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Document Sample
BL 1
Business Plan
2008-2013
Stewardship
Stewardship for research on infectious diseases
of poverty
Draft Business Plan for JCB
May, 2007
Business plan: Business line 1 – Stewardship
TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .....................................................................................................2
1. OBJECTIVE ........................................................................................................................5
1.1. OVERALL OBJECTIVE................................................................................................5
1.2. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES ...............................................................................................5
2. NEEDS AND OPPORTUNITIES ......................................................................................6
2.1. NEEDS............................................................................................................................6
2.2. OPPORTUNITIES..........................................................................................................8
3. COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE ......................................................................................9
3.1. TDR COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE .........................................................................9
3.2. SYNERGIES WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS......................................................11
4. ACTIVITIES AND END PRODUCTS............................................................................13
4.1. KEY ACTIVITIES........................................................................................................13
4.2. END-PRODUCTS ........................................................................................................24
4.3. INTERIM IMPLEMENTATION MILESTONES........................................................25
5. FUNDING...........................................................................................................................27
5.1. BUDGET REQUIREMENTS.......................................................................................27
5.2. RATIONALE FOR RESOURCES REQUIRED ..........................................................27
6. RISKS..................................................................................................................................29
REFERENCE LIST...............................................................................................................30
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Business plan: Business line 1 – Stewardship
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Needs and Opportunities
In recent years, there has been considerable new momentum and increased financial support
for research and control of infectious diseases of poverty. While this is a positive
development, it has also resulted in fragmentation of efforts and greater scientific inequality
between developing and developed countries. There is little coordination among different
research initiatives and it is becoming increasingly difficult for all stakeholders to know what
research is being undertaken and to what extent current research efforts meet priority needs
for infectious disease control. Knowledge on priority needs is becoming blurred as different
constituencies define priorities from their own perspective and the role of disease endemic
countries in research priority setting remains extremely limited. Furthermore, limited access
to relevant research evidence continues to hamper effective utilization of research results for
disease control efforts in developing countries. Efforts to bring better coherence and
harmonization of the various activities are now much needed. As the only United Nations-
based Programme dedicated to infectious diseases research, the TDR Programme is uniquely
positioned to assume this global facilitating role, in close collaboration with its many
co-sponsors, stakeholders and partners, including at regional and country level.
Overall Objective
To facilitate and foster knowledge management, needs assessment, priority setting and
progress analysis for health research on infectious diseases of poverty, and to provide a
neutral platform for stakeholders to discuss and harmonize their activities with disease
endemic countries playing a pivotal role in the agenda setting.
Specific Objectives
1. Provide a global information platform on health research needs, opportunities and
activities on infectious diseases of poverty
2. Develop an evidence and analysis-driven forum for the identification of priority
needs and major research gaps through stakeholder consultations and to enhance the
relevance of infectious disease research priorities to control needs
3. Provide a neutral platform for partners to discuss their activities, reach the highest
possible level of consensus and enhance their collective efficiency and advocacy for
infectious diseases of the poor with active involvement of disease endemic countries
4. Advocate for support of health research and effective utilization of its results in
control of infectious diseases of poverty at international policy level
5. Foster research networks and kick-start innovative research initiatives
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Business plan: Business line 1 – Stewardship
Activities
The business line will organize broad consultations with partners from the research, disease
control and donor communities in order to review the analysis of research needs and
priorities, and to facilitate greater harmonization of the activities of different partners.
Scientific working group meetings will be organized to undertake in-depth and authoritative
review of research progress, needs and priorities for individual diseases or cross disease
issues. With support from consultants and virtual reference groups of experts, especially with
active participation of endemic countries, the business line will undertake systematic
analysis of research opportunities and needs, and publish every two years a global update on
infectious diseases research. The business line will also operate and improve an online
knowledge platform on tropical diseases research that will be launched by mid-2007 and
managed through BIREME, a well-respected WHO centre for health sciences information in
Brazil, in collaboration with the Health Internetwork Access to Research Initiative
(HINARI) and other key partners.
End-Products
• On-line global knowledge platform for infectious diseases research with equitable
access to comprehensive information on research needs, activities and achievements;
highlights of scientific publications; access to published articles; news and review
articles on critical issues, discussion forums, resources, multimedia (launch 06/2007)
• Disease or thematic reference groups of global experts in specific diseases or cross-
disease issues who continuously review research progress, identify scientific
opportunities and control needs, and publish high-impact annual updates including in
peer reviewed journals
• Up-to-date published reports on research opportunities, needs and priorities, and
research achievements for individual infectious diseases or cross-disease issues that
are widely accepted and promote DEC research.
• Comprehensive analyses of regional or global research needs, science opportunities
and challenges in health systems that stimulate high level fora and action
• Biennial report on infectious diseases research: priority research needs, gaps and
global progress (first publication by 12/2009)
• Collective advocacy for new opportunities in infectious diseases research, with
evidence of activities initiated or enhanced, and with DEC institutions playing a
pivotal role.
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Business plan: Business line 1 – Stewardship
Comparative Advantage
Historically, TDR is the global leader in priority setting for tropical diseases research. It has
developed a systematic method to analyse priority needs and research opportunities for
tropical diseases, and results of a comprehensive analysis for 10 tropical diseases has been
widely used as a reference for global priorities for tropical diseases research. TDR has a
culture of consultation, networking and consensus building that is essential for objective
analysis and inclusive priority setting. It is an organization that is built on the principles of
science and is deeply committed to the generation of objective evidence as the basis for
public health action. TDR, operating within WHO, has earned the trust of ministries of
health of disease endemic countries and the program has extensive networks in endemic
countries that greatly facilitate the analysis of research needs. TDR has a strong track record
in publishing high-quality publications and electronic media products on infectious diseases,
and in making these available in disease endemic countries. TDR has surveyed the
knowledge needs of researchers and health professionals, and has already taken the lead in
developing an on-line global knowledge platform for tropical diseases research.
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Business plan: Business line 1 – Stewardship
1. OBJECTIVE
Vision statement: “To help focus global efforts on priority needs in infectious diseases
research in disease endemic countries”
1.1. OVERALL OBJECTIVE
To facilitate and foster knowledge management, needs assessment, priority setting and
progress analysis for health research on infectious diseases of poverty, and to provide a
neutral platform for stakeholders to discuss and harmonize their activities with disease
endemic countries playing a pivotal role in the agenda setting.
