ACE Research Awards - The Delaware CTR ACCEL program

ACE Research Awards:
ACCEL Community Engaged Research Awards
GOALS
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To conduct pilot Community-Engaged research and Community Based Participatory
research
To create or expand Community-Academic research partnerships
To develop strong Community-Engaged research proposals
To promote subsequent research funding, projects and peer-reviewed publications
PURPOSE
The purpose of these awards is to train scholars to conduct research that engages the community
in the research experience. This initial research experience of the ACE award should lead to
larger, externally-funded research and publications and support individuals to become
independent Community-Engaged researchers. Our vision is to improve outcomes that matter
to patients and communities through research.
The specific aims of the ACCEL program are to:
1. Develop the infrastructure to facilitate the growth and development of clinical and
translational research within the states of Delaware and South Carolina
2. Facilitate the recruitment, training, and professional development of clinicians, scientists,
and engineers that will synergistically develop outstanding clinical and translational
research programs
3. Develop model community engagement outreach research programs that promote health
and wellness to a diverse population of Delawareans
The specific aims of the Community Engagement and Outreach Component (CEO) of the
ACCEL program are:
1. Establish a new infrastructure that actively involves the community in setting clinical and
translational research priorities
2. Develop new community-institution partnerships in clinical and translational science
3. Identify, educate, and prepare community leaders, healthcare providers, and institutional
trainees, researchers, and scholars in the principles and practices of community-based
participatory research
KEY DATES
April 20th
May 6th
Call for proposals (CFP) opens on website
CFP meeting/videoconferencing (applicants strongly encouraged
to attend)
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Annual DE-CTR ACCEL Conference, “Learning from Each
May 18
Other: Building Academic-Provider-Community Partnerships for
Research”
st
Letter of Intent Due
July 1
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Proposal Due*
August 10
October 2015 Notice of Awards
November 5th Required Curriculum Begins**
February 2016 Curriculum Complete, IRB Proposals Approved, Projects Begin
* Note that each institution has its own office of sponsored programs (OSP) which must approve any proposal
PRIOR to submission. It is the responsibility of the Academic Investigator and Community Investigator to
ensure this approval prior to August 10, 2015.
** Details TBD but likely Thursdays 9-12 pm in Christiana Care Health System’s John H. Ammon Center.
ELIGIBILITY
The academic investigator (AI) must be a faculty member of one of the ACCEL Institutions:
University of Delaware, Nemours Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, Christiana Care Health
System, or The Medical University of South Carolina. The AI must have demonstrated ability to
conduct and disseminate research. A faculty member is defined as someone with a faculty rank
or equivalent position (above a post-doc). Questions about eligibility will be decided by the
ACCEL executive committee.
Teams will include at least one academic and one community partner, i.e. the Academic
Investigator (AI) and Community Investigator (CI). Teams must include at least one individual
who can represent or advocate for the community of the target population of the planned pilot
work; this can be the CI if appropriate. Both the AI and CI must be committed to the
development and continuation of this partnership for the purpose of research.
Teams are encouraged to leverage the resources of the ACCEL DE-CTR program. For example,
rather than budget for a biostatistician or epidemiologist, teams should plan to work with the
ACCEL DE-CTR Epidemiological-Biostatistical Core.
Teams are REQUIRED to have approval from BOTH the Epidemiological-Biostatistical Core
and Mentoring Core PRIOR to submission. Please contact both cores (sections) early in the
preparation of your application in order to allow sufficient time for input and approval.
 Epidemiological-Biostatistical Core Contact Information- Sarahfaye Heckler at
SHeckler@ChristianaCare.org- Applicants will apply for assistance through the CTR
website.
 Mentoring Core Contact Information- Erin Riegel at erin.riegel@nemours.org
Letter of Intent to submit a proposal is requested for our tracking and planning purposes by July
1, 2015.
Letter of support from Department Chair, or Organization’s Leadership/Supervisors are
requested for both the AI and CI and should specify that the individual/s will be supported to
attend once weekly, half-day seminar for up to 10 weeks.
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DESCRIPTION
Awardees (both the Academic Investigator and Community Investigator) will be REQUIRED to
participate (≥ 80% in person attendance) in the community engaged research curriculum, which
will be one morning (approximately 3 hours) per week for 10 weeks. Sessions will be videoconferenced and recorded to facilitate participation. However, in person attendance of these live
sessions is encouraged for team-building. The sessions will be tailored to the knowledge and
experience of our teams and highly focused on the development of the pilot project, development
of the team and the longitudinal research trajectory of our teams.
Each team must have a designated mentor to actively guide the AI and CI team. Teams are
encouraged to reach out to the CTR and/or CEO to identify a mentor in advance if needed.
Teams may also be matched to additional mentors upon receipt of funding. Mentors should work
with the Scholars to advise their projects, develop paths to external funding, and the production of
peer-reviewed scholarly work. During the curriculum, the mentor is to review and revise the
proposal approximately biweekly and meet with the AI and CI monthly. Once funded, mentors
should review and sign-off on the quarterly reports that the Scholars produce. Mentors are
welcome to but not expected to participate in the curriculum.
Teams and projects must be organized around one of the key themes of the ACCEL DE-CTR:
cancer, cardiovascular disease, obesity, maternal/child health, stroke/rehabilitation.
Applicants must designate a point of contact (AI or CI) who will be the person responsible for
reporting requirements, budget management and communication with all members of the team.
Budget is up to $20,000 for one year (direct costs). Funding may be reduced as the National
Institutes of Health award must approve all proposals and budgets. A typical pilot grant will
support research support personnel as well as appropriate amounts for supplies, travel, etc.
Investigator salary is discouraged as faculty release time for this work is expected to be provided
as an institutional commitment; the anticipated effort should be indicated in the budget.
A budget period of up to one year may be requested. Investigators should plan for funding for
pilot work to begin on February, 2016.
Your institutional Office of Sponsored Program rules and regulations regarding submissions
apply.
CITI training completion according to your home institution requirements must be completed
within 2 weeks’ notice of funding for applicants and mentors
Applications will be on the ACE Awards page on the ACCEL website www.de-ctr.org and you
will need:
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Letter of Intent (Template provided on site)
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Cover page (Completed online)
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Proposal (Prepared as a word document and uploaded to site)
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Budget using NIH Format (Download template from site)
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NIH Biosketch for AI, CI, Mentor and any key personnel (not to exceed 4 pages
per person, please) (Download template from site)
PROPOSAL (no more than 8 pages)
Please see ACCEL DE-CTR ACE Awards application site www.de-ctr.org (you must register and/or
log-in to access site). Format your proposal as follows:
Significance: (approx. 1/2 page recommended)
• Describe the research problem and research question. Why is this problem important?
Why is this project worth doing?
Innovation: (approx. 1/2 page recommended)
• How will this work advance the field or contribute to the needed body of knowledge?
How will this work lead to changes in the way people think about or handle a problem?
Approach: (approx. 4 pages recommended)
• Engagement Plan: Describe past or intended efforts to engage your community of interest
in terms of participant involvement, support and the nature of outcomes. (Approx. 1 pg.)
• Specific Aims (recommend 3 aims or less)
• Methods:
o Study design, population, variables/outcomes/measurements, brief data
management/analysis, and statistical plan, human subject issues (approx. 2 pages)
Impact: (approx. 2 pages recommended)
• How does this work advance the aims of ACCEL and the CEO component within
ACCEL? Why and how will this initial investment of money and effort lead to research
that impacts health of people and communities?
• Team and environment: Describe your team as well as the development and mentorship
goals and plans for your team
• .Specifically outline next steps leading from this work to additional funding and research
dissemination.
Appendices: A reasonable amount of appendices (about 10 pages) can be included for tool,
surveys, interview guide, figures, etc. and are in addition to the 8 page proposal. .
EXPECTATIONS AND SCORING
Scores will be given on a 1 (exceptional) through 9 (poor) scale, for significance, innovation,
approach, and impact.
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See following pages for details.
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New investigators, particularly those without prior Clinical Translational Research (CTR)
or IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) or Centers of Biomedical
Research Excellence (COBRE) or Delaware Health Sciences Alliance (DHSA) funding
will be given higher priority.
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Funds will not be released prior to completion of curriculum and are dependent on
satisfactory protocol development.
EXPECTATIONS AND SCORING
Scores should be given on a 1 (exceptional) through 9 (poor) scale, as depicted below. One score should
be given for each of the following categories:
1) Significance—Does the project address a significant research question?
2) Innovation—Is the proposed research novel and innovative, advancing the field?
3) Approach—Are the methods sound and likely to be successful?
4) Impact/CTR CEO Mission—The research proposal should take into account all of the above 3
categories and reflect the likelihood for the project to exert a sustained, meaningful influence on the
research field(s) involved, as well include a plan to move the completed research forward into a full NIH
proposal with a high likelihood of success. The proposal should address how the scope of the work
correspond to the priorities of the ACCEL program.
Impact
High Impact
Moderate
Impact
Low Impact
Score
Descriptor
1
Exceptional
2
Outstanding
3
Excellent
4
Very Good
5
Good
6
Satisfactory
7
Fair
8
Marginal
9
Poor
Strength/Weaknesses
Strengths
Weaknesses
EXPECTATIONS AND SCORING
Impact Table:
Overall Impact or
Criterion
Strength
Score
Descriptor
Additional Guidance on Strengths/Weaknesses
1
Exceptional
Exceptionally strong with essentially no weaknesses
2
Outstanding
Extremely strong with negligible weaknesses
3
Excellent
4
Very Good
5
Good
6
Satisfactory
Some strengths but also some moderate weaknesses
7
Fair
Some strengths but with at least one major weakness
8
Marginal
A few strengths but with at least one major weakness
9
Poor
Very few strengths and numerous major weaknesses
High
Medium
Low
Very Strong with only some minor weaknesses
Strong but with numerous minor weaknesses
Strong but with at least one moderate weakness
Limitations:
Type of Limitation
Description
Minor Weakness
An easily addressable weakness that does not substantially lessen
impact
Moderate Weakness
A weakness that lessens impact
Major Weakness
A weakness that severely limits impact
Other Designations:
Other Designations for Final Outcome
AB
Abstention
NP
Not Present
CF
Conflict of Interest
NR
Not Recommended for Further Consideration
DF
Deferred
NE
No Expertise
ND
Not Discussed
CHECKLIST of “MUST-DO’s”
Both AI and a CI identified
AI from an ACCEL institution
Mentor identified
All key personnel [AI, CI, Mentor] have registered on ACCEL
site– https://www.de-ctr.org/
Letter of Intent (LOI) submitted to accelceo@de-ctr.org
Both AI and CI able to attend curriculum (1/2 day per week for 10
weeks) starting in November and ending in February
Letter of Support from Chair or Supervisor
Approval from your institutional Office of Sponsored Programs
Mentorship Core approval
Epidemiology-Biostatistical Core approval
Attendance at May 6th informational session (in person or by
phone) strongly encouraged. Will be held at the Christiana Care
Health System, John H. Ammon Center in Room 14 from 3-4
PM