Climate and Health Award: Advancing climate
mitigation solutions with health co-benefits in
low- and middle-income countries
This funding call will generate a body of evidence on the health effects of
climate change mitigation interventions in low- and middle-income
countries (LMICs). This call builds on Wellcome’s previous funding,
Advancing climate mitigation policy solutions with health co-benefits in
G7 countries. This award will fund transdisciplinary research teams, led
by an applicant at an LMIC-based organisation.
Research funded will investigate health effects alongside the social and
economic impacts of planned or implemented greenhouse gas mitigation
strategies. It will reflect local priorities and produce evidence to drive
positive climate and health outcomes.
Overview
Lead applicant career stage: Established researcher
Administering organisation location: Low- or middle-income countries (apart from mainland
China)
Frequency: One-off
Funding amount: £500,000-£2 million per project
Funding duration: 2–4 years
Coapplicants: Accepted
Funding webinar
We held a webinar to discuss details of this award, how to apply and answer your
questions on 9 December 2024.
The recording of this webinar is now available.
Watch our funding webinar
Next deadline for applications
Full application deadline: 3 June 2025
Application process timeline
Why are we launching this call?
Building evidence on the health effects of climate change mitigation can help drive
ambitious, health-protective mitigation actions. However, almost no evidence currently
exists on the health effects of climate change mitigation interventions in LMICs.
LMICs have historically contributed least to the climate crisis and are already feeling its
most acute health impacts. Because of this, high-income countries (HICs) need to go
further and faster to decarbonise. Still, the transition to a low carbon economy is critical
for LMICs as well (18 out of 30 of the highest emitters today are LMICs). These emerging
economies are making decisions in key sectors that could lock-in high-emissions and leave
potential health gains unrealised. We want to support evidence generation that will put
LMICs at the forefront of this change – defining how climate mitigation action can be
positive for health and support local priorities.
This award prioritises research based in and led by LMICs because:
1. LMICs will have a lot to gain from this transition being done well. As a continent, Africa
is home to 60% of the best solar resources globally (IEA, 2022). A transition to
renewables could improve air quality, helping to prevent premature deaths from air
pollution which currently kills 5 times more people in LMICs than HICs. It could also
reduce energy poverty, increasing energy access to the 775 million people globally
without electricity, and create jobs (Lancet Countdown, 2023).
2. LMICs face major risks if transition decisions do not account for both climate and
health impacts (for example, low carbon biofuels that cause air pollution). Without
centring health, mitigation actions could further entrench extractive industries that are
bad for health and worsen inequality.
Through this call, we want to support LMIC-led research that reflects local contexts and
priorities, builds capacity and generates evidence that leads to better climate, health,
social and economic outcomes.
Who can apply
The team
Lead applicant
Coapplicants
Collaborators
Read about the different applicant roles at Wellcome.
If you’ve spent time away from research
Career breaks, parental leave, sick leave
You can apply for this award if you have spent time away from research (for example, for a
career break, parental leave or long-term sick leave). We will take this into consideration
during the review of your application.
Retirement
If you have retired, you must contact us before applying. You must have a guarantee of
space from your administering organisation for the duration of the award.
Working part-time
Lead and coapplicants can be part-time. Part-time applicants should still be able to
contribute at least 20% of their research time to the project. Their part-time work should be
compatible with delivering the project successfully.
Who can't apply
You cannot apply for this funding award if:
your research team is led by a researcher who does not hold an employment contract
with an organisation in an LMIC
you intend to carry out activities which involve the transfer of funds into mainland
China
you cannot demonstrate that you can dedicate enough time and resources to the
project if funded
you are already an applicant on two applications for this funding call:
you can only be a lead applicant on one application and a coapplicant on another
application
you can be a coapplicant on two applications
you must demonstrate that you have sufficient capacity for both projects if
funded. The applications should be for different projects with no overlap of
activities.
you already have applied for, or hold, the maximum number of Wellcome awards for
your career stage.
Find out how many Wellcome awards you can apply for, or hold, at one time depending on
your career stage.
Check what kinds of research project aren’t right for this scheme.
Is your organisation right for this call?
The administering organisation is where the lead applicant is based. It is responsible for
submitting your final application to Wellcome and managing the finances of the grant if it
is awarded.
Where your administering organisation is based
The administering organisation must be in an LMIC.
Other team members, coapplicants and collaborators can be based anywhere in the world
apart from mainland China.
