Arkansas Children s Research Institute Funding Opportunity: ABI Discovery Acceleration Initiative in Pediatric Medicine Program Project Planning Grants Re-issued RFA: 20 September 2016 Program Overview Program Purpose Eligibility Requirements This grant mechanism is intended to support the building of interdisciplinary research programs/teams and the development of competitive program grant applications. Proposals must be directly relevant to the development and/or health of infants, children, or adolescents. They must be hypothesis driven. This intramural grant is not intended to provide programmatic support to maintain research services already provided. It is intended to foster new, team-based science initiatives. Eligible candidates must have an academic appointment in the UAMS Colleges of Medicine, Pharmacy or Nursing conducting pediatric research on the ACH campus. They must also be fulltime employees of ACH (including ACRI and/or ACNC) or UAMS. Investigators conducting clinical research are highly encouraged to apply. Priority will be given to applications that demonstrate a clear benefit to children and the academic reputation of both the investigator and the Arkansas Children s Hospital (including ACRI and ACNC). Priority will be given to hypothesis driven new projects that are likely to lead to a competitive NIH grant application that would provide synergy among productive pediatric research programs on the ACH campus. Priority will also be given to investigators that present a timeline and strategy for preparing the prospective extramural grant proposal, one that identifies milestones and deliverables that will ensure a quality grant application. Priority will be given to investigators who do not hold active ABI program support or recruitment funds at submission deadline. Key Dates Letter of Intent Due Date October 5, 2016 Application Due Date October 31, 2016 Award Date January 2017 (anticipated) Award Information Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards Award Budget Award Project Period Funds supporting this program are enabled by funds available to ACRI through the Arkansas Biosciences Institute (ABI). It is anticipated that ACRI will support up to 2 awards per cycle. Final funding decisions are contingent upon the institutional availability of funds to support the program. $100,000 Total 24 months
Application and Submission Information A proposal will be considered responsive to this RFA if it involves at least one of the following: 1. Multiple projects spanning several domains of research (e.g., program project grant, NIH U or P series grants); 2. Projects which require cross-disciplinary collaboration; 3. Collaboration across institutions (e.g., multi-pi R01). Application Characteristics Personnel costs will be limited to no more than 15% time / effort for overall principal investigator / program director. Personnel costs will be limited to no more than 10% time / effort for each lead investigator for a given project component. Extensions beyond the original award period of 24 months are not allowed. Successful applicants will receive 50% of the total award amount at the initiation of the project; remaining funds will become available upon evaluation of a formal progress report and demonstration that all study milestones have been met. The Research Plan will follow the format noted below in Attachment 1. The proposed project must be of sufficient scientific rigor to support development of a new (not renewal) larger, extramural grant application (e.g., R01 funding mechanism). Scope Collaborations across disciplines and research domains are required collaboration between basic and clinical/translational researchers, inter-professional research team, including investigators across multiple departments or divisions/sections, or by engaging multiple institutions. Focus on original research (i.e., team science) that has the potential to support a competitive, large, multi-investigator extramural grant proposal. Review Criteria and Process for Prioritization for Funding All proposals will receive scientific peer review by a Special Emphasis Panel (SEP) constituted by ACRI. This panel will be drawn from individuals within ACH/ACRI, UAMS and from other institutions as required to insure that appropriate scientific expertise is present for all applications reviewed by the SEP. The SEP will be chaired by the ACRI President or his appointed designee. Each application will have 2 or 3 reviewers. The NIH scoring system for R-series awards (investigator initiated applications) will be used. Each grant application will receive an overall priority score and ranked accordingly. Final funding decisions will be made by the ACRI President and approved by who will consider scientific merit and value of a given application to the strategic mission of ACH and ACRI as regards research. Letter of Intent A LOI is due no later than 5 p.m. on October 5, 2016. The LOI should be submitted to Amy Stalls (stallsamyr@uams.edu) via email. The LOI should be no longer than one page in length and include the following components: 1. Principal Investigator: Name/Title/Contact Information 2. Collaborators: Name/Title/Organization 3. Project Title; and 4. A brief description of the research conducted. Upon receiving the LOI, the information will be reviewed. Upon approval by the ACRI President, applicants will be contacted and invited to apply with a full submission.
