Grand Challenges is a family of initiatives fostering innovation to solve key global health and development problems. Each initiative is an experiment in the use of challenges to focus innovation on making an impact. Individual challenges address some of the same problems, but from differing perspectives.

Challenges

Grand Challenges

Strengthening Health and Disease Modeling for Public Health Decision Making in Africa

Mathematical modeling is a valuable tool for informing policy-making and programmatic decision-making in the public health domain. Modeling can be applied to analyze key areas from disease burden estimation, to evaluating the potential impact of control interventions, to informing product development. Approaches to guide public health action led by local modeling units and co-created with decision-makers, bring an invaluable understanding of relevant local/regional context and questions, enabling higher impact.

<h2>Background</h2>The power of science and innovation can improve global health and development outcomes and dramatically reduce global inequity. Harnessing the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) can improve the lives and wellbeing of women, children, and vulnerable communities everywhere.As AI technology continues to swiftly evolve and advance, the global community must move with urgency to ensure low- and middle-income countries<a class="footnote" href="#_ftn1" title="" name="_ftnref1">i</a> (LMICs) are included in the co-creation process. AI solutions targeting LMICs must be locally driven and owned and relevant to each person's needs. Local communities must be given the opportunity to provide their own perspective and cultural context so that they can decide on both 1) their own thresholds for safe usage and 2) the overall utility of AI within their own lives.Additionally, LMICs must have equitable access to AI tools and approaches. Responsible global use of AI entails a safe, equitable, transparent, reliable, and beneficial process that is adhered to with a high level of accountability. As the world rapidly moves to seize AI's opportunity, it is imperative to monitor and mitigate the safety, ethical, equity, and reliability dimensions of AI deployment. This will allow the enormous resilience, creativity, and commitment of researchers, scientists, and policymakers to capture the full capability of AI for lasting good.The Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation and Grand Challenges (GC) Partners (including GC South Africa and GC Brazil, with others to be confirmed) have jointly discussed the need for an equitable and responsible approach to the use of AI and specifically Large Language Models (LLMs) in LMICs. This initial call by the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation represents an early step towards identifying, nurturing, and catalyzing the creativity, energy, and skills that researchers, implementers, governments, and technical partners have demonstrated in solving specific challenges in their countries and regions through LLMs. We are optimistic that this will lead to more investment from the Gates Foundation, GC partners, and other funders, to ensure that this potentially transformative technology improves the lives and conditions of the most vulnerable communities around the world.<h2>The Challenge</h2>This RFP seeks innovative and safe approaches to the use of Large Language Models (ChatGPT-4, or other credible sources with equivalent capability) to build an evidence base across the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gatesfoundation.org/our-work#program_strategies" target="_blank">Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation Divisions</a> of Global Health, Gender Equality, Global Growth and Opportunity (including Global Education), and Global Development contexts in LMICs.We are looking for projects that can be executed over a 3-month period and will achieve at least one of the following objectives:<ol><li>Demonstrate how the tool can be used to support decision making (in terms of speed, accuracy, inclusivity, quality) in the following domains.<ul><li>Accelerate the pathway from evidence to policy development.</li><li>Accelerate the pathway from policy to implementation.</li><li>Enhance the quality and timeliness of focused communications.</li><li>Improve the quality of resource allocation exercises.</li><li>Decision support for front line workers.</li></ul></li><li>Achieve a better understanding of the opportunities and challenges related to ChatGPT-4, or other credible sources with equivalent capabilities, use in LMICs and how they can be effectively mitigated.</li><li>Conduct observational research that highlights end-user specific applications of ChatGPT-4, or other credible sources with equivalent capabilities, amongst vulnerable populations in LMICs.</li></ol>Ideally the proposal will also:<ul><li>Work on a specific problem that has been identified as a priority in a country or region.</li><li>Contribute to the body of evidence related to AI use in LMICs across health, gender, financial inclusion, agriculture, and education.</li><li>Foster innovation with AI in the interest of supporting decision makers and affected communities.</li><li>Enable an improved understanding of the potential and risks of AI for LMICs.</li><li>Place a strong emphasis on systematically observing, validating, and documenting the process and outcomes for each proposal.</li><li>Conform with global principles of AI use i) to do no harm ii) to leverage technology against the toughest/most relevant problem iii) ensures that projects are led from LMICs even though there may be a high-income country (HIC) partner iv) local voices and ideas are captured throughout the process, and v) there is a dissemination plan of the outcomes of the projects.</li></ul>Priority will be given to proposals that have:<ul><li>an explicit request for an AI supported project,</li><li>those projects that have already completed a pilot before this Grand Challenges call, and/or,</li><li>projects that have lessons/tools that can be transferred to other use cases / situations/ contexts with minimal change.</li></ul>Funding Level:The funding level is a grant of up to USD $100,000.00, for each project, provided to the organization, with a term of up to 3 months.<a href="#_edn2" title="" name="_ednref2">ii</a> Application budgets should be commensurate with the scope of work proposed. The budget envelope for this Grand Challenge request for proposals is up to $3,000,000.What We Are Looking For:<ul><li>Proposals are led by investigators in LMICs.</li><li>Proposals that demonstrate clear applications of ChatGPT-4, or other credible sources with equivalent capabilities, to address a specific challenge in LMICs related to the SDGs.</li><li>Proposals that demonstrate the grantee has a firm grasp of the application, has done some of the stakeholder mapping, and has an engagement plan to ensure the proposal is successful.</li><li>Proposals that include engagement with affected/supported populations, decision makers.</li><li>Proposals that show the potential for AI to be transformative for application in the <a href="https://www.gatesfoundation.org/our-work#program_strategies" target="_blank">Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation Divisions</a> of Global Health, Gender Equality, Global Growth and Opportunity (including Global Education), and Global Development.</li><li>Proposals that present a high leverage and scalability opportunity.</li><li>Proposals that can easily be adapted or modified either across i) geographies or ii) fields.</li><li>Proposals that outline a clear, feasible and reproducible methodology.</li><li>Proposals that focus on identifying risks to responsible use and develop ways to mitigate those risks.</li><li>Proposals that have timely access to data, decision-maker time and interest in using AI</li><li>Proposals that articulate how the project will lead to impact in the near-term and how those benefits will be sustained past the lifetime of the project.</li><li>Proposals that demonstrate engagement with local and regional decision makers.</li><li>Proposals that are driven by a shared commitment to open science, data sharing, and building collaboration and analysis infrastructure to enable discoveries that will benefit people everywhere.</li></ul>Note: Global partners may be included. However, priority will be given to proposals that demonstrate at least 80% of the funding is going to LMIC institutions and where the investigator is a part of an LMIC institution.We will not consider funding for proposals that:<ul><li>Do not explicitly use/reference the use of ChatGPT-4, or other credible sources with equivalent capabilities, in their project execution.</li><li>Ignore the challenges and context constraints LMICs present.</li><li>Do not have timely access to necessary data, decision-maker time, commitment, and interest (a commendation/request letter will be advantageous).</li><li>Do not demonstrate that the majority of the work proposed will be undertaken by investigators and teams in LMICs.</li><li>Have a weak methodology.</li><li>Have no or weak validation plan.</li><li>Do not provide any thought towards scale up and sustainability.</li><li>Do not engage local and/or regional decision-makers.</li></ul><a href="#_ftnref1" title="" name="_ftn1">i</a> See <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/country/XO" target="_blank">World Bank – Low Income Countries</a> for definitions.<a href="#_ednref2" title="" name="_edn2">ii</a> Subject to the eligibility requirements in the <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/sites/default/files/files/catalyzing_equitable_ai_use_rules_and_guidelines.pdf" target="_blank">Rules &amp; Guidelines</a>.

Catalyzing Equitable Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use

<h2>Background</h2>
The power of science and innovation can improve global health and development outcomes and dramatically reduce global inequity. Harnessing the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) can improve the lives and wellbeing of women, children, and vulnerable communities everywhere.
As AI technology continues to swiftly evolve and advance, the global community must move with urgency to ensure low- and middle-income countries<a href="#_edn1" title="" name="_ednref1" id="_ednref1">i</a> (LMICs) are included in the co-creation process. AI solutions targeting LMICs must be locally driven and owned and relevant to each person's needs. Local communities must be given the opportunity to provide their own perspective and cultural context so that they can decide on both 1) their own thresholds for safe usage and 2) the overall utility of AI within their own lives.
Additionally, LMICs must have equitable access to AI tools and approaches. Responsible global use of AI entails a safe, equitable, transparent, reliable, and beneficial process that is adhered to with a high level of accountability. As the world rapidly moves to seize AI's opportunity, it is imperative to monitor and mitigate the safety, ethical, equity, and reliability dimensions of AI deployment. This will allow the enormous resilience, creativity, and commitment of researchers, scientists, and policymakers to capture the full capability of AI for lasting good.
The Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation and Grand Challenges (GC) Partners (including GC South Africa and GC Brazil, with others to be confirmed) have jointly discussed the need for an equitable and responsible approach to the use of AI and specifically Large Language Models (LLMs) in LMICs. This initial call by the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation represents an early step towards identifying, nurturing, and catalyzing the creativity, energy, and skills that researchers, implementers, governments, and technical partners have demonstrated in solving specific challenges in their countries and regions through LLMs. We are optimistic that this will lead to more investment from the Gates Foundation, GC partners, and other funders, to ensure that this potentially transformative technology improves the lives and conditions of the most vulnerable communities around the world.
<h2>The Challenge</h2>
This RFP seeks innovative and safe approaches to the use of Large Language Models (ChatGPT-4, or other credible sources with equivalent capability) to build an evidence base across the <a href="https://www.gatesfoundation.org/our-work#program_strategies" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation Divisions</a> of Global Health, Gender Equality, Global Growth and Opportunity (including Global Education), and Global Development contexts in LMICs.
We are looking for projects that can be executed over a 3-month period and will achieve at least one of the following objectives:
<ol><li>Demonstrate how the tool can be used to support decision making (in terms of speed, accuracy, inclusivity, quality) in the following domains.
<ul><li>Accelerate the pathway from evidence to policy development.</li>
<li>Accelerate the pathway from policy to implementation.</li>
<li>Enhance the quality and timeliness of focused communications.</li>
<li>Improve the quality of resource allocation exercises.</li>
<li>Decision support for front line workers.</li>
</ul></li>
<li>Achieve a better understanding of the opportunities and challenges related to ChatGPT-4, or other credible sources with equivalent capabilities, use in LMICs and how they can be effectively mitigated.</li>
<li>Conduct observational research that highlights end-user specific applications of ChatGPT-4, or other credible sources with equivalent capabilities, amongst vulnerable populations in LMICs.</li>
</ol>Ideally the proposal will also:
<ul><li>Work on a specific problem that has been identified as a priority in a country or region.</li>
<li>Contribute to the body of evidence related to AI use in LMICs across health, gender, financial inclusion, agriculture, and education.</li>
<li>Foster innovation with AI in the interest of supporting decision makers and affected communities.</li>
<li>Enable an improved understanding of the potential and risks of AI for LMICs.</li>
<li>Place a strong emphasis on systematically observing, validating, and documenting the process and outcomes for each proposal.</li>
<li>Conform with global principles of AI use i) to do no harm ii) to leverage technology against the toughest/most relevant problem iii) ensures that projects are led from LMICs even though there may be a high-income country (HIC) partner iv) local voices and ideas are captured throughout the process, and v) there is a dissemination plan of the outcomes of the projects.</li>
</ul>Priority will be given to proposals that have:
<ul><li>an explicit request for an AI supported project,</li>
<li>those projects that have already completed a pilot before this Grand Challenges call, and/or,</li>
<li>projects that have lessons/tools that can be transferred to other use cases / situations/ contexts with minimal change.</li>
</ul>Funding Level:
The funding level is a grant of up to USD $100,000.00, for each project, provided to the organization, with a term of up to 3 months.<a href="#_edn2" title="" name="_ednref2" id="_ednref2">ii</a> Application budgets should be commensurate with the scope of work proposed. The budget envelope for this Grand Challenge request for proposals is up to $3,000,000.
What We Are Looking For:
<ul><li>Proposals are led by investigators in LMICs.</li>
<li>Proposals that demonstrate clear applications of ChatGPT-4, or other credible sources with equivalent capabilities, to address a specific challenge in LMICs related to the SDGs.</li>
<li>Proposals that demonstrate the grantee has a firm grasp of the application, has done some of the stakeholder mapping, and has an engagement plan to ensure the proposal is successful.</li>
<li>Proposals that include engagement with affected/supported populations, decision makers.</li>
<li>Proposals that show the potential for AI to be transformative for application in the <a href="https://www.gatesfoundation.org/our-work#program_strategies" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation Divisions</a> of Global Health, Gender Equality, Global Growth and Opportunity (including Global Education), and Global Development.</li>
<li>Proposals that present a high leverage and scalability opportunity.</li>
<li>Proposals that can easily be adapted or modified either across i) geographies or ii) fields.</li>
<li>Proposals that outline a clear, feasible and reproducible methodology.</li>
<li>Proposals that focus on identifying risks to responsible use and develop ways to mitigate those risks.</li>
<li>Proposals that have timely access to data, decision-maker time and interest in using AI</li>
<li>Proposals that articulate how the project will lead to impact in the near-term and how those benefits will be sustained past the lifetime of the project.</li>
<li>Proposals that demonstrate engagement with local and regional decision makers.</li>
<li>Proposals that are driven by a shared commitment to open science, data sharing, and building collaboration and analysis infrastructure to enable discoveries that will benefit people everywhere.</li>
</ul>Note: Global partners may be included. However, priority will be given to proposals that demonstrate at least 80% of the funding is going to LMIC institutions and where the investigator is a part of an LMIC institution.
We will not consider funding for proposals that:
<ul><li>Do not explicitly use/reference the use of ChatGPT-4, or other credible sources with equivalent capabilities, in their project execution.</li>
<li>Ignore the challenges and context constraints LMICs present.</li>
<li>Do not have timely access to necessary data, decision-maker time, commitment, and interest (a commendation/request letter will be advantageous).</li>
<li>Do not demonstrate that the majority of the work proposed will be undertaken by investigators and teams in LMICs.</li>
<li>Have a weak methodology.</li>
<li>Have no or weak validation plan.</li>
<li>Do not provide any thought towards scale up and sustainability.</li>
<li>Do not engage local and/or regional decision-makers.</li>
</ul><a href="#_ednref1" title="" name="_edn1" id="_edn1">i</a> See <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/country/XO" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">World Bank – Low Income Countries</a> for definitions.
<a href="#_ednref2" title="" name="_edn2" id="_edn2">ii</a> Subject to the eligibility requirements in the <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/sites/default/files/files/catalyzing_equitable_ai_use_rules_and_guidelines.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rules &amp; Guidelines</a>.

