CANCER COUNCIL NSW PROGRAM GRANTS INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS

Transcription

1 CANCER COUNCIL NSW PROGRAM GRANTS INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS For funding commencing in 2016 Applications open on 9 th February 2015 and close at 5pm (AEST) on 27 th April Late applications will not be accepted This document must be read in conjunction with the Cancer Council NSW 2016 Program Grants Policy and Conditions of Awards. Applicants are also encouraged to read the Cancer Council NSW 2016 Program Grant Peer Review Guidelines. When completing Part E of the application, applicants are strongly encouraged to refer to the Cancer Council NSW 2016 Program Grants Consumer Review Guidelines. All documents are available on the Cancer Council NSW website. Applicants should read all instructions and other accompanying documentation, and consult with their own Research Administration Office before contacting the Cancer Council NSW Research Strategy Unit Project Officer. All enquiries should be directed to: Nicci Bartley Research Strategy Unit Project Officer Phone: research@nswcc.org.au

2 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION... 1 Timelines for Assessment of Research Program Grants Contact with Cancer Council NSW... 2 OVERVIEW... 3 Compliance Requirements... 3 Naming and formatting applications... 4 APPLICATION FORM PART A: ADMINISTRATIVE DATA... 5 Program Title... 5 Chief Investigator(s) details... 5 Associate Investigator(s) details... 5 Administering Institution contact details... 5 Institution(s) where the research will be conducted... 5 Common Scientific Outline Priority Areas... 6 Burden of Disease Categories... 6 APPLICATION FORM PART B: RESEARCH STRATEGY... 7 Program summary... 7 Research Strategy... 7 Budget... 8 APPLICATION FORM PART C: COLLABORATIVE GAIN... 9 Coherence of the research team and Program... 9 Resource management... 9 Multidisciplinary and multi-institutional collaboration... 9 Chief Investigator(s) role in the proposed program... 9 Training, career development and mentoring... 9 APPLICATION FORM PART D: RESEARCH ACHIEVEMENT Curriculum Vitae of Chief Investigator(s) APPLICATION FORM PART E: CONSUMER INFORMATION Cancer Council NSW research outcomes Lay description Consumer review criteria APPLICATION FORM PART F: CERTIFICATION AND ASSESSORS Certification Nomination of assessor for this application Inappropriate assessor(s) Tables Table 1: Timeline for assessment of Program Grants Table 2: 2016 Program Grant application formatting requirements... 4

3 INTRODUCTION PROGRAM GRANTS 2016 Cancer Council NSW s mission is to lead, empower and mobilise the community to beat cancer. In 2013, Cancer Council NSW invested more than $9.8 million into our external research program, supporting new and ongoing Project Grants, Program Grants and Strategic Research Partnership Grants. Cancer Council NSW provides Program Grants to cancer research groups with a lead investigator based in NSW, and with a track record of excellence and a focus on high impact research of undoubted scientific significance. Program Grants are designed to support broad-based, collaborative research by multidisciplinary teams and encourage studies for a period of up to five years. Program Grants are designed to provide funding security to such teams, enhance their productivity, and to support a freedom and flexibility of enquiry beyond that achievable through other types of grants. Program Grants provide up to $450,000 per annum to an individual or a group of outstanding investigators focussed on specific research questions in a defined field of cancer research. They are available for research into all aspects of cancer, including its cause, mechanism, prevention, treatment and care, and the organisation and performance of cancer control services. Program Grants are only awarded to research groups with an excellent track record who are internationally recognised among their peers; and are renewable only through reapplication in the open competitions at the conclusion of the grant period. Research groups where the lead investigator is based in a NSW institution are eligible to apply, although some of the funds may be used to procure research from partners outside NSW (see Cancer Council NSW 2016 Program Grant Policy and Conditions of Award for more detail on eligible research groups). Program Grants will be awarded for periods of up to five years; and successful applicants will be notified in time for research to commence in This document should be read in conjunction with the: 1. Cancer Council NSW 2016 Program Grant Policy and Conditions of Award, which provides important information on the objectives and underlying principles of Cancer Council NSW Program Grant funding. This document is available on the Cancer Council NSW website. 2. Cancer Council NSW 2016 Program Grant Peer Review Guidelines, which will assist applicants in understanding the peer review process. This document is available on the Cancer Council NSW website. When completing Part E of the application, applicants are strongly encouraged to refer to the Cancer Council NSW 2016 Program Grants Consumer Review Guidelines, available on the Cancer Council NSW website. 9 February

