Dear CARTA Fellow,

You are invited to apply for the DELTAS Africa Community and Public Engagement Seed Fund . It is a 2-year scheme to support up to 50 DELTAS Africa doctoral and postdoctoral trainees to undertake innovative engagement projects aligned to their research projects. 

The deadline to submit your application is   April 1 2019 at 12 PM GMT.

The fund has been set up with the support of Wellcome and the UK Department for International Development (DFID). The seed fund criteria will align with the outcomes around the DELTAS Africa Learning Research Programme (LRP) and the DELTAS Africa Theory of Change.

Below are Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the fund and how you can apply.

What are the objectives of the fund?
  • Enable the DELTAS Africa programmes to build engagement capacity of their researchers and programmes
  • Pilot programmes of activity to promote societal impact of DELTAS Africa research and move towards people-centred approaches
  • For a themed round on gender equality in science; build on a strategy developed by The AAS and support implementation of engagement activities that contribute to the gender equity agenda.

What does this funding seek to support?
The CPE seed fund will enable the DELTAS Africa doctoral and postdoctoral trainees to implement their engagement plans, build engagement capacity of consortia staff and trainees, and pilot programmes of activity to promote societal impact of DELTAS Africa research and move towards people-centred approaches. 

But, what is community and public engagement?
There are a number of terms used when we talk about engaging non-researchers/non-scientists/lay publics with health research such as; community engagement, public engagement, community outreach, patient involvement, public participation, people centred approaches, human centred design, etc. Each term is defined differently by different organisations, groups and individuals. 

When we talk about engagement, we are talking about two-way interactions between scientists/researchers and non-scientist/non-research/lay publics about science, research and innovation, intended to provide opportunities for mutual learning and benefit. 

Community engagement differentiates itself from public engagement in that, community engagement specifically targets people directly involved in and/or affected by research. Public engagement targets a broader audience and encapsulates people not directly involved in research.

They all involve activities that bridge the gap between researchers and non-research/non-scientist publics and provide channels for these groups to understand one another. This engagement should encourage a critical awareness of the personal, ethical and cultural impacts of health research and should stimulate an insightful sharing of views that has benefits for all involved.

Engagement can come in many forms, such as community-led digital storytelling, collaborative theatre projects or café-style debates. The aim is to maximise the impact of health research ensuring research questions, methods and outcomes are relevant to target communities and work to build a healthier society. 

How about an engagement plan, what is that? How do I develop one?
An engagement plan consists of the following elements below:

Background Information/Context
Gather and compile background information on the project. Below are some pointers.
  • Have you conducted analysis to understand the local and possibly national context that will affect the engagement process?
  • How does this engagement fit into your overall organisation's objectives?
  • What do the community know and/or think about your work and/or organization?
  • What did previous engagement efforts look like – did they achieve the intended outcomes?
  • Are there any social and economic issues you should be aware of?
  • Do you need to take into account literacy, language or cultural considerations?
  • Is there any political sensitivity around the issues you will be engaging on?
  • How technical are your stakeholders?
  • How can you help them engage?

Engagement purpose
Why do you want to engage? What do you want the engagement to achieve?

Engagement Objectives
Engagement objectives enable you to ‘unpack’ your engagement purpose statement. Make your objectives SMART.

Stakeholder Analysis & Mapping
Who do you need to engage?
  • Clearly identify the different community groups, organisations and individuals that will be affected or may have a specific interest in the research project or the work of your research institution. 
  • Not all stakeholders in a particular group or sub-group will necessarily share the same concerns or have unified opinions or priorities. Hence, not all stakeholders will need to be engaged at the same level.
  • This step explores how to understand and identify stakeholders who should be engaged, their interests and level of influence.
  • Therefore, highlight the differences and needs of each stakeholder group to be engaged and determine what engagement activities might be required and at which stage.

Level of engagement
You need to think about how much participation you expect from your stakeholders. This process involves determining whether you will be promising to; Inform, involve, consult, collaborate or empower. Empower rarely will be achievable or appropriate. Depending on your objectives you may have different degrees of engagement with different stakeholders.

