Purpose

The purpose of this call is to promote multi-perspective research on how mobility and health are interlinked, influencing the general health, various health determinants and the well-being of local and mobile populations, and how the effects of mobility could be addressed in a sustainable way. The call is initiated jointly by the three independent private foundations Wellcome (UK), the Volkswagen Foundation (Germany) and Novo Nordisk Foundation (Denmark).

The applicants are not limited to, but could use the following sub-themes as inspiration to develop high-impact research projects:

• Projects to inform research priorities, policies and interventions aimed at addressing access to prevention, diagnostics, and challenges of continued care for non-communicable diseases, including mental health and infectious disease co-morbidities, among migrants for work, persons displaced due to conflict, disasters or climate change.
• Understand, in a One Health perspective, the role of mobility and international trade of goods, live animals and agricultural products for public health recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment as well as the ethical and systemic components and adaptation strategies.

Projects are encouraged to understand, develop and assess novel methods and approaches across different disciplines to benefit research into mobility including, for example, ethical aspects, data quality, cost, feasibility and participatory opportunities.

Eligibility

A qualified application should meet the following requirements:

• The scientific background of the participating project team members is not restricted and should be based on the needs of the projects. The transdisciplinary nature of the project, e.g., between life sciences and social sciences, must be demonstrated in the application.
• The consortium must consist of one main applicant and 2 to 4 co-applicants.
• The number of co-applicants in LMICs must match (or exceed) those in HICs, meaning that minimum two co-applicants must be from research institutions located in LMICs.
• The main applicant must be an established researcher within his/her field of research.
• Due to statutory limitations, the foundations are restricted to the following:
  • Volkswagen Foundation will only be able to award grants with the main applicant from a research institution in Germany.
  • For Novo Nordisk Foundation, the geographical location of the main applicant is not restricted. However, at least one of the applicants should be from Nordic region (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden).
  • For Wellcome, the geographical location of the main applicant and co-applicants is restricted to the UK and Low-or-Middle Income countries.
• Co-applicants can be researchers at different stages of their academic careers; however, a PhD or Master student cannot be a co-applicant.
• A significant part of the research must be performed locally in LMICs and include close collaboration with local communities, stakeholders, and other relevant actors.
• NGOs and/or NPOs (non-profit organizations) can be collaborators in the projects and must be subcontracted by a research institution.