All applicants and key collaborators 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. 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. See the Personnel FAQ section for more information on the responsibilities of a SFARI PI.

No, postdoctoral associates may not apply as PIs even if your institution is willing to submit an application on your behalf.

Yes, foreign institutions may apply. Please see our grant policies regarding international grants.

A SFARI policy change in effect since July 2022 now allows Fellows-to-Faculty awardees to apply as PIs to this RFA, as long as they meet all eligibility criteria outlined in the RFA.

Principal Investigator

The individual(s) judged by the applicant organization to have the appropriate level of authority and responsibility to direct the project or program supported by the grant. 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. They are responsible and accountable to the applicant organization and SFARI for the proper conduct of the project or activity, including the submission of all required reports. They will act as the main point of contact for the foundation.

Co-investigator

An individual involved with the PI in the scientific development or execution of a project. 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 PIs and co-investigators, to have efforts that reflect their roles in the project.

Yes. Grants awarded through this RFA are intended to bring together scientists of diverse expertise. Multiple PIs share the authority and responsibility for leading and directing the project, intellectually and logistically. Each PI is responsible and accountable to the applicant organization or, as appropriate, to a collaborating organization, for the proper conduct of the project or program, including the submission of all required reports. The presence of more than one identified PI on an application or award diminishes neither the responsibility nor the accountability of any individual PI.

The first PI listed, under whose name the main proposal is submitted, will serve as the Spokesperson PI for administrative purposes. The Spokesperson PI must be affiliated with the institution submitting the application. The Spokesperson PI will be responsible for communication between SFARI and the rest of the leadership team.

The role type ‘Co-PI’ will not be used by SFARI.

Multiple PIs can be added under three scenarios: when they are from different institutions that would like to be paid separately, when they are from different institutions that would like to be paid directly by the main institution and when they are from the same institution. Instructions for each scenario are below.

Applications with multiple PIs from different institutions that would like to be paid separately must list the additional PI(s) in the Project Personnel section and use the Application Role dropdown that indicates ‘Principal Investigator: Multi-Site.’ This will generate a linked application that the additional PI and their institution must complete. Additional PIs will be notified via email that they have been invited to participate in a collaboration and will be able to access their application upon logging into SAM, which includes a budget and requires sign-off by a signing official from the individual PI’s institution. Additional PIs can work on their applications at the same time as the Spokesperson PI.

Applications with multiple PIs from different institutions that would like to be paid directly by the main institution are considered subcontracts. Subcontract PIs should be listed in the Project Personnel section either with or without access to the application.

1. Subcontract PIs with access should be added using the Application Role dropdown that indicates ‘Subcontract Lead – With Application Access,’ which will generate an email notification that they have been added to the application with access to view or edit the main or any subcontract budgets.
2. Subcontract Leads without access should be added using the Application Role dropdown that indicates ‘Project Personnel (Including Subcontracts) – Without Application Access,’ which will not notify the Subcontract PI and will not allow them access. Instead, this allows the Spokesperson PI to fill out the subcontract budget on their behalf. Under ‘add more details,’ select the role ‘Subcontract Lead.’

Applications from multiple PIs at the same institution do not need to submit additional materials. Additional non-applicant PIs can be added to this section as ‘Project Personnel – With Access’ or ‘Project Personnel (Including Subcontracts) – Without Application Access.’ Under ‘add more details,’ select the role ‘Additional Principal Investigator.’

Important: Please do not include the Spokesperson PI (main PI) in this section. Please list all other personnel, including any other individuals who contribute to the scientific development or execution of a project in a substantive, measurable way, whether or not they request salaries or compensation. This may include co-investigators, collaborators, postdoctoral research associates or equivalent employee positions.

You can save personnel details in the Project Personnel section on the Contacts and Personnel tab of 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.

The submission schedule is as follows:

• July 1, 2025: RFA Opens in SAM
• September 4, 2025, 12 p.m. Eastern Time: Submission Deadline

Applications must be submitted via the Simons Award Manager (SAM). Please click on the Funding Opportunities icon and navigate to the Autism Research – Data Analysis call. Click the Create Application button to begin. Applications should be started and submitted under the applicant’s own account in SAM.

If you are applying to the Simons Foundation for the first time, please register in SAM before selecting ‘Apply now.’ If you have a ProposalCentral (pC) account, a profile was created for you in SAM using the email address associated with your pC account. Please select ‘Forgot Password?,’ set a new password for your SAM account and then select ‘Apply now.’

No, the Simons Foundation only accepts applications submitted online through Simons Award Manager (SAM).

Yes, adding a user to the Institution Administrative Contacts section of the application as an Institution Administrator will give them full access to edit an application and submit it for sign-off. To do so, the person who created the application would navigate to the contacts and personnel tab of the application. Under the Institution Administrative Contacts section, they would select the user and use the drop-down to indicate their role. If the user does not yet exist, click on the create new institution official button, and add the newly created user as an Institutional Administrator.

Separately, to modify another user’s degrees, publications and other support, the user must add them to the Profile Access tab of their profile.

If one institution is included, or if multiple institutions are included but they are all paid directly by the main institution as subcontracts, only the Signing Official may sign and submit the application. When the application is complete, the PI will click on the send for sign-off button to send to their signing official for signature. Your signing official will see the application in the Applications to Review section when they log in and will be responsible for signing and submitting the application to the Simons Foundation.

