Call for Institutions: Contributing to TDR’s Efforts towards Implementation Research Capacity Strengthening

Scope of Work

• Develop and maintain excellent linkages with relevant stakeholders, with a focus on epidemics and outbreaks, control, and elimination of diseases of poverty, climate change’s impact on health, and resistance to treatment and control agents.
• Identify relevant opportunities for IR capacity strengthening, including through collaboration with national and regional stakeholders, including implementing organizations, research universities, MoH, and decision-makers.
• Implement TDR’s portfolio of IR training materials, adapting them as necessary to meet regional needs and priorities, with a meaningful engagement of diverse stakeholders (decision-makers, implementers, and communities).
• Supervise targeted research projects across diverse communities of learners within their respective subregions, emphasizing epidemics and outbreaks, control, and elimination of diseases of poverty, climate change’s impact on health, and resistance to treatment and control agents.
• Conduct institutional strengthening activities to enhance the capacity of local institutions in conducting IR, including universities, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), and decision-makers.
• Facilitate the formation of regional networks of implementation researchers to promote collaboration and knowledge exchange.
• Build the capacity of local actors, CSOs, communities, implementers to participate in high-quality IR processes on infectious diseases of poverty.
• Ensure RTC impact through relevant follow up mechanisms.

TDR Research Capacity Strengthening Activities

• Research Capacity Strengthening (RCS) activities are at the heart of the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training on Tropical Diseases (TDR) strategy 2024–2029. The TDR vision of the health and well-being of people burdened by infectious diseases of poverty being improved through research and innovation is embedded in the overarching RCS goal to strengthen the capacity of individuals, institutions, and societies to produce Implementation Research (IR) useful for reducing the burden of infectious diseases of poverty in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). TDR strategy focuses on four major global health challenges affecting infectious diseases of poverty:
  • epidemics and outbreaks;
  • control and elimination of diseases of poverty;
  • climate change’s impact on health; and
  • resistance to treatment and control agents.

TDR Regional Training Centers

• TDR works closely with RTCs to enable skills development and knowledge sharing through the application of TDR’s portfolio of training materials and supervision of targeted research projects. TDR RTCs target diverse communities of learners including academics, health professionals, policy and programme makers as well as government officials within their respective regions. The TDR strategy places focus on epidemics and outbreaks; control and elimination of diseases of poverty; climate change’s impact on health; and resistance to treatment and control agents, all from a One Health perspective, and these are also the main training areas for TDR RTCs. Further TDR RTCs provide institutional strengthening and foster regional networks of health researchers and empower local actors to design, plan, and carry out high-quality IR on infectious diseases of poverty.
• TDR RTCs conduct and disseminate training courses relevant to the TDR strategy, as in-person, hybrid, and online modalities, involving diverse stakeholders (decision-makers, implementers, communities, and researchers). Regionalization of courses using training-of-trainers methodology and training workshops enables RCS to work more closely with satellite institutions and end-users and become more relevant to regional needs, to empower RTCs as training hubs, and to utilize existing expertise in disease-endemic countries.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applications from Institutions located within LMIC within the WHO European and Eastern Mediterranean Regions.
• The proposals must be submitted in English.
• Eligible proposals will be selected through a competitive process.

Selection Criteria

• Be a recognized university or research institute in the WHO European and Eastern Mediterranean Regions.
• Experience and expertise: Demonstrated experience in conducting training activities, including Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), IR, supervising research projects, and implementing institutional strengthening initiatives in the field of infectious diseases of poverty, with a focus on epidemics and outbreaks, control, and elimination of diseases of poverty, climate change’s impact on health, and resistance to treatment and control agents.
• Capacity and infrastructure: Adequate facilities, resources, and personnel to support IR training activities, including access to relevant populations and communities (CSOs, communities, decision-makers, and frontline implementers).
• Regional and policy engagement: Strong networks/linkages and partnerships within the subregion, with the ability to engage diverse stakeholders, including governments (decisionmakers), academia, civil society, communities, and WHO country and regional offices.
• Alignment with objectives: Clear alignment with the objectives of TDR, particularly in promoting One Health, emergency preparedness, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), disease elimination, and implementation research.
• Language and communication: Demonstrated proficiency in all working languages in the region.
• Sustainability: Plans for sustainability, including strategies for resource mobilization and institutionalization of activities.

For more information, visit WHO.