Harnessing the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) can improve the lives and wellbeing of vulnerable communities everywhere including those of women and children. As AI technology continues to swiftly evolve and advance, the global community must move with urgency to ensure low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are included in the co-creation process.

This request for proposals seeks innovative and safe approaches to the use of Large Language Models (ChatGPT-4, or other credible sources with equivalent capability). The foundation hopes to build an evidence base on this issue – informed by the communities we serve – to ensure this technology ultimately improves the lives of the world's most vulnerable people. This initial call is an opportunity to identify, nurture, and catalyze the creativity, energy, and skills that researchers, implementers, governments, and technical partners have demonstrated insolving specific challenges in their countries and regions through Large Language Models.

**NOTE: This opportunity was open only to participants who registered for and attended the 2022 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting.

<h2>THE OPPORTUNITY</h2>

The Grand Challenges Annual Meeting fosters innovation and international collaboration to address the biggest challenges in global health and development. It has been held in <a href="https://grandchallenges.org/annual-meeting" target="_blank">11 countries</a> over the past 17 years and in a virtual format for the past two years. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the world the challenges and opportunities ahead with new clarity. The 2022 meeting continues the Annual Meeting's goal to support a global community of problem solvers who work together to set an innovation agenda and do the breakthrough science to deliver on it – to go further and faster together.

<h2>THE CHALLENGE</h2>

This Call-to-Action provides an opportunity for Grand Challenges Annual Meeting participants to take action based on ideas they developed and people they met at the meeting. As noted by past applicants in their submitted proposals, the meeting provides diverse ways to combine expertise and perspectives to speed the impact of what would otherwise be separate work by individual investigators. The <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/grants/JTdCJTIyc29ydCUyMiUzQSUyMmRlc2NlbmRpbmclMjIlMkMlMjJzb3J0RmllbGQlMjIlM0ElMjJkYXRlJTIyJTJDJTIybnVtYmVyUGVyUGFnZSUyMiUzQTEwMCUyQyUyMnBhZ2VOdW1iZXIlMjIlM0EwJTdE/JTdCJTIyeWVhcnMlMjIlM0ElNUIlNUQlMkMlMjJjaGFsbGVuZ2VzJTIyJTNBJTVCJTIyMTI5JTIyJTVEJTJDJTIydGVybXMlMjIlM0ElNUIlNUQlMkMlMjJpbml0aWF0aXZlcyUyMiUzQSU1QiU1RCUyQyUyMmxvY2F0aW9ucyUyMiUzQSU1QiU1RCU3RA==" target="_blank">grants awarded</a> for past Call-to-Action opportunities show this, and we hope that this year’ meeting will also provide ways to catalyze collaborative projects that yield a tangible solution to a key problem by the end of the grant.

Please note that there are multiple grant opportunities being launched at the Annual Meeting:

&nbsp;•&nbsp;Two that are open to meeting participants

<ol>
	<li>This 2022 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting Call-to-Action</li>
	<li><a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/supporting-researchers-through-technologies-global-health-discovery-collaboratory" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Supporting Researchers Through the Technologies of the Global Health Discovery Collaboratory Platforms</a></li>
</ol>

&nbsp;•&nbsp;Additional <a href="https://grandchallenges.org/grant-opportunities" target="_blank">grant opportunities</a> that are publicly open, launched across the Grand Challenges family of initiatives

Funding

Each meeting participant will have one opportunity to apply as the primary applicant for a USD $100,000 grant or a collaborative USD $200,000 grant, both with an 18-month grant duration. Collaborative awards require the participation of at least two meeting participants from different institutions. While restricted to one application as the primary applicant, meeting participants may participate as collaborators in multiple collaborative applications. Priority will be given to new or newly expanded collaborations, rather than to existing collaborations seeking new funding.

We will give highest priority to proposed projects that:

<ul>
	<li>Contribute to a partnership network that empowers those with the local perspective required to direct the right approaches to the right parts of the problems to ensure success. We will prioritize projects led by investigators from low- and middle-income countries and a balanced representation of women principal investigators. Their collective action and directed energy will help solve today's key problems in global health, while building research networks ready to solve tomorrow’s</li>
	<li>Are likely to yield a tangible answer to a question or solution to a problem within the grant term</li>
	<li>Are explicitly aligned with the content within the meeting's scientific track sessions. Please note that individual proposals will be reviewed based on their alignment with one primary track and the specific content presented there (see <a href="https://custom.cvent.com/B6E596DEAC6A4A7FB1467497AE4FF54B/files/event/0123b10e74394b98afaf2b0c4088baeb/ba3d9702354245d1bad108dcc1e831c0.pdf" target="_blank">meeting agenda</a>), since we seek to provide an opportunity for participants to take action based on an idea that they developed and people they met during their participation in a scientific track. Eligible scientific tracks for this Call-to-Action are listed below, and they include the entire Keystone Symposia Global Health Series conference that overlaps with the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting.</li>
</ul>

Scientific tracks eligible for the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting Call-to-Action

<ul>
	<li>Advancing Drug Discovery for Global Health </li>
	<li>Applying a Translational Lens to Global Health</li>
	<li>Beyond the first 1000 days: Research and implementation innovations for women and girls' nutrition</li>
	<li>Global Health Discovery Collaboratory - Novel Technologies for Collaborative Scientific Solutions</li>
	<li>Global Partnerships &amp; Grand Challenges</li>
	<li>Harnessing the Power of Data in Health</li>
	<li>Innovations in Non-Hormonal Contraceptives Research &amp; Development</li>
	<li>Maximizing the Potential of Pathogen Genomic Sequencing for Global Health</li>
	<li>New Insights &amp; Innovations to Address Antimicrobial Resistance</li>
	<li>Vaccine and Biologics Innovations for Global Health</li>
	<li>Keystone Symposia - Covid and Beyond: Novel Approaches to Global Infectious Diseases</li>
</ul>

We will not consider funding approaches that:

<ul>
	<li>Are not explicitly aligned with the specific content within the meeting scientific tracks listed above that are eligible for this request for proposals</li>
	<li>Address the meeting scientific tracks that are not part of this request for proposals: Novel Approaches to Reduce the Impacts of Climate Change on Health (noting that there is an associated <a href="https://www.grandchallenges.ca/funding-opportunities/" target="_blank">Grand Challenges Canada</a> request for proposals) and Sourcing and Accelerating Humanitarian Innovations</li>
</ul>

2022 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting Call-to-Action

**NOTE: This opportunity is only open to participants who registered for and attended the 2022 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting.
<h2>THE OPPORTUNITY</h2>
The Grand Challenges Annual Meeting fosters innovation and international collaboration to address the biggest challenges in global health and development. It has been held in <a href="https://grandchallenges.org/annual-meeting" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">11 countries</a> over the past 17 years and in a virtual format for the past two years. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the world the challenges and opportunities ahead with new clarity. The 2022 meeting continues the Annual Meeting's goal to support a global community of problem solvers who work together to set an innovation agenda and do the breakthrough science to deliver on it – to go further and faster together.
<h2>THE CHALLENGE</h2>
This Call-to-Action provides an opportunity for Grand Challenges Annual Meeting participants to take action based on ideas they developed and people they met at the meeting. As noted by past applicants in their submitted proposals, the meeting provides diverse ways to combine expertise and perspectives to speed the impact of what would otherwise be separate work by individual investigators. The <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/grants/JTdCJTIyc29ydCUyMiUzQSUyMmRlc2NlbmRpbmclMjIlMkMlMjJzb3J0RmllbGQlMjIlM0ElMjJkYXRlJTIyJTJDJTIybnVtYmVyUGVyUGFnZSUyMiUzQTEwMCUyQyUyMnBhZ2VOdW1iZXIlMjIlM0EwJTdE/JTdCJTIyeWVhcnMlMjIlM0ElNUIlNUQlMkMlMjJjaGFsbGVuZ2VzJTIyJTNBJTVCJTIyMTI5JTIyJTVEJTJDJTIydGVybXMlMjIlM0ElNUIlNUQlMkMlMjJpbml0aWF0aXZlcyUyMiUzQSU1QiU1RCUyQyUyMmxvY2F0aW9ucyUyMiUzQSU1QiU1RCU3RA==" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">grants awarded</a> for past Call-to-Action opportunities show this, and we hope that this year’ meeting will also provide ways to catalyze collaborative projects that yield a tangible solution to a key problem by the end of the grant.
Please note that there are multiple grant opportunities being launched at the Annual Meeting:
 • Two that are open to meeting participants
<ol><li>This 2022 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting Call-to-Action</li>
<li><a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/supporting-researchers-through-technologies-global-health-discovery-collaboratory" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Supporting Researchers Through the Technologies of the Global Health Discovery Collaboratory Platforms</a></li>
</ol> • Additional <a href="https://grandchallenges.org/grant-opportunities" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">grant opportunities</a> that are publicly open, launched across the Grand Challenges family of initiatives
Funding
Each meeting participant will have one opportunity to apply as the primary applicant for a USD $100,000 grant or a collaborative USD $200,000 grant, both with an 18-month grant duration. Collaborative awards require the participation of at least two meeting participants from different institutions. While restricted to one application as the primary applicant, meeting participants may participate as collaborators in multiple collaborative applications. Priority will be given to new or newly expanded collaborations, rather than to existing collaborations seeking new funding.
We will give highest priority to proposed projects that:
<ul><li>Contribute to a partnership network that empowers those with the local perspective required to direct the right approaches to the right parts of the problems to ensure success. We will prioritize projects led by investigators from low- and middle-income countries and a balanced representation of women principal investigators. Their collective action and directed energy will help solve today's key problems in global health, while building research networks ready to solve tomorrow’s</li>
<li>Are likely to yield a tangible answer to a question or solution to a problem within the grant term</li>
<li>Are explicitly aligned with the content within the meeting's scientific track sessions. Please note that individual proposals will be reviewed based on their alignment with one primary track and the specific content presented there (see <a href="https://custom.cvent.com/B6E596DEAC6A4A7FB1467497AE4FF54B/files/event/0123b10e74394b98afaf2b0c4088baeb/ba3d9702354245d1bad108dcc1e831c0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">meeting agenda</a>), since we seek to provide an opportunity for participants to take action based on an idea that they developed and people they met during their participation in a scientific track. Eligible scientific tracks for this Call-to-Action are listed below, and they include the entire Keystone Symposia Global Health Series conference that overlaps with the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting.</li>
</ul>Scientific tracks eligible for the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting Call-to-Action
<ul><li>Advancing Drug Discovery for Global Health </li>
<li>Applying a Translational Lens to Global Health</li>
<li>Beyond the first 1000 days: Research and implementation innovations for women and girls' nutrition</li>
<li>Global Health Discovery Collaboratory - Novel Technologies for Collaborative Scientific Solutions</li>
<li>Global Partnerships &amp; Grand Challenges</li>
<li>Harnessing the Power of Data in Health</li>
<li>Innovations in Non-Hormonal Contraceptives Research &amp; Development</li>
<li>Maximizing the Potential of Pathogen Genomic Sequencing for Global Health</li>
<li>New Insights &amp; Innovations to Address Antimicrobial Resistance</li>
<li>Vaccine and Biologics Innovations for Global Health</li>
<li>Keystone Symposia - Covid and Beyond: Novel Approaches to Global Infectious Diseases</li>
</ul>We will not consider funding approaches that:
<ul><li>Are not explicitly aligned with the specific content within the meeting scientific tracks listed above that are eligible for this request for proposals</li>
<li>Address the meeting scientific tracks that are not part of this request for proposals: Novel Approaches to Reduce the Impacts of Climate Change on Health (noting that there is an associated <a href="https://www.grandchallenges.ca/funding-opportunities/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Grand Challenges Canada</a> request for proposals) and Sourcing and Accelerating Humanitarian Innovations</li>
</ul>

**NOTE: This opportunity is only open to participants who registered for and attended the 2022 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting.