Your administering organisation can be a:
higher education institution
research institute
non-academic healthcare organisation
not-for-profit or a non-governmental research organisation
Commercial organisations are not eligible to apply as administering organisations for this
call. However, coapplicants and collaborators can be based at commercial organisations.
What your administering organisation must do
Your administering organisation must:
Give you the workspace and resources they’ll need for the duration of the award.
Give you, and any staff employed on the grant, at least 10 days a year (pro rata if part-
time) to undertake training and continuing professional development (CPD) in line with
the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers.
This should include the responsible conduct of research, research leadership, people
management, diversity and inclusion, and the promotion of a healthy research culture.
Provide a system of onboarding, embedding and planning for you when you start the
award.
Provide you with the status and benefits of other staff of similar seniority.
Your research environment
What is a research environment?
Wellcome believes that a diversity of people and expertise leads to richer understanding
and more impactful discoveries. Excellent research happens in environments where people
from all backgrounds are treated with respect, are supported and enabled to thrive.
Our definition of a research environment is not restricted to the quality of the
infrastructure, but also considers the culture and behaviours that create excellent research
practice. This includes research that is inclusive in design and practice, ethical and
engaged with relevant community stakeholders, as well as open and transparent.
Read more about research environment and culture.
Is your research right for this call?
What your research proposal must include
Research proposals must include:
Interventions – possible, planned or implemented climate change mitigation
interventions. Climate change mitigation interventions must reduce current sources of
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, avoid future GHG emissions (e.g. through
leapfrogging), and/or protect sinks that sequester carbon from the atmosphere.
Interventions can be actions, policies, initiatives or similar. They do not have to be
officially labelled as ‘climate change mitigation interventions’, so long as they meet the
above definition.
Outcomes – Interventions should be assessed on:
Climate outcomes: through appropriate methods to quantitatively estimate current
and/or future changes in GHG emissions or absorption (for example, IPCC
guidance or GHG Protocol), including carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O),
methane (CH4), or short-lived climate pollutants such as black carbon (BC).
Health outcomes: through quantitative measurements or estimates of health
impacts (for example, all-cause or cause-specific mortality, years of life lost,
DALYS, morbidity from communicable diseases, for example vector-borne
diseases, or non-communicable diseases for example, respiratory disease,
cardiovascular disease, diabetes, birthweight, cognitive and lung development in
children, and mental health). Studies that model or measure changes in exposures
that are known to have strong links to health outcomes (for example,
environmental risk factors included in the Global Burden of Disease Assessment)
are eligible. However, we will prioritise those that estimate changes in health
outcomes.
Wider social and/or economic outcomes: through measured or estimated changes
to the well-established social determinants of health (for example, housing,
income or working conditions), social impacts of local priority (for example,
gendered impacts or energy access), economic impacts of health outcomes (for
example, Value of Statistical Life), economic impacts of the intervention itself (for
example, cost, return on investment or jobs).
Adaptation – Any maladaptation implications of the intervention. We encourage
proposals to also look at win-win mitigation-adaptation scenarios.
Transdisciplinary knowledge generation – Relevant non-academic stakeholders within
the research team or a detailed plan for how to develop partnerships with relevant non-
academic stakeholders within the first year of the grant. We are asking for a
transdisciplinary approach to help ensure research relevance and impact.
Need – A clear evidence gap and a clear demand or need for the proposed research
from key stakeholders (for example, policymakers, NGOs, advocates, affected
communities or industry) – responding to locally led priorities and challenges. The
proposal must have a high-level theory of change, outlining the pathway from research
to impact.
Equitable partnerships – Evidence of equitable partnership principles in practice. The
UK Collaborative on Development Research (UKCDR) has lots of resources on this
topic; a good starting place is ‘Four Approaches to Supporting Equitable Partnerships’.
What your research proposal can include
Your research proposal can include:
Interventions undertaken in any sector(s), for example: Energy; Agriculture, Forestry
and Other Land Use (AFOLU); Transport; Buildings; Industry; Waste; and Land, Coastal
and Ocean Sinks, and Engineered Sinks. Direct and indirect carbon pricing
interventions are also eligible, including carbon taxes, emissions trading schemes,
carbon crediting, taxes on fuels, subsidy removal.
Interventions can be single solutions carried out within single sectors, multiple actions
carried out in single sectors (e.g., system transitions), or multiple actions carried out
across multiple sectors.
Analysis of impacts at a local, sub-national, national or regional level.
