This document is a request for applications for pilot projects through the AMPATH Nepal Partnership between Mount Sinai, Dhulikhel Hospital, and Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences. It provides information on the purpose, types of eligible projects, funding amounts, requirements, review criteria, timeline and contacts. Projects focusing on care, education or research can apply for up to $20,000 in funding for up to 2 years. Applications are due by December 15th and will be reviewed based on significance, collaboration, approach and sustainability. Funded projects will be expected to submit progress reports and a final report.

1. Request for Applications
AMPATH Nepal Partnership Pilot
Projects
A Joint Initiative by
Dhulikhel Hospital and Kathmandu University
School of Medical Sciences
and
The Arnhold Institute for Global Health at the Icahn
School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
2023

2. I. Purpose 3
II. Types of Projects 3
III. Eligibility 4
IV. Funding Amounts 4
V. Funding Period 5
VI. Letter of Intent 5
VII. Application Requirements 5
Project Summary 5
Project Description 5
Focus and significance of project 6
Specific aims 6
Project design and methods 6
Collaborative partners 6
Dissemination plan 6
Proposed plans for expanding collaboration 6
Proposed project timeline and milestones 6
References/Works Cited 6
Detailed Budget and Budget Justification 7
Team 7
Letters of Support 7
Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval (if applicable) 8
VIII. Review Criteria 8
IX. Funding Decisions 9
X. Post-Award Requirements 9
XI. RFA Timeline 11
XII. Contact Information 11

3. I. Purpose
Since 2019, the Arnhold Institute for Global Health (AIGH) at the Icahn School of
Medicine at Mount Sinai, Dhulikhel Hospital (DH), and Kathmandu University of
Medical Sciences (KUSMS) have worked together to advance collaborative activities
that improve the health and wellbeing of vulnerable people in Nepal and the world.
Together, they seek to replicate the Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare
(AMPATH), www.ampathglobal.org, a model of academic partnership created by Moi
University, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, and Indiana University nearly four
decades ago. Bult on the idea that we Lead with Care, and then do more, this
partnership seeks to build enduring institutional collaboration across the tripartite
academic mission of care, education, and research.
In order to accelerate the development of the AMPATH Nepal partnership, AIGH,
DH, and KUSMS are seeking proposals for projects that will advance our partnership
and promote collaborative activities in care, education, and/or research. The primary
goal of this request for applications (RFA) is to support the formation and
strengthening of counterpart teams that will develop collaborative projects to
improve the health and wellbeing of people in Nepal by improving quality and/or
access to care, training care providers in critical areas, and/or establishing programs
of research that will address key challenges and priorities in the health system.
Competitive applications will seek to catalyze collaboration between Mount Sinai,
DH, and KUSMS and provide a foundation for the development of collaborative
programs, funding, and/or resources and infrastructure to support the growth of the
partnership. Successful applications will: 1) address a healthcare need or
departmental priorities for care; 2) focus on strengthening collaboration and
partnership between Mount Sinai, DH, and KUSMS; 3) be high potential for
attracting internal and external support and for continuation beyond the project
period.
II. Types of Projects
Projects should focus on at least one of three areas:
A. Care:
i. Develop sub-specialty care at DH
ii. Improve care and/or healthcare delivery
iii. Address care needs within DH, outreach centers, and/or the community
iv. Improve access to care for marginalized communities

4. B. Education:
i. Develop educational programs for learners at any level of training,
including, but not limited to, community health workers, students,
midwives, nurses, and physicians
ii. Strengthen or upgrade existing education programs
iii. Conduct educational research that supports development and
improvement of education for learners, educators, communities, and
institutions
C. Research:
i. Conduct collaborative pilot research using primary data or health services
data.
Competitive proposals will:
(1) Demonstrate significant positive impact on care, education, and/or
research at the implementation site;
(2) Summarize any training component with student or trainee involvement;
(3) Describe significant products the project will create, e.g. new care
models/protocols, training curricula, online resources, publications,
evaluation reports, or manuscripts, etc.; and/or
(4) Show detailed plans for continuation beyond the funding period.
III. Eligibility
This funding opportunity is open to faculty and staff at Mount Sinai, Dhulikhel
Hospital, and Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences. Proposals must
have at least one primary collaborator from Mount Sinai and one primary
collaborator from DH/KUSMS. Primary collaborators must have the requisite skills,
knowledge, time, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed project.
This opportunity is open to individuals with faculty and staff appointments as primary
collaborators. Applicants should submit a letter of intent to be eligible for
consideration (see section VI).
IV. Funding Amounts
Pilot projects will be awarded up to $20,000 each, selecting awardees in the
domains of care, education and research.

