AII IRELAND INSTITUTE OF HOSPICE & PALLIATIVE CARE / IRISH CANCER SOCIETY RESEARCH POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP 2013 Guidance Notes Closing Date for applications: Friday 28 th February 2014
Contents Page No 1. All Ireland Institute of Hospice & Palliative Care 3 2. Irish Cancer Society 3 3. Scope 4 4. Applicant Eligibility Criteria 4 5. Research Team s Eligibility 4 6. Ineligible Applicants 4 7. Application Process 5 8. Guidelines for CVs 5 9. Guidelines for the Main Application 6 10. Stages of the Assessment Procedure 7 11. Conflicts of Interest 9 12. Feedback 9 13. Applicant Checklist 9 2
1. All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care (AIIHPC) AIIHPC is an all island organisation comprised of a Consortium of partner organisations, including hospices, health care agencies and universities, all working to improve the experience of supportive, palliative and end-of-life care on the island of Ireland, by enhancing the capacity to develop knowledge, promote learning, influence policy and shape practice. The aim is to secure best care for those approaching end-of-life (www.aiihpc.org). The Institute brings together three Work Packages of Education, Research and Policy and Practice into a single entity, allowing the activities and outcomes of each to add value to the others, through their focus on four inter-linked, cross-cutting themes: Meaningful involvement of users, carers and communities in the development and delivery of palliative care education, research, policy and practice; Development of a coherent and collaborative palliative care community; Supporting the delivery of innovative, high quality palliative care education and research; Translation of knowledge and learning for the development of palliative care policy and practice nationally and internationally. Research Vision AIIHPC seeks international recognition for research and development that enhances the knowledge, expertise and scholarship for hospice and palliative care in Ireland to ultimately have an impact on care for patients and families. Research Strategic Objectives Facilitate the development of a coherent and collaborative research environment and culture; Strategically support the delivery of outstanding, innovative, internationally relevant research on an all-island basis; Develop research capacity and future research leaders; Facilitate the effective translation of knowledge to the national and international community, demonstrating the impact of research and development programmes on policy and strategic health priorities; Facilitate the advancement of knowledge and practice for hospice and palliative care through interdisciplinary collaborations and meaningful user involvement. 2. Irish Cancer Society The Irish Cancer Society is the largest voluntary funder of cancer research in Ireland and has invested more than 33 million euro in research since the Society was established 50 years ago. The Irish Cancer Society s funding for the AIIHPC Research Fellowship is to support collaborative, interdisciplinary research in the area of palliative care. This Research Fellowship is intended to support an excellent researcher to develop an independent research programme in their chosen area, building capacity in the area of palliative care research in Ireland. 3
The Society s Strategy for 2013-2017 outlines four big goals towards a future without cancer. These include the goal of leading excellent, collaborative research. The Irish Cancer Society believes that the quality of cancer care available in Ireland depends on the quality of cancer research taking place here. To get the best results, we intend to develop the most extensive possible collaboration among those involved in cancer research in Ireland. We believe that collaboration between institutions and across research disciplines can help to stimulate the kinds of excellent research that will improve the treatment of cancer in Ireland. 3. Scope Palliative care is defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as: An approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual (WHO 2002, p84). AIIHPC s overall aim is to improve the experience of care on the island of Ireland. This call is open to applications in the area of palliative care. The Postdoctoral Fellowship is worth up to a maximum of 200,000 ( 169,000) to include salary and research-related costs covering a period of 24 months. See section 9 for further details. 4. Applicant Eligibility Criteria The Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme is open to: Untenured postdoctoral researchers Researchers working in the wide area of life, health or social sciences. Applicants must: Have a doctoral degree Have a strong commitment to progressing their career in palliative care research Not be tenured for a lectureship position at the time of applying for the Postdoctoral Fellowship. Applicants should: Have at least one to two years research experience following their doctoral degree. 5. Research Team s Eligibility Research teams eligible to host a Postdoctoral Fellow will include those in higher education institutions as well as other institutions on the island of Ireland who can demonstrate to the assessors a sufficiently high international research reputation. 6. Ineligible Applications Applications from individuals that do not meet the eligibility criteria, incomplete applications, applications received after the advertised closing date will not be assessed. 4
