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| Current funding policy |
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Sustainable improvement in human nutrition is one of the major issues in the portfolio of the Foundation. During more than 30 years basic and applied research in nutrition has been supported by the Foundation in more than 40 developing countries. In view of the past activities of the Foundation as well as the world's situation at the turn of the millennium, it was recognized that the public health relevance of the supported research as well as aspects of sustainability and educational issues should have a higher priority. Thus, priority is given to projects which lead to sustainable developments, and the implementation of the results of a research project should be immediate as well as sustainable. Highly sophisticated nutrition research of mainly academic interest without public health relevance has lower priority for support.
At present the Foundation's work is primarily concerned with human nutrition research issues dealing with:
nutrition education and health promotion
maternal and child nutrition, including breastfeeding and complementary feeding
macro- and micronutrient deficiencies and imbalances
( interactions between infection and nutrition.
Studies in other areas of human nutrition research might also be considered, as long as they are dealing with problems of malnutrition in eligible countries.
The precise priorities and goals of the Foundation are modified from time to time to meet emerging public health and nutritional needs in the developing world.
Funded projects are usually of one- to three-year duration. Projects with a high potential for effective and sustainable improvement of the nutritional status will be funded preferentially. The budget of the projects must be appropriate and has to be justified in detail.
One of the Foundation's main aims is the transfer of scientific and technological knowledge to eligible countries. In cases where Foundation-sponsored research projects are realized in collaboration with scientists at universities and research institutes in high-income countries, at least 80% of the budget has to be allocated in the low-income country.
Research grant applications from high-income countries can normally not be considered except under exceptional conditions.
The Foundation does not normally fund:
projects with low public health relevance
projects with doubtful sustainability
projects lacking transfer of scientific, technical and educational knowledge, i.e. lacking a capacity-building component
very expensive projects
nutrition surveys
research on food policy, food production and food technology except when linked to an intervention with high potential for sustainable improvement of the nutritional status
in vitro and/or animal experiments.
Although obesity and related diseases are of emerging importance in several IDA countries, the Foundation does not generally support projects in this specific area unless the protocol is innovative and exceptionally well justified.
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