PIECEs Small Scale Research Grants – Call open in India!

The Small Scale Research Grants is offered as part of the programme for research capacity building and community engagement development of the PIECEs research, a collaborative research that aims to explore, adapt, and test a low-cost, app-based approach (DIALOG+) that makes use of existing resources to improve community-based care for patients with psychosis and reduce the need for institutionalisation. The overall aim of PIECEs is to improve the quality of community-based care for people with psychosis in India and Pakistan by adapting and testing this approach, and up-scaling through the use of participatory arts methodologies and community engagement. For more on the research, access our website: piecesresearch.com

Thank you for showing interest in applying for the PIECEs Small Scale Research Grant. Make sure you read the guidelines before you apply. Please fill in the application form below along with the project proposal, completed budget  (template attached) and submit with your CV (2 pages max; CV should give details of previous research experience, if any) to Dr. Padmavati  (padmavati@scarfindia.org).

Download Application form and budget template here.

The research is funded by the NIHR (National Institute for Health Research in the United Kingdom) and is led by Queen Mary University of London (UK), Interactive Research and Development – IRD (Karachi, Pakistan) and Schizophrenia Research Foundation – SCARF (Chennai, India), in partnership with Aga Khan University and People’s Palace Projects

Who can apply to this grant

The Small Scale Grants is open to support individual or collectives who work as academicians, researchers, health workers, clinicians and persons with lived experienced who are currently working/partnering with SCARF. We encourage particularly researchers, health workers, practitioners and facilitators on early career or junior positions.

Nature of proposals

The aim of this grant is to help develop and strengthen the skills, instincts, abilities, processes and resources of early career researchers to adapt, and grow in the areas of research, clinical, community engagement, community care of people with experience of psychosis, their carers and health workers.

Research Proposals focussing on psychoses are invited from Early Career Researchers in the fields of Mental Health, Arts and Community Engagement, Health and Mental Health Evaluation, and Health Economics. Research Proposals focussing on psychoses are preferred.

Community treatment of psychosis – development of projects or resource oriented approaches that  provide community day-to-day support and strengthen local awareness around people with experience of psychosis, their carers and health workers to ensure they have resources or pathways of care within their local community. 

Arts, Community engagement and Mental Health – Projects or activities that enable public participation and involvement to promote relationship building through learning, action, and the expression of needs and values through the arts, culture or community led activities for people with experience of psychosis, their carers and health workers.

 Evaluation methods – Proposals that enable the creation of innovative criterias, approaches and methodologies around evaluating the success of a given program or project in the field of research, clinical interventions, community engagement and the arts involving people with experience of psychosis, their carers and health care workers.

Who cannot apply for this funding scheme:

• Any funding applications from individuals or organisations not  working in partnership with SCARF
• The grant will not be able to support PhD work

Funding available

The Early career research grant can support up to 6 proposals of various sizes as follows

Funding can be used to cover any directly allocated costs (e.g. staff and suppliers, training courses etc.), subsistence, travel, equipment and community engagement related costs.

Duration

This scheme is looking to fund projects with duration from 6 months to 18 months of delivery life. At the end of the project, partners selected via the scheme must provide a report highlighting the undertaken activities and outcomes delivered during the lifespan of the project.

Selection process

The submitted proposals will initially be evaluated by the Scientific Advisory Committee of SCARF. Proposals deemed to be suitable will then be forwarded to the PIECEs International team. The selection process will be conducted by the PIECEs Independent International Advisory Board, formed by experts and researchers from the UK, India and Pakistan. Successful applicants will be informed of the results by 20th November 2022 via email and expected to start delivery of the project from January  2023 onwards. All successful applicants will be mentored by a senior researcher from the PIECEs project international team or SCARF senior researchers.

Safeguarding

We expect applicants regardless of the type of work developed to have considered their safeguarding responsibilities and to have suitable policies and procedures in place to protect from harm people who come into contact with the project. As per guidance, if your project works with vulnerable children or adults at risk you should:

• Establish good safeguarding policies and procedures that all involve trustees, which fit with the policies and procedures of your local authority safeguarding partner or safeguarding children or adults board
• Ethics approval for projects should be submitted upon approval of the proposal within the Scheme
• Make sure all staff and volunteers receive regular training on child protection or working with adults at risk
• Manage concerns, complaints, whistleblowing and allegations relating to child protection or adults at risk effectively

   Key dates

Deadline for application: 1st October 2022 (11.30 pm)

Results by email: 20th November 2022

Expected start date for projects: January 2023

Note: This research was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) via its Research and Innovation for Global Health Transformation (RIGHT) programme. Grant number NIHR200824, using UK aid from the UK Government to support global health research.