**NOTE: This opportunity was open only to participants who registered for and attended the 2022 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting.

<h2>Background</h2>

The Global Health Discovery Collaboratory (GHDC) Platforms program at the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation - or <a href="https://ghdiscoverycollaboratory.org/platforms" target="_blanks">"Collaboratory Platforms"</a> - enables access to specialized research platforms to accelerate the discovery and translation of transformative solutions to global health inequity. These Platforms enable access to cutting-edge technologies and unique expertise to guide the design, execution, data analysis and interpretation to support a wide variety of initiatives, including discovery for vaccines and biologics, human immune monitoring, biomarker discovery, characterization of host-pathogen interactions, and more. Scientists in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have the local knowledge and perspective crucial to finding the right solution and directing it to the right problem, and the Gates Foundation is committed to ensuring that scientists based in LMICs have opportunities to advance their work through partnership with the Collaboratory Platforms.

<h2>The Challenge</h2>

We seek creative projects that are led by investigators in LMICs<a class="footnote" href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title="">1</a> and whose path to global health impact would be accelerated through partnership with the Collaboratory Platforms. Proposed ideas should be in alignment with the GHDC focus areas listed below. They should also align with the Gates Foundation's <a href="https://www.gatesfoundation.org/our-work" target="_blank">strategic priorities</a>, including but not limited to tuberculosis, HIV, malaria, pneumonia (e.g., influenza, RSV, coronavirus), enteric diseases (e.g., Shigella, rotavirus), HPV, and neglected tropical diseases. The details and scope of the involvement of the Collaboratory Platform will be co-developed once finalists are identified.

GHDC focus areas:

<ul>
	<li>Development of vaccines and biologics</li>
	<li>Drug discovery</li>
	<li>Biomarker discovery</li>
	<li>Maternal, neonatal, child health</li>
	<li>Reproductive health technologies</li>
	<li>Translational sciences</li>
</ul>

Funding level: up to USD $250,000 for each project, with a grant term of up to two years depending on the scope of the project.

What We Are Looking For

We are looking for proposals from investigators based in LMICs* that are aligned with our <a href="https://www.gatesfoundation.org/our-work" target="_blank">strategic priorities</a>. Proposed activities involving data and sample collection and experiments performed at the LMIC institution will be funded via new direct grants, while work performed by the Collaboratory Platform partners will be funded directly by the Gates Foundation through a separate funding mechanism. Proposed ideas may be entirely new projects or ideas that will enable further in-depth analysis to complement an existing project. Pilot studies to generate initial data that may lead to potential larger follow-on studies (via separate funding) or proposals aimed at generating hypotheses are acceptable, as are studies designed to test specific hypotheses. In addition to collaborating with Gates Foundation-funded investigators, some Platforms can train interested collaborators in wet lab or analytical techniques in the context of a specific project.

Your proposal should include:

<ol>
	<li>A description of your idea and how you intend to test it</li>
	<li>A description of what you will do at your institution with the funds provided</li>
	<li>The name of the Collaboratory Platform you wish to work with during your project and why this platform will enable you to more effectively test your idea(s). We do not expect proposals to contain detailed descriptions of work done by the Platforms, as we expect workplans will be jointly developed after finalists are selected. You do not need to provide a budget for the Platform in your proposal.</li>
</ol>

Please visit the Global Health Discovery Collaboratory <a href="https://ghdiscoverycollaboratory.org/" target="_blank">website</a> to learn more about the GHDC and the individual Collaboratory Platforms. Representatives from each Collaboratory Platform are attending the 2022 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting and will be presenting posters at the poster session. We encourage interested parties to visit the poster session and also to attend the GHDC scientific track sessions at the meeting to learn more.

Collaboratory Platforms focus areas:

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ghdiscoverycollaboratory.org/platforms/adjuvants-and-formulations" target="_blank">Adjuvants &amp; Formulations</a>: Access high quality adjuvants, formulation expertise, and small-animal immunogenicity studies.</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ghdiscoverycollaboratory.org/platforms/antibody-dynamics" target="_blank">Antibody Dynamics:</a> Providing qualified/validated GCLP compliant antibody measurements for specificity, isotype/subclass, avidity, affinity, and function; immune systems computational expertise to define immune correlates of protection.</li>
	<li><a href="https://ghdiscoverycollaboratory.org/platforms/antigen-arrays" target="_blank">Antigen Arrays</a>: High throughput microarray technology enables measurement of antibody responses to thousands of proteins in a single assay.</li>
	<li><a href="https://ghdiscoverycollaboratory.org/platforms/human-immunoglobulin-repertoire-mice" target="_blank">Human immunoglobulin repertoire mice</a>: Interrogate immunogens against a human immune repertoire. Discover and isolate mAbs to support your research or advance product development.</li>
	<li><a href="https://ghdiscoverycollaboratory.org/platforms/protein-sciences" target="_blank">Protein Sciences</a>: Provides in-depth structural characterization of immunogens using a variety of structural and biophysical techniques.</li>
	<li><a href="https://ghdiscoverycollaboratory.org/platforms/metabolomic-biomarker-discovery" target="_blank">Metabolomic Biomarker Discovery</a>: Offers untargeted mass spectrometry-based molecular profiling to measure thousands of distinct small molecules in biosamples to accelerate discovery of biomarkers of health and disease.</li>
	<li><a href="https://ghdiscoverycollaboratory.org/platforms/proteomic-biomarker-discovery" target="_blank">Proteomic Biomarker Discovery</a>: Quantify thousands of proteins using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) to obtain signatures reflective of health or disease status.</li>
	<li><a href="https://ghdiscoverycollaboratory.org/platforms/sars-cov-2-immunoassays" target="_blank">SARS-CoV-2 Immunoassays</a>: Access validated / qualified assays to evaluate vaccines or mAbs for SARS-CoV-2 (Opportunities to develop assays for other global health diseases.</li>
	<li><a href="https://ghdiscoverycollaboratory.org/platforms/single-cell-analytics" target="_blank">Single Cell Analytics</a>: Provides experimental and computational single-cell genomic profiling for in-depth molecular characterization of biological specimens.</li>
	<li><a href="https://ghdiscoverycollaboratory.org/platforms/systems-immunology" target="_blank">Systems Immunology</a>: Offers comprehensive and standardized immune monitoring, cutting-edge technologies and novel analytics.</li>
	<li><a href="https://ghdiscoverycollaboratory.org/platforms/systems-serology" target="_blank">Systems Serology</a>: High-throughput biophysical profiling and functional assays linked with systems biology/machine learning algorithms to characterize protective humoral immune responses.</li>
	<li><a href="https://ghdiscoverycollaboratory.org/platforms/vaccine-immunology-statistical-center" target="_blank">Vaccine Immunology Statistical Center</a>: Access expert biostatistical support for study design, data management, high-dimensional data analysis, statistical and machine learning methods to advance global health research.</li>
</ul>

We Will Not Consider Funding for:

<ul>
	<li>Clinical trials</li>
	<li>In-vivo studies in non-human primates</li>
	<li>Investigators whose primary appointment is in a high-income country</li>
	<li>Proposals that do not include the use of the Collaboratory Platforms</li>
	<li>Proposals that do not align with the scope/remit of the Collaboratory Platforms</li>
	<li>Purchase of capital equipment</li>
	<li>Institutions that are unable to sign the <a href="https://assets.ctfassets.net/6y3xo20je9pr/4XPndugSRBymEFNUzfDvad/3c3e77f62e16987bcfd08542ed9d66a7/Gates-Foundation_Collaboratory-Guiding-Principles-2021.pdf" target="_blank">Collaboratory Guiding Principles</a> by the time of grant execution.</li>
</ul>

<a class="footnote" href="#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title="">1</a> See <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/country/XO" target="_blank">World Bank - Low &amp; Middle Income</a> Countries for definitions. Subject to the eligibility requirements in the Rules &amp; Guidelines, investigators in low- and middle-income countries are invited (in connection with the organization with which they are affiliated) to apply through the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation's application portal. We reserve the right to determine eligibility for this call based on these characteristics.

Supporting Researchers Through the Technologies of the Global Health Discovery Collaboratory Platforms

