Research for Innovative Food Policy Fund

OVERVIEW

The overarching objective of this funding opportunity is to develop an evidence-informed toolkit of what works to transform food environments to support healthy eating. The purpose of the Innovation Fund is to support research to develop and test new, innovative food policies that will accelerate this food environment transformation. This fund will support research on innovative, pilot policy designs (policies that are steps beyond what is currently being pursued or have already been implemented across many countries). Findings should be actionable and can be used for informing on the development and adoption of innovative legislative or regulatory policies at the sub-national or national levels (with the potential for scaling wider) that reduce the demand for ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and sweet beverages (SBs) and/or increase access to nutritious, healthy food. 

This first round of Innovation Fund grants will support research projects that test whether and/or how proposed innovative food policy approaches can further improve our food environments. Research must be completed with at least one manuscript submitted to a peer-reviewed journal or presented at a food policy related conference. We will permit a total timeline of up to 18 months, with major milestones to be completed within the first 12 months, followed by 6 additional months for the creation and submission of publications, policy materials, or other dissemination activities. If desired, Innovation Fund awardees can also receive technical and research support from the Global Food Research Program based on needs as they execute their research project. 

The Innovation Fund grants are funded by the Global Food Research Program (GFRP) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, and in close collaboration with other partners of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Food Policy Program.  

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FUNDING & DURATION 

• Up to US$100,000 direct (there is a 15% indirect cap) for a maximum duration of 18 months. Up to five awards will be given. 

• Applicants should demonstrate capacity to manage the award, and the budget should be consistent with the proposed research. 

• Depending on project progress, separate funding may be made available to awardees for travel to the Food Policy Program’s Global Expert Advisory Committee meeting (to be held in April 2027). 

PROJECT ELIGIBILITY 

The proposed research project must focus on a specific policy. Policies should focus on those that disincentivize consumption of unhealthy UPFs; incentivize the consumption of healthy, minimally processed foods (MPFs); or otherwise regulate the UPF industry’s ability to widely market or promote UPFs or displace MPFs. 

The proposed research project must meet the following criteria: 

• Must represent a significant departure from the status quo:  
  • For policies that are well established in the healthy food environment space (e.g., taxes, labeling, marketing, school foods, procurement), the proposal must focus on a new type of policy design that has never been implemented in a jurisdiction nor tested in the literature.  
  • Other acceptable strategies are those that have not yet been considered in the healthy food policy sector but may work well based on evidence from other fields (tobacco, environment, social development) and a solid theory of change.

• Must focus on mandatory policy, such as legislation or regulation, not individual-level interventions or voluntary initiatives. 

• Be feasible to implement in the real world. 

• Have potential for scalability to national/sub-national level with eventual expansion to a region. 

• Projects that are based only on legal research are NOT eligible; projects that include legal research can be considered if they are paired with other substantial research. 

• LOIs that do NOT have the express objective of research on innovative food policy options will NOT be eligible (for example, LOIs that have the primary objective of carrying out research on a nutrition education program, or to evaluate or test existing policies with only minor tweaks to policy design, etc. are not eligible).  

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WHAT IS CONSIDERED “INNOVATIVE”?

The goal of this funding scheme is to move the needle on policy design by ensuring that a strong evidence base is available when advocates and decision-makers are ready to act. Ask yourself the question, “What would the ideal healthy, culturally sensitive, sustainable food environment look like?” We aim to get five steps ahead — supporting policies that are currently off the table in most countries but that, with the right evidence, could be accelerated well before the 10–20 years they might otherwise take to materialize. Innovation can also be achieved by combining policies or designing new policies that have not been previously proposed (e.g., coupling school procurement restrictions on UPFs with incentives to purchase MPFs). Think creatively and aspirationally, and/or consider successful approaches from other fields/areas of public policy that have not yet been translated or adapted to the food policy space.

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ORGANIZATIONAL ELIGIBILITY  

• Investigator’s organization must be academic, research or other non-governmental and not-for-profit organizations that are legally registered within their countries. Government entities and/or for-profit entities are NOT eligible. Academic institutions that receive public/government funding are eligible so long as they meet other organizational eligibility criteria. 

• Investigator’s organization must be able to legally receive foreign funding. 

• Investigator’s organization should have demonstrated research capacity and a track record in food policy research. 

• Joint applications are allowed and encouraged if complementary roles can be demonstrated. One LOI should be submitted listing all applicants. 

• Principal Investigator, co-investigators and other key research personnel that currently receive or have received funding, within the last five years from any manufacturer or wholesaler of tobacco, or within the last three years from any manufacturer or wholesaler of UPFs, SBs, or any entity that represents the interests of these industries, are NOT eligible. 

• Researchers from all countries are eligible to apply, but preference will be given to research based in low- and middle-income country or regional contexts.

• Preference for involvement of researchers across countries or organizations with a strong history of food policy research, including from the GFRP or existing partner researchers, in some capacity, to use learnings to shape future partnerships including South-South collaborations.

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EVALUATION CRITERIA & SELECTION PROCESS 

LOIs will be assessed according to the following criteria: 

• Clearly within scope and the Innovation Fund purpose and eligibility criteria listed above;

• Clear linkage to diet-related health problems or healthy food environments; 

• Sound theory of change for how policy design will promote health; 

• Robust and feasible research proposal and work plan; 

• Potential for new evidence being generated on innovative food policies that works to improve diets; 

• Potential for scalability/expansion (i.e., research will demonstrate feasibility and impact on one country but policy has potential for implementation across region); 

• Alignment between proposed research and the requested budget (a formal budget is not required at this stage); 

• Alignment of proposal with scientific evidence; 

• Feasibility of completing the research for submission to a peer-review journal or to present at a food policy relevant conference within the grant period; 

• Strength of research team including involvement of research from current GFRP network of global collaborators. 

All LOIs will be evaluated by a set of peer reviewers. Invitations for a full proposal (due end of May 2026) will be issued if LOIs are approved.  During this time, grant administrators may also make suggestions to improve the strength of the proposal, including suggestions to collaborate between multiple organizations as well as requisite changes to budgets. 

Due to the anticipated volume of LOIs, we regret that we cannot inform all applicants of the status of their application. If you have not received an email response by April 30, 2026, please contact us at the email address below to inquire about the status of your application.