Grant Receipt Research Articles

Increased difficulty accessing food and income change during the COVID-19 pandemic among youth living in the eThekwini district, South Africa.

To estimate the effect of income change on difficulty accessing food since the COVID-19 pandemic for South African youth and evaluate whether this effect was modified by receiving social grants. A cross-sectional, online survey was conducted between December 2021 and May 2022. Primary outcome was increased difficulty accessing food since the COVID-19 pandemic. Income change was categorised as 'Decreased a lot', 'Decreased slightly' and 'Unchanged or increased'. Multivariable logistic regressions were used, with an interaction term between social grant receipt and income change. eThekwini district, South Africa. Youth aged 16-24 years. Among 1,620 participants, median age was 22 years (IQR 19-24); 861 (53 %) were women; 476 (29 %) reported increased difficulty accessing food; 297 (18 %) reported that income decreased a lot, of whom 149 (50 %) did not receive social grants. Experiencing a large income decrease was highly associated with increased difficulty accessing food during the COVID-19 pandemic (adjusted OR [aOR] 3·63, 95 % CI 2·70, 4·88). The aOR for the effect of a large income decrease on difficulty accessing food, compared to no income change, were 1·49 (95 % CI 0·98, 2·28) among participants receiving social grants, and 6·63 (95 % CI 4·39, 9·99) among participants not receiving social grants. While social grant support made a great difference in lowering the effect of income decrease on difficulty accessing food, it was insufficient to fully protect youth from those difficulties. In post-pandemic recovery efforts, there is a critical need to support youth through economic empowerment programming and food schemes.

Social Protection amid a Crisis: New Evidence from South Africa’s Older Person’s Grant

Abstract This study estimates the effects of South Africa’s Older Person’s Grant on well-being amid the COVID-19 pandemic. With household-level data collected before and during the pandemic, it leverages the age-eligibility threshold of the grant to estimate its effects on households in both periods. Prior to the pandemic, this study finds that grant receipt substantially improves economic well-being and decreases adult hunger at the household level. During the first 18 months of the pandemic, this study finds larger effects on both economic well-being and hunger than prior to the pandemic. In particular, recipient households were less likely to report running out of money for food and hunger among either adults or children. These results, which are stronger when pandemic-related lockdown policies are in place and for more vulnerable households, provide critical insight into the effectiveness of one of the world’s most well-known cash-transfer programs during a massive global health crisis.

R&D grants and medical innovation

This paper examines the relationship between government-funded R&D grants in the US and pharmaceutical firm innovation. We find a positive and robust relationship between grant receipt, future patents, and medical innovations. The strength of the relationship between R&D grants and pharmaceutical innovation is attenuated by firm lobbying but strengthened by industry competition, geographic dispersion, and leverage. Investors recognize the unequal value added by grant receipt. R&D grant receipt also impacts future financial performance and sales growth. Our results indicate that the relationship between R&D and innovation is more nuanced than previously identified.

Gender Bias and Ophthalmology Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Milestones Evaluations

Women remain underrepresented in ophthalmology and gender-based disparities exist in salary, grant receipt, publication rates, and surgical volume throughout training and in practice. Although studies in emergency medicine and general surgery showed mixed findings regarding gender differences in Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Milestones ratings, limited data exist examining such differences within ophthalmology. To examine gender differences in ophthalmology ACGME Milestones. This was a retrospective cross-sectional study of postgraduate year 4 (PGY-4) residents from 120 ophthalmology programs graduating in 2019. PGY-4 midyear and year-end medical knowledge (MK) and patient care (PC) ratings and Written Qualifying Examination (WQE) scaled scores for residents graduating in 2019 were included. Differential prediction techniques using Generalized Estimating Equations models were performed to identify differences by gender. Of 452 residents (median [IQR] age, 30.0 [29.0-32.0] years), 275 (61%) identified as men and 177 (39%) as women. There were no differences in PC domain average between women and men for both midyear (-0.07; 95% CI, -0.11 to 0; P =.06) and year-end (-0.04; 95% CI, -0.07 to 0.03; P =.51) assessment periods. For the MK domain average in the midyear assessment period, women (mean [SD], 3.76 [0.50]) were rated lower than men (mean [SD], 3.88 [0.47]; P = .006) with a difference in mean of -0.12 (95% CI, -0.18 to -0.03). For the year-end assessment, however, the average MK ratings were not different for women (mean [SD], 4.10 [0.47]) compared with men (mean [SD], 4.18 [0.47]; P = .20) with a difference in mean of -0.08 (95% CI, -0.13 to 0.03). Results suggest that ACGME ophthalmology Milestones in 2 general competencies did not demonstrate major gender bias on a national level at the time of graduation. There were, however, differences in MK ratings at the midyear mark, and as low ratings on evaluations and examinations may adversely affect career opportunities for trainees, it is important to continue further work examining other competencies or performance measures for potential biases.

