To be admissible, applications must be co-led by Canadian and African researchers and address all of the following objectives: 

• Provide rapid evidence to inform clinical and health system management and public health response, and/or decision-making and planning within and across jurisdictions in Canada and internationally; 

• Undertake robust, multi-country cross-learning, and comparative research (including in collaboration with other international researchers where appropriate) on: 

  • the safety and real-world effectiveness of medical or other countermeasures deployed* (including vaccines and therapeutics) to treat and/or prevent monkeypox infections in people in Canada and globally; and 

  • the underlying serological histories and transmission dynamics of the current monkeypox outbreaks in Canada and globally (including time of exposure and transmission during asymptomatic phase, mechanisms of human-to-human transmission, and key risk factors for infection and transmission); 

• Align with and contribute to the WHO Global Clinical Platform for Monkeypox and other international monkeypox surveillance and research coordination activities by: 

  • adopting WHO case investigation and reporting forms; 

  • developing robust study protocols that can be integrated and harmonized with international clinical datasets; and 

  • contributing to global real-time sharing and analyses of research findings across different study contexts 

*Please note that medical countermeasures against monkeypox (including vaccines, drugs and other therapeutic agents) will not be provided by the Government of Canada for research supported through this funding opportunity. 

This project aims to strengthen the capacity of science granting councils to fund and manage research and innovation in areas aligned with their national development plans and priorities. An overarching research framework based on the SGCI theory of change has been proposed to guide the councils and the collaborating technical agencies supporting their work in selecting the proposals to fund. The framework focuses on potential areas and activities linked to broad research objectives such as) putting research findings into economic and social use, promoting private sector partnerships in research and innovation and enhancing gender equality and inclusivity. 

The aim of this work is to further strengthen the capacity of science granting councils to use data and evidence in policy and decision-making and to enhance their roles as science, technology and innovation policy champions both nationally and regionally. The project will also provide monitoring, evaluation, and learning support to the SGCI. 

Promoting linkages and knowledge exchange between public sector research organizations and private sector actors has been a key objective of SGCI’s work since its inception. Important aspects are private sector partnerships through research projects, ensuring the priorities of research organizations are aligned with private sector needs and enhancing private sector understanding of how to work with public research organizations.

Building on and deepening earlier SGCI work, this project will support the councils to implement and pilot the necessary policy frameworks to promote public-private sector partnerships and it will involve sharing experiences among councils.

The aim of this project is to support science granting councils in their use of strategic communications, in strengthening the uptake of knowledge outputs, and in their networking. It will commission state-of-the-art papers to be presented at masterclass sessions of the SGCI Annual Forum. It will also support the implementation of SGCI’s own strategy for communications and outreach.

A suitable organization (or a consortium of organizations) will be selected to implement this project following a competitive process. Technical support to the councils could be achieved through approaches such as customized in-country coaching and group training courses or workshops offered by project staff or using communication specialists.