Setting up a scientific community by means of a small grants program: the Latin American experience

The study of tropical diseases in Latin America has been dominated by the biomedical sciences, and whilst recently social science health research has been developed, there has been little collaboration between the two. The Latin American Small Grants Programme for Social and Economic Aspects of Tropical Diseases, launched by WHO/TDR in 1990, aimed to attract junior researchers into the area of social sciences and tropical diseases, and to create among them a scientific community. The program is unique in that it has involved the transfer of decision-making power from an international organisation (WHO/TDR) to a regional group. This article discusses the organisational structure of the program, the methods by which the program handled proposals, the evaluation process, the types of research proposals received, a profile of applicants, and the results of the applications. There was a balance of biomedical and social science applications. We conclude that the Small Grants Programme has been successful in fulfilling its objectives, due to the design of the grants scheme itself.