Funding News
Funding News
American Cancer Society Moves Toward Electronic Grant Submission
In the last century, the rise of the personal computer and multiple network systems prompted the predictions of a completely paperless electronic office, laboratory, and indeed, a completely electronic global economy. The potential savings in production costs, old growth forests, and landfills were heralded by both economists and environmentalists. Today, this vision has been nearly realized with paper printers and fax machines laying idle and recycling bins rendered obsolete.
Now, back to reality. In fact, we are a long way away from realizing a totally paperless economy. Nevertheless, some funding organizations are making strides toward streamlining the application process by converting to electronic submission. Among them, the American Cancer Society (Web site: www.cancer.org) has begun a step-wise entrance into electronic grant submission for three new research grant programs beginning in the year 2000. They include: 1) Research Scholar Grant for Beginning Investigators; 2) Research Scholar Grants and Psychosocial Behavioral Research; and 3) Research Scholar Grants for Health Services and Health Policy and Outcomes Research.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) initiated a trial run for electronic submission in January of this year in order to test the waters. The first electronic grant submissions for these programs were due in April 2000 and investigators were required to also submit three copies in paper form. Although this deadline has now passed, the next deadline for grants for these three programs, and possibly other programs to be added in the future, will be Oct. 15, 2000, with a goal of complete electronic submission based on the results of this spring’s applications. Grant applications for these programs are available through the ACS Web site, with a link to a second site, Foundation Commons (www.foundationcommons.org), which acts as a clearing house for several grant-making organizations including the ACS, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Alzemhier’s Association, and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. Foundation Commons, the grant-makers’ electronic proposal processing system, proposes to ultimately become the end-to-end solution for electronic collection and processing of all grant applications submitted to and awards made by not-for-profit grant-making organizations. The participating foundations will access application information submitted to Foundation Commons and generate electronic awards and rejection notices. The PDF format application can be downloaded once the applicant’s information is entered. A tracking number is assigned to the application form, and once the application has been completed it is later uploaded and filed using the same tracking number and links at the same Web site. Since, the form is in PDF format, it is necessary to obtain a PDF reading and writing program, such as a Adobe Acrobat version 4.0. Unfortunately, the free, downloadable version available from Adobe Web site will allow the user only to view the form but not to save data entered onto the form, and therefore will not provide the functionality needed to complete and submit the application. Therefore, a copy of Adobe Acrobat 4.0 or higher must be purchased. This is available for $250 per copy through the Adobe Web site or through software retailers.
The Research Scholar Grants for Beginning Investigators (RSGBI) is intended to fund promising research projects intiated by investigators who are early in their career. These grants support basic, preclinical, clinical, cancer control, health services, health policy, or epidemiologic research projects for MDs or PhDs who are within the first eight years of their initial independent appointment. Funding of up to $2,500 per year for a period of up to four years is available, with an option of renewal for an additional four years. Up to 25% of indirect costs may be included. Applicants must be, at the time of the application, citizens or non-citizen nationals of the United States or must be legal permanent residents. Grant budgets typically cover costs of items such as salary, consumable supplies, special equipment, and other miscellaneous items required to conduct the proposed research. Although on-line electronic submission is a new approach, the same rules for peer review of applications apply as did previously. Applications are distributed to the most appropriate peer review committee of the ACS and at least two committee members are assigned for initial scientific review. The committees evaluate each application for scientific merit, qualifications, experience and productivity of the applicant, the facilities and resources available, and the promise of the research to benefit overall ACS cancer program.
The Research Scholar Grants for Health Services and Health Policy and Outcome Research (RSGHSHPOR) grants also offer funding for up to $250,000 per year for a period of four years, with an option for renewal for an additional four years. These grants are intended to provide monetary support for research projects centered on health services and health policy outcomes research and are awarded to investigators at any stage of their careers.
The Research Scholar Grants in Psychosocial and Behavioral Research (RSGPBR) grant provides up to $500,000 per year for five years with the option to renew for an additional five years and is intended to support researchers at any stage of their career involved with projects centered on the psychosocial and behavior aspects of cancer.
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