Deadline dates

Program Description The Accelerating Grants program provides funding for interventional, observational, and translational clinical research studies focused on gynecologic cancers, and in particular those that advance lab-based discoveries by researchers in BC into the clinic. The intent of these grants is to support research related to patients. This could include an intervention of some form; it could rely upon observation of a specific cohort; or it could involve analysis of patient tissues or biosamples with potential relevance to their care.

Accelerating grants have been created to cultivate and support collaborative clinical research with investigators across disciplines and health authorities/institutions on a provincial level. Applications with “in-kind” contributions from collaborating researchers who are in the basic or translational sciences for the conduct of correlative research are encouraged. Applications which incorporate psychosocial, and/or quality of life measures and/or patient-reported outcomes, and addresses equity, diversity, and inclusion into the clinical study will be preferentially considered.

Funds available The total amount available for the current competition is $250,000 with a suggested total application budget between $50,000-100,000 per grant. The grant term is up to 2 years. Grants will not be renewable at the end of their term. It is anticipated that approximately 3-4 grants will be awarded in this competition.

Peer review There will be a two-stage application and review process. Applicants will be required to submit a letter of intent (LOI) and selected applicants will be invited to submit a full application. A multidisciplinary peer review committee including patient partners will review the LOIs and full applications.

Review criteria Proposals will be assessed based on the potential to address an important problem, the likelihood to impact and improve patient care and outcomes, and the degree to which the clinical study addresses the Gynecologic Cancer Initiative’s strategic priorities to reduce the incidence, mortality and suffering from gynecologic cancers by 50% by 2034.

Eligibility Any member of the BC Gynecologic Cancer Tumour Group (Medical oncology, Radiation oncology, Surgery, Pathology, Research, Allied health, etc) may apply, however, at least one of the co-investigators on the application must be a VCHRI-affiliated investigator. Affiliation can easily be achieved by any member with an appointed position. For more information, contact info@gynecancerinitiative.ca.

Conditions of funding Successful applicants will provide an update to the GCI-CTG executive after 6-months of receiving the funding and at the end of the project. Funding recipients are asked to acknowledge the support provided by the North Family Foundation to VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation, administered through OVCARE, in any communication or publication related to the project. Any funds left unspent after 2 years from the start of the grant are to be returned to OVCARE.

Letter of Intent (LOI) – Deadline May 3, 2021

The LOI submission will require the following:

• Title of project
• An impact statement (max 250 words) which addresses the potential of the project. The statement should explicitly describe how the project will accelerate advancement in scientific knowledge to address a critical barrier in improving patient outcomes
• A scientific abstract (max 1 page) which includes the following: the specific research question to be addressed, background and scientific rationale, design and methodology, relevance of the proposed research to this program
• Anticipated total requested budget amount
• Name of the PI, co-PI and investigator(s)

Full application – Deadline July 5, 2021

The full application submission will require the following:

• Title of project and details of investigator(s) including which member(s) of the research team will be responsible for which aspect of the study and a rationale for their inclusion in the study
• A public (non-scientific) summary (max 250 words)
• An impact statement (this statement can be updated from the LOI submission) which addresses the potential of the project. The statement should explicitly describe how the project will accelerate advancement in scientific knowledge to address a critical barrier in improving patient outcomes (max 250 words)
• A detailed scientific proposal clearly stating the research question, aims of the clinical study including any previous work done in the area, trial and experimental design including study sites, methods, analysis and timeline. The proposal will contain no more than 4 pages of single-spaced text including data figures/tables/charts plus 3 pages of supporting non-data schematics/flow diagrams are allowed. Additional one-page limit for reference bibliography. Use Times New Roman 12-point font. Spacing no more than six lines of type within a vertical inch. Page size no larger than 8.5 inches x 11.0 inches. Margins at least 0.5 inch in all directions.
• A budget justification related to the direct cost of supplies and salary expenses associated with study. Indirect costs such as rent of office premises and other related overhead, capital expenses including computer and office equipment, and salary support for principal investigator or co-investigators are ineligible expenses (max 1 page)
• Letter(s) of “in-kind” contributions, as applicable. Applications with “in-kind” support from collaborating researchers must include a letter outlining the support provided.
• CVs of principal investigators and co-investigators; any format
• 2 publications from the past five years relevant to this proposal

Frequently Asked Questions by Applicants

What type of study would not be considered eligible for funding through the Accelerating Grants program?

• Laboratory-based studies without patient-identified samples
• Retrospective cohort reviews
• Studies without a specific hypothesis or outcome
• If you are have questions related to what project is considered eligible or not, please contact info@gynecancerinitiative.ca

Learn more about how you can apply to this opportunity here