http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/collaboration/global/me-africa/mhealth.a... Mobile Healthcare for Africa Overview Few technologies have seen such wide adoption in the developing world as the mobile phone, and few have shown themselves to be as adaptable to local cultural, social, and technological conditions. Economies of scale and the imperatives of the market place continue to decrease cost and increase capability of devices available worldwide. According to International Telecommunication Union (ITU) data, in 2007, there were more than 45 mobile phone subscriptions per 100 inhabitants in Africa, while at the same time, there were 16 fixed telephone lines per 100 inhabitants1. The mobile phone provides a significant opportunity to reach people who until now have not had access to technology solutions. A recent IDC study2 discovered that even when wireless technology is available, healthcare professionals preferentially use mobile phones on the job. We propose to demonstrate the potential of mobile phones to enable the delivery of healthcare-related services on the African continent. We invite Africa-based researchers to apply for grants of cash to conduct one-year studies. Successful proposals will use Microsoft technologies and may also employ the capability of a mobile phone to interface with other devices, such as specialist medical hardware. A fieldwork component is strongly encouraged and the potential to increase the scale of the project (to, for example, serve large populations, address multiple diseases, or service various regions) is essential. Successful projects will run for about one year, and will be expected to provide an interim status report after six months. After a year, a representative for each project will be invited to attend a meeting at Microsoft Research in Cambridge where they can present their work to an audience including Microsoft researchers working in the area of mobile computing. A maximum of five awards will be granted, of up to US$25,000 each, including airfare and travel costs for attendance at the final reporting event. While none of the one-year grants is renewable, the capstone event in Cambridge will be designed to encourage interaction between Microsoft researchers and the project principal investigator. _______________ 1International Telecommunication Union 2Silvia Piai, Massimiliano Claps, Western Europe, Healthcare Sector, Infrastructure Technology Adoption and Investment Plans: An IDC Survey, IDC Study #MS13N, Nov 2006. Top of page Schedule and Deadlines Application deadline: 18 November 2009, 17:00 (UTC) Notification of results: February 2010 Top of page Goals and Objectives There are multiple technological challenges in taking full advantage of mobile phones as a platform for healthcare. With this request for proposals (RFP), Microsoft Research supports multidisciplinary academic research in Africa that demonstrates the potential to improve the delivery of healthcare by using mobile technologies. The goal of the academic research projects must be to advance the state-of-the-art of technologies relevant to challenges in delivering healthcare in rural or at-risk African communities. Projects must address some of the following research areas: Education – Mobile technologies as delivery tools for health education and training targeted towards healthcare providers and/or patients. Remote data collection and surveillance – The potential of mobile technologies to transform the way in which clinical, epidemiological, and surveillance research is conducted. This includes, but is not limited to, the ability to capture data in rural areas, the analysis disease transmission depending on environmental characteristics, and the development of early detection systems to mitigate disease outbreak. Point of care diagnostics and remote patient monitoring – Low-cost mobile technologies can be used to reach underserved populations remotely or at the “point of care”. These could enable delivery of timely and appropriate treatment to patients, help control the emergence of drug resistant pathogens, enable monitoring of individual patients, and so forth. Top of page Awards Microsoft Research anticipates granting approximately five awards of about US$25,000 each. All awards will be made in United States dollars. Awards are made to provide seed funding for larger initiatives, proofs of concept, or demonstrations of feasibility. It is important to understand that funding will continue after the first year only in exceptional circumstances, and that the principal investigators should therefore make every effort to use the Microsoft Research funds as one component of a diverse funding base in a larger or longer-running project. Proposals with a clear plan to secure co-funding are encouraged. Top of page Eligibility The following list of conditions of eligibility will be strictly adhered to, so please read them carefully. Proposals not meeting all these criteria will not be considered. The proposing institution must be located in Africa and must be either an accredited university with non-profit status and awarding degrees at the baccalaureate level or above, or a research institution with non-profit status. Proposals that are incomplete; inaccurate; or are otherwise not responsive to the stated aims, terms, and conditions of this RFP will, at the sole discretion of Microsoft Research, be excluded from consideration. Collaborative proposals embracing multiple groups across the organisation are encouraged. While the use of Microsoft technologies is not mandatory, any proposal relying exclusively on non-Microsoft technologies should provide a justification for why this must be the case. Cross-platform development and interoperability with other operating systems and applications is encouraged. Top of page Submission Process Proposals will be accepted only through the online application tool and must be written in English. Given that applications will be sent to internal and external experts in the field for review, Microsoft Research cannot assume responsibility for the confidentiality of information in submitted proposals. Therefore, proposals should not contain information that is confidential, restricted, or sensitive. Microsoft Research reserves the right to make public proposals that receive awards, except those portions containing budgetary or personally identifiable information. The submission process includes two parts. Brief summary and contact information – Applicants must provide full contact information for principal investigators, amount requested, a brief abstract, and suggestion of two expert reviewers (one preferably working at Microsoft Research). This information should be entered into the Web form during the proposal submission process. Complete project proposal containing full details about the proposed project. This section will be available for peer-review by Microsoft researchers as well as other academics expert in the field. The research project proposal should address the following points (no more than four pages of A4 paper size with 10-point font for the first five points): Problem Statement – What is the problem addressed by the proposal and why is it important? What is the potential contribution to research if successful? Cite relevant work in the field as appropriate. Expected Outcomes – What tangible assets, if any, will be created as a result of the proposed project? How can the project scale to other types of deployment? Related Research – Give a brief summary of the current state of the art in this field, including references where appropriate. References do not count towards the four-page limit. Benefits to under-served communities – Include a description of the community served by the proposal and how the project addresses healthcare issues and challenges in that community. If applicable, also include references to collaborations with non-government organisations (NGOs) working on healthcare challenges in the target community. Schedule – When is the project to be completed? What milestones will be used to measure progress of the project and when will they be completed? (If the project described is part of a larger ongoing research program, estimate the time for completion of this project only). Dissemination and evaluation – How will the results of this project be evaluated (if appropriate), and how will they be disseminated to others? Potential collaboration with Microsoft Research – One of the objectives of this RFP for proposals is to establish collaboration between academics in Africa and researchers at Microsoft. Please, list any potential collaboration opportunity with a researcher from Microsoft Research. Learn more about us. Use of Microsoft technologies – Describe the Microsoft tools and technologies (if any) to be used in this project. If software is to be developed, give details of the tools to be used, the number of software developers, and the proposed timescale. Does the software to be developed require the incorporation of code from commercial or public-domain libraries? If so, please give details. Use of funds – Provide a budget (US$) describing how the award will be used. Microsoft software or licenses requested should be listed in the budget, but the cost should be given as zero dollars. The budget does not have to be detailed, and should be presented as a table with the total budget request clearly indicated. Other support – Include other contributions to this project (cash, goods, or services), if any, but do not include use of university facilities otherwise provided on an ongoing basis. Please note: Authors of winning proposals will be required to submit an original letter on department letterhead certifying the commitment of any additional or matching support described in the proposal. Qualifications of principal investigator – Include a brief description of any relevant prior research, publication, or other professional experience. A detailed curriculum vitae or list of publications is not required. Top of page Selection Process Proposals will be peer-reviewed by a panel of experts chosen by Microsoft Research, and which may include experts from outside the company. Based on evaluations by the review panel, Microsoft Research will select the most worthy proposals for funding. All proposals will be evaluated based upon the evaluation criteria.