4 Timelines for Assessment of Research Program Grants 2016 Outlined below is the draft timeline for Program Grants to be funded in Table 1: Timeline for assessment of research Program Grants 2016 PROGRAM GRANTS 2016 Date Milestone 9 th February 2015 Program Grants advertised 27 th April 2015 Deadline for submission of full applications 4 th May 2015 Documents sent to consumer review panel 19 th May 2015 Documents sent to peer review assessors 6 th July 2015 Peer review assessment due 13 th July 2015 Peer review comments sent to applicant 27 th July 2015 Applicant response to peer review comments due 24 th August 2015 Program Grant Selection Committee makes funding recommendation to the Cancer Council NSW Cancer Research Committee 9 th September 2015 Cancer Research Committee makes funding recommendation to the Cancer Council NSW Board 30 th October 2015 Notification of outcome to applicants Contact with Cancer Council NSW Intending applicants are encouraged to contact Cancer Council NSW with any questions or requests for clarification. Contact for enquiries Ms Nicci Bartley Project Officer Research Strategy Unit Cancer Council NSW Telephone: (02) research@nswcc.org.au 9 February

5 OVERVIEW PROGRAM GRANTS 2016 The purpose of this document is to provide advice to applicants and Administering Institutions Research Administration Officers (RAOs) for the completion and submission of applications for the Cancer Council NSW Program Grant funding scheme. Applicants should read all instructions and other accompanying documentation, and consult with their own RAO before contacting the Cancer Council NSW Research Strategy Project Officer by , or by telephone on during business hours. A complete application must consist of the following parts: A Administrative Data B Research Strategy C Collaborative Gain D Research Achievements E Consumer Criteria F Certification and Assessors While completing your application, it is important to keep in mind the assessment criteria that assessors will use to evaluate applications. These are specified in the Cancer Council NSW 2016 Program Grant Peer Review Guidelines, available on the Cancer Council NSW website. Read these Guidelines carefully and note any content you should include in your application. Compliance Requirements Failure to comply with formatting rules is considered to be a breach of eligibility requirements. In such cases, an application may be deemed ineligible and withdrawn from consideration. Full applications must bear the electronic or scanned signatures of all Chief Investigators, Associate Investigators, Heads of Chief Investigator 1 s Department or Institution, and the Head of the Administering Institution (or their delegate). One electronic application (in Word format) must be sent by to: research@nswcc.org.au, with the subject line 2016 Program Grant Application APPLICANT LAST NAME. 9 February

6 PROGRAM GRANTS 2016 Naming and formatting applications All applications submitted must be in Word format. Files must be named using the following convention: 2016 Program Grant Application APPLICANT S LAST NAME.docx e.g., 2016 Program Grant Application SMITH.docx Applicants are advised to retain a copy of their submission. The formatting requirements listed in Table 1 must be strictly adhered to. Table 2: 2016 Program Grant application formatting requirements Component Header Margins Font Line spacing Character spacing Diagrams, Graphics and Images Labelling Graphs and Images Tables Requirement Chief Investigator 1 last name must be inserted into the document header at the top right corner. All margins must remain at 1.5cm. Must be at least Arial 10 point. Line spacing must be set to single. Character spacing must be set to normal. Scale must be set to 100%. Colour diagrams, graphics and images may be included. However, you should keep in mind that the electronic file may be printed in black and white for distribution to assessors and there may be some loss of definition and colour in the images. Labelling of graphs and images may be in a reduced font. Description and/or legends of all graphs and images must be at least Arial 10. Tabulated information containing text is not considered to be an image or diagram. Therefore, text within tables must be at least Arial 10. In no part of the application are applicants permitted to include links to additional information on an external website. Any application that contains disallowed web links may be deemed ineligible and withdrawn from consideration. 9 February