Gender, Racial, and Ethnic and Inequities in Receipt of Multiple National Institutes of Health Research Project Grants

Diversity in the biomedical research workforce is essential for addressing complex health problems. Female investigators and investigators from underrepresented ethnic and racial groups generate novel, impactful, and innovative research, yet they are significantly underrepresented among National Institutes of Health (NIH) investigators. To examine the gender, ethnic, and racial distribution of super NIH investigators who received 3 or more concurrent NIH grants. This cross-sectional study included a national cohort of NIH-funded principal investigators (PIs) from the NIH Information for Management, Planning, Analysis, and Coordination (IMPAC II) database from 1991 to 2020. Self-identified gender, race and ethnicity, annual number of NIH grant receipt, career stage, and highest degree. Distribution of investigators receiving 3 or more research project grants, referred to as super principal investigators (SPIs), by gender, race, and ethnicity. Among 33 896 investigators in fiscal year 2020, 7478 (22.01%) identified as Asian, 623 (1.8%) as Black, 1624 (4.8%) as Hispanic, and 22 107 (65.2%) as White; 21 936 (61.7%) identified as men; and 8695 (35.3%) were early-stage investigators. Between 1991 and 2020, the proportion of SPIs increased 3-fold from 704 (3.7%) to 3942 (11.3%). However, SPI status was unequal across gender, ethnic, and racial groups. Women and Black PIs were significantly underrepresented among SPIs, even after adjusting for career stage and degree, and were 34% and 40% less likely than their male and White colleagues, respectively, to be an SPI. Black women PIs were the least likely to be represented among SPIs and were 71% less likely to attain SPI status than White men PIs (adjusted odds ratio, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.21-0.41). In this cross-sectional study of a national cohort of NIH-funded investigators, the gender, ethnic, and racial gaps in receipt of multiple research project grants among NIH investigators was clearly apparent and warrants further investigation and interventions.

Predictors of female caregivers’ burden: An estimated conceptual model in low income settings

Globally, there has been increasing interest in the study of caregiving. Female caregiver predictors or mediators and a multidimensional female caregiver burden (FCG burden) model that incorporates environmental hygiene factors such as toilet hygiene and kitchen are lacking, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This study evaluates caregiver burden predictors and provides a multidimensional model of unremunerated care burden for family practice and policy in two different population group communities in Cape Town, South Africa. A systematic random sampling (SRS) procedure was employed, and 100 black or African and 100 mixed race female caregivers in two different cultural communities were selected for a reliable cross-section. A questionnaire was used to solicit caregiver burden information. The average age of the female caregivers was 47.9 years (standard deviation [SD] = 11.7 years). About 49.0% of the selected participants were older than 50 years. There was a significant relationship between environmental health (kitchen hygiene and toilet hygiene). Social grant receipt and physical health status of care recipients were predictors of caregiver burden. The overall model explained the largest variation (43.4%) in caregiver burden. This study recommends an increase in the social grants given to caregivers. National health policies should reflect female caregivers’ circumstances.Transdisciplinarity Contribution: This article contributes to the improvement in community health.