1.2. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
1. Provide a global information platform on health research needs, opportunities and
activities on infectious diseases of poverty
2. Develop an evidence and analysis-driven forum for the identification of priority needs
and major research gaps through stakeholder consultations and to enhance the relevance
of infectious disease research priorities to control needs
3. Provide a neutral platform for partners to discuss their activities, reach the highest
possible level of consensus and enhance their collective efficiency and advocacy for
infectious diseases of the poor with active involvement of disease endemic countries
4. Advocate for support of health research and effective utilization of its results in control of
infectious diseases of poverty at international policy level
5. Foster research networks and kick-start innovative research initiatives
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Business plan: Business line 1 – Stewardship
2. NEEDS AND OPPORTUNITIES
2.1. NEEDS
Health research and its outputs are increasingly seen as essential "public goods" to stimulate
development through better population health (1). As a consequence, in recent years, there has
been a considerable new momentum in global health research (2). Increased funding for
global health in general has led to more funding for health research, including research on
infectious diseases. The support has resulted in new knowledge, evidence, and better
understanding of the interplay between infectious disease agents, the diseases they cause, and
communities affected. It is expected that these opportunities will have significant positive
impacts on diseases of poverty as well. Close to 100 new public-private partnerships have
been created in order to realize this impact through utilization of these new advances in
research and development (R&D) efforts especially for developing new interventions
(diagnostics, drugs, vaccines and insecticides) for infectious diseases control (3-5). At the
same time, and unfortunately, the needs for these interventions continue to increase with the
emergence of new disease pathogens and resistance to interventions by disease causing agents
and their vectors (6;7), resulting in failure to meet the needs and expectations, especially for
neglected infectious diseases in poor countries.
There is also a new momentum and increased philanthropic support for research and control
on diseases of poverty. This support - while well-meant - has also created and reinforced
scientific inequalities between developing and developed countries. While there is a
considerable increase in research funding opportunities and research activities, an increasing
"science gap" has emerged between developing countries in which most of the infectious
disease burden occurs and developed countries which control most of the funding resources
and generate much of the scientific production. The scientific knowledge base continues to
grow rapidly with more research discoveries originating in developed countries and with
differential access to scientific information in disease-affected ("disease-endemic")
developing countries as compared to the developed world. Limited or lack of access to
relevant research evidence that should guide policy and action against diseases of poverty
continue to hamper disease control efforts in developing countries.
There is little coordination among the different research activities and initiatives. It is
becoming increasingly difficult for all stakeholders - researchers, disease endemic countries,
health planners and resource contributors – to know what research is being undertaken and to
what extent current research efforts meet the priority needs for infectious disease control.
Current evidence suggests that funding patterns can neither be explained by the needs of
developing countries nor the interests of developed economies alone. Knowledge on priority
needs is becoming blurred as different research constituencies define priorities from their own
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Business plan: Business line 1 – Stewardship
specific perspective, and the role of disease endemic countries in research priority setting
remains extremely limited (8;9).
These developments underscore a need for a global information platform to facilitate effective
collaboration among all stakeholders in order to avoid fragmentation and to enhance effective
utilization of available resources. The need for an organization to facilitate such
collaborations and joint agenda setting by stakeholders underpins TDR's commitment to
provide a stewardship role for infectious diseases research.
Objective and comprehensive knowledge on research needs, and to what extent current
research activities cover those needs, is urgently needed by all stakeholders as a basis for
research planning and prioritization, to ensure better utilization of available resources and
avoid duplication and wasted efforts. This is especially important for infectious diseases of
poverty for which the available resources are limited compared to other global health
problems.
Better access to the scientific knowledge generated by research on infectious diseases of
poverty and diseases of affluence is also critically needed, especially by researchers and
health planners working in disease-endemic countries. Recent surveys have shown that
scientists from disease endemic countries have great difficulty in accessing up-to-date
scientific information and that this is a major obstacle to their effective participation in the
global research effort. Similarly, health planners and policy makers in disease endemic
countries need easily accessible and authoritative summary information on relevant and up-to-
date research findings in effort to meet the challenges of infectious disease control and to take
advantage of valuable opportunities. The potential impact of products of research efforts is
threatened by lack of coordination and delays in generating evidence necessary for policies
that could facilitate rapid uptake of the interventions by the health systems.
There is a growing realization that special efforts are needed to assist stakeholders to
harmonize and enhance their collective efficiency in priority setting and advocacy for
infectious diseases of poverty. It is also recognized that a neutral platform, up-to-date
information on global science opportunities, challenges faced by disease control programs and
a pivotal role by disease endemic countries are necessary for efficient progress analysis and
effectively focusing global research efforts to control infectious diseases of poverty. TDR's
efforts on "Stewardship for Research on Infectious Diseases of Poverty" will help focus
global efforts on the priority needs in infectious diseases research of the poor and the
countries which face the highest disease burden ("disease-endemic countries" (DECs)) .
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Business plan: Business line 1 – Stewardship
2.2. OPPORTUNITIES
Historically, TDR as a UN co-sponsored organization, supported by donor governments,
provided information on tropical diseases and a forum for stakeholders as a limited part of its
agenda. In its new strategy, TDR will build on its experience in research agenda setting and
on its convening power to promote access to information, develop and provide a mechanism
to review needs and opportunities, and to facilitate dialogue and consensus on research
priorities for infectious diseases of poverty. This new role of TDR will foster wider
dissemination of research information and a more active engagement ("ownership") of all
stakeholders with emphasis on a pivotal role for disease endemic countries. This function was
widely supported by TDR's stakeholders and governing bodies. The core functions of TDR's
stewardship role and their interlinkages are visualized in Figure 1.
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3. COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE
3.1. TDR COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE
TDR is the only UN-based Programme on infectious diseases research and a global leader in
priority setting for tropical diseases research. TDR is one of only two Special Programmes at
the World Health Organization, looking back at 30 years of history. It has developed a
systematic method to analyse the priority needs and research opportunities for each of the
diseases in its portfolio. The results of a comprehensive analysis of the research needs for all
10 diseases was published as a strategic research emphasis matrix (10). The strategic
emphasis matrix is widely used as a reference for global priorities for tropical diseases
research and it is currently the only comprehensive reference that exists.
Scientific Working Group meetings organized every five years for each TDR disease have
provided a framework to update the strategic analysis for the diseases enhancing the relevance
and accuracy of the matrix. Updates of the disease research strategies and the strategic
emphasis matrix are published on the TDR website.
TDR as a research organization has a broad mandate that covers the full research spectrum. It
has a culture of consultation, networking and consensus building that is essential for objective
analysis and inclusive priority setting. It is an organization that is built on the principles of
science and it is deeply committed to the generation of objective evidence as the basis for
public health action.
TDR has earned the trust of Ministries of health of disease endemic countries and the
programme has extensive networks of researchers and health officials in endemic countries
which greatly facilitate the analysis of problems in disease control and the identification of
priority research needs for infectious disease control. It has provided opportunities for
interactions between the Ministers of Health and its Joint Coordinating Board on needs in
diseases of poverty. The ministries of health expressed appreciation of the value of TDR
support and roles in the recent successful High-Level Ministerial meetings on health research
for development which culminated in a communiqué by Ministers from Africa to commit at
least 2.0 percent of their health budget to health research (11).