7 APPLICATION FORM PART A: ADMINISTRATIVE DATA PROGRAM GRANTS 2016 Program Title The Program title will be used to identify the application at all times during the assessment process and should accurately describe the nature of the research proposal. You have a maximum of 250 characters including spaces and line breaks to provide this information. Chief Investigator(s) details Provide the current details of all Chief Investigator(s) in this section. It is important that your title, names, phone and details are current, as these are the details on which Cancer Council NSW relies when contact is required. Chief Investigator 1 is responsible for completion and lodgement of the application. They are the Program leader, and are responsible for the successful completion of the research proposal. Chief Investigator 1 must be located at a NSW institution. Other Investigators must read the application and agree to its contents before it is submitted. This will be assumed to be the case for applications which bear the scanned or electronic signature of an Investigator. Associate Investigator(s) details Provide the most current details of all Associate Investigator(s) in this section. It is important that your title, names, phone and details are up to date, as these are the details on which Cancer Council NSW relies when contact is required. An Associate Investigator is an Investigator who provides intellectual input into the research and whose participation warrants co-authorship on publications arising from research supported by this Program Grant funding. Administering Institution contact details There can be only one Administering Institution for each application. You must ensure that the institution identified as the Administering Institution is the correct institution for your application. If in doubt, contact the Research Administration Officer at your proposed Administering Institution to confirm its status as an Administering Institution, and to ensure that it has the facilities to administer your application. The Administering Institution must be located in NSW. Institution(s) where the research will be conducted In some cases the institution that will administer your application may differ from the institution in which the proposed Program will be conducted. For example, many universities administer research which is conducted in an affiliated teaching hospital. In this section, list the Participating Institution(s) and Department(s) where the proposed research will be conducted. Note: If the research will be conducted at more than one institution, enter the percentage allocated to each participating institution and department to reflect the sharing of the research effort among institutions that you have listed. The percentages entered must total 9 February

8 PROGRAM GRANTS %. The majority of research conducted under the program must be carried out in NSW based institutions. Common Scientific Outline Priority Areas The principles of scientific merit, as established through competitive peer review, and value to the cancer community, as established through consumer review, will be considered paramount during the review and competitive ranking of applications for 2016 Program Grant funding. However, Cancer Council NSW draws to the attention of potential applicants for 2016 Program Grant funding our intention to fund at least one Program Grant within the relatively underfunded Common Scientific Outline (a classification system organised around seven broad areas of scientific interest in cancer research) areas of either prevention or cancer control, survivorship and outcomes or scientific model systems. It is our intention to offer funding to the top-ranked proposal deemed consistent with one or more of these priority areas. All other applications, including lower ranked proposals addressing the priority areas and proposals addressing other areas, will compete for funds allocated from a general Program Grant funding pool. Notwithstanding this stated intention, should no applications addressing the priority areas be deemed of sufficient scientific merit to warrant Program Grant funding, Cancer Council NSW reserves the right not to fund a Program Grant in these areas. In this instance, the priority funding will instead be reallocated to the general Program Grant funding pool. Identify the Common Scientific Outline category(s) relevant to their program. Applicants should note that in instances where it is not immediately clear how their application falls within one or more identified categories, they may be asked to justify their selection(s). Burden of Disease Categories Identify the cancer specific Level 2 Burden of Disease that best describes the area of research of the application. You can select up to three Level 2 Burden of Disease types and you must allocate a percentage of time against each. The percentage total must not exceed 100%. 9 February

