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Grand Challenges Explorations Grant is a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that funds early-stage, innovative research tackling global health and development challenges facing the world's poorest populations. The program is designed to support unconventional and high-risk ideas that could lead to transformative breakthroughs in areas such as infectious diseases, nutrition, and global health equity.
Applications are accepted in English from researchers and organizations worldwide. First-phase awards are $100,000, with top-performing projects eligible for follow-on funding of $1 million or more. Proposals must address specific challenge topics listed in each open funding round.
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Application Guidelines | Global Grand Challenges To get started, download and read the Rules and Guidelines document (PDF) . It contains detailed information on all aspects of Grand Challenges Explorations. You may need to download Adobe Reader to view PDF documents.
Changes to the Rules and Guidelines will be posted on the Frequently Asked Questions page of this website. Please read the current FAQs before submitting any questions or concerns. Each Grand Challenges Explorations application round consists of requests for proposals targeting multiple specific challenges.
Read the list of GCE challenges on the Grant Opportunities page and then follow the links to read the detailed descriptions of each challenge. All proposals must be written in English. Read the Tips for Applicants for additional guidance as you write the proposal.
Our Tips for Applicants document is also available Portuguese , Spanish , French , Korean , Chinese . Proposals must be submitted online by clicking the "Apply For This Opportunity" button on the webpage for each open challenge, which can be accessed through the grant opportunity list. This application portal will enable you to register for an open challenge as well as create, edit, and submit your proposal.
After you have created an account and registered for a challenge, you can start the online application process. Explore the Grand Challenges Pillars
According to the current listing, eligibility includes: Researchers and organizations proposing innovative solutions to global health and development challenges. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
The current listing shows $100,000 (first phase), with potential for additional $1 million or more. Verify award ceilings, matching requirements, and allowable costs in the official notice.
Grand Challenges Explorations Grant is funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Verify program details on the funder's official page before applying.
This listing is flagged as international in scope. Check the official notice for country-specific restrictions before applying.
Start from the official opportunity page linked in this listing — it carries the sponsor's submission instructions.
AI-Enabled Consumer Engagement to Advance Family Planning is sponsored by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This funding call seeks proposals on whether AI-enabled direct-to-consumer engagement can improve contraceptive uptake, continuation, and informed method choice at scale in Sub-Saharan Africa. While focused on family planning, it directly involves AI and could have implications for broader public health and data science applications relevant to universities.
AI-Enabled Consumer Engagement to Advance Family Planning (Grand Challenges) is sponsored by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This funding opportunity supports organizations that can deploy, test, and evaluate artificial intelligence-enabled, direct-to-consumer engagement tools designed to improve contraceptive uptake, method continuation, and informed contraceptive choice among women and girls of repr…
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