EFSD/Boehringer Ingelheim European Research Programme on "Multi-System Challenges in Diabetes"

Deadline for submission of applications: 27 May 2024

Background

The European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes (EFSD) was created by the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) to provide multiple 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.

Boehringer Ingelheim, is a leading research-driven biopharmaceutical company creating value through innovation in areas of high unmet medical need. Founded in 1885, Boehringer Ingelheim believes that by working together across the life science community we can learn more and achieve more to accelerate the delivery of the next breakthrough therapy that transform lives, today and for generations to come.

Programme and Research Focus

EFSD has established this independent research programme called the EFSD-Boehringer Ingelheim European Research Programme on “Multi-System Challenges of Diabetes, Obesity and Cardiometabolic Disease” to encourage innovative basic and clinical projects aimed at

1. Advancing current knowledge in the inter-organ crosstalk and related pathophysiology in Diabetes, Obesity and Cardiometabolic Disease
2. Assessing the adaptation and impact of guidelines directed medical care in management of diabetes, Obesity and Cardiometabolic Disease

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

This EFSD and Boehringer Ingelheim European Diabetes Research Programme is intended to stimulate and accelerate European research on the interrelation and crosstalk of different organs e.g. heart, kidney, pancreas, gut, liver and brain and related pathophysiology in diabetes, obesity and cardiometabolic disease, and the impact of therapeutic interventions for these complex conditions.

Mechanism of Support and Review

Research will be supported through the award of research grants up to Euro 100,000 for basic and/or clinical research projects with the exclusion of clinical trials.

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 available funding for the project from other sources, if applicable (see Review Considerations).

In exceptional cases, applications for funding in an amount larger than Euro 100,000 and up to Euro 300,000 may be considered for funding. Here the additional relevant financial requirements need to be clearly justified and applicants should also indicate which part of the study will be feasible in the case of a Euro 100,000 award.

The duration of each award may be one year or longer, depending upon the needs of the project and as justified in the application.

Applications for an EFSD grant are invited from single non-profit institutions or groups of such institutions from Europe or 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 in Europe or an associated country.

Applications will be subject to scientific review by a specialised independent ad hoc committee. It is anticipated that applications will be received, reviewed and approved for funding by September/October 2024.

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.

EFSD may, at the suggestion of the Review Committee, recommend an award in a different amount from that requested, but which is considered more appropriate for the proposed studies.

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 deadlines for receipt of research grant applications for funding is 27 May 2024.

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”.  

Application forms may be downloaded here:

Application Form

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

Please send your application as one complete PDF email attachment to foundation@easd.org before 12:00 midday (CET) on the deadline date 27 May 2024.

Review Considerations

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

Review criteria are as follows:

• Significance: Is the study relevant to the 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? 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 done contribute to the probability of success? Do the proposed experiments 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 funded applications will receive initial funding instalment upon confirmation of the approval of the Review Committee as appropriate. For one-year project 90% of the funding will be provided at the start of the programme while the remaining 10% will be paid upon submission of final scientific and financial report. For those projects where funding is distributed over a period of more than one year, the initial instalment will be 50%. A second 40% instalment will be paid upon submission of an interim progress report with the final 10% paid upon submission of the final scientific and financial report. All 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-Boehringer Ingelheim grant".

Funded investigators are expected to be willing to serve as reviewers for EFSD in the future.

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 thus be considered in the same fashion as all other new applications received for review and without any special priority.

Schedule

Announcement: February 2024       

Application Deadline: 27 May 2024

Anticipated Award: September/October 2024

Enquiries

Enquiries should be directed to foundation@easd.org.