7. Application Process Prior to submitting an application, applicants must read the guidelines through to completion. All research queries may be submitted to Dr Tara Murphy (AIIHPC Programme Manager Research). 6.1 Completing your Application There are four components to the application: Part A: Applicant s Curriculum Vitae Part B: Mentor s Curriculum Vitae Part C: Main Application Form Part D: Declaration / signature page 6.2 An electronic version of the application with CV must be submitted to Bernadette Pirihi at bpirihi@aiihpc.org by 4pm on Friday 28 th February 2014. This should be followed by submission of two hard copies of the application form with CVs and additional information attached and original signatures by Friday 7 th March 2014. 8. Guidelines for CVs Applicants are asked to note the following instructions (to be read in conjunction with the application form contained within this document). Applications with attachments should be saved in MS Word, font Arial, size 11. Note: Please include your CV (max 5 pages) and your Mentor s CV (max 5 pages) with the main application form. Failure to do so will render this application null and void. 5
9. Guidelines for the Main Application Question 11: Scientific abstract It is extremely important to put time and effort into this section as your abstract will be used to assess your application at the shortlist stage. Applicants are advised to work closely with their Mentor to ensure that the abstract is as informative as possible whilst remaining within the word count (400 words max). The abstract must include: three sentences on project rationale; the hypothesis; and a sentence on the impact. Questions 12 and 13: Strategic Aims and Objectives Please articulate how the research is aligned to the strategic aims and objectives of AIIHPC and separately, the Irish Cancer Society. Question 14: Lay description Briefly provide a lay description of your proposed research project. Your description should be written as if you are writing a letter to an 8-12 year old describing what your research involves and what you want to achieve. Do not use scientific or technical language. (200 words max) Question 15: Research environment Please list the different research groups in your immediate environment. Is there an overall research theme to your centre? How many researchers are in your group, what is their research focus? Please provide a breakdown of research types in your department / centre. What special infrastructure / local factors make your research environment a good place to carry out this particular relevant to palliative care research? (250 words max) Question 16: Biostatistics (where relevant) Please pay particular attention to this section when completing your proposal. We recommend that you seek advice from your Supervisor or an individual experienced with biostatistics before you submit your application. Where relevant, please provide biostatistical analysis for each part of your experimental plan. Power calculations, numbers of samples, number of matched controls, and strategy of different controls to be used should all be discussed. Additionally, please discuss the feasibility of obtaining /accessing sufficient numbers of samples and controls that will result in statistically meaningful results. (250 words max) Question 17: Cochrane Review (where relevant) If your proposals concerns evidence-based research, then has a Cochrane systematic review been conducted into your research area? If so please provide the reference(s) to this review. (250 words max) Question 23: Career development plan It is strongly advised that considerable attention is given to this section. The plan should outline your immediate and long-term goals for your career and how you feel this proposed Postdoctoral Fellowship will contribute to these goals e.g. gaining research, management, communication, grant writing skills, etc. Applicants should specify the professional training and development courses that they intend to complete during the course of their Postdoctoral Fellowship and when they plan to finish these courses during the Postdoctoral Fellowship. These may be at your host institution or at other institutions on the island of Ireland or abroad (e.g. EMBO Laboratory Management Course). (500 words max) Question 24: Objectives for the first year In this section you need to set out a series of objectives that you hope to achieve in the first year of your work. The objectives should be precise and concise statements, just one line 6
with a projected date for completion. In some cases, you can enter alternatives in case a pitfall arises. Ensure that you set a realistic work plan for the time period. Question 27: Budget There are five allowable budget headings as follows: a. Postdoctoral Fellow Salary: Applicants should use the most up-to-date Irish University Association (IUA) (or equivalent for Northern Ireland) salary scales for academic researchers (http://www.iua.ie/iua-activities/research.html). You must state the Level and Point on the scale which you have used. Post Doctorate Level 2 should be used for this Fellowship e.g. candidates who have at least one year s research experience since their doctoral degree should use Post-Doctoral Researcher Level 2 Point 1 (or SP28 for researchers based in Northern Ireland). b. Equipment: Please note this is not a start-up grant. Only small equipment absolutely necessary for the completion of your proposed research will be considered. Requests for large pieces of equipment will not be funded. c. Consumables: Please allow sufficient budget for all materials and consumables required to carry out your research proposal. d. Travel Costs: Please provide details of meetings and conferences that you will attend during your Fellowship. e. Dissemination Costs: Please detail the dissemination costs for your research e.g. printing, posters, publication costs and public awareness lectures. A full detailed breakdown of costings and justification for all funding must be provided for each budget heading in your application. Part B: Declaration of Support The Declaration of Support in the final section of this application form must be completed by your proposed Mentor and the Head of your proposed department/school. If you would like to include any other letters of support, you can submit a maximum of two along with your application. 