Best practice methods as outlined in Hess et al., (2020) to model the health and wider
social and economic effects of mitigation interventions in LMICs. Modelling studies
should compare mitigation interventions against a business as usual / non-mitigation
intervention. Studies can: (i) incorporate modelled changes in environment/systems
(e.g. air quality modelling, noise modelling), ecosystem services modelling (e.g.
system dynamics models) and/or behaviour (e.g. increase in physical activity, changes
in diet choices) (Castillo et al., 2021, Thierry et al., 2021, Hess et al., 2020); and (ii)
combine this with modelled health outcomes (e.g. using exposure-response
functions). Studies modelling demand-side/demand reduction policies (measures that
“avoid demand for energy, materials, land and water while delivering human well-
being for all within planetary boundaries”) must specify how the demand shift has
been or would be achieved.
Best practice methods to measure the health, climate, and wider social and economic
effects of mitigation interventions in LMICs. Observational studies, e.g. natural
experiments, can report the health effects of mitigation interventions; and/or
experimental studies, such as randomised control trials, can directly measure the
health effects of a mitigation intervention.
Engaged research methodologies to build knowledge on how to promote uptake of
evidence by key stakeholders (e.g. policymakers, NGOs, advocates, affected
communities, industry).
Kinds of research that are not right for this call
Research that is not right for this call includes:
Interventions where adaptation is the central focus, with limited mitigation benefits.
Interventions solely focused on healthcare decarbonisation.
Only estimating or measuring impacts on social and economic outcomes that are
indirectly related to health (e.g. GDP growth, job creation, income levels) without
additional health outcome estimates/measurements.
Studies focused solely on conducting systematic reviews, evidence syntheses or on
the development of methods, models, tools or guidance.
Read about the kinds of research we fund through this programme.
Check if your project is in scope with our team.
Research costs we’ll cover
You should ask for a level and duration of funding that is justifiable for your proposed
research. You must justify all costs within your application. We will assess the proportion
of resource allocation between organisations based in LMICs and HICs.
Learn how Wellcome grant payments work
staff
materials and consumables
access charges
equipment
contract research organisation
clinical research costs
fieldwork expenses
travel and subsistence
overseas allowances
public engagement and patient involvement costs
overheads
continuing professional development
open access charges
inflation allowance
other costs
How to apply
1. Before you apply
Make sure you read everything on this page.
You do not need to contact us before your write and submit your application.
We held a webinar about this award on 9 December 2024 at 10.30 GMT. Watch the
recording of this webinar.
2. Submit your preliminary application
View the preliminary application form.
Do not include information over and above the 1000 word proposal.
Your application must be submitted by 17.00 GMT on the deadline day, 18 February
2025.
Complete your preliminary application on the Wellcome Funding Platform.
3. Shortlisting of preliminary applications
We will check your eligibility for the call and that your preliminary application is within
the funding remit for this award.
Wellcome staff will review your preliminary application.
You will be informed of the decision on your preliminary application approximately one
month after the preliminary application deadline.
We are unable to provide feedback on applications that are not shortlisted.
4. Invitation to full application
If invited to submit a full application, you will complete your application on the Wellcome
Funding platform. Shortlisted applicants will have approximately two months to prepare
their full applications.
5. Submit your full application to your administering organisation for approval
Complete your application form on Wellcome Funding platform.
Submit it to the 'authorised approver' at your administering organisation for approval.
Make sure you leave enough time for the approver to review and submit your
application before the deadline. The approver may ask you to make changes to your
application.
If this is your organisation’s first time applying for Wellcome funding, they will need to
contact us to request an organisation account. Email
[email protected] with your organisation’s:
Name
Address
Country
Team email address for the people who will approve and submit your application
(this is usually a research management team).
We will create the organisation account and provide access to the approvers. Review
our guidance for research offices.
6. Administering organisation approves and submits it to Wellcome
Your application must be submitted by 17:00 BST on the deadline day.
7. Committee review
A committee will review proposals and make funding recommendations to Wellcome.
Committee members will be chosen based on their expertise within the relevant
research field. Committee membership will be comprised of a diverse range of
international members and will take into account Wellcome’s diversity and inclusion
priorities.
Once the committee has been appointed, we will update this webpage to include its
details.
8. Funding decision
Final funding decisions will be made by Wellcome.
You will receive an email notification of the funding decision soon after the decision
has been made in August 2025.
The reasons for a decision will be provided to unsuccessful applicants in writing.
Where to apply
You need to apply for this scheme on the Wellcome Funding Platform. You can
save your application and return to it at any time.
Get some tips to help you write your grant application.