<h2>Background</h2>
The Global Health Discovery Collaboratory (GHDC) Platforms program at the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation - or <a href="https://ghdiscoverycollaboratory.org/platforms" target="_blanks">"Collaboratory Platforms"</a> - enables access to specialized research platforms to accelerate the discovery and translation of transformative solutions to global health inequity. These Platforms enable access to cutting-edge technologies and unique expertise to guide the design, execution, data analysis and interpretation to support a wide variety of initiatives, including discovery for vaccines and biologics, human immune monitoring, biomarker discovery, characterization of host-pathogen interactions, and more. Scientists in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have the local knowledge and perspective crucial to finding the right solution and directing it to the right problem, and the Gates Foundation is committed to ensuring that scientists based in LMICs have opportunities to advance their work through partnership with the Collaboratory Platforms.
<h2>The Challenge</h2>
We seek creative projects that are led by investigators in LMICs<a class="footnote" href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title="" id="_ftnref1">1</a> and whose path to global health impact would be accelerated through partnership with the Collaboratory Platforms. Proposed ideas should be in alignment with the GHDC focus areas listed below. They should also align with the Gates Foundation's <a href="https://www.gatesfoundation.org/our-work" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">strategic priorities</a>, including but not limited to tuberculosis, HIV, malaria, pneumonia (e.g., influenza, RSV, coronavirus), enteric diseases (e.g., Shigella, rotavirus), HPV, and neglected tropical diseases. The details and scope of the involvement of the Collaboratory Platform will be co-developed once finalists are identified.
GHDC focus areas:
<ul><li>Development of vaccines and biologics</li>
<li>Drug discovery</li>
<li>Biomarker discovery</li>
<li>Maternal, neonatal, child health</li>
<li>Reproductive health technologies</li>
<li>Translational sciences</li>
</ul>Funding level: up to USD $250,000 for each project, with a grant term of up to two years depending on the scope of the project.
What We Are Looking For
We are looking for proposals from investigators based in LMICs* that are aligned with our <a href="https://www.gatesfoundation.org/our-work" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">strategic priorities</a>. Proposed activities involving data and sample collection and experiments performed at the LMIC institution will be funded via new direct grants, while work performed by the Collaboratory Platform partners will be funded directly by the Gates Foundation through a separate funding mechanism. Proposed ideas may be entirely new projects or ideas that will enable further in-depth analysis to complement an existing project. Pilot studies to generate initial data that may lead to potential larger follow-on studies (via separate funding) or proposals aimed at generating hypotheses are acceptable, as are studies designed to test specific hypotheses. In addition to collaborating with Gates Foundation-funded investigators, some Platforms can train interested collaborators in wet lab or analytical techniques in the context of a specific project.
Your proposal should include:
<ol><li>A description of your idea and how you intend to test it</li>
<li>A description of what you will do at your institution with the funds provided</li>
<li>The name of the Collaboratory Platform you wish to work with during your project and why this platform will enable you to more effectively test your idea(s). We do not expect proposals to contain detailed descriptions of work done by the Platforms, as we expect workplans will be jointly developed after finalists are selected. You do not need to provide a budget for the Platform in your proposal.</li>
</ol>Please visit the Global Health Discovery Collaboratory <a href="https://ghdiscoverycollaboratory.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">website</a> to learn more about the GHDC and the individual Collaboratory Platforms. Representatives from each Collaboratory Platform are attending the 2022 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting and will be presenting posters at the poster session. We encourage interested parties to visit the poster session and also to attend the GHDC scientific track sessions at the meeting to learn more.
Collaboratory Platforms focus areas:
<ul><li><a href="https://ghdiscoverycollaboratory.org/platforms/adjuvants-and-formulations" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Adjuvants &amp; Formulations</a>: Access high quality adjuvants, formulation expertise, and small-animal immunogenicity studies.</li>
</ul><ul><li><a href="https://ghdiscoverycollaboratory.org/platforms/antibody-dynamics" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Antibody Dynamics:</a> Providing qualified/validated GCLP compliant antibody measurements for specificity, isotype/subclass, avidity, affinity, and function; immune systems computational expertise to define immune correlates of protection.</li>
<li><a href="https://ghdiscoverycollaboratory.org/platforms/antigen-arrays" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Antigen Arrays</a>: High throughput microarray technology enables measurement of antibody responses to thousands of proteins in a single assay.</li>
<li><a href="https://ghdiscoverycollaboratory.org/platforms/human-immunoglobulin-repertoire-mice" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Human immunoglobulin repertoire mice</a>: Interrogate immunogens against a human immune repertoire. Discover and isolate mAbs to support your research or advance product development.</li>
<li><a href="https://ghdiscoverycollaboratory.org/platforms/protein-sciences" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Protein Sciences</a>: Provides in-depth structural characterization of immunogens using a variety of structural and biophysical techniques.</li>
<li><a href="https://ghdiscoverycollaboratory.org/platforms/metabolomic-biomarker-discovery" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Metabolomic Biomarker Discovery</a>: Offers untargeted mass spectrometry-based molecular profiling to measure thousands of distinct small molecules in biosamples to accelerate discovery of biomarkers of health and disease.</li>
<li><a href="https://ghdiscoverycollaboratory.org/platforms/proteomic-biomarker-discovery" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Proteomic Biomarker Discovery</a>: Quantify thousands of proteins using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) to obtain signatures reflective of health or disease status.</li>
<li><a href="https://ghdiscoverycollaboratory.org/platforms/sars-cov-2-immunoassays" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SARS-CoV-2 Immunoassays</a>: Access validated / qualified assays to evaluate vaccines or mAbs for SARS-CoV-2 (Opportunities to develop assays for other global health diseases.</li>
<li><a href="https://ghdiscoverycollaboratory.org/platforms/single-cell-analytics" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Single Cell Analytics</a>: Provides experimental and computational single-cell genomic profiling for in-depth molecular characterization of biological specimens.</li>
<li><a href="https://ghdiscoverycollaboratory.org/platforms/systems-immunology" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Systems Immunology</a>: Offers comprehensive and standardized immune monitoring, cutting-edge technologies and novel analytics.</li>
<li><a href="https://ghdiscoverycollaboratory.org/platforms/systems-serology" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Systems Serology</a>: High-throughput biophysical profiling and functional assays linked with systems biology/machine learning algorithms to characterize protective humoral immune responses.</li>
<li><a href="https://ghdiscoverycollaboratory.org/platforms/vaccine-immunology-statistical-center" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Vaccine Immunology Statistical Center</a>: Access expert biostatistical support for study design, data management, high-dimensional data analysis, statistical and machine learning methods to advance global health research.</li>
</ul>We Will Not Consider Funding for:
<ul><li>Clinical trials</li>
<li>In-vivo studies in non-human primates</li>
<li>Investigators whose primary appointment is in a high-income country</li>
<li>Proposals that do not include the use of the Collaboratory Platforms</li>
<li>Proposals that do not align with the scope/remit of the Collaboratory Platforms</li>
<li>Purchase of capital equipment</li>
<li>Institutions that are unable to sign the <a href="https://assets.ctfassets.net/6y3xo20je9pr/4XPndugSRBymEFNUzfDvad/3c3e77f62e16987bcfd08542ed9d66a7/Gates-Foundation_Collaboratory-Guiding-Principles-2021.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Collaboratory Guiding Principles</a> by the time of grant execution.</li>
</ul><a class="footnote" href="#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title="" id="_ftn1">1</a> See <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/country/XO" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">World Bank - Low &amp; Middle Income</a> Countries for definitions. Subject to the eligibility requirements in the Rules &amp; Guidelines, investigators in low- and middle-income countries are invited (in connection with the organization with which they are affiliated) to apply through the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation's application portal. We reserve the right to determine eligibility for this call based on these characteristics.

We seek creative projects that are led by investigators in LMICs and whose path to global health impact would be accelerated through partnership with the Collaboratory Platforms. Proposed ideas should be in alignment with the Gates Foundation’s strategic priorities, including but not limited to tuberculosis, HIV, malaria, pneumonia (e.g., influenza, RSV, coronavirus), enteric diseases (e.g., Shigella, rotavirus), HPV, and neglected tropical diseases.

**NOTE: This opportunity was open only to participants who registered for and attended the 2021 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting (virtual format).

<h2>THE OPPORTUNITY</h2>

The Grand Challenges Annual Meeting fosters innovation and international collaboration to address the biggest challenges in global health and development. It has been held in <a href="https://grandchallenges.org/annual-meeting" target="_blank">11 countries</a> over the past 16 years and in a virtual format this year and last. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the world the challenges and opportunities ahead with new clarity. The 2021 Annual Meeting will be dedicated to a "new normal" for global health, one in which the lessons from the COVID-19 response inform best practices for a healthier, more equitable future. Our goal is to support a global community of problem solvers who work together to set an innovation agenda and do the breakthrough science to deliver on it – to go further and faster together.

<h2>THE CHALLENGE</h2>

This Call-to-Action provides an opportunity for Grand Challenges Annual Meeting participants to take action based on ideas they developed and people they met at the meeting. As noted by past applicants in their submitted proposals, the meeting provides diverse ways to combine expertise and perspectives to speed the impact of what would otherwise be separate work by individual investigators. The <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/grants/eyJzb3J0IjoiZGVzY2VuZGluZyIsInNvcnRGaWVsZCI6ImRhdGUiLCJudW1iZXJQZXJQYWdlIjoxMDAsInBhZ2VOdW1iZXIiOjB9/eyJ5ZWFycyI6W10sImNoYWxsZW5nZXMiOlsiMTI5Il0sInRlcm1zIjpbXSwiaW5pdGlhdGl2ZXMiOltdLCJsb2NhdGlvbnMiOltdfQ==" target="_blank">grants awarded</a> for the 2018-2020 Call-to-Action show this. And we hope that interactive elements at this year’s virtual meeting will still provide ways to catalyze collaborative projects that will yield a tangible solution to a key problem by the end of the grant.

Please note that besides this Call-to-Action request for proposals open to meeting participants, there are also public <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/grant-opportunities" target="_blank">grant opportunities</a> being launched at the meeting.

Funding

Each meeting participant will have one opportunity to apply as the primary applicant for a USD $100,000 grant or a collaborative USD $200,000 grant, both with an 18-month grant duration. Collaborative awards require the participation of at least two meeting participants from different institutions. While restricted to one application as the primary applicant, meeting participants may participate as collaborators in multiple collaborative applications. Priority will be given to new or newly expanded collaborations, rather than to existing partners seeking new funding.

We will give highest priority to proposed projects that:

<ul>
	<li>Contribute to a partnership network that engages the world's most creative minds and empowers those with the local perspective required to direct the right approaches to the right parts of the problems to ensure success. We will therefore prioritize grants to investigators from low- and middle-income countries and a balanced representation of women principal investigators. Their collective action and directed energy will help solve today's key problems in global health, while building a mechanism ready to solve tomorrow's</li>
	<li>Are likely to yield a tangible answer to a question or solution to a problem within the grant term under the near-term constraints associated with the COVID-19 pandemic</li>
	<li>Are explicitly aligned with the content within the meeting's scientific track sessions. Please note that individual proposals will be reviewed based on their alignment with one primary track and the content presented there. Eligible scientific tracks for this Call-to-Action are listed below, and they include the entire Keystone Symposia Global Health Series conference that overlaps with the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting.</li>
</ul>

Scientific tracks eligible for the Call-to-Action

<ul>
	<li>Acceleration of Global Health Product Development – Highlighting tools and partnership strategies to progress programs from preclinical development through proof-of-concept and into registration studies to accelerate global health efforts, including for TB, malaria, and Covid-19 drug and vaccine development</li>
	<li>Applying a Translational Lens to Global Health – Exploring tools for nimble translation of information produced by cellular and animal models to human disease and back again to inform design of global health interventions, including their use in Covid-19, human organoid models, and reproductive health</li>
	<li>Global Health Discovery Collaboratory: Novel Tools and Technologies – Empowering the discovery and translation of innovative ideas into global health interventions by addressing constraints around access to best-in-class technologies and barriers to cross-institutional collaboration</li>
	<li>Global Partnerships &amp; Grand Challenges – Supporting local innovators solving local problems, helping build a critical mass of innovation champions linked through a global network to collectively address the most pressing global health and development challenges</li>
	<li>Global Priorities in Reproductive Health Technologies – Bringing together researchers and product developers to address data gaps and unmet needs for women in low-resource settings in preventing and treating sexually transmitted infections, developing novel nonhormonal contraceptives, developing new and affordable menstrual health products, and promoting a healthy vaginal microbiome</li>
	<li>Harnessing the Power of Data in Health – Highlighting exemplar data-centered projects guiding health interventions and evidence-based practices across different geographies, contributing to reducing health inequities and aiding in the prevention of future pandemics</li>
	<li>How the Current Pandemic Will Reshape Global Health Priorities – Focusing on mRNA and its rapid deployment during the pandemic through clinical proof of concept and licensure, adjuvants and how the industry leveraged clinically de-risked immunomodulators to expedite entry of novel vaccines into the clinic, nanoparticle delivery to enhance immunity, and small footprint and regional manufacturing as a future strategy to ensure equitable access to vaccines through in-country manufacturing and deployment</li>
	<li>Iron Innovation in Fortification to Address Iron Deficiency and Anemia – Exploring innovations that improve the bioavailability of iron in fortified foods, while ensuring an acceptable sensory and cost profile for vulnerable populations. Collaborations between academia, start-ups, NGOs and private sector companies encouraged</li>
	<li>Leveraging Pathogen Genomic Sequencing – Exploring how to build genomic surveillance into an integrated surveillance system, innovative approaches to environmental surveillance, and real-world examples of how to leverage integrated bioinformatics tools and guidelines from the Public Health Alliance for Genomic Epidemiology (PHA4GE) to support public health in Africa and Asia</li>
	<li>Optimizing Drug Discovery &amp; Translation – Highlighting some of the innovations and challenges in drug discovery and translational research in global health using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) and how AI/ML interfaces across multiple disciplines</li>
	<li>Global Priorities in Vaginal Health: Microbes, Mucosal Immunity and Interventions (Keystone Symposia) – Examining cutting-edge knowledge needed to tackle some of the most challenging global problems in reproductive and sexual health, including current understanding of female genital tract microbiology and immunology, and advances in therapeutics and preventatives intended to modify or protect these environments</li>
</ul>

We will not consider funding approaches that:

<ul>
	<li>Are not explicitly aligned with the content within the meeting's scientific tracks eligible for this request for proposals that are listed above (noting that the Scaling Programs Through Inclusive Innovation track is not part of this particular request for proposals)</li>
	<li>Are not accomplishable within the grant term under the current and likely near-term constraints associated with the COVID-19 pandemic</li>
</ul>

