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GRANT PROGRAMS
Starting with the March 1, 2007 Children’s
Research Center of Michigan (CRCM) grant submission deadline,
a number of changes will take effect that impact current
CRCM grant programs. This introductory
section only highlights these changes. You are encouraged
to read the corresponding sections below for more details.
There are two major changes in the programs. The first
is that there are now four (4) possible funding opportunities
for investigators engaged in RESEARCH RELEVANT TO
THE MISSIONS OF
THE CRCM AND
CHILDREN’S
HOSPITAL OF MICHIGAN (CHM).
The 4 programs
are:
- A New Investigator Grant Program (NIGP) - up to $50,000/year
for up to two years - is for faculty members who
have not been funded by extramural sources such as the
NIH, foundations or companies. The requirements
and rules pertaining to this program are described
below.
- An Experienced Investigator Grant Program (EIGP)
- up to $25,000 for one year - is for faculty
members who currently have or have had extramural
support from the NIH, foundations or companies
and now wish to develop new areas of research or new
approaches towards their current interests.
The requirements and rules for this program are
also
described below.
- The Small Grant Program (SGP) remains unchanged.
The requirements and rules pertaining to this
program are detailed below.
- The Request for Proposals Grant Program
(RFPGP) remains unchanged. From time-to-time,
the CRCM may publish Requests for Proposals.
The second change in the CRCM Grant Programs
is that all grant proposals will be evaluated
only by reviewers, preferably
extramural,
who
are experts in the topic area. Grant
proposals will no longer be reviewed by the CRCM Grant
Program Committee, which has been
disbanded. The reviewers
will be asked to evaluate grant applications
in terms of their innovativeness, significance,
approach, feasibility,
and potential
to be competitive for
subsequent funding by extramural agencies.
As in the past, all investigators are encouraged
to speak with the
CRCM Director before
applying for one
or more of these funding programs as
these discussions can often clarify and facilitate
the process.
All applicants are required to use the
forms provided through the link below. Applicants
must follow all of the directions
to complete
these forms UNLESS otherwise
instructed in the text below.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
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Applications for research grants may be submitted by faculty
or equivalent staff (defined as individuals who can apply for extramural
support for which Wayne State University (WSU) or the Detroit Medical
Center (DMC) acts as the fiduciary) from any component or unit of CHM,
WSU or the DMC. However, for support by the CRCM, CLEAR AND
COMPELLING evidence that the proposed investigations are relevant to the missions
of the CRCM and CHM must be presented.
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Applicants from Departments other than Pediatrics or other CHM-departments/divisions
are STRONGLY encouraged to recruit a co-investigator who is a faculty
member in the Department of Pediatrics or whose appointment is directly
related to CHM. The co-investigators must be real and active participants
in the proposed research. Applications that do not satisfy this recommendation
may be at a disadvantage.
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Fellows, residents and students cannot apply for support using this
mechanism. For these individuals, other funding sources are available.
For further information about funding for fellows, residents and students,
please contact the CRCM office.
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Grant support may not be used to supplement research projects already
being supported by the Public Health Service, NIH, private or public
foundations, or from other sources
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A Principal Investigator may only submit one proposal for any application
deadline and may have only one active grant award in any funding cycle.
In addition, if an award is made and activated, the awardee may not
submit a new application that could be funded during the year following
termination of the last funded application (e.g., a grant terminates
on June 30th - the next earliest funding date would be July 1st of
the following year. Thus, the earliest submission deadline would be
March 1st preceding that July 1 start date).
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Grant support may not be requested for thesis or dissertation research.
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If the application is not funded, it may be resubmitted two additional
times (2 revisions). For revisions, the investigator must include an
additional page of introduction that explains how the grant application
has been changed. Also, the investigator must highlight these changes
in the text by using UNDERLINED BOLDFACE ITALICS.
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Racial/ethnic minority individuals, women, and persons with disabilities
are encouraged to apply as Principal Investigators.
MECHANISM OF SUPPORT
There are four (4) funding mechanisms. These are: the New Investigator Grant
Program (NIGP) - up to $50,000/year for up to two years - is for faculty members
who have not been funded by extramural sources such as the NIH, foundations
or companies; an Experienced Investigator Grant Program (EIGP) - up to $25,000
for one year - is for faculty members who currently have or have had extramural
support from the NIH, foundations or companies and now wish to develop new
areas of research or new approaches towards their current interests; the Small
Grant Program (SGP); and, a Request for Proposals Grant Program (RFPGP).
