2024 SFARI Pilot Progression Award — Request for Applications

The goal of the Pilot Progression Award is to provide continuing support for projects initiated during SFARI Pilot awards that have advanced significantly and produced insights that justify an extension.

Eligible applicants will be contacted with instructions for submission. Applications open on April 11, 2024.

Important Dates
  • Application available
  • Application deadline
  • Award notification
    November 2024
  • Award start date
    Awards may begin as early as February, 2025, but we encourage PIs to select a project start date that best accommodates the needs of their project. Funds are expected to be expended as requested during each annual budget period. Projects must begin on the first of the month.
Important Dates
  • Application available
  • Application deadline
  • Award notification
    November 2024
  • Award start date
    Awards may begin as early as February, 2025, but we encourage PIs to select a project start date that best accommodates the needs of their project. Funds are expected to be expended as requested during each annual budget period. Projects must begin on the first of the month.
Contact Info
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Important Dates
  • Application available
  • Application deadline
  • Award notification
    November 2024
  • Award start date
    Awards may begin as early as February, 2025, but we encourage PIs to select a project start date that best accommodates the needs of their project. Funds are expected to be expended as requested during each annual budget period. Projects must begin on the first of the month.
Contact Info

Eligible applicants will be contacted with instructions for submission. Applications open on April 11, 2024.

SFARI Mission

The mission of the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI) is to improve the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) by funding innovative research of the highest quality and relevance.

To this end, we solicit applications for Pilot Progression Awards from individuals who will conduct bold, imaginative, rigorous and relevant research.

Objective of the Pilot Progression Award

The goal of the Pilot Progression Award is to provide continuing support for projects initiated during SFARI Pilot awards that have advanced significantly and produced insights that justify an extension (please see below for specific eligibility criteria). We have always intended for SFARI Pilot awards to allow investigators to generate the preliminary data necessary to obtain continued funding from other sources for these novel projects, and indeed we have found that Pilot projects often lead to successful applications to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or other government funding agencies. However, we recognize that some projects remain too risky or are not considered high priority for other funders, yet they remain relevant and important to SFARI’s mission. The Pilot Progression Award is intended to fill this gap. Applicants are encouraged, where possible, to provide evidence of attempts to obtain funding for proposed work from other sources.

The Pilot Progression mechanism is intended for projects that generated promising preliminary data during their initial Pilot funding and remain relevant to ASD but may not yet be suited for funding from other sources. Pilot Progression awards are not meant to provide additional time and budget to support the completion of the original Pilot aims, but instead to support extensions or expansions of these projects, e.g., expanding the number of genetic models studied, moving to the next logical level of mechanistic understanding or broadening experiments to include additional behaviors or brain regions.

As with the original Pilot RFA, applications for Pilot Progression funding will be reviewed first by the SFARI science team, and then a subset will be peer-reviewed by an external review panel.

To get a better understanding of SFARI’s various funding initiatives in 2024 and whether the Pilot Progression Award may be the best mechanism to support your project, please carefully read the eligibility criteria below, as well as our recent blog post, “Updates to SFARI’s 2024 requests for grant applications.” Investigators who are unsure of which of the RFAs planned in 2024 would be the best fit for their project can also contact [email protected] for further information.

Level and Duration of Funding

The total budget of a Pilot Progression Award is $900,000 or less, including 20 percent indirect costs, over a period of up to three (3) years. Allowable indirect costs to the primary institution for subcontracts are not included in the total budget threshold (see grant policies). 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. Funds are expected to be expended as requested during each annual budget period. As with all SFARI funding, proposed budgets will be assessed on the appropriateness for the scope of work and merit of commitment. Larger budgets invite heightened scrutiny and will raise the bar for funding. Overlap of the proposed project with funding from other sources should be avoided and, if unavoidable, must be carefully explained and justified.

We strongly encourage investigators considering budgets that exceed our guidelines to consult SFARI before submission (please contact [email protected]).

Please note that in the event of budgetary or other considerations the Simons Foundation reserves the right to refer an application to the Simons Foundation International, Ltd. (SFI) for consideration and funding, in which case SFI’s grant policies would apply.

Eligibility

This RFA targets investigators who previously held SFARI Pilot grants that have ended or will end between July 1, 2022 and December 31, 2024 (including no cost extensions). Access to the online application for this RFA will be limited to investigators meeting these criteria. Investigators who do not meet these criteria (e.g., Bridge to Independence awardees) but view their projects as competitive for the objectives and scope of the Pilot Progression RFA may send a one-page summary of their project/specific aims to the SFARI science team at [email protected] for evaluation; rare exceptions to the criteria stated above may be made.

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 investigators within or outside the U.S. employed at nonprofit organizations; public and private institutions, such as colleges, universities, hospitals, laboratories, and units of state and local government; and eligible agencies of the federal government. There are no citizenship or country requirements.