9 PROGRAM GRANTS 2016 APPLICATION FORM PART B: RESEARCH STRATEGY Program summary The Program summary should accurately summarise the research proposal. This information may be used to assign applications to peer review assessors. Provide a brief summary of the aims, hypotheses, research plan and potential significance of the overall program. You have a maximum of 1 page to provide this information. Research Strategy This section should outline the Program s objectives, and the broad strategies and approaches to be pursued during the Program s funding term. It should contain information that will allow assessors to judge the significance of the proposed work, and the competitiveness and innovativeness of the strategy, ideas and approaches. This section should be organised under the following headings: Background Outline the scientific background to the application, critically evaluate existing knowledge, and identify the gaps in knowledge that the Program is intended to fill. Objectives State the scientific objectives that the Program aims to achieve, the hypotheses that will be tested, and the significance of the proposed Program to cancer control. Research design and methods Address in detail the design and methods to be used for each component of the proposed Program. Make clear how these components will individually and collectively test the hypotheses and achieve the aims of the Program. Specify the data that will be collected and how they will be collected, analysed and interpreted. Describe and justify any new methods to be developed in terms of their advantages relative to existing methods. Identify potential difficulties and limitations of the proposed procedures, and alternative approaches that might be used to achieve the aims. References A list of all references cited in the Research Strategy must be provided. References must: Be written in an appropriate standard journal format. List authors in the order in which they appear in PubMed. Not include weblinks. Include only those cited in the Research Strategy. You have a maximum of 8 pages to describe the Research Strategy, excluding the references. Note: Applicants are advised to consult the 2016 Program Grant Peer Review Guidelines, and its details on assessment criteria, when preparing the Research Strategy. 9 February

10 PROGRAM GRANTS 2016 Budget Provide a maximum of a 1 page budget for each year of funding requested (maximum total of 5 pages), itemising the support requested under the headings listed below. A 1-2 sentence description and/or justification should be provided for each budget line item. This information will be used be assessors to determine the appropriateness of the proposed budget. The budget that can be requested is up to $2.25 million over five years. Staff: List whatever salary you deem appropriate for grant-supported personnel; you are not restricted to NHMRC s pre-defined Personnel Support Package salary levels. Amounts requested for grant-supported personnel must cover all salary and salary on-costs (e.g., payroll tax, workers compensation, leave loading, compulsory and contributory superannuation). Provide the proposed level of appointment, the annual fraction of full-time for the appointment, the annual full-time equivalent salary level, and the amount requested. If a staff member is also an investigator, identify him/her by name. CVs must be supplied for all staff for whom funding is requested at the level of Academic Level B or higher. Equipment: Specify individually all items of equipment that cost more than $5,000, and attach a written quotation in support. Maintenance and consumable items: Itemise in readily understood terms such as interviews, travel costs, laboratory animals, reagents, etc. Describe the existing resources and infrastructure critical to the proposed Program s success, with a view to reassuring assessors of the Program s feasibility. You have an additional maximum of ½ a page to provide this information. 9 February

11 PROGRAM GRANTS 2016 APPLICATION FORM PART C: COLLABORATIVE GAIN Coherence of the research team and Program Describe the extent to which the proposed Program of research activities works towards a common scientific end or ultimate practical application by, for example, addressing a set of inter-related research questions. You have a maximum of 1 page to provide this information. Resource management Describe how the integration of teams and the distribution of resources will be managed, including an outline of previous strategies and new collaborative arrangements. We will highly regard applications which demonstrate that the Administering Institution already has in place the processes by which grant funds and other resources will be shared between research teams, such that delays in the development of such agreements do not lead to unnecessary delays in the conduct of the research. Describe how intellectual exchange will be facilitated between the teams that contribute to the Program. You have a maximum of 1 page to provide this information. Multidisciplinary and multi-institutional collaboration Describe the extent and quality of proposed multidisciplinary and multi-institutional collaboration and its prospects for adding value to the proposed Program. You have a maximum of 1 page to provide this information. Chief Investigator(s) role in the proposed program Outline the role of each Chief Investigator in the proposed Program. Provide justification for why each Chief Investigator is needed, including the specific expertise and experience that each brings to the Program. You have a maximum of ½ a page to provide this information for each Chief Investigator. Training, career development and mentoring Describe the track records of the Chief Investigator(s) in the provision of research training, career development and mentoring; and opportunities for these activities to be undertaken within the proposed Program, including the training and mentoring strategies that will be adopted. You have a maximum of 2 pages to provide this information. 9 February

