OPTions Initiative - Next Generation Methods

Eligibility

Eligible applicants include social enterprises and other recognized institutions (e.g., non-profit organizations, academic institutions, and for-profit companies) that:

• are formed and legally incorporated in an eligible country, as determined by the RFP focus area an institution is applying to

• can successfully execute the activities in their respective technical area

• are capable of receiving and administering grant funding

• are not sole proprietorships

• are not United Nations country offices

For more information on eligibility please see: OPTions-RFP_R3_English_Updated-Nov2021.pdf (grandchallenges.ca)

Summary

The goal of this Request for Proposals (RFP) is to support women’s, girls’, and people with diverse sexual and gender identities’ access to safe abortion in low- and middle-income countries. We seek innovative and transformative approaches that put women, girls, and people with diverse sexual and gender identities in control of where, when, and how they terminate their pregnancy. The focus of this call is to support the development and testing of next generation methods of pregnancy termination, menses induction or conception interruption.

NEXT GENERATION METHODS: Introducing a next generation method of safe abortion that provides one or more significant improvements over existing methods, including:

a. Equal or better effectiveness at terminating pregnancy over existing methods

b. Permissive within existing regulatory frameworks (e.g., it has other primary indications)

c. Ability for self-administration with greater autonomy and privacy

d. Cost effective relative to current safe methods

e. Ease of use/compliance (e.g., single pill administration)

f. Reduced side effects and pain

g. The ability to be effectively administered early or at later stages of gestation

Please note that this is the target product profile for next generation methods of safe abortion. Both pre-clinical and clinical stage proposals are eligible, and project objectives for the 18-to-24-month grant period will be tailored accordingly.

Submission Process

Eligible organizations may submit only one application.

Please note that community organizations are eligible organization for this call. Given the application limit permitted from the university, faculty members may consider applying through their partner organizations.

For applications wishing to be made through the University rather than through partner community organizations, an internal Notice of Intent (iNOI) is due to Research Services by Noon on October 14th, 2022. Send the following details to asamuels@ucalgary.ca by this date:

1. Principal Investigator’s name
2. Faculty and Department
3. Project Title

This submission to Research Services is required since the application is made by the institution, and an internal Letter of Intent (LOI) stage may be required if multiple applications are seeking to go forward. 

Please note: Submission of an iNOI is mandatory. Any applications submitted to the funding agency without having undergone this stage will be rejected.

Overhead: 10%

Application deadlines

RSO final internal review deadline

Program application deadline

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Postdocs, students, and trainees: For fellowships and externally-sponsored research training awards or opportunities, you must complete the Research Funding Application Approval (RFAA) Trainee PDF form, and submit it, along with a complete copy of the application, to Research Services at rsotrainee@ucalgary.ca. Trainees should not use RMS at this time.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via either RMS or the RFAA Trainee form, in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.

The deadline to complete and submit your “Next Generation Methods” application is set as December 31, 2022 at 12:00 p.m. ET. Grand Challenges Canada has advised that due to recent changes in the review process, there will no longer be a review period between the summer and December 31, 2022. 

Seed Funding

Successful "Next Generation Methods” proposals will be awarded seed grants of between $250,000 - $400,000 CAD over 18 to 24 months to develop and test the proposed innovation. Assuming a sufficient number of proposals of merit are received, approximately 30 seed grants will be awarded in this round.

Transition to Scale Funding

A limited number of innovations funded through this RFP will be invited to apply for transition-to-scale funding of up to $3,000,000 CAD, to support the refinement, testing and implementation for scale of innovative solutions that have already achieved proof of concept. Transition-to-scale projects are expected to demonstrate large-scale, real-world impact on access to safe abortion and move towards scale and sustainability. Transitionto-scale projects require support from partners who bring both funds and the necessary skill sets to the innovations to operate sustainably at scale. Successful innovations may be invited to complete validation at Transition to Scale. Please visit https://www.grandchallenges.ca/programs/transition-to-scale/ for further information on transition to scale funding.