FAQs

Your questions answered

Scope

Why do we need a German Alliance for Global Health Research?

The complex global challenges we face today require high-quality, multinational and interdisciplinary scientific collaboration. Global health is determined by inseparable biological, cultural, political, economic, environmental, and behavioral determinants of health. Accordingly, interdisciplinary global health research and cross-sector collaboration is needed to understand the specific components and interplay of these factors.

Global health research is being carried out with increasing frequency at universities and research institutions across Germany. The German Alliance for Global Health Research (GLOHRA) offers a platform for researchers to step beyond the confines of their institution or specialty to connect with one another in their attempt to solve global health challenges. Acting as a bridge to link and support our members, we hope that these connections will not only lead to more awareness about global health activities and research, but also strengthen Germany’s short- and long-term contribution to this field.

What is our understanding of “Global Health”?

Global health is an emerging discipline which addresses health issues in a transnational and global perspective and focuses particularly on the interdependencies between globalization, health policy and individual factors that determine people’s health. GLOHRA uses the definition proposed by Koplan et al. as a starting point for conceptualizing global health:

“Global health is an area for study, research, and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide. Global health emphasizes transnational health issues, determinants, and solutions; involves many disciplines within and beyond the health sciences and promotes interdisciplinary collaboration; and is a synthesis of population-based prevention with individual-level clinical care." (Koplan, J. P., Bond, T. C., Merson, M. H., Reddy, K. S., Rodriguez, M. H., Sewankambo, N. K., & Wasserheit, J. N. (2009). Towards a common definition of global health. The Lancet, 373(9679), 1993-1995.)

What distinguishes the German Alliance for Global Health Research from other global health organizations and networks in Germany?

We are thrilled about Germany’s growing engagement with global health, as evidenced by the emergence and success of organizations such as the Global Health Hub Germany, Deutsche Plattform für Globale Gesundheit, German Health Alliance and the World Health Summit. With different focuses in terms of mission and audience, we all share a common vision of improving global health.

The principal focus of GLOHRA is on global health research and the importance of translating science into policy. We connect researchers from various disciplines to work together on global health topics, fund global health research projects, and initiate activities to support early career researchers.

Membership

Who is eligible for membership?

Membership of the Alliance is open to all researchers who are affiliated with a publicly-funded German research institution AND who are involved in global health research and/or whose research projects on global health have been subject to independent academic review or published in relevant peer-reviewed journals in the past three years (at the time of application for membership).

Specifically, you will need to have a current contract of at least 20% or registration as a doctoral student at a publicly-funded German research institution AND be active in research that is relevant for global health (or in research-related roles such as research management, communication, teaching or knowledge transfer at a publicly-funded German research institution). If you do not meet these criteria, you may still be eligible for associate membership. If you are unsure whether you are eligible, refer to Annex 1 of our Statutes.

What is the difference between members, associate members and project partners?

Members are researchers whose formal application for membership has been accepted. They have full access to all information, networking and funding opportunities of GLOHRA, e.g. full access to project and workshop funding, the right to publish a profile in the Global Health Research Directory and to receive and contribute to the newsletter, the right to vote and be elected into the Steering Committee, etc.

Associate membership can be given to interested individuals to whom the current membership criteria apply only partially. They have a similar status and rights as members, but conditional access to funding. Also, they cannot be elected into the Steering Committee.

Project partners temporarily contribute to specific projects funded by GLOHRA, but are not members.

I am working outside the health sector. Am I eligible for GLOHRA membership?

We are inclusive in our conception of global health research and acknowledge the broad range of topics that it encompasses. Therefore, membership is open to researchers from all disciplines. Our members are active in biomedical science, public health research, social sciences and humanities, as well as engineering and other sciences. Check our Statutes for more information about our membership criteria (§4 and Annex 1).

Can I still apply for membership? How long does it take to get approved?

You can apply for membership at any time. Your application will generally be reviewed within a few working days.

My institution is listed in the “Network” section of the GLOHRA website. Am I automatically a member?

No. GLOHRA membership is individual, not institutional. So all individual researchers who fulfill the membership criteria should apply for membership, even when their institution is listed on the website. Registering as a member is not only a prerequisite for accessing project funding, it also means you will officially become part of the community.

There are some international organizations listed in the “Network” section of the GLOHRA website. Can international researchers become part of the network?

In principle, only researchers working at publicly-funded German research institutions can become members. German global health researchers working at a public research institution abroad can, under certain circumstances, become associate members.

I want to update my contact information or profile in the Global Health Research Directory. How can I do this?

Please send us an e-mail. We will make the changes for you.

Communication

How do I sign up for the newsletter?

The newsletter provides information about global health activities, funding opportunities, and research from our members. When you become a GLOHRA member or associate member, you are automatically included in the newsletter mailing list. If you are not a GLOHRA member, but would still like to receive the newsletter, simply write to us to sign up.

I have a global health event/ research publication/ job opening/ project idea that I want to share with the community. What should I do?

We are happy to share global health news and information that you think will be relevant for our community. Please write to us and specify whether you want your news posted on our Twitter account (public audience) and/or in our newsletter (members only). Also, if you have a project idea and are looking for collaborators, we can post this in our newsletter. Please note that we may not be able to fulfill all requests.

I am looking for a global health expert. How do I find them?

The Global Health Research Directory can help you identify colleagues and global health research experts. The directory contains contact information for all of our members, searchable by name, institution, specialty or keyword. We encourage you to use this as a tool to reach out to potential project partners or find experts to collaborate with on current or future research.

