Prostate Cancer Canada

Pilot Grant Program

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2012 Pilot Grant Program Guidelines

Introduction:

Prostate cancer continues to be the most common cancer among Canadian men. It will afflict 1 in 7 men with an estimated 25,500 new diagnoses this year in Canada. It is predicted that 4,100 men will die of prostate cancer this year. No other cancer rises in both incidence and mortality with increasing age as rapidly as prostate cancer. In addition, certain segments of the population are disproportionately affected. Because prostate cancer typically progresses slowly, many Canadian men and their families struggle with the physical and emotional stresses resulting from the fear of or the complications of the disease.

Although significant progress has been made over the past few years to improve our understanding of prostate cancer, there is still much to learn about the causes, early detection, diagnosis, treatment and prevention. One of the greatest challenges is the need to perform biopsies and to treat benign disease unnecessarily due to the lack of differentiating diagnostic tools.

Pilot Grant Program Objectives

The objective of the Prostate Cancer Canada’s (PCC) Pilot grant program is to support new and innovative pilot research initiatives that have scientific merit, particularly including those from new investigators. The primary purpose of this research funding is to provide support for operating expenses. The PCC pilot grant program’s focus is on biological and clinical research projects and will not fund research into the psycho-social aspects of the disease.

Vision
Prostate Cancer Canada (PCC)’s vision is to be a global leader in the fight against prostate cancer, earning the enthusiasm and support of Canadians through integrity, compassion and innovation.

Mission
Prostate Cancer Canada raises funds for the development of programs related to awareness, public education, advocacy, and support of those affected, and research into the prevention, detection, treatment and cure of prostate cancer.

Key Messages

Prostate Cancer Canada is the only national foundation dedicated to the elimination of this disease through research, education, support and awareness.
The threat of prostate cancer for men is far greater than is commonly known.
During his lifetime, 1 in 7 men will be diagnosed with the disease, and this is expected to rise to 1 in 4 within a decade.
We believe that to win this battle, a focused national approach in the fight against prostate cancer is needed.
In areas such as support, prevention and early detection, we will involve men, women and young people, making them all more aware of the impact of this disease.
Our logo is a symbol of hope – which we know we will achieve the goal of eliminating prostate cancer, and a symbol of unity – that we can only achieve this when working together.

Funding Scope

Funding available for the Pilot Grant Program is determined annually by the Board of Directors in light of available funds and other mission related activities including overall research initiatives.

Eligibility

PCC will be conducting the peer review for established applicants separately from newer investigators. Established applicants are those individuals who have more than 8 years of research experience in a faculty position.

Prior work in the area of prostate cancer is not a prerequisite. Basic science, clinical, and translational research will be considered for funding.

Basic science project proposals must be prostate cancer specific/exclusive in nature. Applicants must be affiliated with an institution – university, teaching hospital, cancer care institution, etc. from within Canada. Applications from for-profit organizations are not eligible.

Only the very best research proposals will be funded. To receive a PCC research grant, a scientist must prove that his or her research:

Is innovative
will make a significant impact on our understanding of matters related to, prevention, screening, diagnosis or treatment of prostate cancer disease
represents the highest standards of scientific excellence, competitive with research being conducted elsewhere in the world
is being conducted by excellent and dedicated researchers

PCC grants are not renewable, as PCC does not view itself as a source of long-term funding. Rather PCC funds pilot projects that will allow the project, and/or the investigator, to develop to the point where they can be funded ultimately by larger and long-term funding agencies such federal and provincial funding agencies.

New Investigators

PCC encourages new investigators (i.e. individuals with up to 8 years of research experience in a faculty position) to apply for research grant funding. The review committee will give special consideration to grants from new investigators each year to ensure capacity development in prostate cancer research. Investigators falling within this category will be reviewed by the same Peer Review Panel that reviews the established investigators (over 8 years of research experience in a faculty position); however, the final peer review for each group will be conducted on separate days.

2011-12 Competition Timelines

Competition opens on PCC Website January 3, 2012

Competition closes March 30, 2012

Peer Review June, 2012

Notification June 29, 2012

Grant start date July 3, 2012

Language of applications:

PCC will accept applications in English only.

Principal Investigator

The Principal Investigator must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada based in, or formally affiliated with an eligible host organization (university, college, hospital, research institute or other qualified not-for-profit organization).

The Principal Investigator is the key contact with Prostate Cancer Canada.

Only one application per principal investigator is allowed.

Co-Investigator

Co-investigators must be affiliated with an eligible host institution. They are not required to be located in Canada. Students, fellows or technicians may not be designated as co-investigators.