Application Package Please see Attachment 1 for a complete listing of the required forms and instructions for preparing the Research Strategy. Application Review and Selection Process Grants will be reviewed by a Special Emphasis Panel (SEP) using current NIH criteria. This SEP will be constituted by the ACRI President who will have oversight responsibility for the grant program. All proposals will be scored by the SEP and prioritized for funding by the ACRI President with final funding decisions made by the ACRI Board. Award Notification Applicants will receive a copy of reviewer comments related to their proposal. However, they will not receive the overall priority score assigned to the grant proposal. Notifications of funding will be made by the ACH President via a letter to the principal investigator / program director. ACRI will facilitate establishments of an account and provide oversight for all post-award functions. Reporting Requirements A final progress report is due upon completion of the award and upon request. Failure to submit a final report or respond to additional request for reporting may jeopardize future funding. Application Submission Contact Information Amy Stalls, ACRI Research Grants Specialist Telephone: 501-364-3627 Email: stallsamyr@uams.edu.
Attachment 1 Application Materials & Research Strategy Requirements On or before 5 p.m. on the deadline date, an applicant must email a PDF copy of his or application to the ACHRI Research Grants Specialist. Application Materials The final application should include the following items (please contact Ms. Amy Stalls at stallsamyr@uams.edu for packet information): 1. Face page (including: title of application; PI name; Key Personnel (and their respective institutional affiliations); and a description of the proposed role(s) for each investigator (1.5 page maximum) 2. ACRI Intramural Funding Application Form 3. ACRI Intramural Research & Related Budget Form 4. ACRI Intramural Budget Justification Form 5. Study Summary Form (for applicants whose proposals include human subjects clinical trials) 6. Description of Institutional resources required to support project and any resources anticipated to support the work proposed in related extramural grant application (1 page maximum) 7. NIH Biographical Sketch for PI and Key Collaborators 8. Written application 9. Relevant institutional resources necessary to support the research (for example, letters of support from collaborators, department chairs, and/or section chiefs) 10. A copy of the RFA or program announcement for which the final proposal is being prepared (i.e., the targeted extramural funding opportunity). The RFA for this program should be included as an Appendix to the grant application. Written Application Requirements The written application should not exceed 12 pages (not including reference pages). Use at least one-half inch margins (top, bottom, left, and right) for all pages. For font, use an Ariel typeface, a black font color, and a fond size of 11 points or larger. Text should be single spaced and there must be 6 points of spacing between headings and specific paragraphs throughout the research plan. The written application should include the following sections: a. Responsiveness of the final proposal to the RFA (i.e., why prospective extramural application will be competitive) (2 pages maximum) b. A concise description of the scope and proposed research strategy and its relevance to the academic missions of ACH and UAMS and to improving the health of children (8 pages maximum) c. Milestones and timeline for preparing the extramural proposal including work items to be completed towards submission of a competitive proposal (2 pages maximum)
Attachment 2 Approved and Not Approved Expenses This attachment provides guidance regarding expenses that this program may or may not cover. The list is not all inclusive; please contact Amy Stalls (stallsamyr@uams.edu) with any questions. Approved Expenses Animal costs Biostatical Support/Data Analysis no more than 20% of the total budget Business consultation to develop sustainability plan Computer/Software (with clear justification they are needed for the proposed research) Equipment Office Supplies (research related only) Publication Costs of Publishers Salary/Fringe of research personnel (base salary is not to exceed current NIH salary cap) Including but not limited to: Coordinators Administrative Staff Research Assistants Statistical Support Bioinformatics Support Supplies for Research Project (actual research costs) Travel (when meeting is directly related to preparing the prospective NIH application) Not Approved Expenses Any Expense Not Directly Related to Research Activity Any Personal Professional Fee Board Exam Fees Board Review Courses DEA # Lab Coats Medical Licenses Membership Dues to Societies and Professional Organizations Personnel Costs for UAMS Faculty Periodicals Professional Liability Insurance Subscriptions Telephone and Pager