Project Funding

Note: Please read the call for proposals before your submission.

What kind of projects does GLOHRA intend to fund?

With our emphasis on novelty and interdisciplinarity, we hope to see projects that push the boundaries of traditional research. We encourage you to investigate new or even radical ideas that address global health challenges. Specifically, the German Alliance for Global Health Research aims to fund projects that

address transnational health issues, determinants, and solutions
contribute to the improvement of health and health equity worldwide
are interdisciplinary (see below) and link GLOHRA members from different institutions and cities
contribute to the aims of GLOHRA (→ Statutes)
link scientific excellence with the domains of capacity building, science-based policy advice, teaching, implementation and/or clinical practice
promote active, eye-level partnerships with national and international partners, including the Global South

Please demonstrate in your application that your project falls within the scope of these aims.

What constitutes interdisciplinarity?

For our collaborative research funding lines, i.e. interdisciplinary and cross-sector projects, we expect that project applicants represent at least two of GLOHRA’s research areas, i.e. biomedical science, public health research, social sciences and humanities, as well as engineering and other sciences. In global health fellowships, applicants should outline their interdisciplinary approach in their application.

We hope that applicants will not interpret this as a minimum technical requirement to meet, but rather as an invitation to integrate approaches from multiple specialties and perspectives throughout the design and execution phases of their research project. We love to see medical doctors working with engineers, statisticians with social anthropologists, and nutrition scientists with health systems researchers. For example, projects could scrutinize a particular problem from multiple perspectives using a mix of methods. They could also involve complementary disciplines and partners early on in the process. This will improve the chances that other researchers, policymakers, communities or companies will take up the knowledge, technology or intervention generated by the project.

Interdisciplinarity is also a key principle of our evaluation process. So be sure to write your proposal in a way that is understandable and convincing for experts from areas other than your own.

Put simply: Fostering genuine interdisciplinarity is at the heart of what we do and we want this to be reflected in the projects we fund.

What do you expect from collaborations with "non-academic partners" in cross-sector projects?

In the cross-sector project funding line, GLOHRA expects applicants to work on research questions by engaging with partners from industry, policy and / or civil society. As with interdisciplinary approaches, we hope that applicants will not interpret this as a minimum technical requirement to meet, but rather as an invitation to integrate multiple approaches and perspectives throughout the design and execution phases of their research project.

This means that non-academic partners should have a meaningful role in the project, for example in data collection, research communication or the transfer of research results into policy and practice or the development of novel products and processes. Their role in the project should demonstrably suit their expertise and interests and it should be reflected in the budget (requested funding or match-funding).

Can I apply for more than one project?

Though we are happy to see collaboration between GLOHRA projects, an individual member or associate member can only hold one grant at a time.

I am currently not affiliated with a German research institution according to your definition. Can I apply for a global health fellowship?

No. According to the current regulations, only GLOHRA members are eligible to apply for a fellowship.

For the Global Health Postdoc Fellowship, is a career pause for childcare responsibilities considered in the eligibility assessment?

Similar to the German Research Foundation (DFG), eligibility for the postdoc fellowship takes into account time taken off for childcare responsibilities. Please make your eligibility clear in the CV submitted with your application.

Who is the applicant in a fellowship proposal, the fellow or the mentor/professor?

The fellow is the applicant.

I work at a university hospital and would like to collaborate with a researcher from the university my hospital is affiliated with. Do they count as two different institutions?

GLOHRA aims to link researchers from different institutions and cities. So while teams coming from a single university and their associated hospitals may formally be eligible to apply, we strongly recommend reaching out to colleagues from other institutions and parts of Germany.

Can my German partners participate in projects even though they are not GLOHRA members?

Generally, yes. If your partners are researchers who fulfill the membership criteria, they should apply for membership before you submit your joint project.

If your partners represent German legal entities from the non-academic sector (e.g. NGOs, industry, policy), they can participate as project partners (funding contribution capped at 50.000€ per non-member per year). In accordance with BMBF principles, commercial enterprises are expected to make an appropriate contribution of their own - generally at least 50% of the eligible costs incurred. In case of small and medium-sized or not for profit enterprises, this contribution can be reduced.

Individuals cannot be project partners.

Is it possible to allocate funds to an international partner organization?

Yes. Legal entities from abroad can participate as subcontractors. Subcontracting costs must not exceed 50% of the budget of the partner who awards the subcontract. Please be aware that value-added or other taxes may apply when transferring money to or subcontracting services from institutions outside the European Union.

I cannot make the deadline stated in the call – will there be another opportunity?

Yes. The call will remain open, with two evaluation meetings per year. Proposals submitted before the cut-off date communicated in the call notice are eligible for evaluation in the subsequent review meeting, depending on the number of project applications received. Submissions after the cut-off date will only be eligible for review in later evaluation meetings.

What is the earliest starting date for an accepted proposal?

We will generally inform you about the funding recommendation of the Steering Committee within two weeks of the evaluation meeting. If successful, you will be invited to submit an AZA (formal BMBF project funding application), which will be processed by the BMBF’s funding management agency (currently PT-DLR).

The whole process from proposal submission to project start takes approximately 8 months.

What are the budget categories in project funding? Can I budget personnel, material, travel cost etc.?

Please refer to the budget categories listed in the application form (personnel, material, travel, subcontracting, other costs).

Can I request overheads?

Yes. Please apply the standard BMBF overhead rate for your institution. The overhead should be included in the overall budget, not added to it.