Rivers, lakes and revenue streams: The heterogeneous effects of Clean Water Act grants on local spending

The Clean Water Act (CWA) funded $167 billion (2020$) in grants to municipal governments for wastewater treatment upgrades. We leverage variation in the timing of grant receipt with a difference-in-differences design to estimate the effect of CWA grants on local spending. On average, each dollar of grant revenue caused a $0.45 increase in sewerage capital spending. Dividing previously estimated benefit-to-cost ratios of CWA grants by this estimate suggests that each CWA grant dollar that municipalities spent on sewerage capital generated an average return of $1.01. In addition to funding grants, the Act set new capital standards for all wastewater treatment facilities in the United States. We show that CWA grants caused a dollar-for-dollar increase in sewerage capital spending up to the amount needed to cover the costs of capital upgrades newly mandated by the CWA, but after municipalities met these capital requirements, or if the capital mandate was not binding, they reduced their own spending on sewerage capital in response to grant receipt. Municipalities then redistributed grant money to local residents by reducing water bills.

Impact of a Clinical and Translational Science Awards hub on faculty research grant productivity

Abstract Introduction: Applications for and receipt of external research grants are important indicators of scientific productivity, and ones that the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program is intended to support. Methods: We investigate the association between the receipt of support services from one CTSA-supported hub and investigator productivity as measured by individual investigator grant submissions and grant awards at a Research I public university over an 8-year period. Negative binomial regression models are used to evaluate associations between individual grant productivity (in 2017, 2018, and 2019) and receipt of support services during the preceding 2 years. Results: Controlling for prior levels of productivity, service receipt is found to be predictive of both grants submitted and grants awarded to investigators in each model examined. Analyses also found some evidence of faculty rank and race/ethnic differences in the effects of Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) service use on subsequent grant productivity. Conclusions: Further work is needed to understand the relationship between clinical and translational services and other measures of productivity.

The long-term effect of research grants on the scientific output of university professors

ABSTRACT A major source of research funding for university professors are competitive research grants. With focus on Luxembourg, we present results from a difference-in-difference analysis which show that research grants by the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR), the central research funding agency in Luxembourg, increase the scientific output of university professors by 31% which corresponds to one additional publication. We further show that the scientific output drops again around five years after the grant receipt. We, however, find that those university professors who realise a quality increase of their journal publications in the years following the grant receipt benefit from a long-lasting publication quality effect.

Food Should not be Forgotten: Impacts of Combined Cash Transfer Receipt and Food Security on Child Education and Cognition in South Africa and Malawi

Social protection can take many forms. Both cash transfers and food security may have important contributions to child cognitive development. This study examines the potential impact of combinations of cash transfers and food security status on child cognitive development and educational outcomes. Cross-sectional data for 796 HIV-affected children in the Child Community Care study were utilised for this analysis. Children and caregivers completed interview schedules comprised of standardised items on socio-demographics, household data, cash grant receipt and food security status, school achievement, and cognition. A series of logistic and linear regression models and marginal effects analyses were undertaken to explore the impacts of differing levels of social protection (none; either cash grant receipt or food secure status or, both in combination) on child educational and cognitive outcomes. Although all children lived in poverty-stricken households, 20% (157/796) of children did not live in a household in receipt of a cash grant and did not report food security; 32.4% (258/796) reported either component of social protection and, 47.9% (381/796) received both measures of social protection in combination. Compared to no social protection, being in receipt of either component of social protection was found to be significantly associated with being in the correct class for age, higher scores of non-verbal cognition, and higher working memory scores. Receiving both social protection measures in combination was found to be significantly associated with reduced educational risk scores, improved odds of being in the correct class for age, regular school attendance, missing less than a week of school in the previous two weeks, higher scores on measures of nonverbal cognition, higher working memory scores, and learning new things more easily. Educational and cognitive outcomes for children can be bolstered by social protection measures (cash grant receipt or food security). Benefits are enhanced when social protection is received in combination. Such findings support the notion of synergistic social protection responses for children living in environments impacted by high levels of HIV burden and deprivation.

