AMMnet Grant Opportunity:Small Event Award

Proposals must meet the following 8 criteria:

1. Be led by one or more AMMnet members based in a malaria-endemic country
2. Involve at least 10 participants, including the organizer(s)
3. Involve participants from multiple institutions or organizations
4. Include a plan for encouraging participation of women
5. Include a measurement of effectiveness in reaching objectives outlined in the proposal (for example: participant survey, attendance registers, photos)
6. Satisfactory letter of support from the main organizer’s institution, confirming the organizer’s position in the institution, indicating that  the institution supports the application and planned activities
7. Create and/or strengthen community among local malaria modelers, analysts, and partners, including strengthening partnerships between modelers/analysts and non-modelers/non-analysts
8. Target at least one additional event objective from among the following:
   • Share proposed work, work in progress, exchange knowledge and scientific ideas, and build collaborations — with a malaria modelling component
   • Strengthen technical and/or communication skills in the modeling community, especially in junior researchers
   • Build or strengthen partnerships between malaria modelers and NMCPs
   • Generate interest in malaria modeling

Event activities may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Scientific talks and/or poster presentations
• Panel discussions and/or question & answer sessions with experts
• Hands-on technical workshops or hackathons
• Small-group manuscript or grant proposal feedback discussions
• Career panels and other career development activities
• Facilitated group discussions on technical topics or developing plans for future regional AMMnet activities
• Practice oral presentations with feedback sessions, opportunity to revise, and present again
• Multiple meetings over the course of a few months to plan local AMMnet chapter governance and activities
• Creation of lectures, course materials, active learning activities, etc for distribution, dissemination, and implementation
• North-South or South-South scientific exchanges to develop proposals or training activities

• Small Grant Award Template (all filled out): Follow the template instructions below
• Biosketch (CV or resume) for event organizers
• A letter of support from the institution of the main event organizer, confirming the organizer’s position in the institution and that the institution supports the application and the proposed activities.
  • Letter can be addressed to the following:
  • Applied Malaria Modeling Network (AMMnet)
  • c/o Institute for Global Health
  • Northwestern University
  • 710 N Lake Short Drive Ste 800
  • Chicago IL 60611
  • USA

• Introductory information:
  • A short description of the event you propose to hold, including location, date, duration, number of participants, and targeted audience
  • A statement of plans for inclusion of women
  • A clear statement of the objectives your event will achieve and how they advance AMMnet’s mission
  • A statement of how this event contributes to the local AMMnet chapter or establishes a new chapter, if no chapter exists
  • A description of next steps after a successful event. For example, if the event is a training session, where is the training leading?
• Event information:
  • Detailed schedule of activities you plan to hold as part of your event and how they achieve your objectives
• Measure of effectiveness: Describe how you will demonstrate your event has achieved its objectives (for example: participant surveys, attendance numbers, and/or photos)

• Budget table: Include a table of costs under the following categories (not all categories may be needed):
  • Venue
  • Personnel
  • Refreshments
  • Travel
  • Supplies
  • Other Expenses (per diems, indirect costs, etc., if needed)
• Budget narrative (justification): Explain the major cost drivers and how costs relate to planned activities and target objectives

Calls for proposals are announced in the AMMnet Monthly Newsletter and by email. Proposals are accepted and reviewed on a quarterly basis. After each deadline, all submissions received by that date will be reviewed. AMMnet aims to fund 15–20 events each fiscal year.

Prior to the event

Awarded proposals are expected to hold their event within 12 months of the award date. The AMMnet secretariat will notify the local AMMnet chapter leadership of the award. The AMMnet secretariat will assist the organizers to announce their event on AMMnet social media.

During the event

The AMMnet secretariat will work with the event organizers on an online survey that participants will fill out toward the end of the event. The survey will also collect names and email addresses of the event participants.

After the event

Organizers will be expected to coordinate with the AMMnet secretariat via info@ammnet.org to share the event proceedings as pictures on designated AMMnet social media platforms.

Within 1 month after the event, organizers are expected to share via email to info@ammnet.org a 1-page report on their event, including:

• Results from the measure of effectiveness
• 1-2 success stories from the event
• A summary of women’s involvement in the event, including their levels of participation, the roles they held, and any deliberate efforts made to encourage their engagement.
• 1-2 lessons learned for future events
• Next steps after the event to carry forward successes

and

• A financial report, including a summary of expenses and copies of receipts

Within 6 months of the event, organizers are expected to present at an AMMnet virtual meeting a 5 to 10-minute presentation on a summary of their event, including a brief statement from one of the event participants.

Important Note: Organizers will not be considered for other AMMnet funding if they do not fulfill the post-event requirements outlined in the Notice of Award (including receipts for costs associated with the event).

Repeat Applications

Organizers may apply for a Small Event Award more than once. However, priority will be given to applicants who have not previously received funding. If you have previously received an award, we encourage you to propose a different type of event in your subsequent application.

For example, if your first event was a technical training workshop, your next could be a symposium, a series of planning meetings for local chapter activities, oral presentation practice sessions with feedback, or another distinct activity.

Organizers may apply more than once to this request for proposals, although priority will be given to those who have not yet received funding.

If funding was previously received, we request that subsequent applications propose a different type of event. For example, if the previous event was a technical training workshop, the next event can be a symposium, a series of planning meetings for regional chapter activities, practice oral presentations with feedback sessions, or other activities.

Proposal Scoring

Proposals will be scored by 2 Board members according to the following rubric. Proposals must pass the 8 criteria and score minimum 25 points to be considered for funding. Proposals that do not meet the score threshold will be invited to revise and resubmit up to two more quarterly cycles.

• Criteria to pass (all 8 must be met):
  • Led by one or more AMMnet members based in a malaria-endemic country
  • Involves at least 10 participants
  • Involves participants from multiple institutions or organizations
  • Include a plan for encouraging participation of women
  • Includes a measurement of effectiveness in reaching objectives outlined in the proposal
  • Satisfactory letter of support from institution
  • Creates and/or strengthens community
  • Targets at least one additional event objective
• Event objectives are well-aligned with AMMnet’s mission (up to 5 points)
• Event activities likely to meet stated objectives (up to 15 points)
• Budget is appropriate and each item is well-justified with reasonable value (up to 10 points)

Proposals that do not meet the funding threshold may be invited to revise and resubmit. Applicants may submit a maximum of two revisions—three submissions total, including the original.