the programme or any form of payment. Our expectations of participants Inputs You MUST: commit to all online sessions for the full duration of each session. These sessions are interactive and will require your active participation. commit approximately an additional hour to prepare for each session through reading and pre-work assignments/reflections. dedicate significant time during the five-week period in between sessions to write a draft of your own research proposal, which will then be utilised in the final three sessions. have access to good bandwidth and a computer or laptop that is set up to use the Zoom platform (your IT department may control your ability to use online platforms) be able to use a smart phone simultaneously with the Zoom platform. Outputs You will also be expected to participate in AREF monitoring and evaluation surveys to track outcomes. Scope AREF welcomes applications for this programme from researchers who are actively working on challenges to human health and are trained and experienced in one or more of the following disciplines: biomedicine; physiology and pharmacology; clinical sciences; epidemiology; mathematics and statistics; environmental health; “one health” (veterinary science); behavioural, social and economic sciences; and health policy and systems research. Eligibility To be eligible, you need to provide evidence that: You are a citizen of a country in Sub-Saharan Africa You are in the early stages of your research career, having completed your research educationEITHER you have been awarded a research doctorate (PhD/DPhil/MD) from a recognised academic institution normally within the previous 6 years, (i.e. awarded on or after 1 January 2015); OR you have a medical/clinical qualification PLUS a research-relevant Master’s degree, both awarded normally within the previous 6 years (i.e. awarded on or after 1 January 2015). AND you are currently employed in Sub-Saharan Africa by a recognised university and/or specialist research institution. You have not participated already in equivalent proposal development/grant-writing training. A significant part of your current employee role is to develop and conduct health research. You do not already have a significant portfolio of international research grants (Combined value of £250,000 or more). Criteria for selection Through your application, you will need to demonstrate that you are at a stage of your research career where this intensive training will support your future success as a researcher and you are highly likely to apply your learning to winning research funding. Capacity to benefit Your application will be assessed in terms of your capacity to benefit from the training, using the following kinds of evidence: Your research experience, outputs and other achievements as an emerging researcher up to date. How you will use the training to achieve your personal vision for your development as a scientist who can address key health challenges important to Sub-Saharan Africa. How you will “cascade”, i.e. to pass on, the knowledge and skills you have gained from the workshop Practical support committed by your sponsor(s) or mentor(s). Adequate command of written and spoken English. Participants will be shortlisted from the eligible applicants by the programme facilitators using these criteria. Only applicants who meet the capacity to benefit criteria will be on the shortlist, from which the final selection will be made. Diversity and inclusivity To ensure equity across research organisations, no more than two shortlisted participants will be finally selected from any one research institution and AREF aims to maintain a gender-balanced selection of participants across its programmes. How to apply To apply, please click on this link to download the Application Form. Send the Form, required documentation and accompanying letters from your Sponsor(s) or Mentor(s) (as defined in the Form) to [email protected]. Key dates Deadline for your application: 30 March 2022 16:00 hours BST Date by which AREF informs applicants on application outcomes: 22 April 2022 Contact If you have any enquiries, contact AREF via [email protected]