Engagement methods
Methods used during engagement should be selected based on the goal of engagement, as well as the needs and demographics of each group among other aspects. Again, it’s important to recognise that there is no “one-size fits all” for CPE. Triangulation of methods is encouraged to strengthen the impact of engagement. Community engagement methods may include; but are not limited to; community advisory boards, community dialogue, science open days, story and narrative through drama.

Feedback
Identify how feedback will be provided to those involved in the engagement process. For community engagement, this is particularly important because It enables research communities understand how their input shaped the research project.

Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (M E&L) measures
Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) of CPE activities can be especially challenging because it may be a result of various initiatives or activities hence may not be easily defined.    M&E does not only happen at the end of an engagement project. It is an integral part of the entire process. It can be helpful when developing objectives to define what success would look like. Developing clear metrics for success at the start of your engagement project;
  • Ensures focus for your engagement approach
  • Helps with managing expectations
  • Enables measurement so resources can be redistributed as needed to ensure effectiveness.

Your metrics may be qualitative or quantitative, and they may be focused on process or impact, depending on the objectives you have identified.

Am I eligible to apply for the CPE seed fund?
To apply you should be:
  • A citizen of an African country.
  • Be based in Africa
  • Be a PhD or postdoctoral trainee affiliated with the DELTAS Africa programme (such as CARTA)
  • Hold a permanent or fixed-term contract in an eligible institution which must span the duration of the award. 

What does the seed grant not cover?
  • Applicants from For-profit organisations are not eligible. 
  • Engagement projects that seek to; EITHER undertake engagement activities that are of an ethical nature essential to carrying out scientific /health research, OR run/promote health campaigns, OR provide health

How do I apply?
All application forms should be submitted through the  AAS Grants Management System (Ishango) . Register and apply  here
Applications should be submitted in English.  

What is the structure of the online application?
  • Applicant’s details
  • Information about applicant’s scientific project.
  • Applicant’s motivation to undertake community and public engagement for their science project
  • Proposed outcomes of the community and public engagement project
  • Proposed timelines.
  • Justification of funds requested

How should my application package look like?
  • Completed online application form 
  • A written down engagement plan

What is the currency of application for the seed award?
US dollars

How much on average will each awarded be funded?
Each award will be funded up to a maximum of £25,000 (USD32, 573.70). These funds will cover the entire duration of the engagement project.  

What are some of the ineligible costs?
Applicants may not seek funding for 
  • Conference attendance 
  • Equipment
  • Indirect costs
  • Per diem

How many grants are available for this funding cycle?
A minimum of twenty-three (23) up to a max of fifty (50) grants will be awarded.

What are some of the eligibility checks (triage)?
Applications will be assessed for eligibility by a Pre-assessment and shortlisting committee at the respective DELTAS Africa research Institutions; consisting of an engagement implementer/staff supported by a small team of internally selected experts. Checks will focus on:
  • Completeness of the application package,
  • Compliance to eligibility standards and,
  • Quality of the engagement proposal.  
Only applications whose proposals are approved will proceed to the review committee for further assessment.  

How will the award for the seed funds be done?
Funds will be disbursed to the applicant’s employing institution or hosting institution, depending on what is most appropriate. 
Ninety percent (90%) of the total award will be disbursed in advance and 10% withheld until a draft report is submitted 1 month after the end of the award. We will be flexible and work with the individual applicants to ensure the initial 90% covers what they need. 
No-cost extensions will be governed by existing AAS policies.

I am ready to apply, what else should I know?
In order to submit an application to the AAS, the applicants and co-applicants must confirm the following:
a.     That they have read and understood the AAS Data Protection and Privacy Statement.
b.     The information in the application is accurate and complete
c.      The AAS grant conditions have been read and are acceptable
d.     The necessary facilities will be made available to conduct the research and will continue to be available for the duration of the AAS grant
The AAS grants management policies can be accessed here

I still have a few questions, who can I speak to?
Write to DELTAS_CPE@aasciences.ac.ke  in case of any further queries or comments. Please specify that you are enquiring about the DELTAS CPE Seed Fund.

To get more insights, visit MESH, a community and public engagement online platform of the Wellcome Trust here https://mesh.tghn.org/