Expanding Access to Maternal Immunization Resources and Point-of-Care Tools RFP

Overview

Expanding Access to Maternal Immunization Resources and Point-of-Care Tools RFP

There is a medical need to improve maternal immunizations coverage, especially among historically underserved communities that are disproportionately and negatively impacted by vaccine prevantable diseases. This competitive program seeks to support organizations who are working hyper-locally with a variety of maternal care professionals involved in the care of mentioned pregnant patients to ensure their access to and delivery of multimodal high quality educational materials and point-of-care (POC) tools to address maternal vaccine confidence, implement evidence-based recommendations and facilitate patient-provider shared clinical decision making.

Project Types and Area of Interest

Potential applicants are encouraged to identify and address the educational needs, barriers and gaps for access to maternal immunizations.

This may include:

* Development or adaptation of educational resources related to maternal vaccination tailored to the needs of different types of maternal care professionals.
* Point-of-care tools that providers can use to facilitate communication and shared-decision making with patients. All materials should be linguistically and culturally appropriate to the specific community they serve. This may include translating tools to local languages.

Funding

Individual projects requesting up to $25,000 will be considered. Maximum project length is 12 months.

Eligibility

_We've imported the main document for this grant to give you an overview. You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's [website]().
_

Application Details

Pfizer Independent Medical Education
Request for Proposals
Expanding Access to Maternal
Immunization Resources and Point-of-
Care Tools
Competitive Grant Program – Pfizer Internal Review Process
Overview
There is a medical need to improve maternal immunizations
coverage, especially among historically underserved communities
that are disproportionately and negatively impacted by vaccine
prevantable diseases.This competitive program seeks to support
organizations who are working hyper-locally with a variety of maternal
care professionals involved in the care of mentioned pregnant
patients to ensure their access to and delivery of multimodal high-
quality educational materials and point-of-care (POC) tools to
address maternal vaccine confidence, implement evidence-based
recommendations and facilitate patient-provider shared clinical
decision making.1-3
Geographic Scope/Location of Project
United States
Project Types and Area of Interest
Potential applicants are encouraged to identify and address the
educational needs, barriers and gaps for access to maternal
immunizations. This may include:
• Development or adaptation of educational resources related to
maternal vaccination tailored to the needs of different types of
maternal care professionals.
• Point-of-care tools that providers can use to facilitate
communication and shared-decision making with patients. All
materials should be linguistically and culturally appropriate to the
specific community they serve.This may include translating tools
to local languages.
Key Milestones
• Application submission deadline: 14 May 2025
• Anticipated decision notification date: June 2025
• Anticipated project start date: July 2025
Funding Range and Project Length
Individual projects requesting up to $25,000 will be considered.
Maximum project length is 12 months.

I. Eligibility
Geographic Scope/Location of Project:
• United States
Applicant Eligibility Criteria
• The following may apply: medical, dental, nursing, allied health, and/or pharmacy professional
schools; healthcare institutions (both large and small); professional organizations/medical societies;
medical education companies; and other entities with a mission related to healthcare professional
education and/or healthcare improvement.
• Only organizations are eligible to receive grants, not individuals or medical practice groups (i.e., an
independent group of physicians not affiliated with a hospital, academic institution, or professional
society).
• If the project involves multiple departments within an institution and/or between different institutions /
organizations / associations, all institutions must have a relevant role and the requesting organization
must have a key role in the project.
• The applicant must be the project/program lead or an authorized designee of such individual (e.g.,
project/program lead’s grant coordinator).
• The project/program lead must be an employee or contractor of the requesting organization.
• Requesting organization must be legally able to receive award funding directly from Pfizer Inc. We
strongly recommend that applicants confirm this with their organization or institution prior to submitting
an application. Grants awarded to organizations that are subsequently found to be unable to accept
funding directly from Pfizer Inc. may be subject to rescission.
• For projects offering continuing education credit, the requesting organization must be accredited.
II. Requirements
Date RFP Issued:
• 1 April 2025
Clinical Area:
• Vaccines – Maternal Care
General Area of Interest for this RFP:
Projects that will be considered for Pfizer support will focus on supporting US-only organizations working
hyper-locally, (e.g. at the county level), that work with maternal care professionals serving patients living
in areas with limited access to maternal care and/or from historically underserved communities that are
disproportionately and negatively impacted by vaccine preventable diseases (African American/Black,
Hispanic/Latino, Native American/Alaska Native, Middle Eastern/North African).
Educational program objectives may include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Developing and/or adapting educational resources for maternal care professionals focusing on topics
such as: implementing maternal vaccine recommendations (e.g. CDC guidelines), discussion guides for
addressing maternal vaccine misinformation, communicating local disease burden, and maternal vaccine
safety. All materials should be tailored to the needs and roles of different types of maternal care
professionals, both clinicians and non-clinicians.
2

