European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes (EFSD)
and
Lilly

EFSD / Lilly European Diabetes Research Programme

Request for Applications (RFA)

EFSD and Lilly announce funding of
Research Grants in 2008

Deadline: 1 September 2008

If you are applying for this Programme and need to apply for membership, please contact the EFSD office

   Background

The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) was founded in Montecatini, Italy, in 1965. In 1999, the Association created the European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes (EFSD). The aims of EFSD are to encourage and support research in the field of diabetes, to rapidly diffuse acquired knowledge and to facilitate its application.

Lilly is a world leader in insulin production and also manufactures and markets a variety of other pharmaceutical products. The headquarters of Eli Lilly and Company is in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.

   Plan

EFSD and Lilly have established the EFSD/Lilly European Diabetes Research Fund to promote increased European diabetes research and to increase public awareness and political understanding of the magnitude and burden of the disease.

To achieve its goals and objectives the Fund is issuing a request for applications (RFA) for research grants. The EFSD/Lilly Fund will accept applications within any area of basic or clinical diabetes research.

   Funding

Up to Euro 1.1 million has been made available from 2006 - 2008 for focused research grants. Research will be performed in Europe and its associated countries.

   Mechanisms of Support and Review

Research will be supported through the award of fixed sum grants, each of up to Euro 100,000, payable in the first year and in one instalment. The duration of each award may be one year or longer, depending upon the needs of the project and as justified in the application. The Programme Board, at the suggestion of the Review Committee, may at its discretion recommend an award in a lesser amount considered more appropriate for the proposed studies.

Applicants who have a funding requirement larger than Euro 100,000 are also invited to apply to this Programme, particularly if this relates to a clinical research project. In this case, the relevant financial requirements should be indicated and justified in the budget section of the application form.

Applications for an EFSD/Lilly Research Programme grant are invited from single non-profit institutions or groups of such institutions from Europe and associated countries. The principal investigator and any co-investigators must be normally employed at a non-profit institution and the study must be performed at such a place of work. Applications will be subject to scientific review by a specialised and independent ad hoc committee. Funding will require approval by a joint EFSD and Lilly Board convened for this purpose. Anticipated dates for application review and funding approval are given in the schedule at the end of this document.

   Research Grant Applications

Applications for research grants may be subjected to pre-review (or triage) procedures. In this event, any application rejected at pre-review will not be subject to a complete scientific review.

The deadline for receipt of research grant applications will be 1 September 2008.

All budgets are to be prepared in Euro. For countries in which the Euro is not yet the common currency, the exchange rate (between the Euro and the local currency in the country where the work is to be performed) used for calculating the Euro budget must be mentioned under "Budget Justification".

EFSD and Lilly reserve the right to increase or decrease approved funding in Euro amounts to compensate for any significant change in the exchange rate.

Application forms may be requested from: Foundation@easd.org

All applications must be prepared on the official forms and completed in strict accordance with the detailed instructions to be found on these forms. In particular, applicants are reminded that any pages in addition to the maximum of 10 allowed for the scientific section of the application will be deleted prior to review. Similarly, no applications using a font or line-spacing smaller than defined in the instructions will be considered for review. Additional material (in the form of an appendix, attachment, reprints, etc.) will not be accepted.

Applications should be submitted by 1 September 2008 (date of receipt in EFSD Office) to:

   Review Considerations

Completed applications will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria stated below for scientific/technical merit by an appropriate scientific committee convened by EFSD.

Review criteria are as follows:

• Significance: Does the study address an important problem? If the aims of the application are achieved, how will scientific knowledge be advanced? What will be the effect of the proposed studies on the concepts or methods that drive this field?
• Approach: Are the conceptual framework, design, methods and analyses adequately developed, well integrated, and appropriate to the aims of the project? Does the applicant acknowledge potential problem areas and consider alternative tactics?
• Innovation: Does the project employ novel concepts, approaches or methods? Are the aims original and innovative? Does the project challenge existing paradigms or develop new methodologies or technologies?
• Investigator: Is the investigator appropriately trained and well suited to carry out this work? Is the work proposed appropriate to the experience level of the principal investigator and other researchers (if any)?
• Environment: Does the scientific environment in which the work will be done contribute to the probability of success? Do the proposed experiments take advantage of unique features of the scientific environment or employ useful collaborative arrangements? Is there evidence of institutional support?
• Budget: Is the requested budget appropriate for the proposed study?

   Reporting Requirements

All investigators funded by this Programme are required to submit a scientific report at the end of the funding period. Investigators must provide EFSD with copies of papers accepted for publication, and must acknowledge the support of the Programme in all written material by use of the phrase: "This work was supported by an EFSD/Lilly research grant".

   Competitive Renewal

Applications for renewal of an EFSD/Lilly research grant will be accepted on a competitive basis, with the same review process as described in this announcement. Such applications will thus be considered in the same fashion as all other new applications received for review and without any special priority.

   Schedule

Enquiries should be directed to: