A Combined Food Systems Approach to Scaling-up Interventions to Address the Double Burden of Malnutrition

https://bbsrc.ukri.org/funding/filter/2019-double-burden-malnutrition/

Deadline: 07^th May 2019

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), through the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Collective Programme, has announced an investment of up to £8.5 million to support interdisciplinary proposals that seek to work across the food system to reduce the global double burden of malnutrition.

This programme aims to consolidate existing evidence and synthesise new evidence for sustainable, multidisciplinary approaches that address the challenge of chronic global malnutrition.

This will encompass both under-nutrition (too few calories) and over-nutrition (too many calories), both of which are associated with inadequate micronutrient intakes, otherwise known as the ‘Double Burden of Malnutrition’.

The primary aim of this opportunity is to invite applications for new research that builds upon and scales up existing UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) investments in food systems, to maximise the potential for impact in addressing the double burden of malnutrition.

Proposals must be led by UK researchers normally eligible for UKRI funding, and partnerships with eligible Co-Investigators based in any of the DAC countries are required.

The call is funded from the UK government’s GCRF. As well as being scientifically excellent, research supported under it must meet the criteria for classification of expenditure as ODA.

Funds can be requested for up to three years and projects must start by mid-February 2020.

UKRI-BBSRC will upload additional resource describing the scope of the call with three weeks of the launch of the call.

This will be uploaded to the webpage in the format of a recorded webinar and will provide an audible description of the scope, thus enabling the information to be available to a wider audience across the whole community.

UKRI-BBSRC will also add an FAQ factsheet compiling common queries regarding the call.

Through this new funding opportunity, UKRI wishes to support new research that builds on previous investments through:

1. scaling up of research interventions to extend and consolidate evidence on the effectiveness of interventions that have already demonstrated positive but small-scale impacts
2. encouraging interdisciplinary collaborations that combine complementary approaches, such as

• fortification (the addition of micronutrients to foods during processing) and nutrient supplementation
• agronomic techniques (the addition of fertilisers to enhance nutrient density)
• biofortification (the breeding and selection of crops with traits that enhance their micronutrient contents)
• the study of livelihoods and socio-economic influences on whether interventions will work.

3. advocacy activities with key stakeholders, such as generating reports and publicising research findings for a non-academic audience, round table discussions with policy makers, and interactions with international networks such as the Scaling Up Nutrition or SUN network, and
4. funding new research that links the existing portfolio to overlapping concerns of the other GCRF portfolios of Education and Health.

Eligible projects must reflect elements of all three of the following:

• New research to enhance coherence and impact, including new combinations of approaches to tackle malnutrition along the food system chain from production to consumer, and evidence of strong partnerships through co-creation of research with partners in LMICs and stakeholder involvement in design
• Communication, including layperson- as well as policymaker-targeted publications in the form of reports, memos, and blogs, webinars, films, exhibitions, and workshops
• Stakeholder/end user engagement, including conferences, round-table discussions, high level meetings with government departments, policymakers, the private sector, and members of civil society.

 

GCRF – Cultures, Behaviours and Histories of Agriculture, Food, and Nutrition call

https://ahrc.ukri.org/funding/apply-for-funding/current-opportunities/gcrf-cultures-behaviours-and-histories-of-agriculture-food-and-nutrition-call/

Deadline: 16^th May 2019

UKRI has announced the first of two funding calls to support interdisciplinary, international research partnerships which seek to explore the intersection of culture, behaviours, history, and society with all stages of the food systems chain in Lower and Middle Income Countries (LMICs).

The activity should catalyse the creation of sustainable, balanced, equitable relationships and partnerships between UK based research organisations and researchers with those in developing countries.

Learning and knowledge exchange should be reciprocal with clear mutuality of benefit for all collaborators.

There are two scales of award that can be applied for under this call:

• Small Partnership Awards with total costs of no more than £50,000 fEC
• Large Partnership Awards with total costs of no more than £200,000 fEC

Funding of up to £2million is available to support up to 6-10 Small Partnership Awards and up to 6-10 Large Partnership Awards, depending on quality of applications received.

Funding requested should be commensurate with the activities intended for these projects.

The duration of these awards can be between 12 and 24 months.

A second call will be launched in autumn 2019, with up to a further £2million of funding available (£4million available in total divided between the two calls).

This second call will also be open to applications addressing any relevant theme and will offer similar levels of funding.

In order to facilitate inter-disciplinary innovation and co-design between UK and LMIC partners, the call is deliberately open in scope and broad in its remit with regard to food systems.

Applications on any relevant topic are welcomed.

Some examples of potential themes are provided below simply to illustrate some of the potential breadth. The call will not prioritise applications which address these themes nor will it de-prioritise those which do not.

All applications will be considered equally against the eligibility and assessment criteria.

• Gender dynamics of food and nutrition
• Community dynamics around food and diet
• Collective memories of food shocks and their impact on policy/practice
• Coping with climate, weather and environmental risks in food systems
• Non-communicable diseases related to food practices

Please ensure to read the full call documentation and FAQs available through the links above.