A number of International Health Research Awards will be made in association with the International Conference on Health Research for Development to be held in Bangkok, Thailand in October 2000. The awards, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, are intended to encourage cooperation between institutions to enable the environment for health research. Applications are invited from institutions in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, South and South East Asia, China, the Middle East, the Pacific islands, or Eastern Europe. A council of distinguished researchers from amongst these regions will select the awards.

Proposals are requested from partnerships of institutions representing, or proposing to create, national or regional initiatives targeting several of the following themes:

• Strengthening national or regional health research agendas
• Increasing awareness of the importance of research among stakeholders
• Promoting good ethical practices in health research
• Improving communication and dissemination of research results
• Translating research into action
• Improving the processes and indicators for evaluating the impact of research
• Strengthening capacity in the management of research

Preference will be given to proposals that meet the following criteria:

• Potential to catalyze national or regional health priorities
• Multi-disciplinary approach with a mix of senior and junior researchers, and some evidence of proven track record within the team

• Ability to monitor and evaluate the initiative

• Demonstration of likely long-term sustainability and capacity building potential
• Low administrative costs relative to likely research impact, with efficient financial administration between institutions
• Leadership ability to coordinate the proposed activities within the partnership
• Creative partnerships, especially those involving non-governmental organizations that could give the initiative greater relevance to communities or policymakers

These non-renewable awards will cover a 2 to 3 year project period and will likely total between USD$200,000 and USD$300,000 each. Applications should identify one lead institution to receive and manage the award. This institution should hold charitable, not-for-profit status, and the proposed activities must not include advocacy efforts that involve lobbying for legislation. Awards to individuals will not be considered.

Proposals of between 5-10 pages should reach the Awards Selection Council Secretariat no later than June 30, 2000 and should be organized under the following headings:

1. Background
2. Objectives and how they relate to the spirit of the awards
3. Partners including letters of support/agreement from all participating institutions
4. One page curriculum vitae for each key investigator
5. Methodology and proposed activities
6. Time frame with evidence of longer term sustainability
7. Budget: the total budget, indication of any other sources of funding and a breakdown of the proportion of the budget requested for the award, in USD$.
8. Expected results and means of dissemination
9. Monitoring and evaluation procedures

Applications should be sent to : The Awards Selection Council Secretariat, c/o College of Public Health, Chulalongkorn University, 10^th Floor, Institute Building 3, Soi Chula 62, Phayathai Road, Bangkok 10330, Thailand. To facilitate the selection process, applications should ideally be sent electronically by email to ihrareach@hotmail.com or by fax to 4122 7914169 or 662 2556046. Requests for further information should be sent by email to ihrareach@hotmail.com

Final selection of successful initiatives will be made by the Awards Selection Council by the end of July 2000, with notification to all applicants in August 2000. The awards will be announced at the Bangkok Conference on Health Research for Development.