Host Institution

Eligible host institutions are universities, hospitals, research institutes or other qualified not-for-profit organizations. Host Institutions must be legal entities having a charitable registration number. These institutions will be accountable for both the performance of the approved project and appropriate expenditure of funds, and assume the legal obligations.

Detailed Project Proposal

PCC expects applicants to prepare competitive funding proposals that meet program criteria, are clear and complete in all respects and free of error. The same meticulous attention to detail that is required for preparation of a scientific paper for publication should guide applicants in the preparation of their proposal to Prostate Cancer Canada.

Detailed project proposals will include the following:

Principal Investigator – Coordinates, Education, Research Training & Awards, Academic Positions
Financial Officer of the Host Institution in charge of research project accounting
Co-Investigators – Coordinates, Education, Research Training & Awards
Scientific Abstract

Lay Abstract

Please strive for an account suitable for a press release aimed at a lay audience. It should include a statement of the hypothesis, approach to the investigation, statement of the clinical benefits anticipated (prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment), project’s rationale and research objectives in everyday language. Please also address realistically what you expect could be the potential impact of this research on the burden of prostate cancer. Clinical grants should specifically state what benefits the patients can expect in the short & long term. In short, it should not be a précis of the scientific summary.

Publications
Current Funding
Proposed research description
Proposed Budget

Eligible expenditure may include: salary and fringe benefits, stipend for trainees, laboratory material and supplies

Ineligible expenditure include: Institutional overhead, organizational levies, travel and other indirect costs

PCC encourages interdisciplinary collaboration. Proposed research projects that include scientific work done by collaborators who are not co-investigators must include a letter of agreement to collaborate. Letters of collaboration can be uploaded as an attachment under the “additional info” section of the online application.

The Proposed Research Description should be in narrative form and no longer than

17,000 characters. If it is a clinical project, please state how this grant specifically tackles a clinical problem in prostate cancer. Two additional pages of supporting attachments for relevant figures or other related data are acceptable as part of the Research Proposal. An attachment of up to two pages of relevant references can be uploaded in the “Publications” section of the application form. Publications and current funding information is required for the Principal Investigator only.

Review process

PCC is committed to funding the highest quality science, based on excellence, with demonstrated relevance and impact on prostate cancer. The Peer Review Panel, following internationally accepted review practices, will recommend grants for funding to PCC. The PCC Board of Directors will approve the recommended grants in consideration of available funds and research priorities of the Foundation.

Each grant application undergoes a series of checks and reviews before a final decision is reached. The first check is to ensure that the application is complete and has conformed rigorously to all pertinent guidelines. PCC reserves the right to triage grants prior to peer review by the Pilot Grant Panel of Scientific and Medical Advisory Committee if they do not conform to the program guidelines, as set out in this document.

PCC’s review process ensures that its review and decisions are fair and objective. All panel members declare conflict of interest with the Principal Investigators and Co-Investigators. Reviewers are assigned to review only proposals for which they have no conflict of interest. Reviewers with a conflict of interest with a particular proposal are not included in the decision making process and will not see any review related materials or participate in discussions.

Applications that meet all criteria receive primary and secondary reviews by the members of Peer Review Panel. Only those applications that achieve an average “fundable” score of 3.0 and above by primary and secondary reviews are considered for thorough evaluation by the Peer Review Panel. PCC reminds applicants that its research grant program is highly competitive and a score of 3.0 or higher does not guarantee that an application will be funded.

Both successful and unsuccessful applicants will receive a brief written review of their research project along with the notification of competition results by first week of July. Decisions the PCC Board regarding grant funding are final and are not subject to review.

The criteria that the Panel will use to assess grant applications relates to the following general areas:

Originality & Innovation
Clarity
Feasibility of the hypotheses, transparency and appropriateness of methodologies
Caliber/ expertise of applicant/team
Synergy and infrastructure of the research team
Relevance to the PCC mission
Review Panel

PCC’s Pilot Grant Panel is comprised of some of Canada’s most highly respected Radiation Oncologists, Uro-oncologists, Medical Oncologists, Basic Scientists, Imaging, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine specialists etc. as listed on our website.

Lay member on the Review Panel:

PCC believes that participation of lay members on grant panels is advantageous because it demonstrates objectivity, integrity and accountability of the review process that ensures available research funds are put to the best use, help advocacy for research; provides increased transparency for the panel review process; promotes better communication between the scientific and non-scientific community; clarifies how many good proposals cannot be funded simply because of lack of sufficient research funds; and provides a better appreciation of consumer perspective of the process.

Term and amount of the grant

NEW: Applicants may request grant funding for a maximum value of $150,000 over a period of 2.5 years. A final written report is required for the last payment of $30,000 and for eligibility for future funding.

