At a minimum, all prospective CDs and PIs must hold a Ph.D., M.D. or equivalent degree and have a faculty position or the equivalent at a college, university, medical school or other research facility. It is expected that successful applicants will be recognized scientific leaders in their respective fields with a history of working collaboratively with other investigators of diverse talents and approaches. See the Personnel FAQ section for more information on the responsibilities of a Collaboration director and principal investigator.

Applications may be submitted by domestic and foreign nonprofit organizations; public and private institutions, such as colleges, universities, hospitals, laboratories, units of state and local government; and eligible agencies of the federal government. There are no citizenship or country requirements.

Commercial or other for-profit organizations interested in applying must obtain permission from SFARI prior to submission. Interested organizations should contact [email protected] prior to application submission to inquire about eligibility.

A Collaboration will consist of one Collaboration director, and a minimum of two (2) additional principal investigators (PIs). Each subproject must have a designated PI. Given the complexity of activities, the Foundation strongly encourages the inclusion of a project manager/coordinator who will work closely with the CD and the PIs to facilitate activities across the Collaboration. Additional key personnel may be included, but are not limited to: co-investigators, consultants, postdoctoral research associates and others. Since inclusion of diverse viewpoints is critical for scientific advancement, the Foundation strongly encourages the inclusion of researchers who span institutions, career stages and groups historically underrepresented in science.

Yes. The Foundation encourages assembling the strongest scientific team to address the goals of the Collaboration, regardless of geographical location or institutional affiliation.

Yes. Foreign institutions may apply. Please see Simons Foundation policies regarding international grants.

Collaboration director
In addition to meeting the minimum requirements for a PI, the Collaboration director is responsible for the scientific and technical direction of the proposed research project. The CD will oversee the scientific activities of the other members, manage the overall functioning of the Collaboration, and will be responsible for monitoring and reporting on the overall progress of the individual projects. The CD is also responsible for contractual and financial obligations, and other organizational assurances/certifications, and must ensure that Collaboration members comply with the terms and conditions of the award. The CD will be SFARI’s main point of contact for the activities of the Collaboration.

Principal Investigator
An individual (or individuals) judged by the applicant organization to have the appropriate level of authority and responsibility to direct a subproject supported by the Collaboration. All PIs must hold a Ph.D., M.D. or equivalent degree and have a faculty position or the equivalent at a college, university, medical school or other research facility. In addition, eligible applicants must have independent lab space at their institution. He or she is responsible and accountable to the applicant organization and SFARI for the proper conduct of the project or activity. Principal investigators (PIs) are expected to conduct research that advances the goals of the Collaboration and to provide the CD with relevant information for reporting on progress and finances, as well as organizational assurances/certifications.

Co-Investigator
An individual involved with the PI in the scientific development or execution of a subproject. The co-investigator must hold a Ph.D., M.D. or equivalent and be employed by, or affiliated with, the applicant/grantee organization or another organization participating in the project under a consortium agreement. A co-investigator is considered key personnel, but the Simons Foundation does not require a minimum effort from the co-investigator. The designation of a co-investigator, if applicable, does not affect the PI’s roles and responsibilities, nor is it a role implying multiple PIs.

We seek applications from independent investigators who can devote a substantial portion of time to this effort. There is no minimum percent effort required for any personnel, but we expect personnel, in particular the CD and PIs and co-investigators, to have efforts that reflect their substantive roles in the Collaboration.

No. Please list only additional key personnel on the application (i.e., principal investigators, co-investigators, postdoctoral research associates, etc.).

You can save personnel details in the key personnel section on the application.

Yes, co-investigators and additional personnel can be listed on multiple applications.

We do not require letters of support or letters of collaboration from co-investigators. If a letter is prepared, it can be uploaded as “Appendix – In-press papers on related topics.”

New users first need to register on proposalCENTRAL (pC). For all users, log in and select create new proposal or click on the grant opportunities tab. The SFARI Collaboration program will be listed during the submission period. Click apply now to start the LOI and access all required templates. After all sections are completed and all required LOI attachments are uploaded, you will be able to hit the submit button to send the application.

