EFSD and Sanofi European Pilot Research Grants for Innovative Measurement of Diabetes Outcomes

Deadline Date: 2 March 2020

Background

The European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes (EFSD) was created by the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) to provide funding initiatives in all areas of diabetes research. The aims of EFSD are to encourage and support research in the field of diabetes, to rapidly diffuse acquired knowledge and to facilitate its application.

Sanofi, a global healthcare leader, discovers, develops and distributes therapeutic solutions focused on patients' needs. Sanofi Diabetes and Cardiovascular is dedicated to delivering innovative, value-based medicines and integrated solutions. Sanofi is committed to a collaborative approach that involves strategic alliances with professional and patient associations, research institutions and leaders in healthcare and other industries, with the goal of advancing scientific knowledge, driving the convergence of science and technology, helping to improve outcomes and inspiring an evolution in care.

Programme and Research Focus

EFSD and Sanofi have established a new programme called the EFSD/Sanofi European Pilot Research Grants for Innovative Measurement of Diabetes Outcomes to encourage new projects aimed at advancing current knowledge in this field.

To achieve the goals and objectives of this Programme, EFSD and Sanofi invite applications by issuing this "Request for Applications" (RFA), which indicates joint funding as well as areas of research emphasis.

These EFSD/Sanofi European Pilot Research Grants are intended to help develop innovative means to document and validate novel parameters indicative of long-term benefits for patients with diabetes.

In spite of the growing evidence of the complexity and multifaceted aspects of diabetes, the management of the disease still remains anchored on the lowering of HbA1c. Long term HbA1c lowering has been proven effective at reducing the risk for late complications in randomised clinical trials. Despite the large body of evidence on the value of HbA1c lowering in these studies, achieving target HbA1c is often unmet in the clinical practice of medicine. The life-long duration of the disease, the economic, social, psychological, and physiological burden and limited appreciation of individual needs are likely important interfering factors that contribute to the complexity of the task. Because of such complexity, HbA1c might not be the only “metric” of relevance to assess the possibility for a treatment strategy to provide long term benefit and improved quality of life.

We are now seeking pilot proposals for innovative definition and measurement of outcomes in diabetes. Proposals may include, but need not be limited to, the validation of behavioural, biological, and disease management metrics to complement HbA1c in defining the quality of the long term management of diabetes.

Mechanism of Support and Review

Research will be supported through the award of pilot grants, each of up to Euro 100,000 The duration of each award may be one year or longer, depending upon the needs of the project and as justified in the application. EFSD may, on advisement from the Review Committee, recommend an award in a different amount from that requested, but which is considered more appropriate for the proposed studies.

Projects requiring higher funding than that specified above are also invited to apply to this Programme, i.e. applications may be submitted to complement funding for a larger project.

All projects need to provide comprehensive justification of their budget and a clear description of both, the requested amount from EFSD as well as the avialable funding for the project from other sources, if applicable (see Review Considerations).

Applications for an EFSD/Sanofi grant are invited from single non-profit institutions or groups of such institutions from Europe and associated countries (for detailed country list, please see here). The principal investigator and any co-investigators must be employed full-time at a non-profit institution and the study must be performed at their place of work.  

Applications will be subject to scientific review by a specialised and independent ad hoc committee. It is anticipated that applications will be received, reviewed and approved for funding by July 2020.

Prior to any final decision on funding, and in order to offer applicants the opportunity to benefit from the review process, EFSD reserves the right to request revision of applications in accordance with the recommendations of the Review Committee.

Research Grant Applications

Applications for research grants may be subjected to pre-review (or triage) procedures. In this event, any application rejected at pre-review will not be subject to a complete scientific review and no feedback report will be provided to the applicant.

The deadline for receipt of research grant applications for funding this year is 2 March 2020.

All budgets are to be prepared in Euro. For countries in which the Euro is not the common currency, the exchange rate (between the Euro and the local currency in the country where the work is to be performed) used for calculating the Euro budget must be mentioned under "Budget Justification".

Applications for this programme must be submitted in the new EFSD online Application System which is available via the MyEASD platform.

Members of EASD or owners of an account for the EASD Virtual Meeting or Annual Meeting registration, are asked to use the login details from their existing account (email address and password) to login to MyEASD and access the EFSD Application System.

All applications must be prepared on the official application form in the EFSD online application system and completed in strict accordance with the detailed instructions to be found there. Applications which do not comply with the instructions given in the application system will not be considered for review.

Please submit your application in the EFSD online application system before 23:59 CET on the deadline date 2 March 2020.

Review Considerations

Completed applications will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria stated below for scientific/technical merit by an appropriate and independent scientific committee.

Review criteria are as follows:

• Significance: Does the study address an important problem in keeping with the goals and focus areas of this Programme? If the aims of the application are achieved, how will scientific knowledge be advanced? What will be the effect of the proposed studies on the concepts or methods that drive this field?
• Approach: Are the conceptual framework, design, methods and analyses adequately developed, well integrated, and appropriate to the aims of the project? Are they supported by preliminary data? Does the applicant acknowledge potential problem areas and consider alternative tactics?
• Innovation: Does the project employ novel concepts, approaches or methods? Are the aims original and innovative? Does the project challenge existing paradigms or develop new methodologies or technologies?
• Investigator: Is the investigator appropriately trained and well suited to carry out this work? Is the work proposed appropriate to the experience level of the principal investigator and other researchers, if any?
• Environment: Does the scientific environment in which the work will be carried out contribute to the probability of success? Do the proposed studies take advantage of unique features of the scientific environment or employ useful collaborative arrangements? Is there evidence of institutional support?
• Budget and feasibility: Is the requested budget appropriate for the proposed study? Is the requested duration suitable for completion of the project?
• Contribution towards a larger research project: Is the work described in the application intended as part of a larger project? If so, is there any overlap? Is there a clear explanation how the new work will contribute towards the overall success of that larger project? Can financial feasibility be assessed (was a clear description given of the total costs of the whole project, the funding from other sources and the amount and purpose of the requested EFSD funding)?

Reporting Requirements and Approval of Funding

All investigators funded by this Programme are required to submit a scientific report at the end of the project period. For those projects where funding is distributed in instalments, interim progress reports will also be required. Such reports will be subject to assessment prior to the release of any further funds.

Investigators must provide EFSD with copies of papers accepted for publication, and must acknowledge the support of the Programme in all written material by use of the phrase: "supported by an EFSD/Sanofi research grant".

Competitive Renewal

Applications for a grant renewal will be accepted on a competitive basis, with the same review process as described in this Announcement. Such applications will therefore be considered in the same fashion as all other new applications received for review and without any special priority.

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