2021 Pilot Award – Request for Applications

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 principal investigator.

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

Senior postdoctoral research associates who are interested in pursuing an independent career in autism research are encouraged to apply for SFARI’s Bridge to Independence Award RFA.

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

BTI awardees may not apply to be PIs on a SFARI Pilot Award application within two years of the BTI grant start date. However, BTI awardees may be named in other personnel roles, including co-investigator and consultant. After the two-year moratorium, BTI awardees may apply as a PI for any SFARI grant program. Note that this moratorium applies only to SFARI grants and no other grant award programs within the Simons Foundation, such as the Simons Collaboration on the Global Brain or the Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship Awards.

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. He or she is 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. He or she 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.

When relevant, the applicant organization may designate multiple individuals as PIs who 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 application is submitted, will serve as the contact PI for administrative purposes. The contact PI must be affiliated with the institution submitting the application. The contact 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.

No. Please list only additional key personnel on the application (i.e., co-investigators, non-contact PI(s), 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 a New Proposal” or click on the “Grant Opportunities” tab. The SFARI programs will be listed during the submission period. Click “Apply Now” to start the application and access the template. After all sections are completed and your application PDF is uploaded, you will be able to hit the “Submit” button to send the application.

Go to https://proposalcentral.com/ and click “Create An Account Now.” 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.

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 application.

Yes, linked instructions for how to change the contact PI can be found in the application.
The person who starts an application will be named as the 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 PI, or you started the application and someone else is the PI), you must update this section before submitting.

No, only the signing official is required to sign the signature page.

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 pcsupport@altum.com.

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 pcsupport@altum.com.

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 pcsupport@altum.com if you submitted your application and have not received a confirmation email within 10 minutes. Make sure that spam filters allow emails from pcsupport@altum.com. 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 sfarigrants@simonsfoundation.org or call (646) 654-0066. Applications can only be changed prior to the deadline.

No. “Validating” the proposal checks for errors and omissions and will alert you to missing requirements of 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 pcsupport@altum.com if you do not receive confirmation and do not see your application 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.

Principal Investigators may submit multiple applications for funding, however SFARI is exceedingly unlikely to award more than one grant to a given PI in a single year.

Unsuccessful applications submitted to previous SFARI RFAs may be resubmitted in subsequent RFAs. For all resubmissions, we ask PIs to submit a statement of changes describing substantive changes to the application since the previous submission. If the previous application was externally reviewed, this document should include point-by-point responses to the reviewers’ critiques. This document will be used primarily by SFARI’s internal scientific staff, although in some cases portions of it may be shared with external reviewers at SFARI’s discretion. If the revised application does not include substantive changes, it is unlikely that the outcome will change. This is especially true for applications that were not externally reviewed, as this decision is often based on the relevance of the project to SFARI’s mission.

Given the focus of the Pilot RFA on bold, imaginative new ideas, it is unlikely that a renewal of a currently funded project (either from SFARI or elsewhere) will be a good fit for this RFA. We encourage investigators to seek continuation support from outside funding sources. In exceptional cases where progress has been stellar, SFARI may provide continuation funding for projects of particularly high impact, at the discretion of the science team. Decisions on new proposals from current SFARI Investigators will include the evaluation of progress on previous or ongoing SFARI grants.

The LOI will include all scientific information that is required for the entire application review process. All documents submitted as part of the LOI process will remain in place for the second stage (full proposal) of the review process. There will not be a new or revised proposal requested or allowed at the full proposal stage of review.

The following components are required to submit a LOI:

• Pilot RFA Specific Aims Page
• Pilot RFA Proposal Narrative
• Human Participants Study Information Sheet (if relevant)
• Investigational Compound Information Sheet (if relevant)
• Biosketch
• Renewable Reagents and Data Sharing Plan

Additional details on submission requirements can be found in the instructions.

The Specific Aims Page should be a summary of the proposed project focused on the research aims of the project, including a concise rationale for the hypothesis, description of preliminary data and experimental approach, and impact on autism research.

The Specific Aims Page should not exceed one (1) page of single-spaced, size 11-point text, 0.5 margins.

Pilot Award Proposal Narratives should not exceed three (3) pages single-spaced, size 11-point text, 0.5 margins. Figures, figure legends and references should follow the narrative text and will not count towards the page limit.

