 |
||
 |
||
|
|
Population and Laboratory Based Sciences Institutional Program Unifying Population and Laboratory Based Sciences Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Eligibility (For questions concerning eligibility, contact senior program associate Jean Kramarik, jkramarik@bwfund.org at 919/991-5122.) Who can apply? Only degree-granting institutions in the U.S. or Canada may submit applications. Is a dental, osteopathic, or veterinary medical school eligible to apply? Yes, dental, osteopathic, and veterinary medical schools are appropriate applicants. May a research group at a national laboratory and within the federal government apply? No, but may serve as a partner. Funding to students doing research within these institutions must be channeled through an appropriate degree-granting institution. May a for-profit company apply? No, but may serve as partner. Only degree-granting institutions in the U.S. or Canada may submit applications. May an independent research institute apply? No, but may serve as a partner. Funding to students doing research within these institutions must be channeled through an appropriate degree-granting institution. May comparative medicine and animal science departments apply? Yes, however, they are advised to discuss their planned proposal with the BWF program officer to ensure that their proposal will be human-focused enough to be competitive. Our institution does not have a “school of medicine,” are we eligible to apply? Yes, as long as the proposal is driven by core components within a medical school (a different institution’s medical school) and a public health school/division/department. Our institution has a “division of public health,” are we eligible to apply? Yes, public health schools, divisions, or departments are eligible to apply. Can proposals cross institutional boundaries? Yes, proposals which cross institutional boundaries are encouraged. Who is considered the “Applicant” for this institutional award? The “Applicant” is the co-director whose institution will administer the award. May an institution be an applicant on one proposal and a co-director or partner on another application? Yes, an institution may be involved in multiple applications either as the applicant, co-director, or partner. Can a proposal have more than two co-directors? No. Proposals must be driven by two core co-directors within medical schools and public health schools/divisions. There may be additional partners such as departments or centers located within non-medical parts of a university, existing inter-institutional collaboratives, research museums, free-standing research institutes, and other non-profit institutions, that provide advance level training.
Are the BWF application deadlines firm? Yes. The Letter of Intent (LOI) must be received electronically through proposalCENTRAL, a web-based grant application system, no later than 4 p.m. (Eastern Time), March 3, 2008. Full Applications are by invitation only and must be received electronically by 4 p.m. (Eastern Time), May 15, 2008. Can I submit a paper application? No. BWF requires that all applications for this program be submitted electronically. Paper applications will not be accepted. Do I need to submit a Letter of Intent prior to beginning an application? Yes. BWF requires the submission of an electronic Letter of Intent through proposalCENTRAL, a web-based grant application system, due no later than March 3, 2008. Links to proposalCENTRAL are available on the BWF web site. LOIs MUST be submitted by an applicant from a degree-granting institution in order to apply. How many letters of intent (LOIs) may an institution submit? An institution may submit multiple letters of intent. Is an institution allowed to submit multiple full applications? Yes, if invited to do so. Full applications are by invitation only. Is this award a planning grant? No, the Institutional Program Unifying Population and Laboratory Based Sciences is a training grant. If I’m having trouble with the electronic application, whom can I contact for help? For problems with the electronic application, please contact proposalCENTRAL customer support by email at pcsupport@altum.com or by phone 1-800-875-2562 x227 (toll free). Application SectionsWhat constitutes the Letter of Intent (LOI)? The Letter of Intent consists of the Grant Application/Signature Page, the Abstract Proposal (400 words or less and on the appropriate form), and Biosketches of the population sciences director and the laboratory based sciences director. The Letter of Intent must be submitted electronically through proposalCENTRAL. Can support (recommendation, reference) letters be sent separately? No. Letters of support (recommendation, reference) must be converted to .PDF files and uploaded for electronic submission by the deadline date. Letters of support are required in full application only. How many letters of support are required to be uploaded? Letters are required from chairs of each department involved in the collaboration. Multi-institutional proposals should also include letters from dean-level authorities at each member institution. Are the page limits on the institutional proposal and other attachments firm? Yes. All applicants must firmly adhere to the specified page limits for all attachments. Non-compliance will cause a delay in application processing and possibly elimination for review. Do figures, tables, graphs, diagrams, and pictures included in my proposal count toward the seven-page maximum, or can they be counted as separate pages? All figures, tables, graphs, diagrams, pictures, etc. count toward the maximum page limit. What do you mean by an “imaginary biosketch” of a typical trainee? An “imaginary biosketch” is a mock biosketch or a curriculum vita that describes what you imagine the background, training, and future career pathways would be of a typical trainee from the proposed program. Do I have to submit the Scientific Abstract for both the LOI and the Full Application? Yes, but you may submit the same Scientific Abstract for both the LOI and the Full Application. Does an institution have to create a new program or can the base of the new program be on a developed program? An institution may create a program based on a developed program. It would be expected that the program would be operational in a shorter amount of time than a newly created program. What is the Signature Page? How do I access it? How do I submit it? The Signature Page is labeled "Grant Application" and summarizes the information from all the sections of the application and provides signature lines for the Applicant, the Institutional Signing Official and the Co-director of the program. The Signature Page must be printed, signatures obtained, the page scanned in electronically, and uploaded as a required attachment of the LOI and the full application. The Signature Page can be printed once you complete all the proposal sections of the online application in proposalCENTRAL. You can access the Signature Page by clicking “Print Signature Page” in the grey Navigation Menu on the left of the screen. Do not print the Signature Page until you have completed all data entry screens of the application. Can I print the signature page form prior to completing my application in order to obtain the required signatures on time? If you have correctly completed the data entry for all fields in the following sections of your application, you may print the Signature Page form to obtain the required signatures:
As long as all data has been entered correctly in these sections, the Signature Page form will contain all required information. Who needs to sign the Signature Form? Each of the following people must sign the first page of the Signature Page form:
Can I fax the Signature Page by the application deadline? No. Faxed documents will not be accepted. The Signature Page with signatures must be received electronically by BWF via proposalCENTRAL by 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Time), on March 3, 2008. Is it acceptable/required that a hard copy with original signatures be sent to BWF? No. Do not send a hard copy of the Signature Page to BWF. Electronic signatures are required. I noticed that some of the information that printed on the Signature Page is incorrect. How do I correct it? The Signature Page is automatically populated with data found in the gray Navigation Bar on the left of the screen in proposalCENTRAL. To correct an entry, you must go back to the appropriate proposal section and edit the data there (e.g., Applicant Information, Title Page, etc.). Do I have to submit the Signature Page for both the LOI and the Full Application? Yes, you will need to include the Signature Page for both the LOI and the Full Application, with the same three signatures required for both. How can I convert a document to a PDF file? You can use standard word processing software (e.g., MS Word, WordPerfect) to prepare the documents for your application. However, you MUST convert ALL documents to the portable document format (PDF) prior to uploading and attaching them to your application. If you have Adobe Acrobat on your system, you can complete the form online, save the form to your system, and upload it to proposalCENTRAL. If you ONLY have Adobe Reader (free software) on your system, complete the form, print the pages, scan them back in, and upload them to proposalCENTRAL. You can also complete the MS Word version of the forms, convert to PDF and upload. Note that the Signature Page form must be signed, and therefore must be printed out, signed, scanned back in, and uploaded as a PDF. For complete instructions on converting documents to PDF files, refer to the Prepare and Submit a Proposal (PDF). