This webpage provides links to external funders that give small, unrestricted grants internationally to directly support community-based organisations and groups. The grants are intended to help small, local organisations firmly establish themselves as civil society institutions within their community. Grants amounts are less than US$20,000.
Useful Resources
External funders for small community-based organisations
How Matters: 2011
Missed opportunities in TB diagnosis: a TB Process-Based Performance Review tool to evaluate and improve clinical care
Field N, Murray J, Wong ML, Dowdeswell R, Dudumayo N, Rametsi L et al: BMC Public Health 11(127), 22 February 2011
The TB Process-Based Performance Review (TB-PBPR) tool was developed to identify ‘missed opportunities’ for timely and accurate diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB). The tool enables performance assessment at the level of process and quality of care. It is a single-page structured flow-sheet that identifies 14 clinical actions (grouped into elicited symptoms, clinical examination and investigations). In this study, the tool is evaluated. Medical records from selected deceased patients were reviewed at two South African mine hospitals (A = 56 cases; B = 26 cases), a South African teaching hospital (C = 20 cases) and a UK teaching hospital (D = 13 cases). The researchers found that, in hospital A, where autopsy was routine, TB was missed in life in 52% of cases and was wrongly attributed as the cause of death in 16%. Clinical omissions were identified at each hospital and at every stage of clinical management. For example, recording of chest symptoms was omitted in up to 39% of cases, sputum smear examination in up to 85% and chest radiograph in up to 38% of cases respectively. In conclusion, the authors found that simple clinical actions were omitted in many cases and the tool was effective in detecting these errors. The tool, in conjunction with a manual describing best practice, is adaptable to a range of settings, is educational and enables detailed feedback within a TB programme.
Overcoming gaps to advance global health equity: A symposium on new directions for research
Frenk J and Chen L: Health Research Policy and Systems 9(11), 22 February 2011
This knowledge translation self-assessment tool for research institutes (SATORI) was designed to assess the status of knowledge translation in research institutes. It identifies the gaps in capacity and infrastructure of knowledge translation support within research organisations. Research institutes using SATORI have pointed out that strengthening knowledge translation is paramount and may be achieved through the provision of financial support for knowledge translation activities, creating supportive and facilitating infrastructures, and facilitating interactions between researchers and target audiences to exchange questions and research findings.
Online database of research accountability tools
One World Trust: November 2010
The One World Trust (OWT), with support from the International Development Research Centre, has created an interactive, online database of tools to help organisations conducting policy relevant research become more accountable. OWT believes policy-relevant research and innovation must continually take into account and balance the needs of a diverse set of stakeholders: from the intended research users, to their clients and donors, to the research community and the research participants. Responsiveness to all of these is crucial if they are to be legitimate and effective. In this, accountable processes are as important as high quality research products. OWT has built the online accountability database to support researchers, campaigners and research managers to think through the way they use evidence to influence policy in an accountable way. The database provides an inventory of over two hundred tools, standards and processes within a broad, overarching accountability framework. Each tool is supported by sources and further reading.
Online tool to help doctors make treatment decisions for drug resistant HIV-positive patients
Response Data Initiative: 2010
This online resource can help doctors select the most effective combination of anti-HIV drugs for patients with extensive experience of antiretroviral therapy. The HIV Resistance Response Database Initiative is a not-for-profit organisation with the mission of improving the clinical management of HIV infection through the application of bioinformatics to HIV drug resistance and treatment outcome data. The RDI has three specific goals: to be an independent repository of HIV resistance and treatment outcome data; to use bioinformatics to explore the relationships between resistance, other clinical and laboratory factors and HIV treatment outcome; and to develop and make freely available a system to predict treatment response, as an aid to optimising and individualising the clinical management of HIV infection. The HIV Treatment Response Prediction System is based on a computer model that includes information gathered from 65,000 HIV-positive patients across the world.