2021 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting Call-to-Action

**NOTE: This opportunity is only open to participants who registered for and attended the 2021 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting (virtual format).
<h2>THE OPPORTUNITY</h2>
The Grand Challenges Annual Meeting fosters innovation and international collaboration to address the biggest challenges in global health and development. It has been held in <a href="https://grandchallenges.org/annual-meeting" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">11 countries</a> over the past 16 years and in a virtual format this year and last. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the world the challenges and opportunities ahead with new clarity. The 2021 Annual Meeting will be dedicated to a "new normal" for global health, one in which the lessons from the COVID-19 response inform best practices for a healthier, more equitable future. Our goal is to support a global community of problem solvers who work together to set an innovation agenda and do the breakthrough science to deliver on it – to go further and faster together.
<h2>THE CHALLENGE</h2>
This Call-to-Action provides an opportunity for Grand Challenges Annual Meeting participants to take action based on ideas they developed and people they met at the meeting. As noted by past applicants in their submitted proposals, the meeting provides diverse ways to combine expertise and perspectives to speed the impact of what would otherwise be separate work by individual investigators. The <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/grants/eyJzb3J0IjoiZGVzY2VuZGluZyIsInNvcnRGaWVsZCI6ImRhdGUiLCJudW1iZXJQZXJQYWdlIjoxMDAsInBhZ2VOdW1iZXIiOjB9/eyJ5ZWFycyI6W10sImNoYWxsZW5nZXMiOlsiMTI5Il0sInRlcm1zIjpbXSwiaW5pdGlhdGl2ZXMiOltdLCJsb2NhdGlvbnMiOltdfQ==" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">grants awarded</a> for the 2018-2020 Call-to-Action show this. And we hope that interactive elements at this year’s virtual meeting will still provide ways to catalyze collaborative projects that will yield a tangible solution to a key problem by the end of the grant.
Please note that besides this Call-to-Action request for proposals open to meeting participants, there are also public <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/grant-opportunities" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">grant opportunities</a> being launched at the meeting.
Funding
Each meeting participant will have one opportunity to apply as the primary applicant for a USD $100,000 grant or a collaborative USD $200,000 grant, both with an 18-month grant duration. Collaborative awards require the participation of at least two meeting participants from different institutions. While restricted to one application as the primary applicant, meeting participants may participate as collaborators in multiple collaborative applications. Priority will be given to new or newly expanded collaborations, rather than to existing partners seeking new funding.
We will give highest priority to proposed projects that:
<ul><li>Contribute to a partnership network that engages the world's most creative minds and empowers those with the local perspective required to direct the right approaches to the right parts of the problems to ensure success. We will therefore prioritize grants to investigators from low- and middle-income countries and a balanced representation of women principal investigators. Their collective action and directed energy will help solve today's key problems in global health, while building a mechanism ready to solve tomorrow's</li>
<li>Are likely to yield a tangible answer to a question or solution to a problem within the grant term under the near-term constraints associated with the COVID-19 pandemic</li>
<li>Are explicitly aligned with the content within the meeting's scientific track sessions. Please note that individual proposals will be reviewed based on their alignment with one primary track and the content presented there. Eligible scientific tracks for this Call-to-Action are listed below, and they include the entire Keystone Symposia Global Health Series conference that overlaps with the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting.</li>
</ul>Scientific tracks eligible for the Call-to-Action
<ul><li>Acceleration of Global Health Product Development – Highlighting tools and partnership strategies to progress programs from preclinical development through proof-of-concept and into registration studies to accelerate global health efforts, including for TB, malaria, and Covid-19 drug and vaccine development</li>
<li>Applying a Translational Lens to Global Health – Exploring tools for nimble translation of information produced by cellular and animal models to human disease and back again to inform design of global health interventions, including their use in Covid-19, human organoid models, and reproductive health</li>
<li>Global Health Discovery Collaboratory: Novel Tools and Technologies – Empowering the discovery and translation of innovative ideas into global health interventions by addressing constraints around access to best-in-class technologies and barriers to cross-institutional collaboration</li>
<li>Global Partnerships &amp; Grand Challenges – Supporting local innovators solving local problems, helping build a critical mass of innovation champions linked through a global network to collectively address the most pressing global health and development challenges</li>
<li>Global Priorities in Reproductive Health Technologies – Bringing together researchers and product developers to address data gaps and unmet needs for women in low-resource settings in preventing and treating sexually transmitted infections, developing novel nonhormonal contraceptives, developing new and affordable menstrual health products, and promoting a healthy vaginal microbiome</li>
<li>Harnessing the Power of Data in Health – Highlighting exemplar data-centered projects guiding health interventions and evidence-based practices across different geographies, contributing to reducing health inequities and aiding in the prevention of future pandemics</li>
<li>How the Current Pandemic Will Reshape Global Health Priorities – Focusing on mRNA and its rapid deployment during the pandemic through clinical proof of concept and licensure, adjuvants and how the industry leveraged clinically de-risked immunomodulators to expedite entry of novel vaccines into the clinic, nanoparticle delivery to enhance immunity, and small footprint and regional manufacturing as a future strategy to ensure equitable access to vaccines through in-country manufacturing and deployment</li>
<li>Iron Innovation in Fortification to Address Iron Deficiency and Anemia – Exploring innovations that improve the bioavailability of iron in fortified foods, while ensuring an acceptable sensory and cost profile for vulnerable populations. Collaborations between academia, start-ups, NGOs and private sector companies encouraged</li>
<li>Leveraging Pathogen Genomic Sequencing – Exploring how to build genomic surveillance into an integrated surveillance system, innovative approaches to environmental surveillance, and real-world examples of how to leverage integrated bioinformatics tools and guidelines from the Public Health Alliance for Genomic Epidemiology (PHA4GE) to support public health in Africa and Asia</li>
<li>Optimizing Drug Discovery &amp; Translation – Highlighting some of the innovations and challenges in drug discovery and translational research in global health using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) and how AI/ML interfaces across multiple disciplines</li>
<li>Global Priorities in Vaginal Health: Microbes, Mucosal Immunity and Interventions (Keystone Symposia) – Examining cutting-edge knowledge needed to tackle some of the most challenging global problems in reproductive and sexual health, including current understanding of female genital tract microbiology and immunology, and advances in therapeutics and preventatives intended to modify or protect these environments</li>
</ul>We will not consider funding approaches that:
<ul><li>Are not explicitly aligned with the content within the meeting's scientific tracks eligible for this request for proposals that are listed above (noting that the Scaling Programs Through Inclusive Innovation track is not part of this particular request for proposals)</li>
<li>Are not accomplishable within the grant term under the current and likely near-term constraints associated with the COVID-19 pandemic</li>
</ul>

**NOTE: This opportunity is only open to participants who registered for and attended the 2021 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting (virtual format).

<h2>Background</h2>

Next generation sequencing (NGS) has proven to be indispensable in the current SARS-CoV2 pandemic, from pathogen discovery to variant characterization to novel vaccine development in record-time. This approach to using NGS underscores the potential value of this technology and its application to many other diseases from Ebola to cholera to Pathogen X. Building upon the success of previous Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) and Chan Zuckerberg Biohub (CZ Biohub) <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/application-metagenomic-next-generation-sequencing-detect-and-identify-pathogens-round-22" target="_blank">Grand Challenges collaborations</a>, this year's opportunity will continue to offer exceptional opportunities for capacity building, on-going mentorship and the foundations of scientific, collaborative networks to detect, identify, and characterize pathogens. The ultimate goal will be to impact infectious disease decision making and public health by empowering local scientists with gold standard knowledge, experience and access to equipment and software.

Through this Grand Challenge, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative will jointly offer funding for 10 scientific groups to explore the identification, characterization, and context of infectious disease in LMIC settings.

<h2>The Opportunity</h2>

One of the overwhelming lessons learned from the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, has been the importance of being able to identify existing and emerging infectious diseases efficiently, in order to more effectively address and contain outbreaks, both locally and regionally. It has never been so important for clinicians and the global health community to have access to both accurate and timely estimates of disease burden and distribution. Traditionally, summaries of these data have been manually reported by national health ministries from regional clinical data, aggregated from local health centers. Local institutions, however, face multiple challenges to accurately assess the emerging needs of their community with current toolsets. For example, most clinical tests are based on common or easily detectable pathogens previously identified, which can miss occult and/or emerging pathogens. In addition, curation of large-scale pathogen data across multiple locations/platforms is time consuming and expensive, preventing facile integration of individual patient-level diagnostic data into a larger pathogen landscape on the regional and national level.

Over the last 18 months, we have seen how, when local institutions have the capacity – both at the hardware and software level - to detect emerging infections using pathogen sequencing technology, they are able to perform near-real-time data analysis that is rapidly translated into actionable public health decision making. At the heart of the ability to pivot to pathogen-specific sequencing during the pandemic, was the successful establishment of metagenomic sequencing platforms in low- and middle-resource settings, where there have traditionally been limitations in access or availability of the following essential components: a) equipment/reagents, b) specialized biochemical training, c) accurate reference pathogen sequence databases, and d) advanced computational analytics.

<h2>The Challenge</h2>

Recognizing barriers for adoption of next-generation sequencing in global health, the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation has partnered with the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to enable populations in low- and middle-resource settings to benefit from cutting-edge pathogen detection, discovery and characterization. This partnership will provide highly specialized training in biosample preparation and sequencing to technical staff from awardee global health centers. Trainees will learn to use the open-source, open-access <a href="http://www.idseq.net/" target="_blank">IDseq</a> software developed by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) for the global health community to upload and analyze sequencing data, among other software such as Nextstrain. The BMGF-CZ Biohub-CZI partnership will therefore aim to provide selected applicants the benefits of onsite next generation sequencing and rapid pathogen detection to better understand their local pathogen landscape. We are also specifically seeking projects that endeavor to build upon their initial locally-focused effort to contribute to future data-informed decision-making at the population level via data sharing and pathogen data comparison across sites (multi-site studies will be prioritized).

This Grand Challenges (GC) award will support travel and accommodation of grantees to San Francisco for training at the CZ Biohub, and the following items: 1) <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/sites/default/files/files/metagenomic_next_generation_sequencing_compatible_sequencers.pdf" target="_blank">a sequencer suitable for the global health environment</a><a href="#_bookmark1">[1]</a><a id="_bookmark0" name="_bookmark0"></a>, 2) a dedicated sequencing technician, and 3) sequencing reagents for the duration of the award. CZ Biohub and CZI training will include pilot analysis of samples from their home region during hands-on, intensive mentoring. This 2-week instructional period will include both biochemical sample preparation for sequencing and bioinformatic analysis using the IDseq software platform. Specifically, the hands-on training for bench scientists will include best practices and standards for sample processing, DNA &amp; RNA extraction, library preparation and data analysis on the global IDseq software platform. The combination of intensive training with molecular, capital equipment, reagent, and personnel support is intended to maximize the potential for sustainable, prospective, onsite analysis of patient samples upon return to the home site.

Molecular data generated at individual global sites is intended to be linked and automatically aggregated into IDseq for referencing by all participating clinics and associated sites. This method of local sequence analysis coupled with cross-site comparison could serve as a model for a process that would eventually lead to a network of pathogen detection nodes that could provide increased global transparency into regional pathogen distribution in an accurate and timely manner, and in ultimate support of a global pathogen surveillance network.

Examples of insights could include:

<ol>
	<li>Investigating infectious etiologies for unknown medical cases</li>
	<li>Identification of new pathogens</li>
	<li>Detection of local outbreaks</li>
	<li>Characterization of the local pathogen landscape, including vector-borne diseases</li>
	<li>Assessment of emerging zoonotic disease, including wildlife and domestic animal reservoir sampling</li>
	<li>Detection and classification of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Markers, with potential for insight into antibiotic treatment discordance</li>
	<li>Data-informed healthcare and resource allocation</li>
	<li>Subsequent follow-up leveraging genomic epidemiology for public health, incorporating local epidemiological data and genomic analysis</li>
</ol>

We are specifically looking for sites that believe in collaborative approaches and data sharing. Grantees will be expected to partner closely with scientists and engineers and provide feedback to help guide the cloud computing software’s development. Sites will also be expected to share data and collaborate with other labs in the network.

Funding level: up to USD $200,000 for each project, with a grant term of up to 24 months depending on the scope of the project.

