Applicants must fulfil the conditions listed below to be considered eligible for the health research grant. Applicants who do not meet these criteria shall have their applications automatically rejected. It is the responsibility of the candidate to ensure that they meet all the eligibility criteria, prior to applying for the grant. The criteria are as follows:

1. Aged 40 years and below at the time the application of the grant is being submitted.
2. Be a Master’s or PhD student (in a health-related field), or be a holder of a Master’s degree or PhD (in a health-related field) obtained within the last 10 years
3. Be resident, studying or working in Cameroon.

In situations where a project is to be carried out by a group of collaborators/researchers, the lead or principal investigator shall serve as the grant applicant, and will be required to meet up with the above listed criteria.

1. Funds provided shall be up to a maximum of 500,000 FCFA per research project.
2. Grants shall be provided based on the specific requirements of the project, after proper assessment of the estimated research budget presented by the applicant.
3. Grants shall be provided to cover only direct cost arising from the research project. Indirect costs such as those related to feeding or housing shall NOT be covered by the grant.
4. Funding shall be provided for research projects which could be completed within a period of ONE YEAR. Applicants shall therefore, in the course of requesting for the grant, provide a concise outline of the major research activities to be carried out (and their respective costs) over a well-defined time period.
5. If approved, grants given will tie exactly with the sum demanded by the applicant. There shall be no room for a potential increase in the amount provided as grant during the course of the research work. Applicants are therefore encouraged to properly assess their budget prior to applying for the grant.
6. The approved funding shall be paid out into the electronic bank account of the grantee, against the signature of a voucher, and agreement to the obligations attached to the grant received.
7. Funds shall be paid out in instalments, during each phase of the research project, matching to the amount indicated on the project timeline and budget.
8. A concise financial report justifying various expenses, shall be required at the end of each major phase of their research work, as outlined in the research proposal.

Applicants are encouraged to properly read and familiarize themselves with the eligibility criteria prior to applying. A researcher may submit a maximum of two (2)applications. Deadline for the 2019 pool of applications is scheduled for the 27th of June at 11:59 PM (GMT + 1).

Applicants will be able to save their progress on the application form, and complete it later as needed.

The application process shall consist of filling an online application form with basic personal, academic and professional information, as well as uploading certain outstanding documents. These documents shall constitute a considerable portion of the assessment aimed at determining whether or not applicants deserve to receive funding from the health research grant initiative. Applicants are therefore advised to develop and revise them before submission. The documents include:

1. A concise, well written research proposal/protocol, with a well-defined research timeline of activities and budget
2. A motivation letter pointing out the reason(s) for which the candidate believes his/her research project should be funded by the grant, and the potential impact their research could have on health care or health policy in Cameroon (500 words maximum).
3. The most recent version of the applicant’s curriculum vitae (CV)/resume

Applicants will also be required to submit:

4. A copy of their highest degree certificate for graduates, or a copy of a school attendance certificate for students.
5. A copy of the photo page of a valid identification document (national identity card or passport)

Applicants can always save their incomplete application form and return to it later. Applicants are advised to download the application form and get all the aforementioned documentation ready, before they begin the application process. Once an application form has been completed and submitted, no further modifications shall be possible. Upon submission, applicants shall receive a confirmatory email.

You MUST use the BUDGET TEMPLATE for your proposal.

NB:Incomplete application files, or applications from individuals that do not meet the eligibility criteria shall be automatically rejected. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure they have submitted all the necessary files required, or that they meet all the eligibility criteria.

The ethical challenges of conducting public health research will be a major consideration for applicants.  All applicants will be expected to acquire ethical approval for their research from a recognised institutional review board.  Further details on ethical considerations should be included in the proposal

Review of application files hall be done by the Foundation’s health research team, under the supervision of board chair. Selection criteria taken into consideration will include the following:

Feasibility:How feasibility is the research project in achieving its objectives?

Principal investigator:is the principal investigator qualified for the grant? How credible is the application file of the applicant for the research project to be realised?

Significance:The potential impact of the research project on pressing health care and health policy related challenges in Cameroon. As earlier mentioned, this remains the primary goal of the grant. What will be the value added of the propose research to existing knowledge? Consequently, research projects that meet up this criterion are preferred.

Methodology:Proposed research methodologies should be of a standard such that final papers will be publishable in peer-reviewed academic journals or presented in conferences. Robust innovative methodologies that advance health research are encouraged. Primary and/or secondary data collection approaches will be considered.

In the case were the application file of two or more applicants is judged to be equally good, preference shall be given to applicants with more research experience. This will be judged using the number of prior research positions held, the number of research linked conferences and trainings attended and the number of peer review publications authored or co-authored by the applicant.

Results regarding funding approval shall be available in mid August 2019.  Only selected applicants shall be contacted by the foundation.

Correspondence between the Foundation and grantees shall be done exclusively via their listed email addresses. Applicants are therefore encouraged to ensure that the email address provided during the application is valid and active.

If selected, successful applicants shall receive directives on how to accept the grant by email. They are therefore advised to check their e-mails frequently, starting from the moment they are notified that their research project has been approved for funding. Applicants have one to accept the grant following the reception of this email after which the grant shall be automatically and permanently suspended.

Funding received form the health research grant initiative, is linked to certain additional obligations which the Foundation deems very important. Grantees are expected to meet up with these obligations. Failure to do so may lead to a temporal or a definitive suspension of the research funding. These include;

– Grantees will be required to attend two (2) training workshops on research methods and manuscript writing organised by the foundation.

– Grantees will be expected to present the findings of their research work at a special research symposium organised by the foundation in May 2020.

– Grantees will be required to prepare and submit an abstract of their work in national and international conferences.

– Grantees will be required to work and collaborate fully with the foundations research team, to ensure successful completion of the research projects

– They will be expected to acknowledge the support and funding provided by the foundation during publication of the research work in any peer review journal.

– They will be required to provide reports at the end of each major phase of their research project as indicated in the research timeline.

For further information and questions regarding the health research grant, please contact Dr. Clarence Mbanga via:

Email: [email protected]

Tel: (+237) 222 31 15 84 / (+237) 654 86 72 54