Aide-memoire for a strategy to protect health workers from infection with blood-borne viruses
Safe Injection Global Network: 2010
This aide-memoire from the World Health Organization identifies the key universal precautions that health care workers (HCWs) should take to lessen their risk of contracting blood-borne diseases in the workplace, notably HIV and hepatitis B and C. It argues for hepatitis B immunisation for all HCWs, provision of necessary safety equipment, like gloves and goggles, and effective management of post-exposure treatment of HCWs who may have been accidentally exposed to blood. A number of procedures are proposed for healthcare facilities that wish to implement a strategy for dealing with accidental exposure, such as setting up and empowering an Infection Control Committee, using surveillance to identify risk situations and procedures and modify them wherever possible, and achieving compliance with universal precautions though ongoing commitment and training of all staff members. The strategy emphasises the important role of health managers in monitoring and supervising the programme, in co-ordination with the Infection Control Committee.
Community 21: Digital toolbox for sustainable communities
Gant N and Gittins T: Gateways: International Journal of Community Research and Engagement (3), 2010
This article describes the 'Toolbox for the 21st Century Village' action research project and outline the critical research contexts that underpin its development as an online informatics and social engagement tool aimed at facilitating understanding, sharing and planning of integrated sustainability by individual communities. The article questions the assumption that rural livelihoods are necessarily ‘green’, arguing that rural behaviours are disproportionately dependent on natural resources and as a consequence are ‘less sustainable’, despite relative autonomy and community potential to make significant gains. The article also explores how the term ‘sustainability’ serves to divide and detract as a polemic and absolute term, whereas the term ‘self-sufficiency’ may be more appropriate to meaningful sustainable development.
Free software to determine costs of rural health worker retention
Capacity Plus: 7 December 2010
CapacityPlus’s iHRIS software is open sourcesoftware that is designed to help organisations and governments to cost interventions to retain rural health workers. It is based on the World Health Organization’s global policy recommendations for rural retention. Using this software, health workforce leaders will be able to determine the costs of different retention interventions across cadres at the national, regional, district, or facility level. The software guides users through the costing process step by step. Based on data entered, it will determine the total costs and generate reports for each intervention. Stakeholders can use the results to determine the economic feasibility of different scenarios. This is the first iHRIS product that will be coded in-country and is currently being coded in Uganda. Capacity Plus aims to not only meet the specific goal of retaining rural health workers, but also to build in-country information technology (IT) capacity.
New blog: Governance for Development
World Bank: 2010
This new blog is aimed at helping development practitioners to better understand and address the governance and corruption (GAC) impediments to development effectiveness, including how GAC may be dealt with by policy reforms and how effective community participation may be increased. It provides a forum for World Bank Group staff engaged in GAC mainstreaming and the wider development community for experience sharing, reflection and discussion regarding the implications of GAC mainstreaming for development work. The blog mandates a methodology for GAC work that works ‘with the grain’, in a way that takes institutions and politics into account calls for different approaches to engagement – and different ways of identifying which approaches make sense across different country contexts. A spectrum of approaches is discussed, ranging from incremental approaches, which adapt their design to the existing context, to transformational approaches, which seek to expand and accelerate change. Relevant stakeholders and policy makers are invited to discuss their experiences of the various approaches and share tools for better shaping and measuring governance and accountability.
New health financing network
Joint Learning Network for Universal Health Coverage: September 2010
The Joint Learning Network for Universal Health Coverage (JLN) is a new platform that aims to connect health financing practitioners from across the globe to share experiences and solve problems together. The JLN is a network of countries and partners implementing reforms to expand health coverage. Its activities include practitioner-to-practitioner based learning activities on various technical topics, dissemination of technical resources and documentation of country reform experiences. The JLN gathers and consolidates technical materials related to health financing reforms from many sources, including member countries and international technical and academic partners. It also offers financial assistance to support practitioner-to-practitioner learning, targeted technical assistance, and other priority areas.