Available funds: € 800,000
Number of projects to fund: 4 projects
Deadline of application: 28 June 2010

Purpose of the grant
Through these calls, EDCTP intends to identify and support senior researchers capable of building and leading research groups at Sub-Saharan African institutions that will be internationally competitive and capable of winning grants from international funding bodies. This grant is both available for researchers already working in Africa as well as those looking to return to the continent (re-entry grant). For the Senior Fellowship NoE call, EDCTP specifically targets to contribute towards building of sustainable capacity through training and networking with linkage to the EDCTP supported regional networks of excellence in sub-Saharan Africa.

Maximum grant value
The maximum amount of grant requested from EDCTP should not exceed €200,000 per proposal. If the total budget for the project is over €200,000, please specify the source of the additional funds and provide evidence of this (e.g. formal letter of confirmation from the cofunding organization).

Project duration and end dates
This grant may be awarded for a project with duration of up to two years and with a latest end date of June 2013.  

Description of the Grant Scheme
EDCTP anticipates that sub-Saharan African institutions that receive EDCTP grants will play a key role as locations where practical experience in the conduct of clinical trials on the three poverty related diseases; HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria) can be obtained. Because scientific capacity can be limited by the lack of suitably qualified researchers EDCTP strategy is to support researchers at different levels.

Through this call, EDCTP intends to identify and support senior researchers capable of building and leading research groups at sub-Saharan African institutions that will be internationally competitive and capable of winning grants from international funding bodies. This grant is both available for researchers already working in Africa as well as those looking to return to the continent (re-entry grant). For this grant scheme EDCTP specifically targets to contribute towards building of sustainable capacity through training and networking with linkage to the EDCTP supported regional networks of excellence in sub-Saharan Africa. Project coordinators and scientific leaders within EDCTP funded Networks of Excellence are therefore encouraged to actively support applicants from their region in order to ensure maximum synergy with the activities of their network.

The target of this call is to support

• 1 (one) TB fellowship in Western Africa
• 1 (one) TB fellowship in Eastern Africa
• 1 (one) malaria fellowship in Southern Africa and
• 1 (one) HIV fellowship in Central Africa.

Information on the countries covered by these three networks can be found on the EDCTP website www.edctp.org.

Purpose of this grant
The objectives of this fellowship programme are to:

• Develop capacity for research in Sub-Saharan African institutions in the following regional economic communities that are part of the EDCTP supported networks of excellence: West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa and Southern Africa
• Promote the career development of Sub-Saharan African researchers by encouraging them to upgrade their profile and/or return or continue to work Africa
• Strengthen the capacity to undertake clinical trials of interventions on any of the three major poverty related diseases (PRDs) in Africa (HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria) conducted at internationally acceptable levels
• Cover a wide range of clinical research disciplines related to the three target diseases mentioned above. Studies may include epidemiology, clinical medicine, virology, immunology, parasitology, clinical pharmacology, and molecular biology. Special emphasis will be placed on phase II and III clinical trials
• This grant is targeted at Sub Saharan African researchers to assist them in establishing their own teams. It is suitable for candidates currently residing and working in Sub-Saharan African countries or as a re-entry grant for those who are currently residing and working abroad but plan, to return to these countries after receiving the grant.

Funding
The amount of each Senior Fellowship grant to be awarded will cover a fixed period of two years.

Budget outline: Salary (supplements) for fellows should be in compliance with the employment policy of African hosting institution requirements and EDCTP financial guidelines; other costs (including personnel, research materials, equipment, travels and mentorship) should be within the remaining budget.

Quality of candidate

• Candidates must be sub-Saharan African researchers with MD or PhD ideally with 5 to 10 years post qualification experience and a proven record in research
• Candidates should be based at a sub-Saharan African Institution that is conducting clinical trials
• Candidates should foster scientific research leadership in African institutions
• Candidates should optimize the use of EDCTP-funded trial sites as training opportunities
• Collaboration with ministries of health or disease control programmes is particularly encouraged
• EDCTP particularly encourages female candidates to submit a proposal for this fellowship
• Candidates should be in the midterm of their career as researcher

Eligibility criteria
These include submission before the deadline, completeness, following the rules stipulated in the application form, language (should be English) and legal status of applicant.

Selection criteria

1. Scientific excellence (feasibility, impact, innovation, design and methodology)
2. Scientific quality of the applicant (quality of scientific career, leadership and coaching skills, inspiring enthusiasm for research, teaching experience)
3. EDCTP relevance (public health relevance for developing countries, contribution to EDCTP joint programme)
4. Integration into host institution and its environment (justification within research strategy of host institution, contribution to improved North-South and South-South collaboration)
5. Project management (appropriateness of budget, structure of research team and day-to-day management, sponsorship and other aspects of clinical trial management - if applicable)

Intellectual Property Rights (if applicable)
EDCTP will ensure that the Investigational Product or its successors shall be accessible and available at an affordable price in developing countries.

List of the EDCTP-EEIG member states
Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

List of sub-Saharan African countries
Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Selection procedure
Submitted applications will be peer-reviewed by an independent panel of experts. EDCTP reserves the right to adapt the timelines of procedure in case of unexpected events.

Additional information

• Please note that EDCTP will not be the sponsor of any clinical trial
• Preference will be given to studies conducted at EDCTP funded clinical trial sites
• The award is not renewable
• If the quality of the candidates is equal preference will be given to female candidates
• EDCTP will not serve as sponsor in residence or working permit requirements
• Applicants may not apply for or receive more than one Training Awards grant at the same time
• Applicants for this grant should either have affiliation with the EDCTP supported regional networks of excellence or be endorsed by one of the institutions involved in these networks.

Terms and conditions for application
Applicants must comply with the instructions in the EDCTP financial guidelines when completing the Application form. 

In order to show proof of affiliation with an EDCTP-funded regional Network of Excellence, applicants are requested to fill out the Declaration Form and attach to it to their application.

Alternatively, the form can be obtained from the projects coordinators of the relevant EDCTP regional networks of excellence listed below:

Eastern Africa – Dr Pontiano Kaleebu (Pontiano.Kaleebu[at]mrcuganda.org) 
Western Africa – Prof. Souleyman Mboup (mboup[at]rarslbv.org; virus[at]organge.org) 
Central Africa – Prof. Francine Ntoumi (Francine.Ntoumi[at]amanet-trust.org; ffntoumi[at]hotmail.com) 
Southern Africa – Dr Alexander Pym (Alexander.Pym[at]mrc.ac.za) 

NB: Copies of publications and letters of recommendations (other than letters expressing personal recommendations) are not required and should not be submitted.

Legal information and support
EDCTP is supported by the Directorate General for Research of the European Commission, via Article 169 of the Treaty, decision No 1209/2003/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 June 2003. EDCTP conforms to the legislation of The Netherlands concerning the Personal Data Protection Act.

Submission
Complete applications should be submitted electronically (via email) to: proposals[at]edctp.org.

The application package to be submitted should contain at least the following components.

1. Fully completed Application Form
2. Fully completed Work plan with clear milestones and deliverables
3. Fully completed Budget Form following the model template
4. Fully completed Affiliation Declaration Form
5. Fully completed Self-Eligibility Check Form

Download here this call for proposal in PDF format