Funding available for Large-Scale Investigator

Consistent with its charitable mission, Global Action to End Smoking (GA) seeks research grant proposals that aim to fill scientific gaps and identify new solutions that help individual smokers quit cigarettes. GA funds research on different approaches aimed at ending the global smoking epidemic, including research on both traditional evidence-based interventions as well as newer reduced risk nicotine products for smokers who cannot or will not quit using traditional interventions. Additionally, if cessation interventions have historically been developed in HICs, there is a need for strong implementation research to examine the important and dynamic factors that influence successful adaptation of these interventions to the unique contexts of LMICs (e.g., cultural, political, social, economic, regulatory, tobacco-type product use).

This RFP is specifically designed for large-scale, population-level, or confirmatory studies with sufficient preliminary data to justify the study design, aims, and hypotheses.

Objective

• GA’s strategic objective is to accelerate comprehensive, evidence-based global efforts to end the smoking epidemic, with a focus on LMICs and marginalized populations in HICs.

Topics

• Suggested topics include, but are not limited to, public health research areas covering various topics, such as:
  • Tobacco use, smoking cessation, and/or the potential impact of reduced risk products on cessation and public health outcomes (e.g., improving or tailoring behavioral interventions; local epidemiology and surveillance studies; population-based survey methodology; randomized controlled trials or observational cohorts for switching studies; real-world evidence generation)
  • Rigorous evaluation research to test the effectiveness of education and dissemination interventions to correct misperceptions about nicotine relative to combusted tobacco, and accurately communicate the continuum of risk to stakeholders including people who smoke (e.g., mixed-method message testing; quasi-experimental or experimental designs for health communication campaigns; outcome evaluation of physician education programs)
  • Health systems change or health care delivery research specific to smoking cessation outcomes (e.g., multilevel interventions within public health practice, community settings, clinics, or other health systems to improve or expand on cessation services; embedding cessation services within existing non-communicable disease programs)
  • Sociodemographic research about disparities in smoking prevalence and cessation outcomes in LMICs or HICs (e.g., diverse research methods focused on groups disproportionately impacted by smoking including understudied or marginalized populations; vulnerable groups with higher failed quit attempts or limited access to cessation options)
  • Health economics research related to evidence-based tobacco control programs and/or reduced-risk nicotine products (e.g., experimental or quasi-experimental policy evaluation, discrete choice experimentation, consumer behavior modeling; costeffectiveness or cost and benefit analysis)
  • Implementation research to expand and improve evidence-based interventions or to develop novel demonstration projects (e.g., implementation science models that describe how to adapt existing interventions to new contexts; design and evaluation of locally-relevant programs tailored to the country of interest; research to identify and examine contextual factors that act as facilitators or barriers to country-specific implementation outcomes)

Funding Information

• Awards for this announcement may not exceed USD 2,500,000 per project.
• The maximum duration shall not exceed 24 months.

Geographical Focus 

• GA’s goal is to fund investigator-initiated projects that generate new knowledge specific to populations disproportionately burdened by the smoking epidemic in both HICs and LMICs. A geographic priority is countries with historically high smoking rates and disease burden from traditional tobacco use, with a focus on LMICs and populations that are most at risk for premature morbidity and mortality. GA also prioritizes research specific to marginalized populations within HICs with higher smoking rates and those with poor cessation outcomes, including but not limited to, people of low socioeconomic status, people with mental health conditions or substance use disorders, sexual and gender minorities, and Indigenous peoples.
• Applicants should provide relevant information about the country or population of interest, a rationale for selecting the priority study population, and available resources to conduct the research including professional networks, academic research mentors, and stakeholder engagement activities. If research is specific to reduced-risk nicotine products, research should be conducted where those products are legally available. However, GA may also review applications for research in localities where reduced risk nicotine products are not available, depending on the aims and scope of the proposed research.

Eligibility Criteria

• Eligible institutions include academic, think-tank, and health-related research and science centers, and other collaborating centers and institutions with experience in related subject areas such as public health, behavioral health, psychology, epidemiology, economics, disease prevention, and health communications. Previous experience in research related to smoking cessation, tobacco control, marginalized populations, or harm reduction-informed approaches to public health is desirable, but not required. Proposals should be submitted by entities registered in their country of origin with an ability to accept grants from not-for-profit foundations incorporated in the United States.

Evaluation Criteria

• The following criteria will be used to evaluate submissions:
  • Significance of the research question and potential to advance knowledge or public health practice
  • Methodological approach and description of hypotheses, study design, sample size, statistical analyses, human subjects’ protections (if applicable), and rationale for study population or country
  • Necessary and sufficient preliminary evidence used to establish scientific plausibility
  • Feasibility of the research plan, list of study deliverables, and timelines
  • expertise and prior experience of the Principal Investigator and named staff including demonstrated experience on similar projects
  • The research environment including description of adequate physical, financial, and intellectual resources to meet the aims of the proposed project
  • Capacity to conduct research aligned with Open Science principles
  • The communication and dissemination plan for results, as appropriate to the scope of the research
  • Budget relative to significance/impact of the proposed research and scientific contribution
  • Key organizational documents provided to GA as part of the due diligence process.

For more information, visit Global Action to End Smoking.