TDR has recently undertaken surveys on the knowledge needs of researchers and health
professionals which showed that there is a fundamental inequality in access to the essential
information in less developed countries. Based on these findings, TDR has already developed
an initiative for an on-line global knowledge platform for tropical diseases research that
would facilitate access to relevant knowledge by all stakeholders, including those from
developing countries. The design and development of the Knowledge Management (KM) web
site have been contracted out to two leading companies in the field of scientific publishing.
The platform will be hosted in Brazil, a disease endemic country, as part of TDR's efforts to
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Business plan: Business line 1 – Stewardship
empower DEC institutions through technology transfer. The design is nearly completed and
the site is expected to be operational by mid March 2007.
Of crucial importance to its future knowledge management function, TDR has established a
strong track record in publishing high-quality publications on infectious diseases
(http://www.who.int/tdr/publications/publications/default.htm). Under its stewardship
function, it will build on its experience in publishing electronic media products and distance
learning materials through the development and distribution of CD-ROMs (e.g. the
CD-ROMs on dengue and malaria genome database, trypanosomatids genome and biology
developed and distributed in collaboration with Wellcome Trust and data CDs on the
Anopheles genome sequence in collaboration with The American Association for the
Advancement of Science (AAAS)). It will also continue and build upon existing review series
such as the Special Topics Series in Social, Economic and Behavioural Research published by
TDR's Steering Committee on Social, Economic and Behavioural Research (SEB). TDR has
also been instrumental in supporting the research culminating in special journal issues. Recent
examples of special journal issues compiled and funded by the TDR Programme include
special issues of Health Policy and Planning 1, The International Journal for Health
Management and Planning2 , Acta Tropica3, the Annals of Tropical Medicine and
Parasitology4 and two supplements to Nature Reviews Microbiology, one on malaria
diagnostics5 and the other on sexually transmitted infections6 Malaria Supplement of the
African Journal of Medicine and medical sciences7 Projects in preparation include a special
issue of the African Journal of Medicine and medical sciences on the Ethical, Legal and
Social Implications of Health Biotechnology Development and Transfer in Africa.
1
Vol. 16 (Suppl 1, 2001), Health Workers for Change; Vol 16 (Suppl 2, 2001), Health Sector Reform in the Developing
World; Vol 17 (Suppl.) Health Sector Reform and Equity
2
Vol 19 (S1, 2004), Health Sector Reform and Tropical Diseases: Opportunities and Threats
3
Vol 95 (3, 2005), Malaria Research in Africa – Multilateral Initiative on Malaria
4
Vol 100 (Suppl 1, 2006), Pupal/demographic Surveys for the Targeted Control of Dengue Vectors
5
Vol 4 (9 Supp, 2006): Evaluating diagnostics: the malaria guide
6
Vol 4 (12 Supp, 2006): Evaluating diagnostics: the STI guide
7
Vol 30 (Malaria Suppl 2001) African Journal of Medicine and medical sciences
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3.2. SYNERGIES WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
TDR assuming a facilitating role for global stewardship for research on infectious diseases of
poverty will necessitate a proactive engagement and collaboration with partner organizations
engaged in health research at global, regional and national levels. The present business line
plan is already based on widespread consultations and dialogue with our main partners,
including all TDR co-sponsors (UNICEF, UNDP, World Bank, WHO), WHO's regional
offices and regional Advisory Committees on Health Research, various WHO country offices,
the Global Forum for Health Research (GFHR), the Council for Health Research for
Development (COHRED) and knowledge management platforms such as the Science and
Development Network (scidev.net) and the Public Library of Science (PLoS). The future
activities in the business line will be implemented in close collaboration with the WHO
Regional and Country Offices and at WHO Headquarters with control departments engaged in
various aspects of research. The collaboration and partnership with the WHO Departments for
Research Policy and Cooperation (RPC) and Knowledge Management and Sharing (KMS)
will enhance the value of the knowledge platform while collaborations with control
departments (Global Programme on Malaria (GMP), Stop TB (STB), Control of Neglected
Tropical Diseases (NTD)) will be important in other aspects of knowledge generation and
utilization, especially at the country level. The business line will, by nature, involve close
collaboration with all relevant organizations in the United Nations System, including all TDR
co-sponsors (World Bank, UNICEF, UNDP etc). Synergies will also be sought with global
alliances such as the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).
The review of research needs and opportunities, and the identification of research priorities
will be a consultative effort that will include all major stakeholders, including the above and,
in countries facing the highest burden of disease, representatives of the Ministries of Health,
Science and Technology, and Education. Scientists engaged in the full spectrum of research,
from basic biological and social sciences to implementation research, major international
research organizations and disease control initiatives at the country level will be involved in
the analysis, collation of data and agenda setting activities. The regional and country offices
of WHO will be actively involved in these activities. Ministries of Health, Science and
Technology, and Education in Disease-Endemic Countries as well as their dependent
institutions will be involved playing pivotal roles in the discussions and agenda setting.
The review of ongoing research activities will be undertaken through the concept of Disease
Reference Groups (DRGs) and Topics Reference Groups (TRGs). The membership of each
DRG will include leading experts in the field, representatives of ministries of health (MoH),
WHO country offices and work in close collaboration with the main funding organizations,
e.g. the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Wellcome Trust, the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation, and the European Union (EU), etc. Major developing country-based
research institutions, including, for example, the Indian Council for Medical Research, the
South African Medical Research Council, the Noguchi Institute (Ghana), the National
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Business plan: Business line 1 – Stewardship
Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), Tanzania, the National Center for Genetic
Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), Thailand, and the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation
(FIOCRUZ), Brazil, will be enrolled as partners. The disease research reference groups will
include representatives of the WHO country offices serving as rapporteur and hosting annual
meetings of the DRGs.
A key partner in the knowledge platform is the Health Internetwork Access to Research
Initiative (HINARI) that facilitates developing countries access to published scientific
literature, and has agreed to partner in the activities. Another key partner is the Science for
Development Network (SciDev.net) which provides excellent up-to-date reviews and news on
development issues, including some reviews on infectious diseases. Both HINARI and
SciDev.net will partner with TDR in implementation of the KM platform. The Knowledge
platform will be hosted and managed by a team in BIREME in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The content
of the platform will be maintained by an editorial team that will be hosted by BIREME.
BIREME is a well-known and respected Latin America and Caribbean Centre for Health
Sciences Information which has developed the Virtual Health Library that has been adopted
by other WHO Regions.
The Scientific Working Group meetings will be organized and negotiated to be co-hosted by
the TDR co-sponsors. The SWG will be designed to provide added benefit to promote active
input and involvement of the WHO Regional Offices and of the other co-sponsors of TDR
(UNICEF, World Bank and UNDP).
It will be negotiated for each SWG meeting to be hosted by one of the co-sponsors of TDR
(e.g. UNICEF, UNDP, World Bank or WHO) and interested contributor countries with each
co-sponsor or country obliged to host an SWG every four years. The theme and venue for the
SWG will be chosen by the hosting co-sponsor with input from TDR and the disease
reference groups.
The BL will seek support and explore co-hosting of meetings for agenda setting with
philanthropic organizations and funding agencies including Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation, Wellcome Trust and the National Institutes for Health (NIH). Specific targeted
workshops for networks will be jointly organized with HHMI, EMBO, other organizations
and institutions in disease endemic countries.
Rapid development and deployment of innovative interventions are a major prerequisite for
success in effort to control neglected diseases. Public Private Partnerships have been
developed and entrusted with the responsibilities of developing these interventions. TDR's
stewardship activities will seek to bring the public-private partnerships (PPPs), research
organizations and funding agencies together to develop frameworks for smooth transitioning
of products in pipeline for development of interventions.
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Business plan: Business line 1 – Stewardship
4. ACTIVITIES AND END PRODUCTS
4.1. KEY ACTIVITIES
The TDR's stewardship function will focus on the following working areas reflecting the
specific objectives listed in Chapter 1 (Figure 2):
1. Knowledge acquisition, management and sharing
2. Identification of priority needs and major gaps by partners
3. Consensus building on health research by stakeholders
4. Stewardship at policy level
5. Fostering networks and kick-starting innovative initiatives
Figure 2: Key activities and core functions of stewardship for research
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Business plan: Business line 1 – Stewardship
These working areas will entail the following activities:
1. Establishing an Advisory Committee consisting of representatives of major
stakeholder groups, opinion leaders and experts in health research. The Advisory
Committee will assist TDR in the development of strategic approaches for each of the
working areas and monitoring of the implementation of the business plan.
2. Establishing a Knowledge Management Platform, and related efforts to publish and
disseminate health research information. The platform will be officially launched in
June 2007.
3. Establishing Disease and Topics Reference Groups (DRGs, TRGs) and organizing
Scientific Working Group (SWG) Meetings for the identification of priority needs and
major gaps in research for infectious diseases of poverty. Technical officers in WHO's
country offices will serve as rapporteurs for the DRG with assigned responsibilities
including hosting annual meetings of DRGs at country level. The DRGs will also
prepare and publish annual progress reports on the diseases which will contribute to a
Biennial Report on Infectious Diseases of Poverty.
4. Convening stakeholders meetings with active engagement of disease endemic
countries for priority and agenda setting for health research. The agenda setting
meetings would be held every 2 or 3 years before the TDR's Joint Coordinating Board
(JCB) meetings and with a major role in selection of topics and participants by the
advisory committee.
5. Organizing regional consultations on research and control needs with input from
WHO country and Regional Offices as well as regional stakeholders.
6. Developing a framework for active engagement of decision makers (MoH, MS&T and
regional organizations) in disease endemic countries to enhance national support for
and the utilization of health research.
7. Developing a partnership framework to broker collaboration between research
organizations, PPPs and control programs.
8. Creating networks to facilitate research activities, utilization of research outputs and
strengthen support for health research in DECs including stimulation of innovative
research initiatives; and assistance to groups in preparation of proposals for project
support.
9. Provide assistance for the development of High-Level Ministerial meetings for
research on infectious diseases of poverty.
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4.1.1. Working area 1 (Sub-objective 1): Knowledge acquisition, management, and
sharing
TDR's knowledge management activities will focus on the acquisition, analysis and
dissemination of information on infectious diseases of poverty. These will include the
infectious diseases under TDR mandate, other neglected tropical diseases and will gradually
extend into all infectious diseases of poverty. The activities are aimed to enhance
contributions, access and effective utilization of knowledge by investigators, institutions and
public health practitioners in disease endemic countries. Specific activities under knowledge
management include 1) an on-line knowledge platform for infectious diseases research; 2) a
biennial report on global progress in infectious disease research and control; 3) published
reports and special journal issues on selected topics/issues research priorities; 4) modelling
and profiling of diseases, opportunities and simulation of control needs, both at the regional
and country level and 5) partnerships to develop a dedicated medium for access to research
information by policy makers.
4.1.1.1. Global platform for infectious diseases research
As a central element in knowledge acquisition and sharing, TDR will develop and maintain a
web-based Global Knowledge Platform for infectious disease research, the Infectious Disease
Resource KIT Web Site. The KIT Web Site will serve as a central platform for acquisition
and sharing of information on current status in:
• Research activities in infectious diseases
• Control efforts and activities
• Control needs and science opportunities
• International funding and support for neglected diseases.
• Applicable health research and potential innovations for interventions from sources
other than infectious diseases.
• High profile research and control projects
• Links
The KIT site will primarily serve as a collection of links to existing scholarly research on
infectious diseases and other related resources (e.g. databases, training packages), offering a
“one-stop shop” for those researchers who find current access to these materials both
challenging and time-consuming. The links to these external sources of information will need
to meet a set of criteria to be determined by the Kit's editorial team. The KIT will also serve
as a way to access research and information provided specifically by WHO and TDR,
although content created by the TDR programme will not necessarily be highlighted in order
to emphasize the independent nature of the site. A key element of the KIT site that will add
value and make it different from ordinary “portal” sites is the expert commentary on the latest
infectious disease research, which will be provided by the editorial team.
The website will, to the greatest extent possible, provide free access for DEC scientists to up-
to-date scientific information. The mission of the site will be to facilitate and catalyse the
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Business plan: Business line 1 – Stewardship
creation, dissemination and application of knowledge about the diseases which
disproportionately affect the poor and marginalized populations in developing countries. The
TDR Knowledge Platform will give access to research articles, commissioned reviews and
analyses, resources such as reports and databases, and research news about infectious diseases
of the poor. An important knowledge management function of the website will be the
acquisition and provision of knowledge on the poverty and development context of infectious
diseases. The website will, therefore, have distinguished sections on the social, economic and
policy context of infectious diseases and their control, in addition to offering links to social
science research on TDR's target diseases.
The TDR knowledge platform aims at being a knowledge broker not only for TDR funded
research but also for infectious disease research carried out in developing and developed
countries. It will provide authoritative context by timely, relevant integration of North/South
perspectives, and experience from the countries where these diseases are endemic. The TDR
knowledge platform will partner with HINARI to give access to the full text of research
articles. The running of the site will be entrusted to an editorial team who will be based in
BIREME (http://www.bireme.br/local/Site/bireme/homepage.htm) in Sao Paulo in Brazil. The
marketing framework will also provide an outreach to enhance access to the information. The
development and management of the Knowledge Management Platform are designed to
provide opportunities for capacity building as well as technology sharing with disease
endemic countries to foster the concept of empowerment.
The second phase of the TDR knowledge platform will be focused on enhancing access to
information by public health practitioners and policy makers in disease endemic countries.
