IPEN Funding

At present there is no official funding for the IPEN project. The project co-ordinators are giving their time voluntarily in order to further research in this field. We are investigating ways of applying for funding to set up a co-ordinating center and for funding to support international collaboration. For example, it may be possible to support certain countries to collect accelerometer data, if a strong case can be presented. International funding is not easy to secure, although policy makers are starting to recognise the importance of cross-country comparisons.

We therefore suggest that each country apply for funding from local sources.

In the US a study in adults and older adults has been successfully funded by the government, as was a study in Australia. This demonstrates that the study methods and aims are of interest to funding bodies.

It may be possible to secure funding at a regional level, for example Europe, if countries collaborate. We encourage this greatly. Several countries are already applying for local funding. To help serious applicants, we can share our successful grant proposals. Please contact Jacqueline Kerr(jkerr@projects.sdsu.edu) for more details.

Here are some suggestions for ways of getting started that do not require substantial funding:

• Bring to gather a panel of experts and start to identify local and national environment and physical activity issues. Some possible experts are:
  • Urban planners
  • Transportation planners
  • Architects
  • Public health practitioners
  • Community leaders
  • GIS experts
• Start to translate and pre-test the NEWS survey
  • Conduct interviews with experts and the public
  • Identify cultural differences and the main environmental barriers and facilitators
• Examine local maps
  • Identify km of bike paths
  • Eyeball intersection density
• Conduct neighborhood audits
  • Observations (ALR Saelens tool)
• Park quality
• Pedestrian infrastructure
• Attempt to replicate the Walkability index (Frank et al. calculations)
  • Perform cross checks that index (based on available data) reflects actual environment
• Assess recreation facility and park access and availability
  • Phone books, internet

As a result of recent discussions we have decided to submit a grant proposal for NIH funding in June 2006. The proposal will seek:

1. Funding for a data coordinating center
2. Funding for specific countries to collect data for a quality pooled analysis

1. Translation and adaptation certification center
2. GIS center
3. Study quality control and training center
4. Data gathering, management and cleaning center
5. Data analysis center

• neighborhoods selected based on walkability and income
• random selection of participants
• certified IPAQ long, ANEWS, and social norm surveys twice
• accelerometer data once
• weather data
• GIS data
• >transdisciplinary team