- The SGP is for preliminary/pilot research efforts. An
investigator may request funding up to $10,000 for work to be completed
within one year from initiation of the grant award. In order to
be considered for this mechanism of support, all other rules contained
in the description of Grant Programs apply unless specifically
abridged, changed, or excluded. An applicant for the SGP must follow
all of the rules and procedures, and use the same forms (the link
to forms is shown above on this Webpage) required for the other
grant programs. Submission and evaluation of applications to the
SGP are on a rolling basis and, therefore, there are no set deadlines.
Evaluations of these applications will be made by the CRCM Advisory
Committee and outside reviewers who are experts in the area of
inquiry.
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The NIGP, which also uses the forms linked
to this Webpage, may be requested for up to two years at up to
$50,000 per year for direct
costs. No support for indirect costs will be provided and an
award is not renewable. The award of funding for the second year
of support
will ONLY be made upon the submission
to the CRCM of a timely and complete progress report. Investigators
must submit the progress
report at least six weeks before the anniversary date for their
grant. Failure to submit a progress report will result in the
suspension of continuing support until such time that the progress
report
is submitted, reviewed and judged meritorious. When support for
the second year of activity is recommended, it will be allocated
in two phases. One half of the support for the second year of
research efforts will be made available immediately but the second
half
will be awarded only if the CRCM is provided with a copy of a
grant application that the investigator plans to submit to an
outside
funding organization, which can be federal, state, local or private.
Absent the provision of a grant application, the CRCM may decide
not to award the second half of funding for the 02 year research
year.
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The EIGP, which also uses the forms linked to this Webpage, provides
up to $25,000 for one year of research efforts. This program is
intended for faculty members who currently have or have had extramural
support from the NIH, foundations or companies and now wish to
develop new areas of research or new approaches towards their current
interests. “New areas of research” or “new approaches” toward
current investigatory interests are stringently defined. Because
of individual circumstances, potential applicants for this program
MUST discuss their research intentions with the CRCM Director BEFORE they apply for funding. Under no circumstances will support be
provided for indirect costs nor is an award renewable. Investigators
must submit the progress report at least six weeks before the anniversary
date for their grant.
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Support can be used for faculty salary, research associates and
technicians. However, for faculty salary support, only up to 5%
of the applicable NIH maximum for this category can be requested
AND the applicant's department must, in writing, agree to pay 2.5%
of this amount with the CRCM funding the other 2.5%. Support cannot
be used for travel, secretarial services or other services ordinarily
provided by CHM, WSU or the DMC. Grant support can be used for
small pieces of equipment (not to exceed a total of $5,000), and
supplies.
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Under special circumstances, a no-cost extension of up to 1 year,
not to exceed the equivalent of 6 month's budget, may be granted
prior to expiration of the project period. All requests for an
extension MUST be submitted to the CRCM Director at least 6 months
before the end of the funding period.
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Rebudgeting between line items in excess of $1000 requires the
approval of the CRCM.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
- These grant programs provide limited and relatively rapid
financial support for research within the program interests of
the CRCM and CHM.
- Funding decisions will be based on scientific merit as determined
by peer review, with priority given to applications in any of
the following three categories:
- Newer, less experienced investigators.
- More experienced investigators, for exploratory studies
that represent significant change in research direction.
- More experienced investigators, for testing new methods
or techniques.
- Applications MUST include an introductory paragraph in the research
plan section of the application identifying
which priority category (1 through 3 above) is relevant and providing explicit
justification
for its applicability. Failure to provide this
introductory paragraph
will result in the application being returned
to the investigator
without comment or consideration.
- If the application does not fall into any of the priority categories,
this should be stated.
- While applications may involve a wide variety of biomedical, behavioral,
or clinical disciplines, relevance to the mission
of the CRCM and CHM must be clear.
- Applications for studies outside these areas will be returned without
review.
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Potential applicants with questions concerning acceptability of
their proposed work may contact Dr.
William D. Lyman, Director, Children’s Research Center
of Michigan, 3737 Beaubien, Detroit, MI 48201. Tel. (313)
745-2400,
Fax (313) 745-0282,
E-mail wlyman@med.wayne.edu.
