Enhancing the WT MOP Vietnam's Engagement Programme (360G-Wellcome-106680_B_14_A)

In 2015 the WT Major Overseas Programme Vietnam was awarded a renewal of its Core funding. The MOP has a history of successful public engagement, funded through International Engagement awards and from industry sponsorship. However, with the introduction of the Provisions for Public Engagement funding scheme, we applied for funding for engagement at an institutional level, enabling us to create a 5-year strategic plan for developing engagement capacity within the MOP and in the region. Now, 20 months into the award, we reflect on activities to date, and plan strategically for the second part of the programme. The 5-year public engagement programme includes a schools engagement programme (SEP) and a capacity building programme (CBP), both of which have proved to be very successful and highly valued by our local government and school partners. The third focus has been to develop researcher capacity for engagement – through small grants and offering training and mentoring. We have had a good uptake of these ‘seed awards’ from MOP researchers and increasing interest in engagement from researchers at local institutes in Vietnam. Schools Engagement: The SEP has been very successful (http://www.mediafire.com/file/td3kaomtu9t7ia7/Application.7z), in particular: afterschool science clubs; weekly science articles in a children’s magazine; science theatre; and lab visits enabling young people to interact with scientists. The SEP has also included ‘I’m a scientist, Get me out of here’ - a competition linking children and scientists, run with Gallomanor UK (https://imascientist.org.uk) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n--SJOtFm1w). Capacity building: The CBP was developed in recognition that much of the ‘front-line’ contact with patients and communities enrolled in clinical trials or cohort studies is from hospital or government study staff. In response we have started a CBP to train and support hospital health care workers (HCMC), community-based data collectors (Nepal) and local vets (in provinces where we conduct research on zoonosis). As the funding for the IAS project and other awards come to an end, we need additional funding to support the current PE team. This application is for additional staff salary costs and to run PE workshops to develop engagement capacity across the region.