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Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology

*New* Migrating Mariners of the African Diaspora: Race, Labor, and Waterways in the 19th Century – Matthew Randolph (02/27/26)

On February 27, CSDE Affiliate Matthew Randolph (American Ethnic Studies) will present his work on “Migrating Mariners of the African Diaspora: Race, Labor, and Waterways in the 19th Century”, as part of the 2026 Black History Month Speaker Series, hosted by the Paul G. Allen School. There are two opportunities to hear this work: an intimate discussion and lunch between 10:30 – 11:30 AM, and a larger-format talk from 12 – 1 PM.  RSVP here to join either event, held in the Bill & Melinda Gates Commons, Room 691, Paul G. Allen Building.

*New* Grand Challenges RFP: Evaluating AI-Enabled Decision Support Tools for Frontline Workers in Primary and Community Health Care Settings (04/01/26)

The Global Partnerships & Grand Challenges Team has launched a new Request for Proposals (RFP) on “Evaluating AI-Enabled Decision Support Tools for Frontline Workers in Primary and Community Health Care Settings.” Applications are due by April 1, 2026. Please read the RFP carefully for more information on the challenge and opportunity, eligibility, requirements, and timelines. This is the first RFP issued through the newly launched Evidence for AI in Health (EVAH) initiative, which is co-funded by the Gates Foundation, Novo Nordisk Foundation, and Wellcome and will be implemented in partnership with the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab and the African Population and Health Research Center.

AI has the potential to transform many aspects of health care, but there are significant gaps in the availability of evidence on how AI tools perform in real-world health settings in low-and middle-income countries. The EVAH initiative aims to address that gap, with the first RFP focused on AI-enabled decision support tools designed to assist frontline workers with clinical tasks such as triage, diagnosis, and referral in primary and community health care settings in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.

The RFP will support two types of evaluations:

  • Pathway A: supports real-world evaluation of AI-enabled clinical decision support tools that are early in deployment. The pathway focuses on how the tools perform in practice, including usability, workflow integration, adoption, and safety, and supports research that can inform future impact evaluations. Grants of up to USD $1,000,000 will be awarded for Evaluation Pathway A projects, with a project term of 3-12 months.
  • Pathway B: supports rigorous impact evaluations of AI-enabled clinical decision support tools that are ready to be deployed at scale. This pathway focuses on measuring the effects of these tools on health outcomes and system performance at scale. Grants of up to USD $3,000,000 will be awarded for Evaluation Pathway B projects, with a project term of 12–24 months.