School Music and the Transition to College

This study explored the transition from secondary to postsecondary education among a national sample of students who had or had not studied music in high school. Using evidence from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, a nationally representative longitudinal study of 21,440 American high school students who were ninth graders in the 2009–2010 school year, music and nonmusic students were compared for college admission outcomes. Specifically, music and nonmusic students were compared in terms of participation in the college admission process, the selectivity of colleges applied to and attended, scholarship and grant receipt, and election of either an arts or STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) major. Comparisons controlled for the well-documented preexisting differences among those students who do and do not elect high school music study. Results showed that music and nonmusic students dropped out of high school, applied to college, attended college, received college scholarships and grants, and majored in STEM fields at statistically similar rates. However, music students were considerably more likely to major in a visual or performing arts field than nonmusic students. These results suggest that school music study does not disadvantage students in the transition to college even when compared with peers who elected additional “academic” subjects in lieu of music.

Current status and solutions for gender equity in anaesthesia research.

Despite increasing numbers of women entering anaesthesia, they remain persistently under-represented within academic anaesthesia and research. Gender discordance is seen across multiple aspects of research, including authorship, editorship, peer review, grant receipt, speaking and leading. Women are also under-represented at higher faculty ranks and in department chair positions. These inequities are further magnified for women with intersectional identities, such as those who identify as Black, indigenous and women of colour. Several barriers to participation in research have been identified to date, including a disproportionate amount of family responsibilities, a disproportionate burden of clinical service, gender bias, sexual harassment and the gender pay gap. Several strategies to improve gender equity have been proposed. Increasing access to formal mentorship of women in academic medicine is frequently cited and has been used by healthcare institutions and medical societies. Senior faculty and leaders must also be conscious of including women in sponsorship and networking opportunities. Institutions should provide support for parents of all genders, including supportive parental leave policies and flexible work models. Women should also be materially supported to attend formal educational conferences targeted for women, aimed at improving networking, peer support and professional development. Finally, leaders must display a clear intolerance for sexual harassment and discrimination to drive culture change. Peers and leaders alike, of all genders, can act as upstanders and speak up on behalf of targets of discrimination, both in the moment or after the fact. Gender inequities have persisted for far too long and can no longer be ignored. Diversifying the anaesthesia research community is essential to the future of the field.

The Long-Term Effect of Research Grants on the Scientific Output of University Professors

A major source of research funding for university professors are competitive research grants. With focus on Luxembourg, we present results from a difference-in-difference analysis which show that research grants by the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR), the central research funding agency in Luxembourg, increase the scientific output of university professors by 31% which corresponds to one additional publication. We further show that the scientific output drops again around five years after the grant receipt. However, we find that those university professors who realize a quality increase of their journal publications in the years following the grant receipt benefit from a long-lasting publication quality effect.

A Watershed Moment: The Clean Water Act and Birth Weight

The Clean Water Act (CWA) significantly improved surface water quality, but at a cost exceeding the estimated benefits. We quantify the effect of the CWA on a direct measure of health and incorporate health benefits into a cost-benefit analysis. Using a difference-in-differences framework, we compare health upstream and downstream from wastewater treatment facilities before and after CWA grant receipt. Pollution only decreased downstream from facilities required to upgrade their treatment technology, and we leverage this additional variation with a triple difference. CWA grants increased average birth weight by 8 grams. A back-of-the-envelope calculation bounds infant health benefits below $29 billion.

Do policy makers take grants for granted? The efficacy of public sponsorship for innovative entrepreneurship

AbstractResearch SummaryWe investigate the short‐ and long‐term effects of public sponsorship in the form of grants on venture growth and subsequent investment funding. We adopt a temporal approach and assess our results using discontinuous growth modeling. This approach allows us to unpack the complexity of sponsorship interventions and provide insights into how quickly, how long, and under what conditions grants augment growth. Using a proprietary sample of 129 ventures located in eight incubators, we find that securing an initial grant increases the rate at which ventures acquire private investment capital but not revenue over time. We draw on resourcefulness theory and signaling theory and explore the moderating role of venture size. We discuss our contributions to the entrepreneurship and public policy literatures.Managerial SummaryAre public grants effective at sparking entrepreneurial growth? To deepen our understanding of public policies that are designed to promote innovative entrepreneurship, we investigate the short‐ and long‐term effects of new venture grant sponsorship. We study 129 ventures located in eight business incubators over a 4‐year period. Our results indicate that although there are initial advantages to receiving a grant, there are also potential shortcomings as grant receipt does not directly influence long‐term revenue growth. We theorize that having abundant access to grant capital reduces the ventures need to “stretch” resources and grow revenue over time. Yet, initial grants seem to signal to investors that the venture represent a “good bet” as investment trajectories follow the opposite growth pattern, increasing steadily over time.

