The SHARE Research Consortium and the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) have joined together to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) with a total value of £400,000 for research on sanitation and women in India. Four priority research questions have been identified, further details are available in the revised RFP documents:
1. The conditions and effects of WASH in health facilities, particularly around childbirth
2. Operational research into menstrual hygiene management
- Psycho-social stress linked to ignorance, taboos, shame and silence around menstruation
- The link between menstrual hygiene and infections and/or other health related impacts
- Operational research on the design and unit costs for safe reuse and disposal options
3. Psycho-social stress resulting from violence experienced by women in the course of using sanitation facilities or practicing open defecation.
4. The practice of limiting, postponing or reducing food and liquid intake to control the urge to urinate or defecate: the prevalence of this behaviour and related health risks.
Proposals must be led or co-led by an Indian research institution. SHARE and WSSCC envisage making three or four grants of which at least £200,000 is earmarked for questions 1 and 2 above. However, depending on the quality and size of the proposals received, SHARE and WSSCC may make a single grant only or, alternatively, more grants of lesser value.
The deadline for submission of proposal is 17:00 GMT on 29th March 2013. For full details please refer to the RFP document. Results will be announced by the end of April.