10. Stages of the Assessment Procedure Stage 1: Application Check All applications will be checked to ensure that they have been submitted prior to the deadline and that all sections are completed. Ineligible and incomplete applications will not be assessed. Stage 2: Shortlisting Each eligible application will be sent to a number of national and international peers for review for shortlisting. The scientific abstract, the applicant s CV and the mentor s CV including their record of supervision will be used in the assessment of all applications at the shortlist stage. It is particularly important to put considerable time and effort into the scientific abstract. 7
Stage 3: Detailed Review Reviewers will complete a detailed assessment form and provide a score for each application, under the following assessment criteria - Track Record and Research Potential of the applicant This potential must be demonstrated by significant achievements to date, such as publications record (peer-reviewed journal articles, patents, and books), invited contributions, conference presentations, and participation in other activities within research such as teaching, supervision, outreach activities, and journal refereeing. The applicant must demonstrate independent thinking and leadership qualities, and the potential to acquire new knowledge. Additionally, the researcher s track record must be well matched to the proposed research project. Significance of Research and Impact of Proposed Postdoctoral Fellowship Consideration will be given to the importance of the research in the international context, the alignment of the research to the strategic aims and objectives of AIIHPC and the Irish Cancer Society, the possibility that the project will lead to advances in the area, and the potential and degree to which the proposal addresses present or future healthcare needs in the area of palliative care. Quality of Scientific and Technological Approach The proposed research project to be undertaken during the Fellowship will be examined bearing in mind the following factors; the originality and innovative nature of the project, suitability of the proposed methodology, clarity of long and short term objectives based on the detailed work plan, and feasibility of these objectives. Research Environment The proposed host research laboratory/centre, host institution and proposed Mentor will be evaluated on their ability to enable the full implementation of all aspects of the proposed Postdoctoral Fellowship. The research track record of your proposed Mentor will also be evaluated based on the information provided by your Mentor in their CV. Training and Career Development Aspects of the Fellowship The proposed Postdoctoral Fellowships will be evaluated on the potential to allow the Fellow to acquire new scientific and complementary skills and help the Fellow to reach professional maturity, and demonstrate diversity and independence whereby they gain the skills necessary to manage their own independent research group, successful apply and secure independent research grants, mentor students, and develop real collaborations with other research groups. Stage 4: Interview Shortlist Reviewers will discuss and debate the scoring of applications, and propose a ranking list of applicants. Stage 5: Interview Shortlisted applicants will be invited to attend an interview with the review panel and representatives from All Ireland Institute of Hospice & Palliative Care and Irish Cancer Society. The interview date will be during the week commencing 6th May 2014. 8
Stage 6: Awarding of Postdoctoral Fellowships Following the interview stage, the successful applicants will be informed that an All Ireland Institute of Hospice & Palliative Care and Irish Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellowship will be awarded, subject to terms and conditions. 11. Conflicts of Interest AIIHPC and the Irish Cancer Society will endeavour to ensure that the assessors chosen do not have any conflicts of interest with the applications they are assessing. 12. Feedback Following each assessment stage, unsuccessful applications will be notified by email. A summary of feedback comments may be requested upon completion of the assessment procedure with the aim of improving the applicant s success should they wish to re-apply in the future or apply to another similar scheme. AIIHPC and the Irish Cancer Society will not take any responsibility for any comments made by the independent assessment panel. 13. Applicant Checklist The following must be completed and submitted by email to Bernadette Pirihi at bpirihi@aiihpc.org by Friday 28 th February 2014. 1. CV of Applicant 2. CV of Proposed Mentor 3. Application Form 4. Declaration of Support signed by Applicant, Proposed Mentor, Head of Department/School. TWO PRINTED (HARD) COPIES of the above documents must be received by AIIHPC by Friday 7 th March 2014. INCOMPLETE APPLICATION FORMS AND APPLICATION FORMS SUBMITTED AFTER THE DEADLINE OF FRIDAY 28 th FEBRUARY 2014 WILL NOT BE ASSESSED. 9