Download application questions
Start application
Timing considerations for your application
You must leave enough time to make sure:
you read everything on this page before applying
you and your coapplicants to complete the application
your administering organisation to review, offer feedback and for you to apply any
amendments suggests
you submit the pre-application to Wellcome by 17.00 GMT 18 February 2025.
Getting support with your application
If you need further support with completing your application, please contact us.
Disability support
If you are disabled or have a long-term health condition, we offer support to help you with
the grant application process. We can also provide support completing your project. For
example, providing costs for assistive technology or assistance animals.
View our disability-related support for applicants.
How applications are assessed
The application process consists of two stages:
a preliminary application stage, where proposals will be shortlisted
a full application stage, where shortlisted applicants are invited to submit full
applications for review by a committee of experts.
Preliminary applications
All preliminary applications will be assessed on:
Whether the research aims and objectives are clearly articulated and in line with the
above stated research priorities (see what your research must include).
Whether the proposed team structure includes expertise in climate change mitigation
and health, and details proposed or already established non-academic stakeholder
collaborations.
The likelihood that evidence generated will fill a need relevant to policy or practice,
driving action that delivers positive climate and health outcomes.
The appropriateness of the project timeline and budget.
Full applications
All applications will be evaluated using the same weighted assessment criteria.
Essential criteria and weightings
Feasibility (20% weighting)
The research objectives are clear and achievable.
Work packages are clear and will deliver on the research objectives within the
proposed timeframe.
Equitable partnership principals are demonstrated and resourced.
Sufficient resources have been allocated to complete the work, and the proportion of
funds allocated to organisations located in LMICs is appropriate.
Research Methods (30% weighting)
The proposed research uses best-practice methods to answer research questions.
The application demonstrates that the research team is aware of current and relevant
research and knowledge. The proposed research may challenge paradigms but is built
off sound principles.
Engaged research practices are used to support research uptake. For example, co-
design activities are planned at the implementation phase of the proposal.
Research Team (20% weighting)
The leadership and management approach are convincing and coherent. Local
researchers are substantively involved in the leadership, design and delivery of the
research project (at minimum one applicant from each country where the research will
take place).
The research team is transdisciplinary and includes an appropriate combination of
expertise to execute the research.
Where partnerships with non-academic stakeholders still need to be established, a
clear plan for how to develop these partnerships is outlined and can be feasibly
executed within the first year of the grant.
The research team includes the necessary skills to execute the project. Relevant skills
may include:
prior experience of researchers engaging with policy, practitioners and/or
implementation partners
knowledge brokering competencies such as the ability to act as a bridge between
research producers and users
the ability to facilitate social learning and translate research for different contexts
and audiences.
Impact of Research (30% weighting)
Research outputs will fill an evidence gap.
Research outputs will resolve a demand for evidence (e.g. a direct demand, long-
standing issue, debate or critical question) by stakeholders who can drive actions that
deliver positive climate and health outcomes.
The research will lead to actionable evidence to support policy and/or practice to drive
actions that deliver positive climate and health outcomes.
The proposal has a high-level theory of change, outlining the pathway from research to
impact.
If you are funded
All successful applicants to this call will be supported with cohort support, organised and
provided by Wellcome. The intention of the cohort support is to meet any developmental
needs identified by the cohort, share learnings between the cohort, and help maximise the
impact of research outputs.
Key dates
You must submit your application by 17:00 GMT/BST on the deadline day. We don’t accept
late applications.
Closed to applications
27 November 2024
Full details of the award are published and the call opens to applications
9 December 2024
Webinar
Watch the recording
18 February 2025
Preliminary application deadline
March 2025
Full applications invited
3 June 2025
Full application deadline
Contact us
Eligibility, what we offer and application questions
If you have a question about eligibility, what we offer or about completing the
application form using Wellcome Funding, send our funding information advisers
a message.
Send us a message
Scope questions
If you are unclear about whether your proposed idea would be in scope for this
funding call, you can send a very brief summary of your idea (no more than 200
words) by 31 January 2025.
Please include the title of the call 'Advancing climate mitigation solutions with
health co-benefits in low- and middle-income countries' in the subject line.
Based on the information provided, we will aim to reply to your email within one
week, with an 'in scope' or 'out of scope' response.
Please note that this is not a requirement and will not impact your likelihood of
being funded. The confirmation that a proposed idea is in scope does not
constitute an active invitation to apply for the call.
We do not answer questions on the competitiveness of proposals.
[email protected]