The food of life: an evaluation of the impact of cash grant receipt and good parenting on child nutrition outcomes in South Africa and Malawi

Social protection interventions (inclusive of cash grant receipt and care provision) have been found to be effective in response to some of the negative implications of the HIV epidemic on children and families. This study explores the impact of cash grant receipt and care provision (operationalised as good parenting) on child nutritional outcomes. In this cross-sectional study, 854 children and younger adolescents (5–15 years) and caregivers affected by HIV, attending community-based organisations in South Africa and Malawi, were interviewed. Interviews comprised inventories on socio-demographic information, family data, cash grant receipt and child nutrition. Parenting was measured using a composite scale. Logistic regression and marginal effects analyses were used to explore the associations between differing levels of social protection (none; either cash or good parenting; cash and good parenting) and child nutritional outcomes. One hundred and sixty children (20.3%) received neither cash nor good parenting; 501 (63.5%) received either cash or good parenting and 128 (16.2%) received both cash and good parenting. In comparison to no intervention, receipt of either cash or good parenting was significantly associated with child non-stunting, the child having sufficient food, and the child not looking thin. Three (3/7) nutritional outcomes showed increased improvement amongst children receiving both cash and good parenting care including child-reported non-hunger, child non-stunting and parental report of sufficient food. Marginal effects analyses further identified an additive effect of cash and good parenting on child nutritional outcomes. This study indicates that receipt of combined cash and good parenting, when compared to cash grant receipt alone, has positive effects on nutrition-related child outcomes.

Changing Livelihoods in Rural Eastern Cape, South Africa (2002–2016): Diminishing Employment and Expanding Social Protection

Despite long-standing patterns of agrarian change in South and Southern Africa, rural locales remain home to millions of people, characterised by widespread poverty and vulnerability. This is evident in South Africa’s former ‘homelands’, the site where this study examined changes in rural livelihoods over a 14-year period. Detailed survey data (collected in 2002 and 2016) from two villages in the Pondoland region of Eastern Cape province, and augmented by in-depth fieldwork, are analysed to explore the drivers of contemporary livelihood change. Key livelihood activities are examined, namely paid employment, social grant receipt, horticulture and livestock production, marine-resource and firewood harvesting. So too are changes within, and between, these diverse livelihood activities over time. Both monetised (income-earning) activities, and ‘unremunerated’ or unmonetised activities (for example, subsistence agriculture or marine-resource harvesting) are measured, aggregated and compared, in order to consider the drivers, consequences and prospective future trajectories of livelihood change. Key findings for impoverished households in the villages are that waged work has decreased significantly, while expanding social welfare provision has prevented plunges into deeper poverty. Agriculture and marine-resource harvesting remain dynamic, albeit unevenly engaged in by villagers. Amid these larger patterns, local-level variations are evident, with discrepant employment and agricultural production patterns across villages. The role of the state is ambiguous, being both a restrictor and enabler of local livelihoods. As jobs and other livelihood opportunities diminish, the villagers express frustration with the state, but remain simultaneously heavily reliant on state fiscal transfers, through grants and public employment schemes. The findings speak not only to the dynamics of rural livelihoods in South Africa’s former homelands; they also point to changes in rural dwellers’ livelihoods, within contexts of agrarian change, rural dispossession, inequality and receding prospects for employment, increasingly evident across the global south.

