A Letter of Intent (LOI) is required for all grant applications and must be submitted as one PDF file containing the following information:

• A brief description of the background, objectives and rationale for the project (1-2 pages)
• Key preliminary data (up to 4 pages)
• An estimate of the budget
• CV/biosketch for Principal Investigator and key personnel (include contact information)

    For postdoctoral applicants:

• A document (up to 2 pages) outlining the career and mentorship plans during the tenure of the award, and intended plans post postdoctoral training. Applicants must describe his/her overall career goals, as well as describe how the proposed research and training environment will enable the attainment of these goals. Identify the skills, theories, conceptual approaches, etc. to be learned or enhanced during the award.
• A letter of reference from the applicant's faculty advisor is required.

Project Description
The description of the project (excluding references to literature) should not exceed 10 pages, which includes the specific aims, background, preliminary data, and research plan. This page limit excludes references and applies to grants less than $150,000. Larger grants do not have page number restrictions. All grant proposals must provide adequate detail for reviewer evaluation.

Budget
A detailed budget must be submitted with all proposals, including a justification of all requested expenses. Allowable expenses are: personnel costs/salary with fringe benefits, laboratory reagents and supplies, equipment, animal expenses, publication costs, patient expenses directly related to study and not reimbursable by third party insurers, and patient travel. Expenses that will not be awarded include: indirect costs/overhead, tuition costs, investigator travel to meetings and conferences, memberships in scientific societies.

Milestones
All projects must have objective milestones that are clearly communicated. We appreciate that some projects, especially those that are more basic-science oriented, might need to have milestone adjustments based on specific experimental outcomes. If the proposal is funded, FARA will utilize the proposed milestones for scheduling progress reports and monitoring the project.

Human Subjects
If human subjects are used in the proposed study, the study must be approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) or equivalent. Full funding will not be provided until proof of IRB approval is demonstrated to FARA. Human subjects studied during research conducted under a FARA grant are under no circumstances a responsibility of FARA.

Animal Research
If animals are used, the proposed study must be approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), or equivalent, indicating that appropriate precautions have been taken to assure that proper treatment, care and humane conditions are provided.

Other documents
This can include all supporting materials such as appendices, institutional transmittal forms, detailed budget pages, etc.

1. The SRC makes a preliminary review and if the application is considered acceptable, it undergoes external peer-review by established researchers with the appropriate expertise. The reviewers are assigned by the SRC, often based on suggestions provided by the applicant. All reviewers sign nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements with FARA.
2. Each reviewer provides comments and scores based on significance of proposal, approach/methods of the research plan, innovation, investigator/experience, and environment/resources. If funding is recommended, comments are also provided on the appropriateness of the requested budget.
3. Sometimes reviewers raise questions to the applicants, questions that are critical to determine whether a proposal should be recommended for funding. These applicants are invited to respond to reviewer comments to address these considerations. If the SRC finds the applicant response to reviewer comments satisfactory, they will move the application forward. The SRC may send the applicant’s response to reviewer comments back to the original reviewers or to additional reviewers for recommendation for funding.
4. Following this thorough discussion of the reviews, as well as the significance and relevance of the proposed research to FARA’s mission and strategic research priorities, the SRC submits those applications for which funding is recommended to the FARA Board of Directors (Executive Committee).
5. In making a final funding decision, the FARA Executive Committee considers the reviewer comments, the SRC comments and recommendation, the importance and priority level of the proposed research to FARA’s goals, and the availability of funds in the FARA treasury (including an assessment of future commitments and requirements).
6. Only applications that are recommended for funding by the SRC will be considered for funding by the FARA Executive Committee. The funding decision made by the FARA Executive Committee is final.

Instructions and format for Progress and Final Project Reports are as follows:


 
 
 

LOIs and invited grant applications must meet the specified deadlines. Exceptions are made only for projects of high priority to FARA. With compelling justification for special consideration, investigators with high-priority projects may submit LOIs throughout the year and may also have a budget greater than $150,000 per year. Please submit all special consideration requests and LOIs via email, grants@curefa.org.

Occasionally FARA may issue Requests For Proposals (RFPs) targeting a high priority research area. Each RFP will have its own specific deadline and budget limit.

FARA funds only direct costs. Indirect costs will not be awarded.

Grant awards are made in one-year allocations. As stipulated in the contractual agreement with FARA, satisfactory progress reports (following the instructions under Reporting Requirements) must be received before FARA will provide funds for the second year of a 2-year project.

All unused funds at the end each year must be returned to FARA. In exceptional circumstances, FARA may approve a Request for a No-Cost Extension.

FARA reserves the right to terminate any grant award for inadequate progress, failure to submit reports, deviation in scope of the original research, and/or changes in FARA funding priorities. If an award is terminated, all unused funds must be returned to FARA.

Growing and developing the FA research community is a priority for FARA. As such, FARA encourages applications from junior investigators and young clinicians. FARA does not explicitly award junior investigator or training grants, but encourages early-stage researchers to apply through FARA grants appropriate for the type of research proposed. FARA reviewers consider the investigator’s career stage and will review the grant with this information in mind. It is also encouraged for junior investigators to submit a personal statement describing their current position and plans for the future as it relates to FA research, and letters of support from mentors are highly encouraged. If junior investigators would like support through the application process or general advice on grant writing, they may contact grants@curefa.org.

FARA will accept grant submissions from industry partners who have a demonstrated participation in the FA research community and are advancing therapeutic candidates for FA. FARA requires that a Letter of Intent (LOI) be submitted prior to the submission of a grant proposal. All projects/requests should be:

• Directly related to advancing a therapeutic candidate closer to clinic, and/or
• Addressing an FA-specific issue that could be of benefit to the entire field, such as biomarker validation or mechanism of action.

FARA will also accept proposals for direct patient-related expenses for clinical studies.