5. V. Funding Period
Projects will be funded for a period of up to two years.
If necessary and deemed appropriate, a no-cost extension (NCE) up to a year may
be granted to pilot grant awardees. Note that only one NCE may be granted to each
awardee.
VI. Letter of Intent
Eligible candidates should submit a letter of intent regarding their application by no
later than November 1, 2022. Letters of intent can be submitted at
https://redcap.link/NepalRFP2023.
Letters of intent should include names of primary collaborators from each institution,
contact information, primary area of application (care, education, or research), topic,
and a brief description of the proposed project. If the applicant has not been able to
identify a collaborator from the partnering institution, a letter of intent should still be
submitted and the host institutions will work to identify a counterpart for
collaboration.
VII. Application Requirements
Eligible candidates who have submitted a letter of intent, will receive a link to the
proposal application by email. Each application link is unique and is not to be
shared.
Each application should include the following items:
1. Project Summary
Provide a brief summary (300-400 words) describing the project focus, its
significance and expected outcomes.
2. Project Description
(No more than 3 pages, single-spaced, Arial 11-point font, and 1/2-inch margins)

6. a. Focus and significance of project
Describe the challenge(s) the proposed project will address and explain
the potential significance of the proposed project.
b. Specific aims
Summarize the specific aims and objectives of the proposed project.
c. Project design and methods
Describe the project design and methods that will be used to achieve the
stated project aims and objectives.
d. Collaborative partners
Provide a description of collaborating departments including specifics on
the unique qualifications, resources, abilities, and contribution of each
partner that will enable successful conduct of the proposed project.
e. Dissemination plan
Provide a description of how the outcomes will be disseminated. This can
include but is not limited to publications, local presentations, written
reports to key stakeholders, and/or shared online resources.
f. Proposed plans for expanding collaboration
Describe planned next steps for expanding the proposed
project/collaboration after the expiration of this award. Include plans for
pursuing extramural funding, producing written products and publications,
and/or intellectual property that will be pursued.
g. Plan for sustainability
Present a plan for project continuation beyond grant funding, which may
include institutional commitment or other plans for funding.
3. Proposed project timeline and milestones
Provide a timeline for all major components of the project including descriptions
of key milestones. Projects should be completed within 24 months. Please see
RFA Timeline in Section XI for details.
4. References/Works Cited
A list of all references cited within your proposal should be included. Please
format all references using APA style.

7. 5. Detailed Budget and Budget Justification
The proposed budget should include all planned expenditures. Total project costs
may not exceed $20,000. If there are other resources that will be committed to
the project, e.g. cost share, faculty seed, grant funds, etc., please indicate
funding amounts and sources in the budget justification.
All applications require a concise, convincing, and realistic explanation of the
proposed budget. Submitted budgets that request the maximum funding without
adequate explanation for that level of support, if awarded, will be reduced to a
justifiable funding level based on the proposed project. In the budget justification
each budget total should be itemized with a description of the costs and
relevance to the research project. The budget and budget justification should be
documented in the template included in the application, and submitted in PDF
format.
No indirect costs or finance and administration costs are allowed. However,
administrative overhead costs up to 10% of the total project budget (inclusive of
IRB or other regulatory fees) may be included as direct costs in the project
budget.
Funds cannot be used for meeting-related/hospitality expenditures (unless these
are for specific qualitative methods, like Focus Group Discussions, or
community-based participatory methods, like Community Advisory Board
meetings); travel expenses are limited to those that are demonstrated to be
necessary to achieve the aims of the proposed project.
Capital expenditures for general purpose equipment, buildings, and land are
unallowable as direct charges, except with prior written approval. Expenditures
for special purpose equipment under the capital equipment threshold of $5,000
are allowable as direct costs, provided that items are required to achieve the
specific aims of the project.
6. Team
Project leads are expected to include an NIH Biosketch (recommended) or a CV.
One paragraph bios are required for all key personnel.
7. Letters of Support
A signed letter of support on official letterhead for this project must be provided
by the respective department heads from each institution collaborating on the
project. Maximum of 4 letters of support will be accepted.