We will consider sites that:

<ul>
	<li>Provide a clearly scoped initial project that demonstrates why this technology will provide insights that are not currently possible.</li>
	<li>Have space and capacity to run samples on a basic sequencer once provided with training, reagents, sequencer, and a dedicated computer. Have consistent access to electricity and the ability to upload data via the internet to a designated cloud server at least once a day.</li>
	<li>Are willing to give product feedback and collaborate with an engineering team through scheduled video calls, email, or other messaging service. Are committed to open science, preprints, and data sharing.</li>
	<li>Already have, or can rapidly acquire, necessary IRB approval for pathogen DNA and RNA sequence sharing from patients.</li>
	<li>Are representative of larger geographic regions</li>
</ul>

We will not consider sites that:

<ul>
	<li>Do not articulate how they will leverage the value of next generation sequencing to impact health outcomes.</li>
	<li>Are interested exclusively in Whole Genome Sequencing of human samples</li>
	<li>Do not plan to share their pathogen data and discoveries.</li>
	<li>Have extremely limited internet access.</li>
	<li>Are limited to previously stored samples, without substantial potential for prospective sample collection.</li>
</ul>

_____________________________________________

<a id="_bookmark1" name="_bookmark1"></a><a href="#_bookmark0">[1]</a> To ensure the sequencer continues to be used for purposes consistent with the foundation’s charitable objectives, we may request that funded applicants other than charities, universities, and similar organizations donate any sequencer purchased with grant funds to a charity or university, after the term of the project.

Metagenomic Next Generation Sequencing to Detect, Identify, and Characterize Pathogens

<h2>Background</h2>
Next generation sequencing (NGS) has proven to be indispensable in the current SARS-CoV2 pandemic, from pathogen discovery to variant characterization to novel vaccine development in record-time. This approach to using NGS underscores the potential value of this technology and its application to many other diseases from Ebola to cholera to Pathogen X. Building upon the success of previous Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) and Chan Zuckerberg Biohub (CZ Biohub) <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/application-metagenomic-next-generation-sequencing-detect-and-identify-pathogens-round-22" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Grand Challenges collaborations</a>, this year's opportunity will continue to offer exceptional opportunities for capacity building, on-going mentorship and the foundations of scientific, collaborative networks to detect, identify, and characterize pathogens. The ultimate goal will be to impact infectious disease decision making and public health by empowering local scientists with gold standard knowledge, experience and access to equipment and software.
Through this Grand Challenge, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative will jointly offer funding for 10 scientific groups to explore the identification, characterization, and context of infectious disease in LMIC settings.
<h2>The Opportunity</h2>
One of the overwhelming lessons learned from the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, has been the importance of being able to identify existing and emerging infectious diseases efficiently, in order to more effectively address and contain outbreaks, both locally and regionally. It has never been so important for clinicians and the global health community to have access to both accurate and timely estimates of disease burden and distribution. Traditionally, summaries of these data have been manually reported by national health ministries from regional clinical data, aggregated from local health centers. Local institutions, however, face multiple challenges to accurately assess the emerging needs of their community with current toolsets. For example, most clinical tests are based on common or easily detectable pathogens previously identified, which can miss occult and/or emerging pathogens. In addition, curation of large-scale pathogen data across multiple locations/platforms is time consuming and expensive, preventing facile integration of individual patient-level diagnostic data into a larger pathogen landscape on the regional and national level.
Over the last 18 months, we have seen how, when local institutions have the capacity – both at the hardware and software level - to detect emerging infections using pathogen sequencing technology, they are able to perform near-real-time data analysis that is rapidly translated into actionable public health decision making. At the heart of the ability to pivot to pathogen-specific sequencing during the pandemic, was the successful establishment of metagenomic sequencing platforms in low- and middle-resource settings, where there have traditionally been limitations in access or availability of the following essential components: a) equipment/reagents, b) specialized biochemical training, c) accurate reference pathogen sequence databases, and d) advanced computational analytics.
<h2>The Challenge</h2>
Recognizing barriers for adoption of next-generation sequencing in global health, the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation has partnered with the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to enable populations in low- and middle-resource settings to benefit from cutting-edge pathogen detection, discovery and characterization. This partnership will provide highly specialized training in biosample preparation and sequencing to technical staff from awardee global health centers. Trainees will learn to use the open-source, open-access <a href="http://www.idseq.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">IDseq</a> software developed by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) for the global health community to upload and analyze sequencing data, among other software such as Nextstrain. The BMGF-CZ Biohub-CZI partnership will therefore aim to provide selected applicants the benefits of onsite next generation sequencing and rapid pathogen detection to better understand their local pathogen landscape. We are also specifically seeking projects that endeavor to build upon their initial locally-focused effort to contribute to future data-informed decision-making at the population level via data sharing and pathogen data comparison across sites (multi-site studies will be prioritized).
This Grand Challenges (GC) award will support travel and accommodation of grantees to San Francisco for training at the CZ Biohub, and the following items: 1) <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/sites/default/files/files/metagenomic_next_generation_sequencing_compatible_sequencers.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a sequencer suitable for the global health environment</a><a href="#_bookmark1">[1]</a><a id="_bookmark0" name="_bookmark0"></a>, 2) a dedicated sequencing technician, and 3) sequencing reagents for the duration of the award. CZ Biohub and CZI training will include pilot analysis of samples from their home region during hands-on, intensive mentoring. This 2-week instructional period will include both biochemical sample preparation for sequencing and bioinformatic analysis using the IDseq software platform. Specifically, the hands-on training for bench scientists will include best practices and standards for sample processing, DNA &amp; RNA extraction, library preparation and data analysis on the global IDseq software platform. The combination of intensive training with molecular, capital equipment, reagent, and personnel support is intended to maximize the potential for sustainable, prospective, onsite analysis of patient samples upon return to the home site.
Molecular data generated at individual global sites is intended to be linked and automatically aggregated into IDseq for referencing by all participating clinics and associated sites. This method of local sequence analysis coupled with cross-site comparison could serve as a model for a process that would eventually lead to a network of pathogen detection nodes that could provide increased global transparency into regional pathogen distribution in an accurate and timely manner, and in ultimate support of a global pathogen surveillance network.
Examples of insights could include:
<ol><li>Investigating infectious etiologies for unknown medical cases</li>
<li>Identification of new pathogens</li>
<li>Detection of local outbreaks</li>
<li>Characterization of the local pathogen landscape, including vector-borne diseases</li>
<li>Assessment of emerging zoonotic disease, including wildlife and domestic animal reservoir sampling</li>
<li>Detection and classification of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Markers, with potential for insight into antibiotic treatment discordance</li>
<li>Data-informed healthcare and resource allocation</li>
<li>Subsequent follow-up leveraging genomic epidemiology for public health, incorporating local epidemiological data and genomic analysis</li>
</ol>We are specifically looking for sites that believe in collaborative approaches and data sharing. Grantees will be expected to partner closely with scientists and engineers and provide feedback to help guide the cloud computing software’s development. Sites will also be expected to share data and collaborate with other labs in the network.
Funding level: up to USD $200,000 for each project, with a grant term of up to 24 months depending on the scope of the project.
We will consider sites that:
<ul><li>Provide a clearly scoped initial project that demonstrates why this technology will provide insights that are not currently possible.</li>
<li>Have space and capacity to run samples on a basic sequencer once provided with training, reagents, sequencer, and a dedicated computer. Have consistent access to electricity and the ability to upload data via the internet to a designated cloud server at least once a day.</li>
<li>Are willing to give product feedback and collaborate with an engineering team through scheduled video calls, email, or other messaging service. Are committed to open science, preprints, and data sharing.</li>
<li>Already have, or can rapidly acquire, necessary IRB approval for pathogen DNA and RNA sequence sharing from patients.</li>
<li>Are representative of larger geographic regions</li>
</ul>We will not consider sites that:
<ul><li>Do not articulate how they will leverage the value of next generation sequencing to impact health outcomes.</li>
<li>Are interested exclusively in Whole Genome Sequencing of human samples</li>
<li>Do not plan to share their pathogen data and discoveries.</li>
<li>Have extremely limited internet access.</li>
<li>Are limited to previously stored samples, without substantial potential for prospective sample collection.</li>
</ul>_____________________________________________
<a id="_bookmark1" name="_bookmark1"></a><a href="#_bookmark0">[1]</a> To ensure the sequencer continues to be used for purposes consistent with the foundation’s charitable objectives, we may request that funded applicants other than charities, universities, and similar organizations donate any sequencer purchased with grant funds to a charity or university, after the term of the project.

Recognizing barriers for adoption of next-generation sequencing in global health, the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation has partnered with the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to enable populations in low- and middle-resource settings to benefit from cutting-edge pathogen detection, discovery and characterization. This partnership will provide highly specialized training in biosample preparation and sequencing to technical staff from awardee global health centers.

Metagenomic Next Generation Sequencing to Detect Identify and Characterize Pathogens

<h2>The Opportunity</h2>

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed weaknesses in disease surveillance in nearly all countries (<a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01096-5/fulltext" target="_blank">Lancet commentary</a>). Early identification of COVID-19 cases and clusters for rapid containment was hampered by inadequate diagnostic capacity, insufficient contact tracing, fragmented data systems, incomplete data insights for public health responders and suboptimal governance of all these elements. Public health decision-making relies on real-time, accurate surveillance. As communities and economies struggle to recover from the consequences of these surveillance deficiencies, now is the time for countries and multilateral agencies to take a hard look at what failed and to act boldly to implement the necessary improvements to disease surveillance.

Future disease surveillance should comprise well-integrated national systems based on five principles. First, a strong surveillance foundation should monitor the population in a systematic, consistent and statistically sound way. Second, surveillance systems must incorporate laboratory confirmation appropriately scaled for different diseases and risks. Third, surveillance systems must be digitized, with unique health identifiers to connect individual-level data and with privacy safeguards. Fourth, surveillance programs must use standardized case definitions and common data elements, with appropriate access for the public, local and national health authorities, regional bodies and WHO. Fifth, disease surveillance must be adequately financed.

<h2>The Challenge</h2>

The purpose of this call is to solicit proposals from National Public Health Institutes (NPHIs), or in- country equivalent institutions, for planning programs to strengthen the integration of disease surveillance systems that follows the five principles, as outlined above. Note that the funding associated with this opportunity will not be used for implementation, but the intent of this call is to develop robust plans such that the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation (BGMF) can identify opportunities for future in-country implementation activities that will potentially be funded at a later date. Preferred countries for proposals include: Benin, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Uganda, or Pakistan.

Each proposal should tackle one or more of the following program areas:

<ul>
	<li>Building population-representative surveillance via sample registration or vital statistics systems</li>
	<li>Improving lab data digitization and interoperability</li>
	<li>Integrating vertical disease-specific surveillance outputs at the NPHI</li>
	<li>Strengthening existing surveillance tools and systems, rather than building new ones</li>
	<li>Developing ongoing serological surveillance for monitoring population immunity</li>
</ul>

Engagement of local expertise and understanding of the implementation context will be crucial for successful proposals. All proposals must be submitted either directly by a NPHI, or equivalent in-country entity, with the inclusion of a principal investigator or co-investigator from the institution. Proposals should clearly state how data generated from the proposed program/activity will be used to inform timely public health decision making by in-country stakeholders, as well as demonstrate the inclusion of one or more of the five principles for integrated disease surveillance systems.

What we are looking for:

<ul>
	<li>NPHIs, or in-country equivalent institutions, with interest and commitment to plan a more integrated and effective disease surveillance system suitable for the Covid-19 era</li>
	<li>Assessment or design of an existing integrated disease surveillance program area, followed by development of recommendations or added-value propositions for improvement activities with a robust, costed, action plan for future implementation</li>
	<li>Identification of in-country partners to support future implementation plans</li>
</ul>

All applications should:

<ul>
	<li>Describe the approach to developing the action plan
	<ul>
		<li>Describe proposed activities for assessment and/or redesign of program areas (activities at a high level only) and expected outcomes</li>
		<li>Outline what skills will be needed to design, support and implement the project will be incorporated</li>
		<li>Suggest important phasing, timeline and sequencing of activities</li>
		<li>Include a brief assessment of risks and challenges to successful implementation and how those will be mitigated</li>
	</ul>
	</li>
	<li>Explain the rationale for and potential benefits of conducting this type of planning exercise in their setting</li>
	<li>Address one or more of the five principles outlined in The Opportunity section above</li>
	<li>Describe how plans and recommendations arising from the project will be shared with the MOH and other key stakeholders</li>
</ul>

We will not consider funding for:

<ul>
	<li>Proposals that do not address one or more of the program areas as defined above</li>
	<li>Proposals that do not include an investigator from a NPHI or equivalent institution</li>
	<li>Proposals that do not include an explicit partnership with the MOH or other authority responsible for disease surveillance in the country / region</li>
</ul>

&nbsp;

NOTE: This opportunity was open to an invited set of investigators in ten countries.

