Events

1st call for proposals for kbth research support grant 2021

As the premier tertiary healthcare institution established with research as one of her pivotal agenda, the hospital continues to blaze the trail in creativity and innovation in research and medical practice.
In order to continue to foster transformation and align our research endeavours to higher standards through collaborations among practitioners, the Research Unit, under the auspices of the Chief Executive Officer is issuing the maiden call for proposals for Research Support Grants for 2021. The call aims to encourage staff researchers to conduct high-quality research of national and international relevance through a multi-discipline approach.
This Call will put premium on proposals that demonstrate strong promise regarding relevance to:

2.  Funding and Duration
For this call, an amount of Gh¢10,000 each will be awarded to 2 teams whose proposals will be selected by the 2021 Call Selection Committee to complete their research projects in 8 months.
3.  Eligibility
The eligibility criteria are as follows:
•   The Call is open to all Full-time staff at post [the main applicant(s) should be KBTH Staff, other collaborators from other institutions may be involved);
•    Principal/Lead investigators should preferably be from at least 2 or more departments of the hospital. Multidepartmental collaboration is highly desired.
•    Eligible applicants may participate in more than one project as a Co-Investigator but shall submit only one application as a Principal Investigator. If an applicant submits two or more applications as a Principal  Investigator,  all the applications will be disqualified.
•    Proposal should received KBTH-IRB approval at the time of award (NOT necessarily before applying). KBTH IRB Fees will be waived for such applicants.
•    Applicants should show that project can be completed within the 8 months period
•    Project SHOULD NOT be for academic purposes i.e with the intent of submitting to a school, college, university or any other institution for an award.
•    Project should be an original work of the applicants.
4.  Assessment of Proposals will be guided by the following:
•  Eligibility of the lead investigator;   
•  Team composition  and  capability  – expertise,  gender, academic rank,  track  record, multi-disciplinary and experience;
• Strength of proposal in addressing the needs of healthcare, solving patient/staff challenges, contributing to national health development, and advancing the frontiers of knowledge;
•  Originality/Innovativeness – Necessary sanctions will be applied, if evidence is found that the research has already been conducted;
•  Inter-disciplinary nature of the proposal;
•  Feasibility of the proposal within the timeframe and budget ceiling;
•  Evidence of collaboration with industry/practice;
•  Knowledge sharing/dissemination strategies;
•  Overall impact on the hospital;

5.  Outline of Proposals
•  Cover letter outlining: Impact and Knowledge Sharing Strategies and pathways for ensuring wider impact at the national, regional and local levels (1,200 words maximum) – [20 marks];
• Title – (20 words maximum);
•  Background/Context – Including problem statement (300 words maximum) – [5 marks];
•  Research Objectives/Hypotheses/Questions – (300 words maximum) – [5 marks];
• Significance/Relevance  –  Industry-linked, society-relevant, national  health oriented, contribution to knowledge and innovation (500 words maximum) – [15 marks];
• Literature Review (max 1200 words)
•  Methodology – (where applicable) provide the study design, population, interventions, sample size, and sampling strategy, follow up procedures and laboratory investigations; data collection, data management, and analytical approach; quality assurance, ethical considerations (all sponsored research shall seek ethical approval from KBTH Institutional Review Board), etc. (1,500 words maximum) – [25 marks];
•  Evidence of Collaboration showing list and their roles- [10 marks];
•  References – Choose one consistent style throughout the proposal
•  Work Plan – Spell out activity and timeline of each investigation in weeks/months within the given period of time spelt out in this Call. The work plan will not be changed, if the proposal is awarded the grant. It may only be changed after advice from the Research Unit – [5 marks];
•  Project Team – Expertise, relevant qualifications and roles and responsibilities of all team members (600 words maximum) – [5 marks]; and
•  Budget – not exceeding the stipulated amount for the grant. A budgeted amount will not be changed on any grounds if the proposal is awarded a grant – [10 marks].
6.  Timelines
6.1 Date of Announcement: Friday, 30th October, 2020.
6.2 Proposals (one block soft copy) should be submitted to Research Unit via rdo@kbth.gov.gh stating subject of email as ‘Maiden Research Call’
Deadline for submission is 0:00AM GMT Saturday, 30th January 2021.
6.3 Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their applications on or before Friday, 26th February, 2020. Proposals should have received KBTH-IRB approval a week before end of this notification period.
6.4 Award ceremony will be held in March 2021.
6.5 Project begins after the ceremony and ends in October 2021.

7.   Expected Outcomes
Upon receipt of the award, grant awardees are expected to deliver the following outputs to
the Research Unit:
•  Acceptance letter – By the end of the second week of award
•  Presentation at the involving departments on objectives and methods – By the end of the fourth week
•  Preliminary results to involving departments – By the end of the fourth month
•  Submission of progress report – By the end of the sixth month
•  Presentation of the draft final manuscript – By the end of the seventh month
•  Stakeholder engagement (for the inter-departmental) – By the end of the eighth month
•  Publication of research results in a selected peer-reviewed journal
• Copy of submitted manuscript to Research Unit and presented at KBTH Research Day.

8.  For further enquiries, contact the Head of Research, Research Office, First Floor, Central Administration Blk, or email: f.acheampong@kbth.gov.gh