Start Date

The start date for new research grants is normally July 1. Exceptions/delay in start or completion date should be reported to the PCC immediately.

Conditions of Grants

Grants are awarded only upon the approval of the PCC Board of Directors. It should be noted that PCC has a limited amount of funds and, although applications may have been assessed as having scientific merit, there may not be sufficient funds to award all such applications. Successful applications must achieve a Peer Score of 3.5 to be eligible for funding. All grants are, at all times, conditional upon, and subject to, availability of funds.

Competition Results

All successful applicants will receive notification by June 29, 2012. Competition results will be posted on the PCC Web site (www.prostatecancer.ca) in the first week of July, 2012. An applicant may occasionally be forced to decline an award (for personal or professional reasons or because of other and preferred funding for the same work). Should this occur we request that the applicant notify PCC of his/her intent to decline within one week of hearing from PCC. This will permit PCC to award the funding to the next highly ranked applicant with a score of 3.5 and above.

End of grant/early termination of a grant

The Host Institution is expected to return any unexpended or unencumbered balances as at the termination date. In the case of grants that are discontinued for any reason (e.g., early termination), PCC must be notified immediately.

Consideration for a no-cost extension will be given where work remains to be completed combined with persuasive justification or where a grantee has taken an extended leave of absence during the term of the award. The request should include the following information:

an explanation for the delay
a brief description of the work remaining with an estimate of the time required to complete the work, and
A projected figure for the unexpended balance at the termination date.
Use of Funds
A Financial Officer at the host research institution must administer grant funds for successful projects.
Any unused funds at the end of the project must be refunded to PCC.

Return of Grant funds

PCC will not fund research that has been funded by another funding agency. It is the responsibility of the Principal Investigator to notify PCC if another granting agency funds any portion of the research identified in the grant application during the period for which the PCC grant is awarded.

Temporary Absences and Relocations

If a grantee, for any reason, is unable to continue the research program for which he or she has received support, the grantee or the Department Head must immediately notify PCC.

Recipients wishing to take sabbatical leave must inform PCC. If they wish funding to continue, details on how the research will continue in their absence must be supplied. PCC reserves the right to discontinue funding in such instances. Transfer of the grant from one person to another in the same institution is not permitted unless written authorization is received from PCC.

Grants are made for research at the university or institution specified in the initial application or renewal. If a grantee transfers to another institution, the grant terminates, but an application may be made to PCC to have the unspent portion allocated for use at the new institution. Such an application must be supported by a letter of approval from the Department Head of the institution where the research is to be continued.

Mid-term and final report

Our ability to report back to the public about progress made in prostate cancer research has a direct impact on our ability to raise funds for research in the future. In order to assist our funders, all grant recipients are required to complete a Progress and Final report.

For 2.5 year grants, Progress Reports will be due after the first year of funding. The final report must be submitted within 6 months following the completion of the granting period. Upon receipt of the final report, $30,000 will be issued to the Principal Investigator. Progress and Final Report forms can be found on the PCC website at the following link:

http://www.prostatecancer.ca/Research/Progress_Final_Report.aspx .

Any unused portion of operational funding from the grant must be returned to PCC within the 6 months following the completion of the 2.0 years. A financial report outlining expenditures during the grant must be submitted to PCC at that time as well.

Reporting on Citations and Related Funding

Grant recipients must inform the PCC of significant research developments (publications, other grants and awards received etc.) for a period of five years from the end date of the grant.

It is understood that from time to time results of research funded by PCC will be published in scholarly journals. PCC urges grant recipients to provide notification of publication and literature citations related to the published reports of their work. PCC also urges grantees to provide notification of any other funding their team has received for supplementary work based upon work originally funded by PCC. As much as possible, PCC wishes to hear about work being done by other teams that may be inspired by or related to the work funded by PCC. This information will be tremendously useful in supporting increased fundraising for research.

Communications

The Host institution is required to publicize the award from PCC.

Announcement of any successful application and publicizing notice of receipt of a research grant relating to the approved project should be shared with PCC. All written or presentation references to projects funded by PCC should include acknowledgement of the support provided by PCC and copies of all publications should be provided to PCC in advance of the publication date wherever possible.

The project title and the lay summary of successful research projects in an individual’s application will be used by PCC without notification and will be disseminated in the public domain.

PCC will also appreciate your assistance in highlighting your research findings for the media and the public. We request that you provide copies of important preprints and reprints to PCC’s Marketing & Communications, and to involve them in any media interactions that result from your funded research activities.

Participation in Foundation Events

Research grantees may be asked to participate in funding announcements, photo opportunities and media interviews. They may also be asked to assist in preparing written materials for the PCC Website.