This aspect of the knowledge platform will be designed to provide up-to-date review of
relevant data and information on infectious diseases of poverty in three formats a
comprehensive review with detailed links to original articles used for the review in 15 pages,
and a short 5 to 7 page friendly and easily understandable summary. A short 1 page synopsis
of the current information useful for policy briefing and as a tool for decision discussions will
be developed targeting senior members of Ministries of Health, Science and Technology,
Education and Finance responsible for advising and preparing decision makers on health
policies. The output of this concept will be disseminated through the knowledge platform and
print media. A pro-active dissemination framework will also be developed using regional
meetings and workshops to sensitize senior staff of the ministries on current contents and
useful information. Joint programs will be developed for the use of the medium in facilitating
the empowerment of the DECs. The regional and country offices of WHO and other
co-sponsors, especially UNICEF, will be enrolled to play a major role and enhance the
effectiveness of the concept. The basic architecture and concept will be developed into a
general platform for health information for public health practitioners (Policy data
information system), in partnership with the Science for Development Network and similar to
their website www.scidev.net.
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4.1.1.2. Biennial report on global progress in infectious disease research and control
A biennial global report will be used to review and summarize current knowledge on
infectious diseases research and control and present a regular update on opportunities, gaps
and challenges for research and control. It will have a special emphasis on advances in
biomedical and the social sciences, economic and policy issues in infectious diseases and their
control, highlighting the poverty and development context and capabilities of disease endemic
countries to meet challenges of infectious diseases, focusing on disadvantaged and
underserved populations. The Report will replace TDR's traditional Biennial Programme
Report and will be published on the basis of the analytic work conducted by TDR's Disease
and Topic Reference Groups (DRGs and TRGs), SWGs (see below under IV.2.1.) and the
stakeholder consultations.
4.1.1.3. Published reports and special journal issues on selected topics/issues on research
priorities
TDR will commission systematic reviews of critical issues in infectious diseases and their
control and support the publication of special issues of scientific journals to highlight selected
disease-specific and cross-cutting topics. TDR will continue and build upon existing review
series such as the Special Topics Series in Social, Economic and Behavioural Research and
special journal issues compiled and funded by the TDR Programme.
4.1.1.4. Modelling and profiling of diseases, opportunities and simulation of control
needs, both at country and regional levels.
Analytical and simulation frameworks will be designed to develop country and regional
models of infectious diseases of poverty. The aim is to develop projections of potential
responses of epidemiological trends, in selected diseases to control activities in order to
simulate public health impacts of application of currently and potential new interventions and
stake holders investment on infectious diseases based on relevant community-based
parameters. The models could become a tool for encouraging and co-opting countries and also
a guide for funders and facilitating activities in the countries.
4.1.2. Working area 2 (Sub-objective 2): Identification of priority needs and major gaps
Based on knowledge acquisition and management, the stewardship function will facilitate
major analytical activities with contributions from stakeholders at all levels. This area of work
will focus its activities on acquiring information through consultation, and determining
through a collaborative analytical process, the current science opportunities, needs and
priorities for infectious diseases research, to what extent these needs are covered by ongoing
research activities, what are the major gaps and who the players in the field are. These will
involve activities at various levels as described in the following.
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4.1.2.1 Regional consultations to enhance research activities and relevance to control
needs
Contributions from WHO's Country and Regional Offices and other regional stakeholders will
be critically important for making TDR research activities and that of the stakeholders
relevant to countries and regional needs for disease control. TDR will organize small group
meetings for consultations with these stakeholders. Suggestions and recommendations from
the consultation will feed into technical documents for the biennial stakeholders meeting on
agenda setting for infectious diseases. The periodic regional consultations on research and
control needs will provide valuable mechanisms for strategic input, political needs and
assessment of progress in all aspects of TDR activities including empowerment and relevance
of each of TDR's research business lines. The frequency of meetings will vary from region to
region, working with DRGs and guided by the advisory board.
4.1.2.2. Disease-Reference Groups (DRGs) and Topic-Reference Groups (TRGs)
The concept of Disease-Reference Groups (DRGs) and Topic Reference Groups (TRGs) will
be used as a platform to enhance both country and regional technical input as well as
evaluation of country collaborations and progress on objectives of global research activities
and continuing responsiveness of business lines in the new TDR strategy. The DRGs is
designed to take advantage of the wealth of information at country level and willingness of
experts in the global research community to collaborate with TDR, in fostering research in
diseases of poverty. An added value of the DRG concept will be in constituting the reference
groups with expertise outside of TDR thus requiring limited in-house managerial input and
effort to pro-actively utilize resources of the stakeholders and the community in general.
There are several advantages to this approach including potential for a broad based group with
a diverse composition having country and regional experiences.
The DRG approach will also be based on managing the diseases in groups that share a similar
epidemiology, pathogenesis or potential benefits of cross-fertilization of knowledge being
generated and utilization of experience to meet control needs. It is anticipated that the
grouping will enhance management and efficiency of the group. The Chair of the reference
group will be a paid consultant. Six groups of DRGs and 4 TRGs will be organized to focus
on diseases, cross-cutting issues, innovation and platforms. Suggested grouping for the
diseases focus are as follows:
Disease Reference Groups (DRGs) on
1. Malaria
2. Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Buruli ulcer
3. Chagas disease, Human African Trypanosomiasis and Leishmaniasis
4. Helminth diseases (Onchocerciasis, Filariasis and Schistosomiasis)
5. Dengue and other emerging viral diseases of public health importance
6. Other emerging infectious diseases
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Topic Reference Groups (TRGs), like the DRGs, will focus their analytical activities on
cross-cutting issues related to infectious diseases and their control. TRGs initially will focus
on four areas, i.e. Social science research and gender, Innovation and biotechnology
platforms, Implementation and health systems issues, and Product development. The TRG on
social science research will draw particular attention to the overall poverty and development
context of infectious diseases, gender issues in health and in health research, challenges in
community-based disease control and the needs of especially vulnerable populations.
The following composition and membership profile of the DRGs and TRGs will be used to
achieve country and regional input in addition to the technical deliverables on the diseases.
1. Chair, a leading research scientists in public health with experience and active
research (North or south and must be willing to supervise a postdoctoral fellow from
DEC). Will serve as a paid consultant to TDR
2. Public health practitioner from DEC preferably from a Ministry of Health (MoH)
3. Representative of a School of Public Health involved in research and training at
country level
4. Active research scientist and clinical expert
5. One representative of a PPP or intervention industry
6. Representative of a WHO Regional Office with reference to the epidemiology of the
disease (preferably a technical officer with epidemiology/social sciences expertise)
7. A technical officer from a WHO Country Office willing to serve as rapporteur for the
DRG.
Training opportunities
The DRG/TRG concept also provides a platform for postdoctoral training for young
investigators from DECs in selected areas of research, public health and research management
activities. Postdoctoral fellows will be appointed in collaboration with the Empowerment
group at TDR for 1 or 2 years. A total of 6 to 8 fellowships would be supported on the
program each time. The postdoctoral fellows will be attached to work with the Chair and
rapporteur of the DRG. One fellow will be recruited to work with the Stewardship group at
TDR in Geneva. Responsibilities of the fellows in addition to their training will include
assisting the rapporteur and TDR in preparing reports, organizing the activities of the
DRG/TRG and support the communication unit and Knowledge Management platform in
maintaining the website and dissemination of information stewardship activities of TDR. The
postdoctoral fellow will also coordinate publications of the annual review with Nature
Disease Watch. The postdoctoral fellow will be actively engaged in research and management
of the review activities of the group as an entry into research in specific areas of the disease.