INCLUSION OF CHILDREN, WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN
SUBJECTS
- It is the policy of the CRCM that children, women and
members of minority groups and their subpopulations must be included
in all CRCM-supported biomedical and behavioral research projects
involving human subjects, unless a clear and compelling rationale
and justification are provided that inclusion is inappropriate
with respect to the health of the subjects or the purpose of the
research.
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All investigators proposing research involving human subjects should
read the "NIH Guidelines For Inclusion of Women and Minorities
as Subjects in Clinical Research," which have been published
in the Federal Register of March 28, 1994 (FR 59 14508-14513) and
reprinted in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, Volume 23,
Number 11, March 18, 1994.
APPLICATION PROCEDURES
- In order to reduce the use of paper, all applications
are to be submitted as one (1) paper copy with original signatures
and electronically as email attachments or on a CD using the last
revision of form PHS 398 (the link is provided above). APPLICATIONS
FOR THE NIGP AND EIGP WILL BE ACCEPTED UNTIL 4:00 PM ON THE DAY
OF THE STANDARD DEADLINE - EITHER MARCH 1ST OR SEPTEMBER 1ST -
OF EACH CALENDAR YEAR. Applications must arrive and be logged into
the CRCM application database before 4:00PM. Applications that
arrive later than this time will be considered for a subsequent
grant deadline - at the earliest, 6 months hence. If either March
1 or September 1 is on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, applications
must be received by the CRCM on the last business day before these
days. For the SGP and RFPGP, applications will be accepted on a
rolling basis (i.e., no deadline).
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The application must be completed according to the instructions
accompanying the PHS 398, with the following exceptions:
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The narrative portion of the grant application that describes the
research plan (items a-d) may not exceed 10 pages of text. Applications
exceeding this length will be returned without review. Appendices
may not be used to exceed the page limitation.
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An introductory paragraph to the research plan MUST identify which
of the three priority categories listed under RESEARCH
OBJECTIVES applies and provide an explanation of how that priority category
applies.
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If the application does not fall into any of the priority areas,
this should be stated.
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All applications will receive critiques and undergo a process in
which only those applications deemed to have the highest scientific
merit, generally the top half of applications under review, will
be discussed and assigned a priority score.
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A summary of the grant proposal in lay language MUST accompany
the application. The style and content of this summary should be
understandable to an individual with a high school education.
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Also remember, that any publication or abstract based on work wholly
or partially funded by the CRCM must acknowledge CRCM's participation
(support, etc).
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Each applicant MUST submit the names, complete current and accurate
contact information (addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses)
of at least 6 potential grant reviewers who are experts in the
field of proposed investigation. These individuals should not be
DMC/WSU faculty or staff. Failure to comply with this request will
result in the return of the application to the investigator without
review or comment.
REVIEW CRITERIA
When reviewing applications for scientific merit, the review committee will
consider the following criteria:
- Innovativeness/significance of the research idea; creativity of the approach
• Qualifications of the PI and other relevant staff
- For pilot studies, the potential of the proposed study to be a building
block in the development of future research
- Appropriateness of the proposed approach; i.e. the research design, methods,
and analyses
- Availability and quality of the proposed resources. Appropriateness of
the budget for the tasks proposed
- Adequacy of plans to include both genders and minorities and their subgroups
as appropriate for the scientific goals of the research
- Plans for the recruitment and retention of subjects will also be evaluated
- The experts who review the application will also examine the provisions
for the protection of human and animal subjects, the safety of the research environment,
and conformance with the NIH Guidelines for the Inclusion of Women and
Minorities
as Subjects in Clinical Research
- In applying the above criteria, reviewers take into consideration the
stage of scientific career development of the principal investigator
- After their review for scientific merit and the assignment of a priority
score, reviewers will evaluate the justification provided for the priority category
listed for this program. An administrative note in the summary statement
documenting
the review will reflect their evaluation.
AWARD CRITERIA
- Funding is dependent on the availability to the CRCM
of adequate financial resources.
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Grant applications must clearly demonstrate that the proposed investigators
are directly relevant to the mission of the Children's Research
Center of Michigan and Children's Hospital of Michigan.
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In addition, CRCM staff will consider the reviewers’ evaluation
of the justification for the grant priority category.
INQUIRIES
Inquiries are encouraged. The opportunity to clarify any issues or questions from
potential applicants is welcome. Direct inquiries regarding programmatic issues to Dr.
Lyman at (313) 745-2400 or wlyman@med.wayne.edu.
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