From November 5-6, 2018, the Government of Indonesia will host the 5th Annual GHSA High Level Ministerial Meeting in Bali.  During this meeting, health security leaders from around the world will gather to discuss progress and next steps to further implement the GHSA and achieve its targets, which work in tandem with the priorities identified in the JEEs and National Action Planning processes. The meeting will also serve as a venue to discuss actionable next steps for countries to advance their national plans and financing to fill gaps identified during their JEE assessments.  

Strengthening biosecurity is a crucial part of preparedness and is built into the GHSA and the JEE.  We are therefore pleased to introduce the “Next Generation for Biosecurity in GHSA Competition.”  The joint competition seeks proposals to develop and strengthen regional partnerships to support specific activities in this area.  A panel of experts will select the most innovative and creative proposal as winner for the competition.  The winning team will receive up to $15,000 to implement their proposal, as well as travel and lodging support to attend and present during the 2018 GHSA Ministerial.

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Competition Goals: 

• Facilitate relationships between NextGen leaders interested in biosecurity and biosafety across countries and regions in accordance with the GHSA targets on biosecurity and biosafety and linking public health and biosecurity authorities;

• Enhance country and regional capabilities to achieve the biosecurity and biosafety targets within the GHSA and the WHO JEE;

• Inform emerging and established members of the broader global health security community on the significant biological risks posed by advances in technology;

• Improve regional and cross-regional collaboration in the biosecurity and biosafety fields;

• Promote a global cadre of multi-sectoral professionals within the Next Generation GHS Network dedicated to reducing catastrophic biological risks and enhancing biosafety and biosecurity; and

• Provide additional avenues for knowledge transfer to next generation biosafety and biosecurity professionals through mentorships and potential engagement with global health security experts in the field.

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The proposed competition seeks to develop regional and global partnerships among next generation professionals to:

1. Develop training and networking opportunities for professionals of all levels to develop and interest and further proficiency in the biosecurity and biosafety fields; and

2. Foster opportunities for educational outreach to raise public awareness around the importance of biosecurity and biosafety.

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Eligibility: 

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To participate in this competition, the following criteria must be met:

• Applicants must be a current member of the Next Generation Global Health Security Network.  If submitting as part of a team, at least one-third of the applicants must be current members of the Next Generation Global Health Security Network.  Applicants also must be currently enrolled in an academic institution or must be a professional working in the field of global health security.

• Teams are strongly encouraged to include NextGen professionals from more than one country and/or region.

• Teams are strongly encourage to be cross-sectoral in their makeup.

• Proposals must include a specific focus on biosecurity (solely or in addition to biosafety) and must address the biosecurity-related indicators contained in the JEE. Broader applications focused on other elements of the GHSA and/or WHO JEE will not be considered for this competition.

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Submission Requirements: 

Interested applicants should send an email by August 31, 2018, to NTI-bio@nti.org, and include the following:

• One-page resume or curriculum vitae for each team participant.

• A detailed budget sheet detailing, using line items, how each team would spend up to $15,000 in implementing their project.

• 1,500-2,000 word submission that outlines how you and your team will work within the Next Generation GHS Network to develop either (1) training and networking opportunities for professionals at all levels to develop an interest and further proficiency in the biosecurity and biosafety fields; or (2) opportunities for an educational outreach project to raise public awareness around the importance of biosecurity and biosafety.

  • Proposals involving the development of trainings or networking opportunities for early- to mid- level professionals may build from existing programs. Successful proposals should include specific mechanisms for engaging and involving one or more biosecurity and biosafety experts in the execution of the proposal. Those experts should be contacted and secured as part of the proposal development process.

  • Proposals for public outreach and education must incorporate and build on existing biosecurity and biosafety best practices, standards, and/or models for policy and legislation to produce a public outreach program targeted at: (i) high school and university-aged students and/or (ii) policymakers. We encourage the proposals to include the design and/or use of multimedia tools and other creative and engaging methods of public outreach and education. Successful proposals should include specific mechanisms for engaging and involving one or more biosecurity and biosafety experts in the execution of the proposal. Those experts should ideally be contacted and secured as part of the proposal development process.

  • Citations, image captions, and footnotes do not count toward the final total word count in the proposals. However, information vital to the submission should not be included in the footnotes.

• Participants are highly encouraged to collaborate on submissions with partners from other institutions and/or across sectors within your country and/or with partners from other countries. The inclusion of collaborators that help build cross-sectoral discussion on biosecurity within and across regions will be a key factor for successful proposals.

• All proposals must be in English and submitted as a single pdf with the proposal, budget sheet, and three curriculum vitae. Supplemental material may be submitted separately.

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Prizes for Winning Submission(s):

The winners of the competition will receive the following:

• Travel and lodging to attend the 2018 GHSA Ministerial Meeting in Bali, Indonesia from November 5-6, 2018.

• Up to $15,000 to implement the proposal.

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For help finding a team or to register your team, click here.