The Small Grants Program from MEASURE Evaluation Population & Reproductive Health Associate Award (PRH) is “to build the evidence base in family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH), support the research efforts of developing country researchers and their institutions, and maximize opportunities to use research findings for decision-making.” NGOs, academic institutions and other research organizations can submit proposals and apply for this grants program. Amongst developing countries, MEASURE evaluation PRH countries and USAID Tier One countries have been prioritized. The purposes of the program are:
1) To support research efforts of developing country researchers and research institutions to provide needed information that informs policy and programmatic decision-making on FP/RH.
2) To increase use of existing data that informs local and/or global FP/RH programs. Such data sources may include the DHS, SPA, BSS, and high quality country-specific data.
3) To increase use of research findings by policy and programmatic decision-makers not traditionally involved in the research process.
The suggested topics for the research are listed as follows:
- Reaching underserved populations (e.g. addressing FP/RH needs of youth and adolescents; the poor; displaced populations; etc.)
- Evaluation of FP/RH programs or policies (e.g. community-based distribution, contraceptive security, long-acting & permanent methods (LAPM), etc.)
- FP/MCH or FP/HIV service integration (e.g. post-partum FP, Post-abortion care, immunization services; PMTCT services, etc.)
- Population-Environment integration
- Healthy timing and spacing of pregnancies (HTSP) tools & approaches
- Addressing gender in FP/RH
The program will offer US $5000 initially to cover basic research-related expenses but the total grant will depend upon the budget drawn up and presented for “planned data use activities.” Travel grants can also be included and more funding for research can also be proposed. Proposals will include a 2-3 page summary outlining “research questions, scope of analysis, description of dataset, key opportunities for using the study findings to inform programs or policy, and strategies for facilitating the use of study findings.” Detailed proposals also need to be submitted. The last date to submit the proposals is 31 December 2009. For more information, visit this link.