The Proposal Narrative should be considered an expanded version of the Specific Aims Page and used to provide more detail on the following:

• Relevant scientific background
• Preliminary results when applicable
• Specific aims
• Experimental design
• Pitfalls and alternative strategies
• Project significance and relevance to autism
• Timeline and milestones

SFARI considers the following information crucial for the evaluation of a project and encourages including the following details (where relevant):

• Induced pluripotent stem cell lines and controls to be used, and their availability
• Animal model strains/lines and their availability
• Patient cohorts used (including source of participants, sample size and availability of genetic data). Investigators should also complete the Human Participants Study Information Sheet.
• Datasets or biospecimen collections to be used (including SFARI resources) and their availability
• A brief statement of statistical power
• Investigators should refer to the Methodological and Statistical Considerations Sheet for further information on necessary experimental detail to include in the proposal narrative.

References, figures and figure legends are not included in the page limits for the Proposal Narrative, although we have a limit of 10 figures (each fitting on a single page). Please attach them at the end of the narrative in the same PDF file. The Simons Foundation’s preference is for figures to follow the narrative rather than be embedded in the text. References should be in Journal of Neuroscience format, including full author list, title and a link to PubMed.

For all resubmissions, we ask PIs to submit a statement of changes describing substantive changes to the application since the previous submission. If the previous application was externally reviewed, this document should include point-by-point responses to the reviewers’ critiques. This document will be used primarily by SFARI’s internal scientific staff, although in some cases portions of it may be shared with external reviewers at SFARI’s discretion.

In-press papers can be included as appendices, as well as any papers that you consider essential for the work of the review committee. Include no more than three (3) papers. Any other material should be included, if possible, in the narrative. If you have video attachments for your proposal, please upload as an appendix (all file types are accepted).

Yes. All applications proposing to recruit human participants must complete the Human Participants Study Information Sheet available in proposalCENTRAL.

The full proposal will include all additional components required to complete the full application review process. Proposal narratives, along with additional scientific information, will be collected at the LOI stage. There will not be an additional proposal narrative required or allowed at the full proposal stage.

The following new components will be required in the full proposal:

• Full budget, completed within proposalCENTRAL
• Budget justification
• Current and pending support for all key personnel
• Resources research environment
• Signed signature page

Additional details on submission requirements can be found in the instructions.

• Applications with multiple PIs from different institutions that would like to be paid separately must upload the following items in the “Proposal Attachments” section:
  • Signed signature page for each PI (available for download in the “Proposal Attachments” and “Download Templates & Instructions” sections).
  • Budget template for each non-applicant PI (available for download in the “Proposal Attachments” and “Download Templates & Instructions” sections).
  • The direct costs for all non-applicant PIs must be included in section 8 (“Budget Period Detail”) in the “Consortium & Contractual Direct” section, and indirect costs for all non-applicant PIs should be included in the “Indirect Costs” section. Please add a separate line for both direct costs and indirect costs for each non-applicant PI.
• Applications with multiple PIs from different institutions who will be paid directly by the contact PI’s institution are considered subcontracts. Subcontracts must submit:
  • Subcontract Detailed Budget (available for download in the “Proposal Attachments” and “Download Templates & Instructions” sections) for each subcontract.
  • Subcontract direct costs must be included in the “Consortium & Contractual Direct” section, and subcontract indirect costs should be included in the “Indirect Costs” section. Please add a separate line for both direct costs and indirect costs for each subcontract.
  • Only one signature page from the institution of the applicant PI submitting the application is required.
• Applications with multiple PIs from the same institution do not need to submit additional materials. Additional non-applicant PIs should be listed as key personnel in the “Key Personnel” section and in the “Budget Period Detail” section, and only one signature page is needed.

Applications with a subcontract (including PIs who will be paid directly by the contact PI’s institution) must submit:

• Subcontract Detailed Budget (available for download in the “Proposal Subcontract Detailed Budget” and “Download Templates & Instructions” sections) for each subcontract.
• Subcontract direct costs must be included in the “Consortium & Contractual Direct” section, and subcontract indirect costs should be included in the “Indirect Costs” section. Please add a separate line for both direct costs and indirect costs for each subcontract.

Yes. The total limit for a Pilot Award is $300,000, which includes indirect costs, at 20 percent for up to two (2) years. Allowable Indirect costs to the primary institution for subcontracts are not included in the $300,000 total budget threshold (see grant policies). Please note that indirect costs cannot be taken on equipment with a unit cost of more than $10,000 or on tuition or SSC and Simons Searchlight biospecimens.

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

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 collections@sfari.org.

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 collections@sfari.org 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.