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The DRG/TRG group will be responsible for:
• Providing continuous assessment and situation analysis on the diseases, focusing on
challenges from control, science opportunities, role of different stakeholders and
funding trends for the disease.
• Providing a quarterly or semi-annual report on the disease to TDR and discuss impact
with professional staff with emphasis on potential impacts on TDR activities. Hold
periodic seminars for the discussions at WHO headquarters.
• Organizing the annual meeting of the reference group in a DEC selected based on
epidemiology of the disease and active involvement of local stakeholders in the
meeting. The meeting funded by TDR should be jointly hosted by the national
Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the WHO
country office, with active participation of international agencies in the country
(e.g. UNICEF, World Bank, UNDP and INGOs).
• Working with the modelling team at TDR to produce country or regional models on
the epidemiological trends of the disease.
• Producing publishable annual reviews on the disease for the Nature disease watch.
4.1.2.3. Scientific Working Group (SWGs) meetings on infectious diseases
A broad-based Scientific Working Group (SWG) meeting of stakeholders will be held every
five years for each disease to discuss and establish priorities for research on each disease. The
scientific working group meetings will focus on diseases, cross-cutting issues and
innovations. Two Scientific Working Group (SWG) meetings will be held each year on
diseases as well as cross-cutting issues (e.g. social research, gender, biotechnology
development etc). The SWGs will be organized to take advantage and enhance contributions
of TDR's co-sponsors (UNICEF, UNDP, World Bank, WHO). TDR co-sponsors will be
proactively requested to host selected meetings.
A four day SWG meeting will be organized every 4 to 5 years for each disease to include
participation of both technical experts as well as other stakeholders. The theme and venue for
the SWG will be chosen by the hosting TDR co-sponsor with input from TDR and the disease
reference groups. Such themes could include social and economic dimensions of infectious
diseases and their control, development issues or issues related to specific vulnerable groups
(infectious diseases in children, conflict, pregnant women and complex emergencies). Each
co-sponsor will be obliged to host an SWG every four years. Countries on the JCB could also
be encouraged and given the opportunity to host an SWG meeting if desired.
The SWG meetings will provide the opportunity for discussing the challenges and
opportunities of the diseases, the development of strategy and agenda for meeting the
challenges. More importantly it will provide advocacy for supporting the efforts on the
diseases and visibility of the co-sponsors of TDR.
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The basic format of the SWG could include a public symposium and roundtable (1½ days)
followed by a technical meeting (2 ½ days).
Regional involvement will be sought for diseases with specific regional epidemiological
profiles and occurrences (e.g. Chagas Disease in Latin America, African Trypanosomiasis in
Africa and leishmaniasis in Asia). Proceedings of the SWGs will be rapidly published as
detailed technical reports and published on the knowledge management platform, together
with appropriate briefs on potential policy implications. A supplementary advocacy
documents will be prepared to disseminate the reports to stakeholders.
4.1.3. Working area 3 (Sub-objective 3): Stakeholder meetings for consensus building on
health research: Fostering partnerships and priority setting
It has become necessary to create strategic partnerships among stakeholders in infectious
diseases in order to reduce fragmentation of purpose and priorities in health research and
control initiatives. Knowledge on priority needs is becoming blurred as different research
constituencies define priorities from their own specific perspective, and the role of endemic
countries in research priority setting remains extremely limited. Current evidence suggests
that funding patterns can neither be explained by the needs of developing countries nor the
interests of developed economies alone (8;9). Ideally, a stakeholder partnership would result
in agreements on priorities and steps that are necessary to make strategic shifts for health
research related to infectious diseases of poverty.
TDR's stewardship function will offer a platform for promoting, cultivating, replenishing and
enhancing stakeholders' partnerships in health research. The meetings will create an
opportunity for stakeholders in infectious diseases research to discuss current and planned
activities, harmonize research priorities and discuss emerging themes. This platform will
facilitate consultations, leading ultimately to a certain degree of concertation between the
various Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) involved in Research and Development (R&D)
activities on infectious diseases of poverty. The Stakeholder Partnership Forum will aim at
consensus building, agreement on priorities and reaching important strategic shifts in research
emphases, and at re-focusing research on the needs of the poor and disease-endemic
countries. Every two years, TDR will convene the stakeholder forum similar to a successful
stakeholder meeting involved in the development of the new TDR strategy, in October 2006.
The stakeholder meetings will be held back-to-back with TDR's Joint Co-ordinating Board
(JCB) meetings.
TDR will provide a neutral platform and facilitate consensus building activities on research
priorities by all stakeholders utilizing its knowledge management platform, analytic activities,
and collated expressed needs from regions and DECs,. This should lead to mutually agreed-
upon, comprehensive analyses of research needs, science opportunities and related challenges
in health systems by stakeholders. In preparation for the stakeholders meetings and in close
collaboration with WHO's Regional Offices, TDR will facilitate regional and/or country
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consultations that provide comprehensive analyses of research needs and capacities related to
infectious diseases of poverty, science opportunities and public health research challenges.
Two or three meetings, bringing together various constituencies and stakeholders would be
organized every biennium.
In addition, TDR will provide a platform for stakeholders to facilitate their response to
innovative proposals from national governments or regional research networks. For example,
TDR could work with research units at national Ministries of Health, organize fora for
identifying needs and collaborate with appropriate stakeholders to develop "guidelines" ("best
practices") and tools for health research policy formulation, coordination and implementation
in order to provide guidance on how to a) map a health research system; b) develop a health
research policy agenda; c) frame and formulate the policy; d) implement the policy; e)
coordinate health research; and f) monitor and evaluate the policy implementation. The 2008
Global Summit for Health Research, to be held in Bamako, Mali, offers a unique opportunity
for TDR to provide proof of principle of this stewardship role in infectious diseases research
at global level. TDR is collaborating with WHO's Regional Office for Africa on preparatory
activities, including a monograph on Health Research for Disease Control and Development
in Africa (based on the High-Level Ministerial Meetings held in 2006) and case studies of
African health research systems.
4.1.4. Working area 4 (Sub-objective 4): International stewardship at policy level
On the basis of the activities and working areas previously described, i.e. knowledge
management, analysis, priority setting and consensus building, TDR will be in a strong
position to advocate and lobby for infectious diseases research at the highest policy level,
including, but not limited, to Global Networks and Constituencies (WHO's Advisory
Committee for Health Research, Global Health Research Fora, including the Summit for
Health Research, the Global Forum for Health Research and COHRED), WHO's Regional
Offices, Inter-governmental institutions (European Commission, African Union etc.) as well
as national Ministries of Health and Ministries of Science and Technology.
