The Pfizer Quality Improvement Competitive Grant Program – Improving the Quality and Standardization of Pneumococcal Diagnostic Pathways in Pediatric and Adult Populations supports initiatives designed to optimize and standardize microbiological diagnostic pathways for pneumococcal disease in Italy.

Overview

Streptococcus pneumoniae remains a major cause of respiratory infections, with evolving epidemiology due to serotype replacement, possible re-emergence of serotypes not controlled by indirect protection, and population aging. Suboptimal surveillance of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in Italy likely underestimates disease burden, yet reported incidence nearly doubled between 2022 and 2024. This initiative addresses a clear diagnostic performance gap by supporting quality improvement projects focused on implementation of evidence-based practices, optimization of diagnostic processes, improvement of data quality and completeness, and enhancement of collaboration between clinicians and laboratories in routine care settings.

Funding and Benefits

• Funding Range: Individual projects requesting up to EUR 50,000.00 will be considered.
• Total Available Budget: EUR 300,000.00 for two years.
• Award amounts include direct costs, institutional overhead costs (capped at 28% per Pfizer policy), and indirect costs.
• Project Length: Maximum project length is 2 years.
• Anticipated Project Start Date: April 2027.
• Anticipated Project End Date: April 2029.

Eligibility

• Geographic Scope: Italy.
• Eligible Institutions: Public bodies including hospitals, ASL, universities, IRCCS, or accredited private clinics may apply.
• Applicant Criteria: Only organizations are eligible to receive grants, not individuals or medical practice groups. The institution and Principal Investigator (PI) must be based in Italy. The applicant must be the Project Lead/Principal Investigator or an authorized designee. The Project Lead/PI must be an employee or contractor of the requesting organization.
• Collaborations within institutions and between different institutions, organizations, or associations are encouraged. All partners must have a relevant role, and the requesting organization must have a key role in the project.
• The requesting organization must be legally able to receive award funding directly from Pfizer LLC.

Research Areas and Activities

This RFP seeks grant applications to improve the quality, standardization, and diagnostic yield of microbiological pathways for Streptococcus pneumoniae, thereby increasing the completeness and reliability of serotype surveillance data. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Standardization of diagnostic pathways: Implementation and monitoring of standardized diagnostic bundles based on existing evidence and institutional best practices, including culture-based, antigen-based, and molecular diagnostic approaches. Optimization of sample management, including improved sample collection timing, standardized transport and storage procedures.
• Integration of advanced diagnostics: Improvement of data capture, completeness, and integration processes to support local surveillance and quality monitoring. Implementation and optimization of urinary antigen and serotype-specific tests already available for routine clinical use.
• Education and training: Training on diagnostic appropriateness and sample handling. Strengthening clinician/laboratory collaboration.
• Data integration: Improvement of data capture, completeness, integration, and quality assurance processes to support ongoing institutional quality improvement and public health reporting activities.
• Additional activities may include baseline assessment of existing diagnostic pathways, development and dissemination of standard operating procedures (SOPs), diagnostic algorithms, clinical workflows, toolkits, and pocket guides.

Projects evaluating the efficacy of therapeutic or diagnostic agents will not be considered. Applicants should define measurable process and/or quality indicators that will be monitored before and after implementation, such as diagnostic yield, completeness of serotype data, adherence to diagnostic pathways, timeliness of specimen processing, or quality of sample collection.

Application Process

• Submission Portal: Applications must be submitted via www.cybergrants.com/pfizer/QI. First-time users should click “Create your password”.
• Click the “Start A New Quality Improvement Grant Application” button.
• Complete all required sections of the online application and upload the proposal in the Proposal/Protocol field.
• In the application, for the question “Competitive Grant?” select “Yes”. Select the Primary Area of Interest: VAV – Pneumococcal - QI. Select the Competitive Grant Program Name: 2026 Vac Italy Pneumococcal QI.
• Submission Deadline: 19 October 2026, 23:59 Eastern Standard Time (New York, GMT -5). Applications submitted after the due date will not be reviewed.
• Note: The Grant Management System will not be available from 27 July to 16 August 2026.
• Anticipated Grant Award Notification: January 2027.
• Grant requests are reviewed by an expert review panel (ERP) to make final grant decisions. All applicants will be notified via email.
• If the grant is approved, the institution will be required to enter into a written grant agreement with Pfizer.

Contact Information

For questions regarding this RFP, direct them in writing to the Grant Officer, Nicola Fenderico, at Nicola.Fenderico@Pfizer.com with the subject line “Pneumococcal Disease Surveillance in Italy: Serotypes, Genotypes, and Antibiotic Susceptibility in Children and Adults”. For technical difficulties with the submission website, use the “Technical Questions” link at the bottom of the page in cybergrants.