Multi-site applications for institutions paid separately have an additional step for final submission. Once all linked applications have been signed by each institution’s signing official as described above, the Spokesperson PI will receive a notification that the application is ready for submission. The Spokesperson PI should click on the Submit Application Package button to finalize and submit the application package including all components from multiple sites.

The Submit button is located at the bottom right of the screen. You will be unable to submit if you have not provided all the required information. If the submission deadline has NOT passed, use the Check Application Progress 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 Check Application Progress 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. Make sure that spam filters allow emails from [email protected]. Additionally, the application will appear in the Submitted tab of the Applications in Progress table after submission.

Before you can make changes to your submitted application, you must first contact the Simons Foundation. Please email [email protected].  Applications can only be changed prior to the deadline.

You should receive a notification during the month listed on the RFA’s important dates section. Please check your spam filter settings if you have not received a notification by then.

Please note that in the event of budgetary or other considerations, The Simons Foundation, Inc. (“the Foundation” or “SF”) reserves the right to refer an application to The Simons Foundation International, Ltd. (“SFI”) for consideration and funding. SFI and SF have entered into an agreement pursuant to which SF provides program operations and grant administration services, including payment processing, to SFI. SFI grant recipients are subject to SF Policies and Procedures.

Publicly available data are those that can be accessed, either freely or through a controlled request process, by individuals beyond the primary data generators. Applicants may also newly make local datasets publicly available if they would like to utilize those data for this RFA.

This RFA will not support collection of new data. It is intended for use and analysis of pre-existing, publicly available datasets to answer new questions relevant to the SFARI mission.

Applicants may use one or more datasets to support their research project. Aggregating data is allowed but not required. All proposals should be feasible within the two-year duration of this award and the timeline for completing activities should be delineated in the Project Narrative.

The Dataset Descriptor should include a description of the data to be analyzed in the proposed project, including the following information:

• how data can be accessed (and any rules, restrictions and/or costs associated)
• how/where data were collected
• what data and associated metadata are included in the dataset
• dataset details, including variables of interest and how they are sufficient to address the proposed questions
• data stewardship (e.g., involvement of data generators/hosts in the project)
• restrictions (if any) on data use, reuse or future sharing (e.g., consent limitations on the type/area of research, non-commercial use only restrictions, etc.)

Note if any analyses or methods have been pre-registered.

The Dataset Descriptor should not exceed one (1) page of single-spaced, font size 11 text with 0.5-inch margins. Up to five (5) pages of figures or tables may be attached to the end of the one-page Dataset Descriptor to illustrate relevant characteristics of the dataset, as necessary. These should be included in the same PDF file and do not count towards the one-page limit.

The Proposal Narrative should not exceed three (3) pages of single-spaced, font size 11 text with 0.5-inch margins. Up to five (5) pages of figures or tables may be attached to the end of the three-page Proposal Narrative in the same PDF file; these do not count towards the three-page limit and are not required.

Figures, figure legends and references should be in Journal of Neuroscience format, including full author list, title and a link to published paper/preprint. References should follow the narrative text and will not count towards the page limit.

The Proposal Narrative should include the following:

• Relevant scientific background and relevance to autism and related neurodevelopment disorders
• Preliminary analyses, if applicable (not required)
• Specific aims, including hypotheses to be tested or hypothesis-generating questions to be asked
• Approach, including data access and analysis plan or modeling approach
• Alternative strategies or questions to interrogate
• Future directions
• Implications for advancing basic science of autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders
• Timeline and milestones

Preliminary analyses are not required, but data demonstrating feasibility of the proposed approach(es) may be included in the Proposal Narrative.

Figures and tables are optional. In the Proposal Narrative, they may be used, for example, to demonstrate feasibility of the analytic approach in other datasets. In the Data Descriptor, they may be used to illustrate relevant characteristics of the dataset. Up to five (5) pages of figures may be included attached to either or both document(s) and are not included in the page limit.

Figures, figure legends and references should follow the narrative text and will not count towards the page limit. References should be in Journal of Neuroscience format, including full author list, title and a link to published paper/preprint. Up to five (5) pages of figures or tables are allowed (but not required). Please attach them at the end of the three-page narrative in the same PDF file.

Investigators currently receiving SFARI funding on science relevant to the current proposal should include a progress report in two (2) pages or less.

Total project budget of $300,000 USD or less, including 20 percent indirect, over a two (2) year period. Compute costs can be requested separately (i.e., are not included in budget cap), with justification, including detailing institutional policy if computing locally, or rates of commercial provider of choice.

We encourage investigators to take advantage of the flexibility in budget and duration, tailoring the scope of the award as appropriate for their specific aims. Proposed budgets and timelines will be assessed on the appropriateness for the scope of work and merit of commitment. Funds are expected to be expended as requested during each annual budget period.

Please note that indirect costs cannot be taken on tuition, equipment with a unit cost of more than $10,000 USD, or any portion of a subcontract in excess of $25,000 USD.

You can access and request information about the SSC, Simons Searchlight, SPARK, AIC and Autism BrainNet 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].