0238 Campus Food Pantry Assistance is Related to Better Physical And Mental Health Through Adequate Sleep Among College Students in a Public University System

Abstract Introduction Food insecurity is an issue among students in higher education and has been linked to insufficient sleep, and poor mental and general health. College campuses have quickly responded by establishing campus food pantries. However, the extent to which campus food pantries are ameliorating the impacts of food insecurity is unknown. Methods Online survey data were collected from a cross-sectional sample of 1,855 students who were food pantry users in the 10-campus UC system. Students were asked to report their number of visits to a food pantry in the past month, and to rate their general health, depressive symptoms, and number of days of enough sleep (in a week) before and after food pantry access. Changes in days of enough sleep, depressive symptoms and general health were computed. Demographic characteristics were obtained from institutional data. Path analysis was used to examine direct and indirect pathways from food pantry use to depressive symptoms and general health through enough sleep days, controlling for workstudy receipt, Pell grant receipt and family income. Results Students on average were 21.7 years old (SD= 3.5), and had more days of adequate sleep (25%), and improved depressive symptoms (43%) and general health (31%) after obtaining services from a campus food pantry. An increase in monthly food pantry use was directly related to a decrease in depressive symptoms (β= 0.08, p<0.001) and an increase in general health (β= 0.07, p=0.001). Additionally, an increase in food pantry use related to an increase in getting more days of enough sleep (β=0.07, p=0.001), which in turn positively related to a decrease in depressive symptoms (β=0.18, p<0.001) and improved general health (β=0.24, p<0.001). Conclusion Food pantry use had a positive relationship with student health outcomes, and enough sleep days played an important mediating role. Findings suggest that emergency food access may have a positive impact on student health outcomes. Support This study was funded by the UC Campus Basic Needs Committees.

The dropout effects of career pathways: Evidence from California

Contemporary Career and Technical Education (CTE) models have shifted from isolated courses to sequences of study that integrate academics and skills in high-demand sectors. Providing career pathways to high school students may reduce asymmetries about the available careers and strategies for attaining them but they may also catalyze students’ intrinsic motivation by shifting their understanding of their social role and capacity for success. In this study, I estimate the effects of an ambitious $500 million effort to encourage the formation of career pathways in California. Funding supported the formation of tripartite partnerships between K-12 school districts, employers and community colleges to develop career pathway curricula (i.e., articulated course sequences) in high-demand occupations and sectors. I provide causal estimates of implementing this multifaceted intervention by leveraging a natural experiment that occurs at the margin of grant receipt. Using Regression Discontinuity (RD) designs, I provide evidence on the most proximate mechanism, increased CTE spending. Per pupil CTE expenditures increased by 21.7 percent for grant recipients at the assignment threshold relative to the CTE spending of unsuccessful applicants. Furthermore, dropout rates declined by 23 percent in treatment districts but were more pronounced for females than males.

The Impact of Grantsmanship Self-Efficacy on Early Stage Investigators of The National Research Mentoring Network Steps Toward Academic Research (NRMN STAR).

The NRMN STAR program was created to address the persistent underrepresentation in grant submissions and receipt of National Institutes of Health (NIH) awards by racial/ethnic minority groups. In our current study, we assessed program impact on trainees' self-efficacy related to grant writing. The program was conducted with two cohorts: one in June 2014 and one in June 2015. We used a 19-item grant writing self-efficacy scale drawn from the 88-item Clinical Research Assessment Inventory of three domains (conceptualizing, designing, and funding a study) to predict whether self-efficacy influences researchers' grant submissions. Trainees were assessed prior to and following program completion with subsequent assessments at 6 and 12 months beyond participation. The majority of trainees were Black (62%), female (62%), and had obtained a PhD (90%). More than half (52%) were assistant professors and 57% had none or <1 year of research experience beyond postdoctoral training. However, 24% of trainees reported no postdoctoral research training. NRMN STAR trainees' self-efficacy significantly improved on all three domains exhibiting a 2.0-point mean change score on two domains (conceptualizing and design) and 3.7 point mean change score on the domain, funding a study. Findings suggest that NRMN's STAR provides impactful, confidence-building training for diverse, early stage investigators with little-to-no skills, experiences, or low self-efficacy in writing research grants.