The Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund) convened its second Proposal Preparation Seminar on November 2, 2014, at a luncheon session of the joint conference of the 55^th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Tropical Medicine and the 29^th Annual Meeting of the Japan Association for International Health. This was the second time the GHIT Fund held such a public seminar to provide guidance to potential applicants in Japan on how to write a proposal. The aim was to attract more proposals from development partnerships spearheaded by Japanese organizations. Dr. Michael Kurilla of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases was the featured speaker and delivered a detailed overview of the proposal process.

Dr. Kurilla began by summarizing the origins, business model, and aims of the GHIT Fund, while explaining the state of its investment activities to date. He then went over a sample proposal section by section, elaborating on key points of each part of the proposal. He also reflected on his experience as an external reviewer for the GHIT Fund over the past year, and emphasized three key points that will always be critical touch points in evaluating any proposal – perspectives that he strongly recommends applicants keep in mind when drafting and preparing proposal documents. These three areas include: (1) Needs and Impact, (2) Science and Technology, and (3) Partnership and Project Management. Dr. Kurilla’s talk was followed by a question and answer session, and GHIT staff also joined in the discussion.

Several comments were raised in the questionnaire submitted by participants. In response, Dr. Kurilla discussed some key points that are not only helpful in writing a GHIT Fund proposal, but can also be applied to any research proposal.

The GHIT Fund has made it a priority to sponsor such seminars and takes meticulous steps to reflect the opinions and feedback received from those participating. We appreciate and look forward to your ongoing consideration of our objectives, and sincerely welcome you to future events of this type.