Grant-o-thon: A Designathon-informed Grant Writing Program to Enhance Research Grant Writing Skills in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Abstract Problem Early career researchers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) face substantial barriers when writing research grants and have limited writing support. A designathon approach was applied to organize a grant writing workshop (grant-o-thon) tailored for early-career LMIC researchers. This study describes the planning, implementation, and participant-reported outcomes of the grant-o-thon as a participatory training approach. Approach Grant-o-thons were organized in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Consistent with the designathon model, the grant-o-thon was structured in three stages: preparation using co-creation with end-users, intensive collaborative teamwork supported by mentor feedback and weekly writing deliverables, and structured follow-up. Each grant-o-thon consisted of six weekly 90-minute online sessions focused on US NIH grant writing. Each session included a 30-minute didactic lecture open to all and a 60-minute small-group activity for participants who submitted specific aims. Small group participants were matched with coaches and assigned to groups based on research interests. Follow-up surveys assessed self-reported skills, mentorship experiences, and later grant-related activities. Survey data were analyzed descriptively, and open-ended responses were analyzed thematically. Outcomes A total of 221 participants attended the didactic lectures, and 32 joined the small group activities. Among 60 survey respondents, 51 (85%) were from LMICs. Participants in both formats reported higher self-assessed grant-writing competencies after the program. Many described peer mentorship as a valuable component of the experience. In 2025 follow-up data, small-group participants reported higher NIH grant submission rates than lecture-only participants (P = .0097). Next Steps These findings suggest that this designathon-informed grant-writing program was feasible and acceptable for early-career LMIC researchers. Future iterations will focus on strengthening post-grant-o-thon mentorship and deepening partnerships with existing global health training programs. In light of limited grant-writing support, adaptation of this participatory model may be warranted.

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Journal
Academic Medicine
Published
2026-05-16
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/acamed/wvag151
Primary Topic
Health and Medical Research Impacts
Type
article
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article

Grant-o-thon: A Designathon-informed Grant Writing Program to Enhance Research Grant Writing Skills in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Lauren Fidelak, Esther Kikelomo Afolabi, Eneyi Edith Kpokiri, I. O. Okonko et al.
Academic Medicine
Health and Medical Research Impacts
article

Grant-o-thon: A Designathon-informed Grant Writing Program to Enhance Research Grant Writing Skills in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Lauren Fidelak, Esther Kikelomo Afolabi, Eneyi Edith Kpokiri, I. O. Okonko, Anita Nyarkoa Walker, Bin Yu, Ijeoma Maryjoy Ifeorah, Jason J. Ong, Andrea L. Conroy, Yusha Tao, Ucheoma Nwaozuru, Ángela Patricia Beltrán López, Matthew Idowu Olatubi, Yusuf Olalekan Babatunde, Dimitrios N. Vatakis, Gifty Marley, Weiming Tang, Xin Peng, Huachun Zou, Ifeoma Maureen Obionu, Alexandra Cossio, Patience Kukundakwe, Yuanyi Chen, Meredith Labarda, Hongyun Fu, Oliver Ezechi, Shyngle K Balogun, Anthony A Attama, Joseph D Tucker, Dan Wu, Juliet Iwelunmor
article en

Abstract

Abstract Problem Early career researchers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) face substantial barriers when writing research grants and have limited writing support. A designathon approach was applied to organize a grant writing workshop (grant-o-thon) tailored for early-career LMIC researchers. This study describes the planning, implementation, and participant-reported outcomes of the grant-o-thon as a participatory training approach. Approach Grant-o-thons were organized in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Consistent with the designathon model, the grant-o-thon was structured in three stages: preparation using co-creation with end-users, intensive collaborative teamwork supported by mentor feedback and weekly writing deliverables, and structured follow-up. Each grant-o-thon consisted of six weekly 90-minute online sessions focused on US NIH grant writing. Each session included a 30-minute didactic lecture open to all and a 60-minute small-group activity for participants who submitted specific aims. Small group participants were matched with coaches and assigned to groups based on research interests. Follow-up surveys assessed self-reported skills, mentorship experiences, and later grant-related activities. Survey data were analyzed descriptively, and open-ended responses were analyzed thematically. Outcomes A total of 221 participants attended the didactic lectures, and 32 joined the small group activities. Among 60 survey respondents, 51 (85%) were from LMICs. Participants in both formats reported higher self-assessed grant-writing competencies after the program. Many described peer mentorship as a valuable component of the experience. In 2025 follow-up data, small-group participants reported higher NIH grant submission rates than lecture-only participants (P = .0097). Next Steps These findings suggest that this designathon-informed grant-writing program was feasible and acceptable for early-career LMIC researchers. Future iterations will focus on strengthening post-grant-o-thon mentorship and deepening partnerships with existing global health training programs. In light of limited grant-writing support, adaptation of this participatory model may be warranted.

Academic Medicine
University of Port Harcourt (NG), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US), University of Nigeria (NG), University of London (GB), Indiana University Health (US), Eastern Virginia Medical School (US), Sun Yat-sen University (CN), Calvin University (US), University of Ibadan (NG), Universidad El Bosque (CO), Bowen University (NG), Washington University in St. Louis (US), Fudan University (CN), Black AIDS Institute (US), Guangzhou University (CN), University of Chicago (US), Centro Internacional de Entrenamiento e Investigaciones Medicas (CO), London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (GB), The Seventh Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University (CN), Mildmay Uganda (UG), Melbourne Sexual Health Centre (AU), Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center (CN), Shenzhen University Health Science Center (CN), Wake Forest University (US), Saint Louis University (US), Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NG), Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (US), University of the Philippines Manila (PH), Nanjing Medical University (CN)
Quality Education
Openalex Percentile: Top 4%
Health and Medical Research Impacts
DOISourceOpenAlex
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