Closed | 10 September – 24 October |
This exciting new program aims to enhance neuroscience research related to mental health in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), with a focus on promoting research capacity and accelerating the potential for impactful research programs.
Program Summary
Are you interested in participating in a unique and impactful career opportunity to establish a research collaboration with a focus on mental health? We invite you to apply to the IBRO-Wellcome Neuroscience Capacity Accelerator for Mental Health, an innovative program which aims to elevate the capacity for impactful neuroscience research programs in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs).
Who can get involved in the Capacity Accelerator?
Whether you are part of a pre-existing collaboration or seeking new opportunities to expand your research and career trajectory, the Capacity Accelerator program is your opportunity to advance the understanding of depression, anxiety, psychosis, broadly defined*. The Capacity Accelerator is specifically designed for researchers located in or affiliated with a LMIC, who are collaborating with a small group of local or international partners on a joint project in its formative stages. While the lead applicant must be based in a LMIC, other collaborating partner(s) can be based anywhere in the world. Example collaborations could include merging local neuroscience expertise with insights from collaborators, such as other neuroscientists, representatives of medical patient groups, healthcare practitioners, or educators.
Application dates:
10 September – 24 October, 2023
Level of funding:
up to £50,000 per 6-9 month project
Apply HERE
Please note you will be re-directed to the IBRO Grants Portal, where you will be prompted to create a user account before applying.
For all queries, please contact programs@ibro.org.
What is the program about?
The Capacity Accelerator is not just about funding – it is also an opportunity for you to develop your research expertise and capacity for engaging in successful collaborations. Projects may be aimed at widening networks beyond the usual circles – including with partners from different scientific areas with complementing expertise, developing plans to collaborate with Lived Experience (LE) experts, generating pilot data – all with the goal of preparing successful future project proposals. Proposals may focus on furthering our understanding of anxiety, depression, psychosis, broadly defined, and/or find new opportunities for early intervention.
As a capacity-building program, the Capacity Accelerator will also offer a tailor-made professional development program for awardees, including a variety of activities, ranging from in-person exchanges to virtual workshops and webinars over a 6-9 month period.
Why should you apply?
Whether you are from an academic institution, a research institute, a not-for-profit organization, or a non-academic healthcare organization, the Capacity Accelerator will support your ability to prepare successful grant proposals in the future. Receive up to £50,000 in funding, and more importantly, gain the skills and network to advance your personal and professional growth. The grant will support you as you establish the basis for long-lasting, fruitful collaborations.
*We take anxiety, depression, and psychosis as broadly defined categorizations to include all types of anxiety and depressive disorders (including obsessive compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder) and all forms of psychotic disorders (including schizophrenia, postpartum psychosis, and bipolar disorder).
Call for Applications
Commissioned by Wellcome, the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) is delivering a unique program aimed at enhancing neuroscience research related to mental health in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). This program primarily focuses on promoting LMIC research capacity through training and collaboration opportunities, thus accelerating the potential for impactful research programs. We aim to leverage neuroscience that can have a greater impact on basic and translational research in relation to anxiety, depression and psychosis, broadly defined*.
The program at a glance
Aims:
- enhance capacity for leading neuroscience research collaborations at a formative stage in LMICs
- fund projects that either
- further the understanding of anxiety, depression, or psychosis*, or
- find new opportunities for early interventions in those conditions
- support the collaborators in their preparation of subsequent successful project proposals
Example activities could be aimed at:
- widening networks beyond the usual circles, including with partners from different areas and with complementing expertise
- exchanging and developing projects and ideas
- developing plans to collaborate with LE experts
- generating pilot data, etc.
Level of funding:
- up to £50,000 per 6-9 month project
Key Dates:
*We take anxiety, depression, and psychosis as broadly defined categorizations to include all types of anxiety and depressive disorders (including obsessive compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder) and all forms of psychotic disorders (including schizophrenia, postpartum psychosis, and bipolar disorder).
About this call
IBRO is collaborating with Wellcome to advance neuroscience research initiatives and address urgent mental health challenges worldwide. Under this broad mission, this call aims to award projects that will advance knowledge generation in neuroscience with relevance to furthering our understanding of and/or finding new ways of predicting, stratifying, and intervening as early as possible in anxiety, depression, psychosis, broadly defined. This program puts a particular emphasis on capacity building in LMICs and the selected projects will be supported with up to £50,000 each. Salary expenses are not eligible for funding under this grant.
Who is eligible to apply?
- Researchers or clinicians with pre-existing collaborations or those seeking new opportunities to expand their research or research trajectory with a small group of partners, i.e. typically 2-3 collaborating partners in total.
- The lead applicant must
- either be based in or affiliated with an institution in a LMIC and have the experience necessary to drive and lead a collaborative research project, or the necessary support structures in placee to enable this.
- hold independent investigator status.
- definition: holder of an independent grant and the lead researcher for the grant project. We understand that job titles may differ according to regional context
- It is not required that the co-applicant(s) be based in or affiliated with a LMIC or hold independent investigator status.
- The co-applicant(s) must provide complementary skills and resources essential to the delivery of the project.
- Collaborations can be international, or collaborators may be based in the same country
- Applicants can be employed by higher education institutions, research institutes, non-academic healthcare organisations, or not-for-profit organisations.
Project proposals should:
- be for a duration of 6-9 months.
- focus on advancing knowledge generation in neuroscience with relevance to furthering our understanding of the development and/or resolution of anxiety, depression and psychosis as broadly defined categorisations, or finding new opportunities for early interventions in these conditions.
- show a potential for long-term scientific collaboration, highlighting plans for the development of research proposals, when relevant
- address ethical implications in both study design and uptake (if applicable)
Lived Experience Involvement
We advocate for meaningful involvement of LE experts in mental health research. Historically excluded, the perspectives of LE experts are vital and their long-term engagement in research projects often ensures improved applicability, relevance and acceptability of findings to the end users.
Grant applicants should consider how lived experience perspectives might enhance their projects on anxiety, depression, or psychosis. The grant proposals, however, do not need to include any engagement plan or practical LE component. Capacity building around lived experience will take place once the grants are awarded.
Awardee Program
A dedicated awardee program offers selected recipients a unique opportunity for career growth. Throughout the grant period, awardees will engage in a dynamic array of professional development activities, fostering skill enhancement and transformative experiences.
Useful documents before your application
- Wellcome’s guidance on involving lived experience in scientific projects
- Common metrics in mental health research
- Application form PDF
- Evaluation criteria PDF
How to Apply
To get started:
- Create an applicant account here
- Refer to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for any inquiries
- For technical issues with the site, submit a customer support request form
Apply HERE by 24 October 2023.
Please note you will be redirected to the IBRO Grants Portal
Funding conditions
General
- Please note that, due to financial and time related restrictions, we are unable to accept applications from or make direct or indirect payments to
- citizens and residents of Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria and Venezuela
- applicants affiliated with an institution based in China
- n.b these restrictions apply to both the lead and co-applicants and their respective team members associated with the proposed projects
- Applications and associated data will be stored and processed as stipulated in the IBRO Privacy Policy and shared with IBRO and Wellcome staff and grant evaluators as required
For Grantees
- Funds will be transferred according to a 90:10 format, meaning 90% of the grant will be awarded in advance of the project start date, and the remaining 10% upon completion of the project
- Funds will be transferred only to accounts affiliated with official institutions or organisations
- no overhead charges are permissible under this funding program
- Grantees are responsible for their own travel insurance for all travel related to the program
- All publications arising as a result of this funding must acknowledge the contribution of IBRO and Wellcome
Contact
For any queries, please contact programs@ibro.org