Instructions for Submission

The deadline for application submission is 12:00 p.m. (noon) Eastern Time on Thursday, June 13, 2024.

Applications must be completed electronically and submitted via SAM. Eligible applicants will be notified by email with details on how to access the RFA call once the application opens on April 11, 2024.

Application templates will be available in SAM for those eligible to apply. Applications will include a Specific Aims page, a 5-page Proposal Narrative, and must include an up-to-date Progress Report from the previous Pilot grant. Up to 10 figures may be included separately and do not count towards the page limit.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Many of the greatest ideas and discoveries come from a diverse mix of minds, backgrounds and experiences. The Simons Foundation is committed to grantmaking that inspires and supports greater diversity and inclusiveness by cultivating a funding environment that ensures representation of all identities and differences and equitable access to information and resources for all applicants and grantees.

The Simons Foundation provides equal opportunities to all applicants for funding without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, pregnancy, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic disposition, neurodiversity, disability, veteran status or any other protected category under federal, state and local law. We also fund programs directed at supporting scientists from disadvantaged backgrounds or underrepresented groups, often working closely with professional societies and other funding agencies.

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Important Dates
  • Application available
  • Application deadline
  • Award notification
    November 2024
  • Award start date
    Awards may begin as early as February, 2025, but we encourage PIs to select a project start date that best accommodates the needs of their project. Funds are expected to be expended as requested during each annual budget period. Projects must begin on the first of the month.
Contact Info

The submission deadline is Thursday, June 13, 2024, 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time

This RFA targets investigators who previously held SFARI Pilot grants that have ended or will end between July 1, 2022 and December 31, 2024 (including no cost extensions). Eligible applicants will be contacted via email with instructions for submission. Applications open on April 11, 2024.

Applications must be submitted via the Simons Award Manager (SAM). Please click on the Funding Opportunities icon and navigate to the call for the Autism Research – Pilot Progression Award – 2024. Click the Create Application button to begin. Applications should be started and submitted under the applicant’s own account in SAM.

Please note that anyone submitting an application will be added to the SFARI newsletter mailing list.

Informational videos on submitting applications in SAM can be found here.

Application Submission Instructions:
To submit an application, the following sections must be completed:

  1. Proposal Tab:
    1. Applicant Details & Personal Data: Please complete the required fields listed below. The applicant may use the Edit Profile button to update their information as needed.
      1. Position/Job Title
      2. Academic Rank
      3. ORCID iD
    2. Personal Data: Disclosing demographic information is voluntary; however, a response is required for all demographic questions. If you do not wish to disclose any information, please select the “Prefer not to disclose” option for each question. To complete this section, please use the Edit Profile button. Please note that you will not be able to submit your application until a response has been provided for each demographic question.
    3. Academic Degrees: Click the Add/Modify Degree(s) button to provide this information.
    4. Application Details: Please complete the required fields below. Hovering over the question mark icons will provide additional information on required fields.
      1. Title: Enter a project title.
      2. Start Date and End Date: All start dates must be on the first of the month and end dates must be on the last day of the month. Awards should span three years (e.g. February 1, 2025 to January 31, 2028).
    5. Is this a renewal?: Select Yes and enter the ProposalCentral (pC) ID of your previous SFARI award that you are proposing to expand upon through the Pilot Progression award.
    6. Proposal – The following information/upload must be provided:
      1. Simons Collections Data and/or Biospecimens: indicate accordingly.
      2. Specific Aims: Upload via template provided.
      3. Proposal Narrative: Upload via template provided.
      4. Personnel Biosketches: Please upload a biosketch for all key personnel on the project using the template provided or using your NIH biosketch or NIH SciENcv.
      5. Resources and Research Environment: Upload via template provided.
      6. Progress Report: Please upload the most recent progress report for the current or previous SFARI award upon which your Pilot Progression application is based.
      7. Prior Funding Requests: Using the text field, please explain if you have applied for funding for this project from other funding sources. If not, please note why not. If you have applied to other funding sources, please explain what feedback you received. You may use the upload field to upload reviewer comments or other feedback received.
      8. Investigational Compound Information Sheet: Only required for investigators proposing to use investigational compounds or chemicals for which public information is not yet available. If required, upload via template provided.
      9. Human Participants Study Information Sheet: Only required for investigators proposing human participant research/clinical studies. If required, upload using template provided.
      10. Other: Upload any application materials that were specifically requested. Additionally, in-press papers can be included, 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.
    7. Data & Renewable Reagents: Indicate your plan for sharing data and renewable reagents (if applicable) by answering the provided questions.
  2. Contacts and Personnel Tab:
    1. Institution Administrative Contacts: At least one institution signing official and financial officer must be added to the Institution Administrative Contacts section before you will be able to submit your application.
    2. Project Personnel: Please indicate all key personnel on the proposed project. Key personnel include the PI and 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.
      1. Project personnel who will be named in the budget must be added to the Project Personnel section on this tab before they will display as available options in the budget module. This does not apply to TBD personnel.
      2. Instructions for multi-site applications: The Spokesperson PI will be the designated contact for the project. The Spokesperson PI will be responsible for directing the project and will coordinate all administrative deliverables.
        1. 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 “Principle 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.
        2. 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.
          1. Subcontract PIs with access should be added using the Application Role dropdown that indicated “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 “Key Personnel (Including Subcontracts) – Without Application Access,” which will not notify the Subcontract PI and will not give them access. Instead, this allows the contact PI to fill out the subcontract budget on their behalf.
        3. 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 “Key Personnel – With Access” or “Key Personnel (Including Subcontracts) – Without Application Access.” Under “add more details,” select the role “Non-Contact Principal Investigator.”
  3. Budget Tab: Click the Edit/Modify button to add a detailed budget. Any errors that must be corrected before submission will be displayed in red above the budget. If a budget has more than one period, using the “copy from previous period” functionality will copy items from the previous period into the current period.
    1. Subcontract Budgets, including budgets with PIs from different institutions who would like to be paid directly by the main institution, will be visible once the Subcontract is added in the Contacts and Key Personnel tab as described above.
    2. Multi-site budgets from different institutions that would like to be paid separately will be visible on each PI’s individual application, but they will not be able to see any individual salary information. They will see an aggregated personnel total.
    3. Budget Considerations
      1. Personnel: Please note that there is no salary cap for PIs or other faculty on a Simons Foundation grant; however, the compensation is prorated according to the individual’s percent effort on the grant. There is no minimum percent effort required for PIs or other personnel on any SFARI award type, but it is expected that the PI will commit sufficient effort to this project to provide a leading intellectual and guiding role on the project. PIs committing less than 15 percent effort to their project should justify their effort level in detail. SFARI funds may be used only for personnel considered employees of the grantee institution who are eligible for benefits. Funds may not be used for stipend or benefit supplementation unless specifically authorized under the terms of the program from which funds are derived. The Simons Foundation reserves the right to modify budgets when an application has been selected for an award (see Simons Foundation policies).
      2. Indirect costs (IDCs): Indirect costs to the primary institution are limited to 20 percent of direct costs with the following exceptions: equipment, tuition and any portion of each subcontract in excess of $25,000. The primary institution may take indirect costs on the first $25,000 modified total direct costs of each subcontract. Indirect costs paid to a subcontractor may not exceed 20 percent of the modified total direct costs paid to the subcontractor.
      3. Equipment: The Simons Foundation will own equipment purchased with foundation grant funds with a unit cost of $50,000 or more. At the end of the grant funding period or in the case of grant termination for any reason, the foundation reserves the right to retain ownership or cede ownership to the PI’s institution. Equipment with a unit cost of less than $50,000 shall be the property of the institution.
  4. Abstract & Keywords Tab: Provide an abstract for the proposed project in the Technical Abstract text box.
  5. Publications & Other Support Tab:
    1. Publications: Follow instructions for providing publications for all key personnel on the project. Publications can be added as a batch from a PubMed search by selecting Select publication from profile and then clicking the Assign publications for this proposal button. Note that publications will be used to determine conflicts of interest (COIs) for the review of your proposal; including a complete list of your publications over the last seven (7) years using this function, rather than the PDF upload option, will expedite the review process.
    2. Other Support: Follow instructions for providing other support information for all key personnel on the project.
      1. If using PDF upload, use NIH format.
  6. Organization Assurances: Indicate if the application has organizational assurances.
  7. Check Application Progress: Click the Check Application Progress button to check for any missing required information or files. All missing required information will be listed at the top of the screen and must be corrected before the application can be submitted.
  8. Send for sign-off: When the application is complete, click on the Send for sign-off button to send to your signing official for signature. You will receive a notification when the application is signed.
  9. Submit Application: When the full proposal application is complete and signed, click on the Submit Application button. A confirmation page will appear once the application is successfully submitted. It will appear in the Submitted tab of the Applications in Progress table. Please note that you will not be able to submit an application if the deadline has passed.

Please note that in the event of budgetary or other considerations the Simons Foundation reserves the right to refer an application to the Simons Foundation International, Ltd. (SFI) for consideration and funding, in which case SFI’s grant policies would apply.

Please note that narratives exceeding the three (5)-page limit will not be reviewed. Not included in the page limit are figures (up to 10, each fitting on one page), figure legends and references (formatted in the Journal of Neuroscience style).

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Important Dates
  • Application available
  • Application deadline
  • Award notification
    November 2024
  • Award start date
    Awards may begin as early as February, 2025, but we encourage PIs to select a project start date that best accommodates the needs of their project. Funds are expected to be expended as requested during each annual budget period. Projects must begin on the first of the month.
Contact Info
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