8. 8. Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval (if applicable)
Only applications that include a research component or focus are required to
obtain IRB approval. If IRB approval has already been obtained, please provide
documentation of the IRB approval. Note that local IRB approval from all involved
institutions will need to be obtained for funds to be disbursed. Submissions for
ethical review in Nepal will first need to be submitted to Nepal Health Research
Council followed by KUSMS. Please note that submissions will require payment
of a standard fee to the IRB (~$100 USD for KUSMS and 3% of total budget for
NHRC) that should be included as direct costs in the total budget.
VIII. Review Criteria
All eligible proposals received by the application deadline will be reviewed by a
Selection Committee that includes representative leaders from the partner
institutions and/or reviewers from external institutions. Reviewers are not eligible to
apply for funding under this RFP. Reviewers will not participate in the review of
applications where there is a reported substantial conflict of interest (e.g., they are
directly related to an applicant, they are a primary mentor of the applicant, etc.).
After review and approval for funding, proposal revisions may be requested prior to
implementation.
Proposals will be scored in each category on a 1-5 rating scale (5-Outstanding, 4-Above
Average, 3-Average, 2-Below Average, 1-Poor)
Score Descriptor Additional Guidance on Strengths/Weaknesses
5 Outstanding Extremely strong with negligible weaknesses
4 Above average Strong but with some minor weaknesses
3 Average Strong but with at least one moderate weakness
2 Below Average Some strengths but also some moderate weaknesses
1 Poor Few strengths and major weaknesses
Minor Weakness: An easily addressable weakness that does not substantially lessen
impact
Moderate Weakness: A weakness that lessens impact
Major Weakness: A weakness that severely limits impact

9. 1. Significance
○ How well does the project address an important problem?
○ How will the proposed project impact scientific knowledge, treatment
protocols and care guidelines, education, related policies, health systems,
environment, and/or field of research?
2. Collaboration
○ How well does the proposed work engage collaboration within the
partnership?
○ How feasible is the proposed collaboration?
○ Will the collaboration produce high quality results?
○ Will the collaboration allow different levels of investigators to contribute to
the proposed work?
3. Approach
○ Are the proposed project plan and methods sound?
○ Does the study use evidence-based best practices if available?
○ Is what is proposed feasible given the budget, timeline and personnel?
4. Sustainability
○ How well will the project establish a sustained program with a high
likelihood of strengthening collaboration, expanding opportunities, and/or
attracting future funding?
○ Will the program lead to future funding and/or the expansion of the
program?
IX. Funding Decisions
The Selection Committee will submit final rankings and scores to the AMPATH Nepal
Partnership leadership team for final approval. The leadership team will make final
funding decisions.
All applicants will be notified of the funding decisions and give specific feedback on
their proposals soon after these decisions have been made.
X. Post-Award Requirements
Applications selected for award will receive a notice of award within two weeks of the
selection committee’s funding decision. The notice of award will detail the amount of
funds awarded and other post-award requirements.
Funded recipients will be required to:
● Submit Conflict of Interest Disclosure – All personnel must have an up-to-date
conflict of interest disclosure form on file with their respective base institutions.

10. ● Submit progress reports every 6 months during the life of the award, providing a
complete description of the work accomplished and related budget expenditures.
● Meet with the AMPATH Nepal leadership team, in-person or via teleconferencing
following award notification for an initial grantee meeting.
● Present their project results to the leadership committee and broader group.
● Present their project at Mount Sinai, or DH/KUSMS sponsored events, if
requested.
● Submit a final project summary report 60 days after the end of the project period,
which will include project results, lessons learned, any publications, extramural
funding applications applied for and/or received, and plans for sustainability,
dissemination, and other next steps (up to 5 pages).
● Summarize the project and primary findings for dissemination to the public (1
page).
● Acknowledge Mount Sinai grant support in all presentations, publications, and
reports.
Every year for up to 2 years after completion of the project, AMPATH Nepal will
follow up with recipients to
● complete a status report on the project.
● confirm on-going regulatory approvals (IRB).
● gather data on publications, extramural funding, or intellectual property that
resulted from the project.
For selected projects involving research or requiring IRB approval, applicants will be
expected to comply with the following requirements:
● Responsible Conduct of Research – Provide documentation that all personnel
on the project have completed a course on responsible conduct of research such
as CITI.
● IRB Approval – Must provide documentation that all required IRB applications
have been submitted no later than 30 days after the initial grantee meeting.
● Funds Disbursement – For successful research proposals, awardees will
receive an initial disbursement of funds to cover the cost of IRB fees at KUSMS
and NHRC. Documentation of IRB approval must be provided before full award
funds will be released.

11. ​
XI. RFA Timeline
Date
RFA Release Sept 23, 2022
Letter of Intent Deadline Nov 1, 2022
Application Deadline Dec 15, 2022
Notification of Award Decision Feb 15, 2023
Initial Grantee Meeting Mar 1, 2023
Deadline for IRB Submission (if needed) Mar 30, 2023
Grant Start Date By June 2023
First Progress Report 6 months from start date
Second Progress Report 12 months from start date
Third Progress Report 18 months from start date
Initial Project Period Ends 24 months from start date
Final Report Due 60 days from project end date
​
XII. Contact Information
Questions regarding this application should be sent to Dr. Rose House
rose.house@mssm.edu, Dr. Archana Shrestha (archana@kusms.edu.np) or Dr.
Biraj Karmacharya (birajmk@kusms.edu.np).