Plan for Strengthening Integrated Disease Surveillance Systems

<h2>Overview</h2>

The emerging SARS-COV-2 variants of concern (VOC) demonstrate the urgent need for local scientific communities to have the capacity to rapidly detect and evaluate the immunological implications of new variants. The current VOC situation also provides the proving ground for such scientific collaborative infrastructure to inform and impact local and global equitable decision making around vaccines, herd immunity and therapeutics.

Global Immunology and Immune Sequencing for Epidemic Response (GIISER) is envisioned as a collection of geographically distinct sites that can pair their local pathogen sequencing surveillance and clinical epidemiology with local immunological understanding and tools. GIISER sites can connect via standard protocols, bioinformatics pipelines, data sharing guidelines and training opportunities to participate in coordinated international efforts to respond to emerging epidemic threats.

Importantly, the local immunological evaluation provided by GIISER extends to the rapid discovery of novel monoclonal antibodies that are critical tools for probing protein structure, detecting variant proteins, and identifying neutralizing epitopes for vaccine immunogen design. In addition, they may be developed as therapeutics for prevention or treatment of disease. Underlying all aspects of the work is the need for a global collaboration framework which includes rapid sharing of data and information with key international bodies (such as WHO, GISRS, and Africa CDC) and networks to inform an effective, equitable global pandemic response.

<h2>GIISER Project Goals</h2>

This specific effort aims to increase the in-country capacity for the rapid immunological evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern on the African continent. It builds off of the African Pathogen Genomics Institute (PGI) sequencing capabilities (<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7434434/pdf/main.pdf" target="_blank">Tessema et al, Lancet Microbe Oct 2020),</a> local human subjects research (clinical epidemiology), and adds in local virology and immunology expertise to allow in-country scientists to rapidly evaluate new variants for immune escape and cross protection. This data is essential for understanding the impact of new variants on vaccines, diagnostic assays, therapeutics and natural immunity.

The near-term goals of the GIISER program are 1. Systematic production of data quantifying immune escape and cross protection for variants of local concern/interest and 2. Identification of monoclonal antibodies that specifically recognize and potentially neutralize variants of local concern/interest isolated from convalescent individuals with sequence-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections.

A successful GIISER site will leverage existing pathogen sequencing surveillance infrastructure to rapidly identify emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants, obtain sera and blood cells from the appropriate infected individuals with appropriate informed consent, and perform detailed immunological characterization of sera/plasma (binding and neutralization assays), as well as single cell analytics for monoclonal antibody discovery. This information will be produced and communicated rapidly enough to inform public health decisions and policy makers within the local and international community. Many of these pieces already exist but are currently siloed. Some pieces need technological innovation to be rapid and effective.

Other pieces are nascent but training of local scientists by collaborators willing and able to share knowledge and tools will create the necessary capabilities.

A long-term goal is to establish a sustainable, local infrastructure that can be activated to respond to any new emerging pathogen locally and strengthen connections and collaborations between sites and with international decision-making bodies.

GIISER Scope of Work Outline (see <a href="#_bookmark2">Figure 1 </a><a name="_bookmark0"></a>below)

<ol>
	<li>Identify SARS-CoV-2 pathogen variants and appropriate subjects.
	<ol>
		<li>Ethics approvals and clinical protocols in place with appropriate consent forms that allow for use of the donor sample for all downstream R&amp;D which will support the connection of pathogen sequencing, longitudinal/contextual clinical data (including demographics and other relevant metadata) and subsequent immunological analysis. Build on capacity generated from prior initiatives (e.g., H3Africa human subjects research expertise and ethics frameworks)</li>
		<li>Pathogen sequencing and analytical infrastructure in place that meets international quality standards and shares sequence data publicly in a timely manner (via GISAID for example).</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Sample Collection, Virus Isolation and B cell sorting
	<ol>
		<li>Laboratory capacity for virus sampling for sequencing and virus outgrowth (nasal swabs or other), including BSL3 capacity.</li>
		<li>Laboratory capacity for blood draws, including serum, plasma, PBMCs, B cell and/or plasmablast enrichment.</li>
		<li>Antigen specific B cell sorting via flow cytometry with tagged protein baits (generated locally or provided by collaborators).</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Assessment of natural- and vaccine-induced polyclonal antibody immunity to novel variants
	<ol>
		<li>Quantitative assays measuring polyclonal antisera binding against both prior and novel VOC spike proteins (ELISA, MSD or other), calibrated against international standards or reference panels.</li>
		<li>Surrogate neutralization assays measuring inhibition of binding to ACE2 by polyclonal sera/plasma.</li>
		<li>Generation and use of VSV or lentivirus pseudoviruses containing novel spike protein sequences to quantitatively measure pseudovirus neutralization activity in sera/plasma, calibrated against international standards or reference panels.</li>
		<li>Implementation of live virus neutralization assays in BSL3 facilities to measure neutralization activity in polyclonal sera/plasma, calibrated against international standards or reference panels.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>

<ol start="3">
	<li>
	<ol start="5">
		<li>Assessment of virus neutralizing activity in sera/plasma from prior infections with sequence- confirmed viral infections and vaccinated individuals to determine magnitude and breadth of natural and vaccine-induced cross neutralization.</li>
		<li>Coordinate with other GIISER sites, international networks (WHO, AfCDC, CEPI, etc.) to share high quality binding and neutralization results. Establish appropriate MTAs between sites to share materials.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Monoclonal Antibody Discovery: sequencing and repertoire analysis
	<ol>
		<li>Single cell immunoglobulin heavy and light chain sequencing from B cells enriched for binding to VoC spike proteins. This can be accomplished by any of a number of different technologies, including 10X, Seqwell, or others. Multiple specific baits and labels could be used for enrichment, targeting VOC specific mAbs (unique epitopes) or broadly neutralizing mAbs (conserved epitopes), or both.</li>
		<li>Proficiency in immunoglobulin sequence bioinformatics and clustering algorithms to assess somatic hypermutation, assign clonal lineages and evaluate Ab repertoire. Leverage opportunities such as those available via H3Bionet, Human Cell Atlas and GH-VAP to assist.</li>
		<li>Choose representative heavy + light chain pairs for subsequent expression and in vitro screening assays (See E).</li>
		<li>Engage with international antibody sequencing databases and consortia to share mAb repertoire information and sequences as appropriate, with future-use data sharing terms clearly outlined.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Monoclonal Antibody Discovery: Screening and functional evaluation
	<ol>
		<li>Small scale production of selected high quality mAbs from cDNA sequence.</li>
		<li>Systematic screening of mAbs for binding to a variety of spike proteins, including epitope mapping.</li>
		<li>Evaluation of neutralizing activity of selected mAbs against VOCs using the live virus and pseudovirus assays from step C above. Evaluate neutralization breadth and cross protection.</li>
		<li>Disseminate findings and engage with additional partners to share mAbs that have utility as either research tools or potential developability as therapeutics. Participate in international consortia such as COVIC when sufficient data supports such a move.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>

Evaluation Metrics and Criteria

GIISER sites will be evaluated based on their ability to link together pathogen sequencing, clinical epidemiology, immunology and monoclonal antibody discovery to rapidly produce high-quality, interpretable and informative data on neutralization breadth and cross protection for locally identified SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. This includes, but is not limited to, outgrowth of variant SARS-CoV-2 virus in appropriate BLS3 containment labs for live virus neutralization assays. Examples of anticipated results: <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03471-w" target="_blank">Cele et al Nature 2021, </a><a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2104192?query=main_nav_lg" target="_blank">Moyo-Gwete et al NEJM 2021, </a><a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2103740?query=main_nav_lg" target="_blank">Shen et al NEJM 2021 </a>and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01285-x">Wibmer et al</a> <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01285-x" target="_blank">Nature Medicine 2021.</a>

A key rationale for this effort is rapid data generation to inform decision making, thus the speed at which high quality data can be disseminated is an important consideration in the design and execution of each program. Within the first year of a two year investment, a well-functioning GIISER site will be communicating results from the first round of steps A-C within 1-2 months of identifying a variant of local concern, and steps D and E within an additional 2-3 months.

At the end of a two-year investment, we expect that each GIISER site will have a monoclonal antibody discovery pipeline that can feed lead candidates into product development. Of particular interest is to provide a pipeline for regionally distributed small footprint manufacturing which could further reduce the cycle time between discovery and delivery to LMICs

Sites will also be evaluated on their ability to leverage existing local expertise, collaborate and share data effectively with other GIISER sites and international networks (<a href="#_bookmark3">Figure 2 </a><a name="_bookmark4"></a>)

Requirements

A successful GIISER sites will have access to existing pathogen sequencing capacity and bioinformatics, access to existing cohorts or clinical infrastructure, access to existing BLS3 labs and trained virologists and immunologists with some expertise in protein reagent generation, mAb discovery and/or single cell analytics/bioinformatics. Not every site will have everything in place, but enthusiastic, creative and collaborative groups who want to get things done are encouraged to include specific requests for the support they need to get there (training, connections, technology, etc.).

What we are not looking to fund

We are not looking to fund pathogen genomics surveillance, expansion of surveillance sequencing capacity, or establishment of new clinical cohorts. We expect these to already be in place via other funding and for GIISER to build productive collaborations with these existing programs. Studies focused on T cell immunity and characterizing the overall immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are out of scope.

<a name="_bookmark2"></a><a href="#_bookmark0">Figure 1: </a>

<img alt="Figure 1" height="483" src="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/sites/default/files/images/figure-1.jpg" width="976" />

<a name="_bookmark3"></a><a href="#_bookmark4">Figure 2: </a>

<img alt="Figure 2" height="659" src="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/sites/default/files/images/figure-2.jpg" width="1290" />

NOTE: This opportunity was open to an invited set of African investigators.

Global Immunology and Immune Sequencing for Epidemic Response (GIISER) Sites in Africa

The International COVID-19 Data Alliance (ICODA) and the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation’s Grand Challenges initiative, supported by the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator, are announcing an open funding call for research studies to accelerate knowledge of COVID-19 through data science: Grand Challenges ICODA COVID-19 Data Science.

July 29, 2021 update: The International COVID-19 Data Alliance (ICODA) and the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation's Grand Challenges initiative, with support from the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator and the Minderoo Foundation, <a href="https://icoda-research.org/grand-challenges-grants-awarded/" target="_blank">announced</a> an international set of grants awarded by Health Data Research UK (HDRUK) to 10 research organizations in 7 countries. The grants are for research studies to accelerate knowledge of COVID-19 through data science. Read summaries of the awarded grants <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/grants/JTdCJTIyc29ydCUyMiUzQSUyMmRlc2NlbmRpbmclMjIlMkMlMjJzb3J0RmllbGQlMjIlM0ElMjJkYXRlJTIyJTJDJTIybnVtYmVyUGVyUGFnZSUyMiUzQTEwJTJDJTIycGFnZU51bWJlciUyMiUzQTAlN0Q=/JTdCJTIyeWVhcnMlMjIlM0ElNUIlMjIyMDIxJTIyJTVEJTJDJTIyY2hhbGxlbmdlcyUyMiUzQSU1QiUyMjExNyUyMiU1RCUyQyUyMnRlcm1zJTIyJTNBJTVCJTVEJTJDJTIyaW5pdGlhdGl2ZXMlMjIlM0ElNUIlMjI3ZWExOGIzNy1jMjk5LTQzZWUtYTg2Ni05NDM3ZTAxNWVmYzklMjIlNUQlMkMlMjJsb2NhdGlvbnMlMjIlM0ElNUIlNUQlN0Q=" target="_blank">here.</a>

Grand Challenges ICODA COVID-19 Data Science

The International COVID-19 Data Alliance (ICODA) and the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation’s Grand Challenges initiative, supported by the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator, are announcing an open funding call for research studies to accelerate knowledge of COVID-19 through data science: Grand Challenges ICODA COVID-19 Data Science.

**NOTE: This opportunity is only open to participants who registered for and attended the 2020 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting (virtual format).