• Educational approaches, with a strong focus on strategies dedicated for midwives, doulas, and
community health workers, are of particular interest, as are resources/trainings developed through
partnerships between different maternal care professionals to highlight collaborative care models.
• Creating and/or adapting POC tools tailored to the specific needs of various maternal professionals and
the patient populations they serve to facilitate discussions about maternal immunizations, share evidence-
based information and boost confidence and competence in addressing vaccine hesitancy.
• Educational plans that include the patient’s perspective in the creation of such POC tools are of specific
interest.
• Translating materials to meet specific community’s needs; creating or adapting resources to be
multimodal, multilingual, and culturally appropriate.
All proposals should include innovative dissemination plans to expand the reach of tools and resources to
focal populations and outcomes assessment strategies (behavioral change, knowledge level, call to
action implementation, barriers etc.).
It is not our intent to support clinical research projects. Projects evaluating the efficacy of therapeutic or
diagnostic agents will not be considered.
Target Audience:
• Maternal care professionals in the scope of this program include (but are not limited to) obstetricians,
family practice physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives,
pharmacists, certified midwives, doulas, community health workers.
• Patients and caregivers could be appropriate audiences for point-of-care tools used to facilitate
conversations with providers.
Expected Approximate Monetary Range of Grant Applications:
• Individual projects requesting up to $25,000 will be considered. The estimated total available budget
related to this RFP is $100,000.
• Award amounts include direct costs, institutional overhead costs (capped at 28% per Pfizer policy),
and indirect costs.
Key Dates:
• RFP release date: 1 April 2025
• Grant Application due date: 14 May 2025
Please note the deadline is 23:59 Eastern Standard Time (e.g., New York, GMT -5).
• Anticipated Grant Award Notification Date: 11 June 2025
• Grants will be distributed following a fully executed agreement.
• Anticipated Project Start and End Dates: mid-July 2025 to mid-July 2026
How to Submit:
Note: Please read this section carefully since applications submitted not following these instructions will
not be accepted and will be cancelled.
• Please go to www.cybergrants.com/pfizer/knowledge and sign in. First-time users should click “Create
your password”. [Note: there are individual portals for each grant application type. Please be sure to
use the URL above.]
3

• Click the “Start A New Knowledge Gap Application" button.
• In the application:
• For the question “What type of request are you submitting?” select Response to a Request for
Proposal (RFP)
• For the question “Are you replying to a Request for Proposal (RFP) as part of the Competitive
Grant Program?” select Yes
• Select the following Competitive Grant Program Name: 2025 VAC US Maternal Immunizations
IME
• Select the following Primary Area of Interest: VAV - Maternal Care - KG
• Requirements for submission:
Complete all required sections of the online application and upload your project proposal (see
Appendix) in the General RFP Submission field.
• If you encounter any technical difficulties with the website, please click the “Technical Questions” link
at the bottom of the page.
• Please click here for a checklist to refer to PRIOR to submitting your application.
IMPORTANT: Be advised applications submitted after the due date will not be reviewed.
Questions:
• If you have questions regarding this RFP, please direct them in writing to the Grant Officer, Monika
Sojewska (monika.sojewska@pfizer.com), with the subject line “Expanding Access to Maternal
Immunization Resources and Point-of-Care Tools.”
Grant Agreements:
• If your grant is approved, your institution will be required to enter into a written grant agreement with
Pfizer. Please click here to view the core terms of the agreement.
• Under Pfizer's competitive grant program, modifications to grant agreements will not be reviewed
unless a genuine conflict exists as between applicable law and the terms of the relevant grant
agreement. Applicant is encouraged to share the core terms with counsel for approval prior to
submitting an application.
• Except where prohibited by applicable law and, in any case, subject to review by Pfizer Legal,
payment of grant funding may only be paid to the grantee organization.
Review and Approval Process:
• Grant requests received in response to a general RFP are reviewed by Pfizer to make final grant
decisions.
Mechanism by which Applicants will be Notified:
• All applicants will be notified via email by the dates noted above.
• Applicants may be asked for additional clarification during the review period.
References:
1. Nowhere to Go: Maternity Care Deserts Across the US. 2024 Report. March of Dimes. Accessed
March 13, 2025. marchofdimes.org/maternity-care-deserts-report
2. RSV Vaccination Coverage, Pregnant Women, United States. CDC RSVVaxView. Accessed March
13, 2025. https://www.cdc.gov/rsvvaxview/dashboard/pregnant-persons-coverage.html
3. Flu, Tdap, and COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage Among Pregnant Women – United States, April
2024. CDC FluVaxView. Accessed March 13, 2025. https://www.cdc.gov/fluvaxview/coverage-by-
season/pregnant-april-2024.html
4

