11th GACD Multisectoral Approaches Call

Together with the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR), the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) is inviting investigators to submit applications with a focus on implementation research, maximising collaboration and coordination with sectors and in settings beyond the healthcare system to tackle chronic non-communicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries and underserved populations in high-income countries (multisectoral approaches).

Application process 

• GACD opens funding call. Eleventh GACD Funding Call: Multisectoral Approaches
• Applicants intending to apply for funding from SAMRC should advise of their intent to participate in the call via email to samrcgacd@mrc.ac.za.

Stage 1

• First stage proposals submitted to the GACD Portal. 
• First stage proposal deadline: 17 June 2026, Wednesday (16:00 UTC)
• First stage proposals are verified and compliant applications assessed by GACD Joint International Review Panel.
• Applicants notified of Stage 1 review outcomes by GACD.
• Notice of decision (stage 1) / stage 2 invitation: 8 September 2026, Tuesday
• Shortlisted applicants are invited to submit a second stage proposal and respond to reviewer feedback in the GACD Portal.

Stage 2 (by invitation only)

• Shortlisted South African applicants applying to SAMRC for support of the South African components of the research submit a second stage proposal to the GACD Portal. Collaborating Australian applicants must complete an NHMRC application through Sapphire, while Canadian applicants must complete a CIHR application. The Sapphire application will include a budget justification for the funding requested from NHMRC, and upload of the second stage proposal submitted to GACD.
• Second stage proposal deadline: 20 October 2026, Tuesday
• Meeting of the GACD Joint International Peer Review Panel to assess second stage proposals. 30 November & 1-2 December 2026, Monday - Wednesday
• GACD notifies SAMRC of applications deemed fundable by the GACD Joint International Panel. March – April 2027

Funding

One of the conditions of joint funding is that South African research teams applying for funding are expected to include Principal Investigator(s) (PI) from participating GACD members in the GACD application (for Multisectoral Approaches call, inclusion of PIs from NHMRC or CIHR). Applicants are encouraged to visit the websites of the GACD funding agencies as well as the Eleventh GACD Funding Call for specification of the individual participating agencies.

No other funding can be combined with the GACD call. If the PI leaves the service of his/her Institution, he must immediately inform the GACD secretariat and funding agencies.

The budgets of the applications should be realistic and ensure that the potential outcomes of the projects could be reached within the proposed timelines. The period of funding will not exceed 5 years. The number of projects to be funded and the total amount requested per application will be determined by its scientific merit as assessed by the joint GACD expert review panel.

South Africa – South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC): Applications for SAMRC funding must request joint funding with NHMRC or CIHR. SAMRC have a total budget of ~40,000 USD per year and expects to jointly fund up to 2 projects under this call.

Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases – applicant briefing webinar

If you have any questions or queries or just want to find out a bit more about the Funding Call, we will be hosting a webinar for prospective applicants.

The briefing will take place in two sittings:

• Date: Wednesday, 24 March 2026
  Siting A: When: Tuesday, March 24, 2026, 08:00 AM London/UTC, 4:00 Ottawa, 10:00 Johannesburg, 13:30 New Delhi, 15:00 Bangkok, 19:00 Canberra
• Register in advance for this meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/7ZbFMa31TAuBAx201_bPFQ
  After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
  Meeting ID 820 7406 2845 passcode 852460
   
• Siting B: When: Tuesday, March 24, 2026, 15:00 AM London/UTC, 11:00 Ottawa, 17:00 Johannesburg, 20:30 New Delhi, 22:00 Bangkok, 2:00 (Wed, 25) Canberra
  Register in advance for this meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/81fF69stT5yTj5w_0gxb4g
• After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
  Meeting ID 882 6143 2160 passcode 489024

SAMRC invites South African researchers to submit first-stage applications to GACD for joint funding under the Multisectorial Approaches call, in partnership with the Australian NHMRC or the Canadian CIHR only. Webinar registration details, application key dates and application guidance are available on the GACD website.

Contact details

Enquiries should be directed to the following e-mail address: samrcgacd@mrc.ac.za