Go to https://proposalcentral.com/ and click create one now under need an account? Fill in the required fields, check the boxes to agree to proposalCENTRAL’s “Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policy” and then click save.

No. The Simons Foundation accepts only applications submitted online through pC.

Please submit a PDF of the LOI document. Type should be set in 11-point, legible font. All margins should be set at 0.5 inches.

References, figures and figure legends are not included in the four-page LOI limit. Figures, figure legends and references (formatted as in the Journal of Neuroscience, including full author list, title and link to PubMed) should be included at the end of the Proposal Narrative but will not count toward the page limit.

Yes. Biosketches are required for all individuals listed in the team summary (e.g., Collaboration director, principal investigator and co-investigators).

No. The estimated total annual costs should be included in the Budget Overview template. In the Budget Overview, please include a summary of major budgetary categories, including personnel, equipment and other essential resources for each proposed project site within the proposed Collaboration. A detailed budget is not requested with the LOI.

Yes. You can add users with administrator access to the pC application so that someone other than the principal investigator (PI) can edit and submit the LOI.

Yes. Linked instructions for how to change the named Collaboration director can be found in the application. The person who starts an application will be named as the Collaboration director/named PI on the Applicant/PI page. If the Applicant/PI section does not show the correct person (e.g., someone else started the online application and you are the Collaboration director/named PI, or you started the application and someone else is the PI), you must update this section before submitting.

The submit button is located in the last section of the application. You will be unable to submit if you have not provided all the required information. If the submission deadline has not passed, use the validate button to check for missing requirements. If the problem persists, please contact [email protected].

If the deadline has passed, the submission period has closed and you will not be able to submit.

The validate button reviews your application for missing sections. The submission instructions list the required sections and attachments. You must complete the missing sections listed. If you are still receiving error messages after completing and saving the indicated sections, please contact [email protected].

No. Please be advised that application deadlines on the application are in Eastern time. We recommend registering early and submitting applications with ample time for corrections prior to the deadline hour. Site traffic can slow page-load times. The submit button will not work after the deadline time has passed.

A confirmation email is sent upon submission of the application. Please contact [email protected] if you submitted your application and have not received a confirmation email within 10 minutes. Make sure that spam filters allow emails from [email protected]. The application will be in the submitted tab when you next log in.

Before you can make changes to your submitted application, you must first contact the Simons Foundation. Please email [email protected] or call (646) 654-0066. Applications can only be changed prior to the deadline.

No. “Validating” the LOI checks for errors and omissions and will alert you to any missing requirements in your application. If the application is complete, you must then click the submit button. You will receive an email within 10 minutes and should contact [email protected] if you do not receive confirmation and do not see your LOI in the submitted tab or with the status changed to submitted.

You should receive notification within 24 hours of the deadline. Please check your spam filter settings if you have not received notification by then.

You can access and request information about the SSC, Simons Searchlight, SPARK and the AIC on SFARI Base. If you do not have a SFARI Base account, you must create one. If you have problems with the login or have questions regarding the collections, please email [email protected].

Please see the SPARK webpage for more information about the SPARK cohort and available data. You can access and request information about the data collected from SPARK via SFARI Base. If you do not have a SFARI Base account, you must create one. If you have problems with the login or have questions regarding the collections, please email [email protected].

No, but phenotypic and genetic data are currently available to approved researchers via SFARI Base.

Researchers may submit an application on SFARI Base. The SPARK Participant Access Committee considers applications on a quarterly basis, but applications may be submitted at any time. Please refer to the SPARK recruitment process document for more details and email [email protected] with any questions.

No. SSC, Simons Searchlight and AIC biospecimen costs are not included in the budget limit. Prices can be found on the price list on our website.

Researchers may submit an application through the Autism BrainNet website. Information on ABN tissue and data are available in the Autism BrainNet tissue catalogue.