EFSD and Sanofi European Diabetes Research Programme on Autoimmunity in Type 1 Diabetes

The European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes (EFSD) was created by the European Association for the Study of Diabetes e.V. (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 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 programme called EFSD and Sanofi European Diabetes Research Programme on autoimmunity in type 1 diabetes 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.

The EFSD-Sanofi European Diabetes Research Programme on autoimmunity in type 1 diabetes is intended to stimulate and accelerate European research aimed at improving understanding of any aspect of autoimmunity in type 1 diabetes, its pathogenesis, screening and monitoring, its clinical course and its interventions. Grants are offered for basic and clinical studies.

Mechanism of Support and Review

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

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).

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 at a non-profit institution and the study must be performed at their place of work based in Europe or an associated country.

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 August/September 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.

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 02 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 application form 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 2 May 2024.

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?

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-Sanofi research 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 therefore 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: 2 May 2024

Anticipated Award Date: August/September 2024

Enquiries

Enquiries should be directed to foundation@easd.org.

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