A Letter of Intent (LOI) is required for all grant applications and must include two PDF files:

The first PDF should describe:

1) The rationale for the proposed project and how the research fits within FARA's grant program priorities (up to 1 page);

2) The hypothesis to be tested and the specific aims (up to 1 page);

3) Key preliminary data of direct relevance to FA (no more than 2 pages);

4) References;

5) Estimate of budget request with justification. The budget limit for each grant type must be met. However, for General Research Grant applications, budgets exceeding $125,000/year will be considered if adequately justified, for example in case of collaborations involving multiple PIs. The maximum direct salary that can be requested cannot exceed the NIH salary cap. Please note the grant funding start dates for each cycle here and select your submission cycle accordingly.

The second PDF should provide the CV/biosketch for Principal Investigator (including contact information) and all other key personnel.
For Graduate Research Fellowships, Postdoctoral Fellowships and Postdoctoral Research Awards, this PDF file must also include a 1-2 page personal statement of career goals and how the proposed research and research training environment will facilitate achieving these goals.
In addition, a mentorship plan developed jointly by the postdoctoral scholar and mentor(s) must be included, as well as letters of support from mentor(s).

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, plus a brief statement on the suitability of the scientific environment and the availability of the necessary resources/equipment for the proposed research. 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, investigator travel to meetings and conferences and to facilitate collaborations, 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 and memberships in scientific societies. Budget justification for investigator travel to meetings, conferences and to facilitate collaborations must include the destination, number of people traveling and dates or duration of stay for all anticipated travel, and clearly state how the travel is directly related to the proposed research. Budget limits for each grant type must be met. However, for General Research Grant applications, budgets exceeding 125,000/year will be considered if adequately justified, for example in the case of collaborations involving multiple PIs. The maximum direct salary that can be requested cannot exceed the NIH salary cap.

For Graduate Research Fellowships, the only allowable budget items are the graduate student’s salary/stipend (not to exceed the NIH stipend level), plus applicable fringe benefits (including health insurance) and tuition costs and fees that are not already covered by the institution.

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, letters of support, etc.

Description
The Award for Innovative Mindset (AIM) supports the initial exploration of innovative, high-risk, high-gain, and potentially groundbreaking concepts in FA research, that will foster new directions, bring new perspectives to the field and address neglected issues in FA research. Studies supported by this award mechanism are expected to lay the groundwork for future avenues of scientific investigation. The proposed research project should include a well-formulated, testable hypothesis based on strong scientific rationale and study design. The presentation of preliminary and/or published data is encouraged, but not required.
The proposed research project should be innovative - introduce a novel paradigm, challenge existing paradigms, examine existing problems from novel perspectives, or exhibit other highly creative qualities. Research that is an incremental advance upon published data is not consistent with the intent of this award mechanism. It is the responsibility of the Principal Investigator (PI) to clearly and explicitly articulate how the proposed research project is innovative in the field of FA.
Only a few research applications that are innovative and feasible, specifically address the critical needs of the FA community and are consistent with the mission of FARA will be considered for review and funding.

Submission
Please submit your proposal here, by using the LOI submission form and uploading all required information. Please select “Award for Innovative Mindset” from the dropdown menu when submitting the application.

Requirements
The proposal has a four-page limit that applies to text and non-text elements (e.g., figures, tables, graphs, photographs, diagrams, chemical structures, drawings) used to describe the project. References are not included in the page limit. Describe the proposed project in detail using the outline below.

• Rationale: Clearly articulate the rationale for the proposed research project. The presentation of preliminary and/or published data is encouraged, but not required.
• Innovation: Provide a brief summary of the proposed research that emphasizes the innovation it brings to the field of FA and the potential impact of this line of investigation.
• Hypothesis: State concisely the specific hypothesis that will be tested as it relates to a new concept, theory, paradigm, and/or method that addresses an important problem in FA research.
• Specific Aims: Concisely explain the proposed research project’s specific aims.
• Research Strategy and Feasibility: Describe the experimental design, methods, and analyses, including appropriate controls, in sufficient detail for scientific peer review. Address potential problem areas and present alternative methods and approaches. State clearly how you are qualified to test the specific hypothesis you are putting forward.

The proposal should also include a brief lay summary and an estimate of the budget with justification (not included in the four-page limit), as well as the CVs/biosketches for the Principal Investigator (PI) and co-investigators (if any are included). The anticipated direct costs budgeted must not exceed $100,000. FARA does not fund indirect costs.
Investigators at all academic levels (or equivalent) may be named as the PI on the application. We particularly encourage junior investigators to apply.
Only highly competitive proposals that are considered feasible will be peer-reviewed; no feedback will be provided for applications that are not reviewed. The award recipients will be announced by May 1 and the grant start date will be between June 1 and July 1.

Review process
All applications are first reviewed by the members of the FARA Scientific Review Committee (SRC), who score each application for innovation and impact. Those that rank highly then undergo full external peer-review. The external reviewers are selected by the SRC and each of the reviewers provides comments and scores for innovation, impact and approach.

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 confirm that they do not have a conflict of interest before reviewing a grant application. Click here to read FARA's guidelines on assessing conflict of interest
2. Each reviewer provides a score for the “Overall Impact” of the proposal, as well as scores for 5 specific criteria (significance, investigator, innovation, approach/methods, and environment/resources), and comments that justify the scores given for these criteria.
3. Sometimes reviewers raise questions to the applicants, questions that are critical to determine whether a proposal should be recommended for funding:
   a) When these questions can be addressed quickly, the applicant is asked to provide a response to the reviewer comments, usually within a month. If the SRC finds the applicant’s response to the reviewer comments satisfactory, the application will be moved forward.
   b) If a more detailed response is required, the applicant will be asked to submit a response to the reviewer comments and a revised application by the next grant cycle deadline. This rebuttal will be sent back to the original reviewers or to additional reviewers for their comments. These revised applications will compete for funding with all applications received in the following grant cycle.
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 $125,000 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. Reviewers consider the investigator's career stage and will review the grant application with this information in mind. For Graduate Research Fellowships,Postdoctoral Fellowships and Postdoctoral Research Awards FARA requires junior investigators to submit a personal statement describing their current position and plans for the future as it relates to FA research, with a description of career goals and how the proposed research and research environment will favor achieving those goals. A mentoring plan developed jointly by the junior investigator and mentor(s), as well as letters of support from all mentors are also required. 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.