4.1.4.1. Stewardship at policy level: International High-Level Ministerial Consortium
for Infectious Diseases of Poverty (Advocacy for infectious diseases research at global,
regional and country levels)
TDR's successful 2006 experience of assisting Ministers of Health from African countries to
organize two High-Level Ministerial Meetings on Health Research for Development in
Africa, highlighted the value of its close collaborations with WHO's Regional and Country
offices in advancing and facilitating activities related to health research agenda setting and
commitment of policy makers to infectious diseases research. It also underscored the impact
of a strong advocacy role for infectious disease research at country, regional, and global
levels. Framework will be established for consultations in other regions of WHO to assess and
organize similar meetings when appropriate, e.g. EMRO and AMRO/PAHO. The
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effectiveness of these meeting will be enhanced through appropriate technical follow-up of
ideas and initiatives fostered at these meetings.
These experiences will be built upon to create an International Biennial High-Level
Ministerial Consortium for Infectious Diseases of Poverty to convene decision makers,
opinion leaders and philanthropists. The aim of International Biennual High-Level Ministerial
Consortium will be to:
• Advocate for infectious disease research;
• Develop a framework for funding support for infectious disease research focusing on
DECs; and
• Provide commitment at country levels to support health research and utilization of
research output
The International Biennial High-Level Ministerial Consortium should be constituted of a
small group of 10-15 individuals from Governments (Ministers of Health, of Science and
Technology and/or Education) joined by internationally recognized opinion leaders and
scientists/experts (e.g. Nobel laureates and other internationally recognized leaders in global
health). This would build on the model of the High Level Ministerial Meetings (HLM).
4.1.5. Working area 5 (Sub-objective 5): Fostering networks and kick-starting
innovative initiatives
TDR's stewardship function will facilitate implementation of recommendations from
stakeholder consultations and TDR research-driven Business Lines (BLs) by convening
appropriate technical groups to kick-start or develop framework for incubating innovative
initiatives. This will necessitate a close interaction between the BL-Managers and the
stewardship function. Such innovative initiatives can include an African Society of Public
Health/Tropical Diseases; application of innovative technologies in discovery of
interventions. It is anticipated that activities to identify new opportunities and challenges will
be inherent in all research BLs and a feedback loop between the BLs and the stewardship
function will be developed to facilitate implementation. Success of this function will benefit
from TDR experience in incubating networks and initiatives such as South-South Initiatives
(SSI) for Tropical Diseases Research, http://www.ssi-tdr.net/).
4.1.5.1 Meeting urgent and immediate research and control needs
Although the stewardship function is not expected a priori to fund original research projects,
efforts will be made to generate innovative syntheses and commissioned ("Cochrane-type")
reviews on neglected areas of research or under-researched topics. These syntheses and
reviews, generated through the Disease- and Topic Reference Groups, will inform the
dialogue among stakeholders. Specific ideas developed in such reviews can be taken forward
to meet urgent and immediate research and control needs.
Regional consultations and SWGs are designed to lead to the identification of one or more
critical issues in infectious diseases research or science opportunities that may warrant
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additional immediate detailed analysis or to explore immediate technical impact of
opportunities provided by new advances in science in order to develop pragmatic approaches
for addressing public health challenges. TDR will readily respond to such new and innovative
themes ("hot topics") in infectious diseases research and related initiatives emerging at
regional or global level. This will be achieved by convening appropriate stakeholder
consultations, advocating for implementation of the outcomes and recommendations of the
consultation and kick-starting or incubating new initiatives when appropriate.
4.2. END-PRODUCTS
4.2.1. End products for work area 1) knowledge management will include:
• On-line global knowledge platform for infectious diseases research including up-to-
date information on research needs, activities and achievements; highlights of recent
scientific publications; simplified access to published articles; news on infectious
diseases research and control, review articles on critical issues, discussion forums,
resources including multimedia (to be launched 06/2007)
• Published reports on opportunities, research needs, priorities and achievements for
individual infectious diseases and reviews on cross-disease research issues,
e.g. pathogenesis, vaccines, gender, drug resistance, etc.
• Biennial report on infectious diseases research: priority research needs, gaps and
global progress (first publication by 01/2009)
• Models and profiles of diseases, their epidemiological trends, opportunities and
simulation of control outcomes at national and regional levels
4.2.2. End products for work area 2) include:
• An annual meeting on the disease using the periodic reports as background documents
to generate an annual review.
• Regional and country profiles of each disease (for DRGs) with a focus on the
epidemiology of the disease, its social determinants, success and problems in control,
including social, economic and policy issues, capability at country level and
information on epidemic outbreaks. These profiles will serve as technical documents
for agenda setting.
• Publication of the annual review in a peer reviewed journal, e.g. in Nature to replace
the Disease Watch.
• Summary on disease profiles in a format useful to policy makers and made available
on the KM platform.
• Advocacy for research at country and regional levels
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• Information sharing and quarterly update on diseases for TDR staff useful for
management of ongoing projects
• Role in knowledge management to provide overview and maintain welcome page on
the web.
4.2.3 End products for work area 3) include:
• Two proceedings of annual review meetings of advances and challenges in disease-
specific research (2 disease SWGs per year)
• One annual review meeting of advances and challenges in cross-cutting research areas
(e.g. biotechnology, social research, vector research) (1 SWG on discipline or
technology per year)
• Commissioned papers to be used as technical documents for the meeting
• Publication of the technical papers and the proceedings of the SWG meetings with the
agenda and priorities in peer-reviewed journals
• Advocacy of research priorities in infectious diseases.
4.2.4 End products for work area 4) include:
• Comprehensive analyses of research needs, science opportunities and challenges in
health systems
• Regional or global consultations on emerging issues and themes in research priorities
("hot topics")
• Rapid uptake and advocacy for new opportunities in infectious diseases.
4.3. INTERIM IMPLEMENTATION MILESTONES
1. Set up advisory board for stewardship with 10 to 12 members including 2 or 3 WHO
Representatives (WRs) and regional office representatives: December 2007.
2. Establish a database on institutional stakeholders. Stakeholders will include country-level
organizations, international organizations, PPPs and research institutions. The database
will categorize stakeholders according to areas of priority and roles and expected
contributions: May 2008. Collaborate with the Global Forum for Health Research on
current activities.
3. Launch of Knowledge Platform: June 2007.
4. Constitute 2 or 3 Disease Reference Groups as proof-of-principle in 2007. Others to be
constituted by 2008.
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5. Convene a stakeholder consultation on streamlining social issues in infectious disease
research and initiation of a Topic Reference Group on social issues. Early 2008.
6. Support to two regional High-Level Ministerial consultations (EMRO and SEARO) in
2007 and initiate discussions on a PAHO consultation for 2008.
