The team produce a quarterly newsletter to provide information on funding opportunities, events and internationalisation activity.
Download previous newsletters from our archive:
In the future we are changing the way we communicate with you. We will use the Faculty announcements to signpost to articles on the FBMH Internationalisation Webpage We hope that this will allow us to update you more frequently and also highlight the useful content on our intranet. As ever, we welcome your thoughts and suggestions
Newsletters from the collaboration on regnerative immunology between the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the University of Manchester:
We are planning a symposium to honour the University's bicentenary year and to celebrate the Global Health research and teaching partnerships of the University. Under the title 'Collaboration for our Third Century' the event will take place in The Whitworth Art Gallery on Thursday 12 September 2024.
Further Details & Registration
EC Webinars on Lump Sum Funding in Horizon Europe
A dedicated “Lump sum funding in Horizon Europe” section is available on the Funding and Tender Opportunities Portal. It brings together all the information on lump sum funding in the programme, FAQs and events.
Information on Lump Sum funding was circulated in October 2023
Presenter: Eliana Chavarría Pino, Health Organisation, Policy and Economics (HOPE), Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health
Date: 5 September 2024, 12:00-13:00
Where: Room University Place 5.211
Topic: Evaluating child and maternal health policies in Mozambique
Abstract -Evidence on whether public health expenditure improves population health is mixed and is particularly scarce from low-income countries. Studies often fail to account for the subnational distribution of expenditure and rarely distinguish between different sources and forms of governance over funding.
We assess the effects of three forms of health expenditure on multiple health and use of health care outcomes across 121 districts in Mozambique. We generated a unique dataset covering 2008 to 2015 by linking three data sources through geolocation: individual health outcomes; domestic recurrent health expenditure; and international health expenditure (channelled through provincial government to support their recurrent expenditure or through earmarked projects implemented in different provinces and districts). We relate expenditure to outcomes using linear regression controlling for household and mother characteristics and district and year fixed effects.
Domestic spending has a significant and protective effect on child mortality. Increasing government health expenditure by 1% increases the probability of infant survival by 0.035 percentage points (pp) and the probability of child survival by 0.027 pp. An increase of 1% in international expenditure managed by local governments increases the probability of infant survival by 0.027 pp and reduces the probability of anaemia in children under 5 by 0.045 pp. It also increases the probability of attending at least four antenatal care appointments by 0.113 pp and of accessing skilled health providers by 0.081 pp. International earmarked projects had a significant effect on the skilled provision of antenatal care and vaccination coverage.
Results show that domestic and international health expenditure are critical for child health. International expenditure can have more positive impacts when managed by local governments through sustainable and predictable funding schemes. Future analyses will discriminate between international projects and explore the effect of fragmentation on health care delivery, while employing other empirical methods.
There are a few Upcoming seminars already planned:
17 October 12.00-13.00 University Place Room TBC: Leveraging Primary Care Networks for attaining Universal Health Coverage in Ghana and Kenya. Adwoa Agyemang-Benneh, Health Organisation, Policy and Economics (HOPE), Faculty of Biology Medicine and Health
November: Child vaccination rates in Sub-Saharan Africa. David Fielding, Professor, Global Development Institute
December: Empowering Adolescent Girls: Does it take a Village? Sonya Krutikova, Professor, Department of Economics, Faculty of Humanities
January: Dental antimicrobial resistance in Sub-Saharan Africa. Wendy Thompson, Clinical Senior Lecturer, Division of Dentistry, Faculty of Biology Medicine and Health
Please check out our New Global Futures website
New Research Security Hub is here
All the information and guidance you need to keep you and your work secure
The University’s new Research Security Hub is now live, helping academics and PS staff keep themselves and their work safe as we face a complex international environment and therefore new and changing potential risks.
The Hub contains all the information, guidance and support colleagues will need as they carry out their work, whether it’s collaborating on research, managing data, information governance, travelling or working abroad, welcoming visitors, ATAS requirements or managing Export Controls.
The Hub also includes Government guidance from the National Protective Security Authority (NPSA), including its Trusted Research campaign to support the UK’s research community.
You can visit the Hub at:
Quantum leap for UK and Germany science and research links
South Korea to associate with Horizon Europe
During the Research & Innovation week which took place last week in Brussels, the European Commission announced the new release of the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.
The new release includes but is not limited to:
The EU Funding & Tenders Portal has over 1.5 million users, including EU funding applicants, beneficiaries, tenderers, and experts. These developments have been implemented after user feedback was collected on the Portal’s services and tools, to provide users with an updated and more seamless experience.
The European Commission has released a video which showcases the Portal’s new features and provides guidance on how to navigate them.
UK and international researchers are being supported to tackle health challenges today and develop the technologies of tomorrow with new partnership programmes.
UKRI celebrates 5,000 Global Talent visa endorsements
Endorsed funders route helps attract the brightest scientists and researchers to pursue their careers in the UK.
