Innovative Grants

Summary

Description
The Innovative Grant program solicits proposals for highly innovative research with significant potential to accelerate the mission of JDRF. Proposals should address key outstanding questions and have the potential to lead to a change in the current paradigm or conventional wisdom and/or lead to a groundbreaking discovery.

Institutional Eligibility
Domestic & foreign non-profit organizations; public & private universities, colleges, hospitals, & laboratories; units of state and local governments; eligible agencies of the federal government

Applicant Eligibility
Required: MD, DMD, DVM, PhD or equivalent and faculty position or equivalent

Proposal
Access and submit full applications (including research plans) via RMS360.

Terms
Innovative: 200,000 USD maximum/year for one year, including up to 10% for indirect costs.

Human Subjects Research
For a project proposing Human Subject Research, please review the Scientific Guidelines.

Upcoming Deadlines
See Grant Opportunities and Deadlines

Description

JDRF provides seed funding for highly innovative research with significant potential to accelerate the mission of JDRF. Proposals should address key outstanding questions and have the potential to lead to a change in the current paradigm or conventional wisdom and/or lead to a groundbreaking discovery.Preliminary data is not required in the proposal but the underlying premise, goal, or hypothesis must be plausible and testable and the proposal must be focused with a well-defined goal that is achievable within the timeframe of the award.

The Innovative Grant is not intended to support proposals aiming to incrementally advance existing hypotheses, ongoing areas of research or proposals with the sole goal of generating novel reagents or resources.

Eligibility

Proposals may be submitted by domestic and foreign non-profit organizations, public and private, such as universities, colleges, hospitals, laboratories, units of state and local governments, and eligible agencies of the federal government. Innovative (but not pilot and research tool) proposals from for-profit organizations will also be considered. Applicants must hold an M.D., D.M.D., D.V.M., Ph.D., or equivalent and have a faculty position or equivalent at a college, university, medical school, or other research facility. There are no citizenship requirements for this program. To assure continued excellence and diversity among applicants and awardees, JDRF welcomes proposals from all qualified individuals and encourages proposals from persons with disabilities, women, and members of minority groups underrepresented in the sciences.

Proposal

Access and submit full applications (including research plans) via RMS360.

Research Plan

The research plan must be submitted using the template available on RMS360 and may not exceed 3 pages, including figures and tables, but not including references. The research plan should include the following information: Statement of Innovation, Specific Aims, Background and Significance to T1D, Research Design and Methods, Potential Impact and Next Steps if Successful. Note: For a project proposing Human Subject Research, please review the Scientific Guidelines.

Evaluation

Proposals will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria described below. Evaluations will be competitive and performed by an appropriate review panel of JDRF staff scientists. The review criteria include:

  1. Innovation, potential impact, and relevance to JDRF Research Strategy
  2. Feasibility of experimental approach and ability to complete in one year
  3. Clarity of proposed objectives and deliverables
  4. Line of sight to immediate next steps if project is successful
  5. Intent to leverage breakthroughs from other fields, as relevant (scientific or technical)
  6. Qualifications of the principal investigators and collaborators
  7. Availability of resources and facilities necessary for the project
  8. Appropriateness of the proposed budget in relation to the proposed research

Terms of the Award

Innovative grants provide one year of support for a maximum of USD 200,000, which includes 10% indirect costs. These grants are not renewable. A final progress report is due within 75 days following the close of the award.

Innovative proposals with significantly higher cost or requiring greater than one year of funding may still be considered for an Innovative Grant at the discretion of JDRF. If you believe that your Innovative project requires a greater budget or funding period, please contact JDRF Program Scientist in the relevant area to discuss possible options for submission.

Examples of innovative proposals that might be considered as exceptions include:

  • Research that requires collaborative or multi-disciplinary approaches to address a single hypothesis
  • Research that requires high-cost resources, e.g. costly reagents for genomics/ proteomics studies
  • Studies that employ large-animal models or animal models that require lengthy development or distant endpoints