CFPs: Investigating Service Delivery in Conflict-Affected Settings (Yemen)

Teams are invited to submit proposals under one of the two themes, either: delivering services across jurisdictions or service delivery models and packages. The Principal Investigator and their institution must be based in Yemen, with collaboration (inside or outside the country) encouraged.

The Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research at WHO Headquarters, in collaboration with the WHO Health Emergencies Programme and with support from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is developing a new programme of health policy and systems research to gain better insights into how to deliver health services in conflict-affected settings.

Objectives

• The objective of research supported under this programme of work is to:
  • Inform and seek to improve the delivery of health services in the context of the current conflict in Yemen;
  • Identify lessons around service delivery in conflict settings that may be of applicability to other similar contexts; and
  • Sensitize policy actors in Yemen and the region of the potential of health systems research to be useful in conflict settings.
• As a secondary objective, this research should:
  • Contribute to the strengthening of capacities of health policy and systems researchers based in Yemeni institutions; and
  • Catalyse interest in health policy and systems research in conflict settings among the broader health policy and systems research community at regional and global levels.

Themes

• To fill this gap and catalyse evidence-informed decision-making to address health system challenges in Yemen, the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research in collaboration with the WHO Health Emergencies Programme (WHE) is issuing a call for innovative research focused on two broad research themes:
  • Delivering services across jurisdictions held by different groups in conflict with one another, including both state and non-state actors This theme seeks to support research that documents and investigates modalities to deliver services across jurisdictions overseen by non-state actor groups (including non-state armed groups) and state groups. The aim of research supported under this theme is to develop practical evidence on how to increase access to services for populations in different jurisdictions, and how coordination in the areas of health systems and service delivery has been managed between parties at conflict.
  • Service delivery models to improve delivery of health services in chronic conflict settings This theme will support research that can provide practical evidence on how to increase coverage of health services for conflict-affected populations (i.e., internally displaced persons, refugees and host populations) and enhance the resilience of communities and local health services. Knowledge generated through research on this theme should strengthen existing models of service delivery and also inform the development of new models of service delivery.

Funding Information

• A maximum of two proposals will be supported for funding in Yemen (one per research theme). The maximum funding for a single proposal will be US$ 75,000 for the period from October 2024–April 2026.

Expected Outputs and Outcomes 

• Teams supported under this programme of work are expected to generate high quality health policy and systems research addressing one of the two proposed themes mentioned above. While teams are free to develop peer reviewed publications, given the focus of this work programme to inform policy and practice, teams will be required to produce products aimed at decision-makers including policy and technical briefs and presentations in formats suitable for policy- and decision-makers. Teams will also be encouraged to creatively use digital formats for dissemination, an example of this would be the development of short videos highlighting important findings.
• Overall project success will be judged in terms of the extent to which the generated knowledge is perceived by programme implementers, policymakers and development partners to be useful to inform practice and policy within Yemen. The research team is expected to work closely with the Alliance, WHE and the WHO at the country level to put in place a process that engages these stakeholders in the co-creation of this knowledge from inception to project completion and potential policy uptake.

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible for this call:
  • The principal investigator must be based in a research/academic institution in Yemen.
  • Team members, as reflected in the expression of interest as well as the CV of the PI and co-PIs, should reflect experience in: a) service delivery or governance-related issues as relevant to the chosen theme, b) working in conflict-affected settings, c) applying the methodologies needed to carry out the proposed research.
• Collaboration across institutions is encouraged particularly with institutions in other low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Teams may choose to collaborate with institutions in high-income countries on the understanding that the Alliance will develop a contract with only one institution and that institution must be based in Yemen.

Selection Criteria

• Eligible proposals will be judged by at least two external reviewers based on selection criteria like:
  • A clearly articulated policy and practice relevant research question and a methodology appropriate to answer that question;
  • The potential of the research question to be feasibly answered within the programme timeframe;
  • Experience of the team in conducting health policy and systems research relevant to the selected theme;
  • Experience of the research team in engaging policy-makers in research processes;
  • A clearly articulated overview of the process through which the team plans to implement this work programme from inception to project completion; and
  • Value for money.

For more information, visit AHPSR.