Application and selection criteria

Strengthening research capacity has been one of LRI’s main objectives since the start of the Initiative which we are committed to support further. LRI is therefore pleased to announce a new round of the call for proposals for the Research capacity strengthening grant, aiming to fund innovative short projects led by early career researchers, supported by an experienced mentor with funding commencing in 2025.

• Para a versão do edital em português, favor clicar aqui!
• Pour une version française de l’appel à propositions, cliquez ici!
• ¡Para obtener una versión en español de la convocatoria de proyectos, haga clic aquí!

Eligibility criteria:

• Applicant must be an early career researcher (defined as not having been a PI on a previous research project with a budget ≥€20,000) affiliated with an organisation/institution where leprosy research or control programmes are being carried out. Preference will be given to researchers not currently enrolled in PhD programmes, fellowships or postdoctoral positions.
• The focus of the research should be leprosy – including research applications combining leprosy with other neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) or other diseases or disabilities that share cross-cutting issues with leprosy. Please note that the emphasis of this call is on the capacity strengthening of the early-career researcher conducting the project. The project scope/topic does not need to focus on capacity strengthening.
• The main topic of the study must fall within one of the agreed LRI priority areas for leprosy research.
• Research results must be directly applicable to leprosy services or promote the wellbeing of persons affected by leprosy.
• The total budget must not exceed €20,000.
• The project duration must not exceed 24 months.
• Approval from Applicant’s line manager and commitment from a project mentor must be sought and included in the submission. The mentor should be an experienced professional providing expertise and guidance to support the applicant’s career development, assist in the development of the research proposal, and, if funded, support the implementation of the project.

Researchers interested to apply are invited to complete and submit a Letter of Intent (LoI), giving an outline of the intended research. The LoIs can only be submitted using the LRI Grant application portal which can be accessed via https://leprosyresearch.flexigrant.com/ . The online portal will open on December 2^nd, 2024.

LoIs should be submitted by January 24^th, 2025 at 17:00 (CET) after which the application portal will be closed. We strongly advise you to take sufficient time to enter all the required data in the system. Only applications in English will be considered.

LoIs will be screened by the LRI Steering Committee (SC). Applicants will be informed about the outcome of the LoI screening on March 14^th, 2025. If the feedback by the SC is positive, the applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal by May 2^nd, 2025. The final funding decision will be communicated on June 27^th, 2025.   

SUBMIT LETTER OF INTENT

Please note: funding of a Research capacity strengthening grant does not guarantee funding of future LRI Flagship grant proposals.

 Timeline budget round 2025