Common Principles Of Funding GRIPP Calls

These principles, extracted from the COVID CIRCLE ‘Funder Principles for Supporting High-Quality Research for the Most Pressing Global Needs in Epidemics & Pandemics’, will guide funders in how they fund research within the GRIPP programme and should be referred to by applicants for the successful creation of their applications:

1. Alignment to global research agendas and locally identified priorities
   

   Funders will seek to fund in line with global research priorities, such as proposed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other multilateral entities, as well as regional and local research priorities, in addition to their own strategic priorities when funding research for global benefit

2. Research capacity for rapid research

   • To build upon existing research capacity and systems, where available
     Funders recognize that building on existing research capacity and systems is the fastest way to ensure high quality research is conducted and knowledge exchanged and that the long-term impacts of epidemics and recovery are addressed.
   • To support capacity strengthening necessary for the research.
     Funders recognize the need for strengthening research capacity in particular in resource limited settings and will consider the sustainability of any newly funded research capacity and whether it could be embedded for rapid activation in future outbreaks. [Further resource on this topic: ESSENCE Good Practice Document on Capacity Strengthening].

3. Equitable, inclusive, cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary partnerships

   • To support equitable partnerships throughout the research process.
     Equitable partnerships are needed to ensure successful, embedded research, which is locally relevant. Funders will seek to support partnerships informed by relevant guidance such as  UKCDR’s Equitable Partnership Principles; COHRED’s Research Fairness Initiative and Fair Research Contracting,  and the Commission for Research Partnerships with Developing Countries (KFPE) 11 Principles for Research Partnership.
   • To promote inclusive and cross-sectoral partnerships to ensure that research is most likely to impact policy and practice.
     Funders will priorities projects that ensure inclusivity and consideration of vulnerable or marginalized groups in the research agenda. Public and community engagement plays a particularly important role in achieving and maintaining trust for research within communities for research during outbreaks, informed by guidelines such as the UNAIDS Good Participatory Practice Guidelines for Biomedical HIV prevention Trials. Research partnerships should demonstrate that community and public engagement has taken place and will continue to do so. Cross-sectoral partnerships across communities, government, public health and non-governmental organizations all help to ensure that the research funded is most likely to impact policy and practice for the relevant government and public health organisations.
   • To promote interdisciplinary research
     The importance of interdisciplinary partnerships for relevant and effective research in epidemics has been highlighted, including through the joint work of the UK Academy of Medical Sciences, UK Medical Research Council and InterAcademy Partnership.

4. Open science and data sharing

   To require that research findings and data relevant to any epidemic are shared rapidly and openly with all relevant parties to inform the public health response. Rapid findings, data sharing and open access publishing can accelerate health benefits through facilitating research projects, reducing the duplication of work and ensuring a clearer picture of the disease through pooled results to improve intervention effectiveness. Funders will be informed by guidance such as the GloPID-R Roadmap for Data Sharing (in particular, the guidance on grant conditions requiring rapid sharing of quality assured data and development and review of data management plans in alignment with the FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship) as well as the associated GloPID-R Principles of Data Sharing in Public Health Emergencies (Timely, Ethical, Accessible, Transparent, Equitable, Fair, Quality).

5. Protection from harm
   

   To take all reasonable steps to anticipate, mitigate and address harm to those involved with research funded. Everyone involved in the research chain, from funders, planners and practitioners to local community members, has the right to be safe from harm. Funders working in international development research will be informed by guidance such as UKCDR’s guidance on safeguarding in international development research.

6. Appropriate ethical consideration
   

   To ensure appropriate ethical consideration is embedded throughout research conducted, in particular regarding access to the products of research. Ethics should be at the heart of funding decision-making and considered throughout the research, including informing approaches to ensure that the optimal value is being obtained from the research for all parties involved. Relevant guidance is provided by the Declaration of Helsinki International Ethical Guidelines for Health-related research involving humans by the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS) , Nuffield Bioethics for public health emergencies – recommendations and The Global Code of Conduct for Research in Resource-Poor Settings.

7. Collaboration and learning enhanced through coordination
   

   Coordination to ensure maximum impact of investments for research on the most pressing global needs through cross- funder and cross- researcher collaboration learning and evaluation.

   • To map research funded, use these data to enhance coordination, and ensure it is publicly available through the Pandemic PACT programme.
     Maximising the value of research investments requires accessible, comprehensive and coherent information on what and where others are investing to help identify funding gaps or duplication and inform or direct future investments. Research funded needs to be mapped publicly, for example through GloPID-R’s Pandemic PACT programme.
   • To foster collaboration between studies funded and facilitate shared development of research protocols, data collection tools, data sharing and exchange of knowledge.
     Collaboration between researcher communities can facilitate trust, foster new partnerships and improve research outcomes and their impact. Where relevant, funded researchers will be supported to embed in relevant or, co-create communities of practice or an equivalent that promote shared development of research protocols, data collection, purpose driven data and results sharing.