7. Support to the WHO Regional Office for Africa in preparation for the 2008 Global
Summit for Health Research. 2007-08.
8. Framework for the modelling of epidemiological trends and intervention impacts and
successful piloting of such a model in selected countries, 2008.
9. Develop proposal with SciDev.net on phase 2 of knowledge management for public
health practitioners and seek funding support with a target launch of 2009.
10. Follow-up survey in December 2008, to assess value of the KM platform. Will need an
indication that at least 60 % of DEC scientists on the TDR scientists list who work on
infectious diseases research are of the opinion that their access to up-to-date scientific
information has significantly improved.
11. Three reports on research priorities and achievements for single diseases or cross disease
issues published per year. Negotiation with Nature and WHO Bulletin on publications.
12. First biennial Global Report on Infectious Diseases Research published before end 2009.
13. Conduct survey on value of biennial report two months after the issue of the report .
Benchmark: At least 75% of key stakeholders who received the biennial report consider it
informative and useful for their work.
14. At least one special issue of a journal from DEC per year.
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5. FUNDING
5.1. BUDGET REQUIREMENTS
US $ x 1000
Objective Description 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Knowledge acquisition, management and
1
sharing 750 750 1,000 1,000 750 750
Identification of priority needs and major
2
gaps 705 960 960 960 960 960
3a Consensus building on health research 150 400 100 500 100 500
3b Partnerships and priority setting 200 350 200 350 200 100
Regional and country agendas for
3c
health research 400 500 500 500 500 500
4 International stewardship at policy level 300 400 100 100 450 450
Fostering networks and kick starting
5
initiatives 200 350 200 350 200 100
Travel 200 200 200 200 250 250
Consultants 100 100 100 100 100 100
Activities 3,005 4,010 3,360 4,060 3,510 3,710
Personnel 1,605 1,761 1,761 1,761 1,761 1,761
No. of professional staff 5 6 6 6 6 6
No. of support staff 4 4 4 4 4 4
Total 4,610 5,771 5,121 5,821 5,271 5,471
5.2. RATIONALE FOR RESOURCES REQUIRED
The overall budget reflects a program growth in activity, however, due to the nature of the
activities such as stakeholder meetings and biennial reports that will take place every other
year the trend in growth may not be immediately apparent in the financial figures. However,
such growth is built into the activities. The nature of this function also requires a front-end
high level activity to kick-start the programme area.
Working area 1, Knowledge acquisition, management and sharing will entail core activities
on a) establishment and maintenance of an on-line knowledge platform for tropical diseases
research. The knowledge platform will be evolved to a second phase covering the provision of
information and data useful for advisers and policy-makers in the form of policy briefings.
This policy information system should be on-line by 2011; b) publication of a biennial report
on global progress in tropical disease research and control; c) published reports and special
journal issues published on selected topics/issues in research priorities and achievements;
d) the development and maintenance of a knowledge platform for social issues and gender in
public health; and e) the modelling and profiling diseases, opportunities and simulation of
control needs to generate regional and national models. The efforts will be devoted to
producing models on 2 or 3 countries per year.
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The on-line knowledge platform will need relatively high start-up costs in year 1 and will
need an estimated US$ 500,000 to function per year thereafter. The costs of the biennial
report is estimated at US$ 250,000 every two years. As part of the on-line platform, a special
section will be established for social science, including health economics, research, to
disseminate information resulting from activities on streamlining social research.
Working area 2, Identification of priority needs and major gaps will entail core activities
a) for the development and support of Disease and Topics Reference Groups (95,000 per
DRG/TRG per year); b) two annual review meetings of advances and challenges in disease-
specific research (Two disease-specific Scientific Working Groups per year); and c) one
annual review meeting of advances and challenges in cross-cutting research areas
(e.g. biotechnology, social research, vector research).
We estimate that DRGs and TRGs will need a budget of US$ 95,000 per year, to be disbursed
as US$ 25,000 as honorarium for the chair (remunerating him/her for significant time
investments for this type of work), US$ 20,000 as contributions to salary and operations
support for the WHO Country office based rapporteur, US$ 30,000 for the Post-Doctoral
Fellow, and US$ 20,000 for the country based annual meeting of DRGs/TRGs. It is
anticipated that three DRGs/TRGs can be made operational in year 1, and six in the following
years. The costs for Scientific Working Groups (SWGs) are estimated at US$ 150,000 each,
including assistance from a science writer and publication.
Working area 3, Consensus building on health research will entail core activities on
a) regional consultations on control and research needs, science opportunities and challenges
in health systems through regional consultations; and b) emerging issues and themes in
research priorities ("hot topics"). Stakeholder partnerships and priority setting will entail core
activities in a) the identification of strategic shifts in emphasis through stakeholder
consultations; b) the development of a framework for consultation and collaboration with
PPPs and c) a biennial stakeholder forum. Regional and country agendas for health research
will entail efforts to stimulate advocacy for infectious diseases research at regional and
country levels.
Working area 4, International stewardship at policy level will entail core activities for
developing a) an International High-level Ministerial Consortium for Advocacy on Neglected
Research Areas and Priority Gaps; b) advocacy for health research in priority and policies of
Ministries of Health and Ministries of Science and Technology.
Working area 5, Fostering networks and kick-starting innovative initiatives will entail core
activities on bringing together groups to develop a framework for innovative initiatives
identified through stakeholder review and BL activities.
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6. RISKS
Some stakeholders may not accept that TDR (or any other single organization) assumes a
major facilitator role for global stewardship on infectious diseases of poverty. Some
stakeholders may be critical of TDR convening meetings for research priority setting on
infectious diseases. This could become an issue if TDR is perceived as setting the priorities
itself. It will be important, therefore, to make it clear that TDR will only be facilitating an
objective scientific process of analysing research needs and opportunities, and identifying
evidence-based research priorities, and that all key partners will collaborate in this process.
Convincing the "sceptics" that the stakeholder platform is a useful mechanism for enhancing
decision-making and building consensus will constitute a challenge.
• Unrealistic expectations for the scope of the Global Report, e.g. to cover all infectious
diseases, without increase in resources. The quality of the Global report should remain
the overriding concern and the BL should not commit itself to deliver products for
which it does not have sufficient resources to ensure the highest quality.
• Knowledge Platform not up to date or not considered very interesting. To ensure that
the information on the site is continually updated and contains latest highlights of
infectious diseases research, there will be a full-time editorial team of five persons,
hosted at Bireme in Brazil, that will maintain the content of the site and keep it
dynamic and exciting.
• Rapid evolution of web-based information systems and possible development of
competing systems or web sites e.g. Google Medicine. The Knowledge Platform will
need to keep evolving and be open to new opportunities and new partnerships that will
allow it to better achieve its objective.
• DEC scientists and health professionals having difficulty accessing the Knowledge
• Platform because of poor internet facilities. To address this potential problem, the
Knowledge Platform web site is being specifically designed for low bandwidth
connections.
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