About Pfizer Global Medical Grants & Partnerships
Pfizer Global Medical Grants & Partnerships (GMGP) supports the global healthcare community’s
independent initiatives (e.g., research, quality improvement, or education) to improve patient outcomes in
areas of unmet medical need that are aligned with Pfizer’s medical and/or scientific strategies.
Pfizer’s GMGP competitive grant program involves a publicly posted general Request for Proposal (RFP) that
provides detail regarding a general area of interest, sets timelines for review and approval, and uses an
internal Pfizer review process to make final grant decisions. Organizations are invited to submit an application
addressing the knowledge gaps as outlined in the specific RFP.
For all independent medical education grants, the grant requester (and ultimately the grantee) is responsible
for the design, implementation, and conduct of the independent initiative supported by the grant. Pfizer must
not be involved in any aspect of project development, nor the conduct of the independent education program.
5

Appendix
General RFP Submission Requirements
Applications will be accepted via the online portal listed in the How to Submit section. Project Proposals
should be single-spaced using Calibri 12-point font and 1-inch margins. Note there is a 15-page limit
exclusive of references. When uploading your Project Proposal please ensure it addresses the following
sections:
Goals and Objectives
• Briefly state the overall goal of the project.
• List the objectives you plan to meet with your project, in terms of learning and expected outcomes.
Needs Assessment for the Project
• Include a description of your organization’s needs assessment for this proposed project which may
include a quantitative baseline data summary, initial metrics, or a project starting point (please cite data
on gap analyses or relevant patient-level data that informs the stated objectives) in your target area.
Target Audience
• Describe the primary audience(s) targeted for this project. Indicate whom you believe will directly benefit
from the project outcomes. Describe the overall population size as well as the size of your sample
population.
Project Design and Methods
• Describe the planned project, the educational approach, and the way the planned methods address the
established need.
Innovation
• Explain what measures you have taken to assure that this project is original and does not duplicate other
projects or materials already developed. Describe how this project builds upon existing work, pilot
projects, or ongoing projects developed either by your institution or other institutions.
Evaluation and Outcomes
• In terms of the metrics used for the needs assessment, describe how your organization will determine if
the gap was addressed for the target group. Identify the sources of data your organization anticipates
using to make the determination. Describe how your organization is expected to collect and analyze the
data. Explain the method used to control for other factors outside this project (e.g., use of a control group
or comparison with baseline data). Quantify the amount of change expected from this project in terms the
target audience. Describe how your organization will determine if the target audience was fully engaged
in the project.
Dissemination Plan
• Describe how the project may have extended benefit beyond the grant. Will the teaching materials be
made available to others to use? Will there be tools or resources that are made publicly available beyond
the initial project. Describe how the project outcomes might be broadly disseminated.
Anticipated Project Timeline
• Provide an anticipated timeline for your project including project start/end dates.
6

Additional Information
• If there is any additional information you feel Pfizer should be aware of concerning the importance of this
project, please summarize here.
Organization Detail
• Describe the attributes of the institutions / organizations / associations that will support and facilitate the
execution of the project and the leadership of the proposed project. Articulate the specific role of each
partner in the proposed project.
Budget Detail
• Please include a budget narrative that describes in greater detail the line items specified in the budget
submitted within the application.
• While estimating your budget please keep the following items in mind:
• Independent Medical Education Grants awarded by GMGP cannot be used to purchase therapeutic
assets (prescription or non-prescription).
• Overhead rates of up to 28% of the total proposed project budget may be supported by Pfizer.
Please click here for details. General organizational running costs such as legal fees, insurance,
heating, and lighting etc. should be included in an Institutional Overhead (if required). These costs
are not specific to a grant request and therefore, should not appear as line items in budgets.
However, costs that are specific to the study (e.g., some countries require insurance to be taken out
on a per-study basis for clinical research) would be acceptable to be included as line items.
7