The Global Talent visa (GTV) was launched in 2020 to provide a specialist route for international researchers to live and work in the UK.
Since then, through its endorsed funder’s route, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has helped over 5,000 talented people from over 130 different countries to build their careers in the UK.
We want to bring this opportunity to more people and for more organisations to become endorsed GTV funders and hosts.
Find out more about the scheme and how you can support it.
EU Update - Horizon Europe Association 2023/2024
The UK’s association to Horizon Europe and Copernicus was officially sealed on 4th December. The association agreement was adopted in the form of a protocol to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement by the EU-UK Specialised Committee on Participation in Union Programmes.
After the announcement on 7 September 2023, UK organisations will be able to participate in Horizon Europe calls for proposals on the same terms as institutions from other Associated Countries, including leading consortia and receiving EU funding, from the 2024 Work Programme and onwards. This includes any 2024 calls opening this year.
Participation in Copernicus, the EU Earth Observation programme, will enable the UK’s access to a state-of-the-art capacity to monitor the Earth and to its services, as well as provide the UK research community with access to unique data, which is often required on Horizon Europe projects.
The UK Government has published a helpful explainer document, which includes clarifications on many issues related to the UK association to both programmes.
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology will shortly launch a communications campaign to maximise participation in Horizon Europe and Copernicus from researchers, academics and businesses of all sizes in the UK. This PR push will shine a light on the real-world examples of the benefits Horizon and Copernicus participation can deliver for academics, researchers and businesses, right across the UK – particularly small and medium-sized businesses involved in R&D, which might not have previously considered applying.
Alongside this, in a partnership with the British Academy and other key backers, support will be made available to selected UK researchers applying for Horizon for the first time, through ‘pump priming’ funding, with up to £10,000 available per application. The funding will be available to support those researchers who have not previously had experience, including next generation researchers. The fund will be targeted to ensure it maximises the UK’s involvement in Horizon.
£15 million funding to strengthen health workforce in Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana
UK delivers multi-million pound boost in Africa to strengthen health workforce and build resilience against global threats.
The UK will provide a multi-million pound boost to support healthcare staff recruitment and retention in 3 African countries - Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana - supporting resilience against global health challenges.
Fifteen million pounds from the ring-fenced Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget for 2022 to 2025 will be committed to optimise, build and strengthen the health workforce in the 3 African countries. Recognising the importance of the health workforce in lower and middle income countries in improving health outcomes and achieving universal health coverage, the funding will enable people in Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana access to the full range of health services they need, when they need it.
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the need for the UK to co-operate closely with international partners to tackle global health threats, which put considerable pressure on the NHS. The pandemic also resulted in workforce retention pressures around the world, while the demand for healthcare staff has increased. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates a shortage of 10 million health workers globally by 2030, which threatens achieving global universal health coverage and could worsen worldwide health inequalities.
Addressing critical workforce challenges is key to strengthening health systems and building global resilience against future pandemics so people across the world - including in the UK - can be protected.
Six million pounds from the ODA funding pledge will support the WHO to deliver health workforce planning and capacity-building work - such as improved administration systems and training and retention opportunities - in collaboration with local governments and health system stakeholders.
As part of this package, the Department of Health and Social Care will also run a £9 million 2-year competitive grant scheme for a not-for-profit organisation to coordinate delivery of partnership work in participating countries.
The partnership programmes for the health workforce include linking UK institutions with local health systems, promoting skills exchanges and improving the curriculum, regulation and guidance in Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana.
The delivery coordinator will be responsible for setting up, funding and overseeing this work to drive improvement in quality and retention of healthcare staff in the 3 countries and ultimately help to ensure better outcomes for patients.
The funding builds on £5 million previously committed as part of the Building the Future International Workforce ODA programme in Ghana, Uganda and Somaliland which aims to improve health workforce planning and management, provide training opportunities for refugees and displaced people and link NHS institutions with country health institutions.
Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana were chosen for the ODA award as they showed a clear need for workforce support, evidenced by high population mortality rates and low staff numbers, as well as unemployment among their trained health workers.
Funding for ‘greener’ international travel
Colleagues say our top up fund for reducing emissions is easy to access – and opens up new ways of working
Horizon Europe Guarantee fund awards £1bn in grants
The Horizon Europe Guarantee fund has reached an important milestone with more than £1 billion now awarded to UK-based researchers and innovators.
The funding is enabling them to participate in Horizon Europe projects while the UK’s association to the flagship EU funding programme is delayed.
Also today the government has set out its prospectus for a programme to protect and support the UK research and innovation sector, should it be required.
The guarantee fund is delivered by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). It supports researchers and innovators who have been successful in Horizon Europe competitions but cannot receive EU funding due to the delays to the UK’s association to the programme. With guarantee funding they can continue their important work in research and innovation.
Emerging and Developing International Partnerships and Initiatives
Kuwait