<h2>THE OPPORTUNITY</h2>

The Grand Challenges Annual Meeting - held in <a href="https://grandchallenges.org/annual-meeting" target="_blank">11 countries</a> over the past 15 years and in a virtual format this year - fosters innovation and international collaboration to address the biggest challenges in global health and development. Our goal is to support a global community of problem solvers who work together to set an innovation agenda and do the breakthrough science to deliver on it. Recognizing the pressing global threat of COVID-19, this year's Annual Meeting will focus on how to accelerate transformational innovation for global health crises. The meeting will seek to facilitate collaboration among scientists, decision makers, and policymakers to discover, develop, and deploy the solutions needed to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, mitigate its impact, and prepare for future global health emergencies. Additionally, the meeting will explore how to harness the energy and lessons from COVID-19 to drive continued progress against a broad range of global health and development goals. Besides this Call-to-Action request for proposals from meeting participants, there are three public <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/grant-opportunities" target="_blank">grant opportunities</a> addressing global health and development that are opening at the meeting.

<h2>THE CHALLENGE</h2>

The Call-to-Action provides an opportunity for Grand Challenges Annual Meeting participants to take action based on ideas they developed and people they met at the meeting. The <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/grants/eyJzb3J0IjoiZGVzY2VuZGluZyIsInNvcnRGaWVsZCI6ImRhdGUiLCJudW1iZXJQZXJQYWdlIjoxMDAsInBhZ2VOdW1iZXIiOjB9/eyJ5ZWFycyI6W10sImNoYWxsZW5nZXMiOlsiMTI5Il0sInRlcm1zIjpbXSwiaW5pdGlhdGl2ZXMiOltdLCJsb2NhdGlvbnMiOltdfQ==" target="_blank">grants awarded</a> for the 2018 and 2019 Call-to-Action were for projects arising &nbsp;from diverse types of opportunities – as noted by applicants in their submitted proposals – to interact at the meeting and to bring together combinations of expertise and perspective to speed the impact of what would otherwise be separate work by individual investigators. We hope that interactive elements at this year's virtual meeting will still provide ways to catalyze collaborative grant applications and that the extra urgency of the meeting's focus this year will inspire projects with a goal and design that will yield a tangible solution to a key problem by the end of the grant.

Funding

Each meeting participant will have one opportunity to apply as the primary applicant for a USD $100,000 grant or a collaborative USD $200,000 grant, both with an 18-month grant duration. Collaborative awards require the participation of at least two meeting participants from different institutions. While restricted to one application as the primary applicant, meeting participants may participate as collaborators in multiple collaborative applications. Priority will be given to new or newly expanded collaborations, rather than to existing partners seeking new funding.

We will give highest priority to proposed projects that:

<ul>
	<li>Contribute to a network of creative people, anchored around the investigators and implementors who are closest to the problems in the countries most burdened by global health and development inequity and have the knowledge and perspective to direct the right approaches to the right parts of the problems to help ensure success – their collective action and directed energy is helping solve today's key problems in global health and development, while building a mechanism ready to solve tomorrow's</li>
	<li>Specifically address the meeting's goals and content around the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, noting that this funding opportunity is not designed to more broadly address COVID-19</li>
	<li>Are likely to yield a tangible answer to a question or solution to a problem within the grant term under the current and likely near-term constraints associated with the COVID-19 pandemic</li>
	<li>Are explicitly aligned with the content within the meeting's scientific tracks, noting that proposals will be reviewed based on their alignment with one primary track. Eligible scientific tracks for this Call-to-Action are listed below, and they include one separate scientific session (Novel Technologies for Global Health) as well as the entire Keystone Symposia Global Health Series conference overlapping with the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting. The Smart Farming Innovations track is not eligible, because it has its own separate <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/grant-opportunities" target="_blank">request for proposals</a>.</li>
</ul>

Scientific tracks eligible for the Call-to-Action

<ul>
	<li>Addressing Challenges to Manage COVID-19: The Indian Experience - Addressing the need, the status, and the gaps that are unique to each solution and discussing the way forward for making all of these solutions accessible and affordable from an Indian perspective</li>
	<li>Applying a Translational Lens to Global Health - Exploring the use of translational tools in nutrition and COVID-19, including the challenges and opportunities from planning and executing clinical trials in a pandemic</li>
	<li>Global Partnerships &amp; Grand Challenges – Supporting local innovators solving local problems, helping build a critical mass of innovation champions linked through a global network to collectively address the most pressing global health and development challenges</li>
	<li>Leveraging Pathogen Genetic Sequencing - Sequencing SARS-CoV-2 during the COVID-19 pandemic, sequencing applied to epidemic and endemic pathogens, and building a suite of interoperable and open-source data analytics and visualization software packages for use in real-time epidemic and endemic disease control</li>
	<li>Optimizing Birth, Growth, and Development – Addressing the COVID-19 pandemic's direct and indirect effect on global health work around maternal, newborn, and child health, including pivoting resources during COVID-19, respiratory support in low- and middle-income countries, and studies of maternal (intrauterine) nutrition and fetal growth</li>
	<li>Repurposing Drugs for COVID-19: Approaches and Challenges – Exploring ongoing efforts to identify candidate drugs to repurpose for COVID-19 treatment and prophylaxis, including screening platforms and model systems</li>
	<li>Novel Technologies for Global Health – Showcasing development of the COVID-19 Cell Atlas and exploring the COVID-19 Human Tissue Atlas and a systems biology approach together with additional technologies</li>
	<li>Enabling Crop Analytics at Scale - Removing bottlenecks to large-scale collection, use, and sharing of ground truth data or processes for smallholder farmer applications</li>
	<li>Optimizing Nutrition for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (Keystone Symposia) – Emphasizing interdisciplinary research and connecting global nutrition and molecular nutrition experts</li>
</ul>

We will not consider funding approaches that:

<ul>
	<li>Are not explicitly aligned with the content within the meeting's scientific tracks eligible for this request for proposals that are listed above</li>
	<li>Are not accomplishable within the grant term under the current and likely near-term constraints associated with the COVID-19 pandemic</li>
</ul>

Note (added November 12, 2020): The Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation will consider proposals targeting topics under the meeting scientific tracks and sessions listed in the request for proposals – the Radical Mental Health track and Leveraging Digital Technologies to Address Health Crises and Beyond track are not part of this particular request for proposals. Proposals submitted under the Global Partnerships &amp; Grand Challenges track should address one of the listed eligible meeting tracks or sessions and bring a specific focus on partnership.

2020 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting Call-to-Action

**NOTE: This opportunity is only open to participants who registered for and attended the 2020 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting (virtual format).
<h2>THE OPPORTUNITY</h2>
The Grand Challenges Annual Meeting - held in <a href="https://grandchallenges.org/annual-meeting" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">11 countries</a> over the past 15 years and in a virtual format this year - fosters innovation and international collaboration to address the biggest challenges in global health and development. Our goal is to support a global community of problem solvers who work together to set an innovation agenda and do the breakthrough science to deliver on it. Recognizing the pressing global threat of COVID-19, this year's Annual Meeting will focus on how to accelerate transformational innovation for global health crises. The meeting will seek to facilitate collaboration among scientists, decision makers, and policymakers to discover, develop, and deploy the solutions needed to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, mitigate its impact, and prepare for future global health emergencies. Additionally, the meeting will explore how to harness the energy and lessons from COVID-19 to drive continued progress against a broad range of global health and development goals. Besides this Call-to-Action request for proposals from meeting participants, there are three public <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/grant-opportunities" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">grant opportunities</a> addressing global health and development that are opening at the meeting.
<h2>THE CHALLENGE</h2>
The Call-to-Action provides an opportunity for Grand Challenges Annual Meeting participants to take action based on ideas they developed and people they met at the meeting. The <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/grants/eyJzb3J0IjoiZGVzY2VuZGluZyIsInNvcnRGaWVsZCI6ImRhdGUiLCJudW1iZXJQZXJQYWdlIjoxMDAsInBhZ2VOdW1iZXIiOjB9/eyJ5ZWFycyI6W10sImNoYWxsZW5nZXMiOlsiMTI5Il0sInRlcm1zIjpbXSwiaW5pdGlhdGl2ZXMiOltdLCJsb2NhdGlvbnMiOltdfQ==" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">grants awarded</a> for the 2018 and 2019 Call-to-Action were for projects arising  from diverse types of opportunities – as noted by applicants in their submitted proposals – to interact at the meeting and to bring together combinations of expertise and perspective to speed the impact of what would otherwise be separate work by individual investigators. We hope that interactive elements at this year's virtual meeting will still provide ways to catalyze collaborative grant applications and that the extra urgency of the meeting's focus this year will inspire projects with a goal and design that will yield a tangible solution to a key problem by the end of the grant.
Funding
Each meeting participant will have one opportunity to apply as the primary applicant for a USD $100,000 grant or a collaborative USD $200,000 grant, both with an 18-month grant duration. Collaborative awards require the participation of at least two meeting participants from different institutions. While restricted to one application as the primary applicant, meeting participants may participate as collaborators in multiple collaborative applications. Priority will be given to new or newly expanded collaborations, rather than to existing partners seeking new funding.
We will give highest priority to proposed projects that:
<ul><li>Contribute to a network of creative people, anchored around the investigators and implementors who are closest to the problems in the countries most burdened by global health and development inequity and have the knowledge and perspective to direct the right approaches to the right parts of the problems to help ensure success – their collective action and directed energy is helping solve today's key problems in global health and development, while building a mechanism ready to solve tomorrow's</li>
<li>Specifically address the meeting's goals and content around the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, noting that this funding opportunity is not designed to more broadly address COVID-19</li>
<li>Are likely to yield a tangible answer to a question or solution to a problem within the grant term under the current and likely near-term constraints associated with the COVID-19 pandemic</li>
<li>Are explicitly aligned with the content within the meeting's scientific tracks, noting that proposals will be reviewed based on their alignment with one primary track. Eligible scientific tracks for this Call-to-Action are listed below, and they include one separate scientific session (Novel Technologies for Global Health) as well as the entire Keystone Symposia Global Health Series conference overlapping with the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting. The Smart Farming Innovations track is not eligible, because it has its own separate <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/grant-opportunities" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">request for proposals</a>.</li>
</ul>Scientific tracks eligible for the Call-to-Action
<ul><li>Addressing Challenges to Manage COVID-19: The Indian Experience - Addressing the need, the status, and the gaps that are unique to each solution and discussing the way forward for making all of these solutions accessible and affordable from an Indian perspective</li>
<li>Applying a Translational Lens to Global Health - Exploring the use of translational tools in nutrition and COVID-19, including the challenges and opportunities from planning and executing clinical trials in a pandemic</li>
<li>Global Partnerships &amp; Grand Challenges – Supporting local innovators solving local problems, helping build a critical mass of innovation champions linked through a global network to collectively address the most pressing global health and development challenges</li>
<li>Leveraging Pathogen Genetic Sequencing - Sequencing SARS-CoV-2 during the COVID-19 pandemic, sequencing applied to epidemic and endemic pathogens, and building a suite of interoperable and open-source data analytics and visualization software packages for use in real-time epidemic and endemic disease control</li>
<li>Optimizing Birth, Growth, and Development – Addressing the COVID-19 pandemic's direct and indirect effect on global health work around maternal, newborn, and child health, including pivoting resources during COVID-19, respiratory support in low- and middle-income countries, and studies of maternal (intrauterine) nutrition and fetal growth</li>
<li>Repurposing Drugs for COVID-19: Approaches and Challenges – Exploring ongoing efforts to identify candidate drugs to repurpose for COVID-19 treatment and prophylaxis, including screening platforms and model systems</li>
<li>Novel Technologies for Global Health – Showcasing development of the COVID-19 Cell Atlas and exploring the COVID-19 Human Tissue Atlas and a systems biology approach together with additional technologies</li>
<li>Enabling Crop Analytics at Scale - Removing bottlenecks to large-scale collection, use, and sharing of ground truth data or processes for smallholder farmer applications</li>
<li>Optimizing Nutrition for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (Keystone Symposia) – Emphasizing interdisciplinary research and connecting global nutrition and molecular nutrition experts</li>
</ul>We will not consider funding approaches that:
<ul><li>Are not explicitly aligned with the content within the meeting's scientific tracks eligible for this request for proposals that are listed above</li>
<li>Are not accomplishable within the grant term under the current and likely near-term constraints associated with the COVID-19 pandemic</li>
</ul>Note (added November 12, 2020): The Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation will consider proposals targeting topics under the meeting scientific tracks and sessions listed in the request for proposals – the Radical Mental Health track and Leveraging Digital Technologies to Address Health Crises and Beyond track are not part of this particular request for proposals. Proposals submitted under the Global Partnerships &amp; Grand Challenges track should address one of the listed eligible meeting tracks or sessions and bring a specific focus on partnership.

**NOTE: This opportunity is only open to participants who registered for and attended the 2020 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting (virtual format).