12 APPLICATION FORM PART D: RESEARCH ACHIEVEMENT PROGRAM GRANTS 2016 Curriculum Vitae of Chief Investigator(s) Provide the following information for each of the Chief Investigators, using these subheadings: Brief biography Within a maximum of 1 page for each Chief Investigator, provide details of qualifications and employment history in reverse chronological order (i.e. the most recent first); and current and/or previous appointments (honorary, government, boards, committees, university, institute and professional responsibilities), or professional memberships and/or registrations, since January Details of career disruption since January 2010 should be included in this section. Where such career disruption has occurred, applicants may provide details of invitations/prizes/awards and/or research outputs from preceding years. Publications/high quality technical reports Provide a list of publications since January 2010 in reverse chronological order (i.e. the most recent first), including publications under review. Highlight publications especially relevant to this application. Research support Provide details of research support from all sources. Use the following categories of support, and under each, tabulate: funding body, title of grant, Chief Investigators, time commitment (%) (current and requested applications only), period of support, and total grant funding: a) projects completed since January 2010; b) support currently held (at time of submission of this application); and c) support requested (excluding this submission. For NHMRC Project Grants, provide NHMRC Application number). Invitations/Prizes/Awards Provide in reverse chronological order (i.e. most recent first) details of any speaking invitations you have completed since January Provide in reverse chronological order details of any prizes or awards you have received since January Research application Provide in reverse chronological order (i.e. most recent first) details of any commercialisation of research in which you contributed more than 20% of the development efforts since January Commercialisation may include, for example, the development of intellectual property in collaboration with the biotechnology or pharmaceutical industries, founding a start-up, or the development and granting of patents. Indicate the funding source; provide a brief description of the commercialisation and its applicability and/or impact; and estimate the percentage contribution you and your work made to its development. You have a maximum of ½ a page to provide this information for each form of commercialisation. 9 February

13 PROGRAM GRANTS 2016 Provide in reverse chronological order (i.e. most recent first) details of any ways in which your research has impacted organisational or government policy and/or practice since January Provide details about the research itself, including the funding source; the organisation or government department the research translation affected; the changes resulting from your research; and when they occurred. Include details on the outcomes known to have occurred. You have a maximum of ½ a page to provide this information for each example of impact on policy and/or practice. Community Engagement Cancer Council NSW recognises the importance of consumer contribution to cancer research. Provide details of community engagement activities in which you have been involved in since January The NHMRC Statement on Consumer and Community Participation in Health and Medical Research is available at You have a maximum of ½ a page to provide this information. In addition to this information, you will in a separate section of the application form (Part E) be required to indicate how you have involved, and will continue to involve, consumers in this specific program of research. 9 February

14 APPLICATION FORM PART E: CONSUMER INFORMATION PROGRAM GRANTS 2016 Applicants are advised that the information supplied in Part E of the application is provided only to the Cancer Council NSW Consumer Review Panel, members of which do not receive any other sections of the application. Applicants are advised to ensure that all responses to Part E are written in lay language, and in a manner which can be read without reference to any other part of the application, such that Part E can be understood by a non-researcher as a stand-alone document. In addition, applicants are strongly encouraged to refer to the Cancer Council NSW 2016 Program Grants Consumer Review Guidelines, available on the Cancer Council NSW website. Cancer Council NSW research outcomes The community who Cancer Council NSW serves and represents have identified the following four strategic research outcomes as being of value: decreased cancer incidence; increased cancer survival rates; improved treatment effectiveness of cancer treatments; and/or enhanced quality of life for patients and their support networks of families and carers. Identify the ONE of these Cancer Council NSW research outcomes to which the proposed Program will ultimately contribute most strongly. Lay description Describe the research proposal in lay terms, including how the proposed Program contributes to the Cancer Council NSW research outcome you selected in the previous question. This information will assist the Cancer Council NSW Consumer Panel Review to understand the significance of your work. You have a maximum of ½ page to provide this information. Consumer review criteria Extent of benefit Explain how the results of your research will have an important positive impact on human lives, including any of the following aspects: disease causation, prevention, diagnosis; treatment; physical and/or mental and/or social wellbeing; quality of life, dignity, and survival Pathway for realising the benefit Provide a clear description of the steps required to reach the stated end benefits of the research. Potential for application of findings Explain how the research will be applied in the real world (over the short, medium or long term), the barriers you need to address to be successful, and how you propose to address them. 9 February