Disclosure of overlapping funding/Commercial Interests/Conflict of Interest

Principal Investigators and co-investigators will disclose fully any financial interest they may have in any commercial venture whose business activities are related to the subject matter or the PCC grant application.

Principal Investigators and co-investigators will clearly declare any overlapping funding issues as the PCC funding is specifically for unique and distinct components of the proposal/application that are not otherwise funded. Applicants are asked to list all Principal Investigator’s current and pending funding applications with a brief abstract and degree of overlap with the current application.

The Foundation will not provide funds to individuals who receive support directly from tobacco manufacturers or from the Council for Tobacco Research or from the Smokeless Tobacco Council.

Ethics and Risk Management

The successful applicant and/or his/her host institution will be responsible for research ethics and its protocols.

The successful applicant and/or his/her host institution will be responsible for any and all risk and liability related to the funded project and shall take all necessary measures to avoid any losses or damages to PCC, its successors, assigns, directors, officers and employees.

Copyright/Patent/Intellectual Property

In the event that an application funded by PCC leads to the development of commercial intellectual property, the grantee will be guided by the policies of his/her institution. PCC does not retain or claim any ownership of IP developed in whole or in part, through the use of funds awarded.

In consideration of the above waiver, we expect grantees’ cooperation in realizing appropriate recognition of PCC through media releases issued by the host institution. We also expect grantees’ cooperation in publicizing PCC’s contribution to their research.

PIPEDA (Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act)

Research proposals and attachments are held in strict confidence by PCC. Information provided in application for a grant is distributed to peer-reviewers and staff to facilitate a fair review and to administer the grant program. Lay summaries of funded research proposals are published on our Website, Annual Report, media releases, newsletters and stakeholder communications with the name of principal investigator and the host institution.

Names of funded investigators and host institutions are included on the CRA website as part of our financial return submission.

Accountability

The PCC staff and volunteer committees ensure a high degree of integrity, accountability and responsibility and require assurances of the same from all researchers and their host institutions.

Research Project Evaluations/Measuring Research Investments

As a fundraising organization, measuring/evaluating research investment is critical to attracting new funds. PCC sees this as a tool that can empower you as the researcher and help to understand the impact of the research grant to the Foundation. In particular PCC is interested in:

documenting lessons learned and integrating these into program planning processes
enhancing public accountability
enhancing research collaborations
demonstrating effectiveness and efficiency of privately supported research

Future funding will also be determined, in part, by compliance with reporting on outcome measures. The following set of generic key performance indicators have been developed to take stock of what has been learned and measure the outcomes of grants awarded in basic, translational and clinical areas.

Number and details of peer reviewed publications
Number of citations
Number of presentations at national or international conferences
Number and details of patent applications
Details of if and how PCC funding assisted in leveraging new funding from federal, private sector, in kind, or international funders
Details of partnerships/collaborations facilitated by PCC funding
Brief descriptions of progress in the following format:

- Provided data justifying initiation of a larger clinical study (e.g. - phase I phase II/III clinical trial)

- Assisted in development of new treatments/therapies for
- prostate cancer

- Answered a novel question/provided further understanding of \
- prostate cancer

- Generated novel hypotheses

Assisted in the development of treatment guidelines
Success stories of interest
Discussion of results/reviews in lay format (TV/Print/Online)

Application Process

All applications must be submitted using PCC’s online grant management tool on www.prostatecancer.ca.

Refer to Frequently Asked Questions for filling the online application forms.

Applications must be received no later than March 30, 2012 at 5 p.m. EST.

A system-generated email acknowledging receipt of your application will be sent. If you do not receive this upon submission, please call PCC at 416-441-2131 ext.226 and we will manually verify receipt of your application.

PCC has implemented a zero-tolerance policy for late and incomplete applications. Failure to adhere to the guidelines and regulations will result in the rejection of an application without receiving review by the Peer Review Panel. Incomplete proposals, proposals that exceed length guidelines or proposals not conforming to the above-stipulated format will not be considered.

Applicants must read and adhere to the 2012 application guidelines and should read the Frequently Asked Questions.

The cover page with signatures should be printed, completed by obtaining signatures of Principal Investigator, Co-Investigators, Senior Faculty/Division Officer, and Financial Officer/Administrator and faxed separately to 416-441-2325 or sent electronically in PDF format to Joanne Reynolds at joanne.reynolds@prostatecancer.ca within the submission deadline of March 30, 2012.

You must immediately notify PCC if any contact information changes on the application, especially mailing address, email address, name of host institution, financial officer name and address.

Withdrawal of applications

Applicants may withdraw an application at any time by emailing joanne.reynolds@prostatecancer.ca.