15 PROGRAM GRANTS 2016 Equity Justify the selection of the study sample and explain why you have included and excluded particular groups who could potentially benefit from the outcomes of this research. If relevant, outline how the proposal addresses an under-studied or underserved population and/or a population with a high burden of disease or poorer outcomes. Consumer involvement Outline how relevant informed consumers (e.g. from consumer or cancer groups such as Cancer Voices NSW, Breast Cancer Action Group NSW, Consumers Health Forum, cancer support groups, organisational in-house research consumer panels, etc) have been involved during the development of the research proposal; and the plan for ongoing consumer involvement in the research. Explain how this/these consumer(s) are qualified to be involved. You have a maximum of 2 pages within which to address all five consumer review criteria. Significantly more detail is provided on each of the five criteria, and the Consumer Review Process, is provided in the Cancer Council NSW 2016 Program Grants Consumer Review Guidelines, available on the Cancer Council NSW website. 9 February

16 APPLICATION FORM PART F: CERTIFICATION AND ASSESSORS PROGRAM GRANTS 2016 Certification It is the responsibility of Chief Investigator 1 to ensure that the application is complete and correct before certification. Certification by Chief Investigator(s) All Chief Investigator(s) must certify the application. Electronic or scanned signatures are acceptable. It will be assumed that an application which bears the scanned or electronic signature of an Investigator has been certified by that Investigator. Certification by Associate Investigator(s) All Associate Investigator(s) must certify the application. Electronic or scanned signatures are acceptable. It will be assumed that an application which bears the scanned or electronic signature of an Investigator has been certified by that Investigator. Certification by Head of Department The application must be certified by the Chief Investigator 1 s Head of Department. Prior to certification the Head of Department should ensure: o the program is appropriate for the general facilities of their department; o they are prepared to have the program carried out in their department; and o the application is certified by all Investigators. Certification by Head of Institution (or delegate) The application must be certified by the Chief Investigator 1 s Head of Institution (or their delegate). Prior to certification the Head of Institution (or delegate) should ensure: o the application is complete and correct; o the team meets all eligibility requirements; o the application is certified by all Investigators; and o the application complies with the formatting requirements. Nomination of assessor for this application Nominate at least three assessors who are suitable for peer review of this application, including at least one international assessor and at least one assessor based in Australia outside of NSW. You must the obtain the agreement of your nominated assessors to review the application if they are selected to do so by the Cancer Council NSW Program Grant Selection Committee; and you must declare that you have done so. Details of your nominated assessors will be advised, in confidence, only to persons directly involved in the selection of the assessors of your application. Do not nominate assessors who are likely to have a Conflict of Interest. Inappropriate assessor(s) Nominate any individual who is NOT to be approached to assess the application. Cancer Council NSW will use this information to manage potential conflicts of interest when selecting potential assessors. 9 February

17 PROGRAM GRANTS 2016 Explain why the individual(s) you nominate are inappropriate to assess your application. To be accepted as an inappropriate assessor, the individual must meet one or both of the following criteria: conflict of interest (the person is a collaborator, supervisor, relative, and/or similar); or personal concerns which lead you to believe that the assessor would be incapable of providing fair assessment due to unreasonable bias. Details of your nominated inappropriate assessor(s) will be advised, in confidence, only to persons directly involved in the selection of the assessors of your application. 9 February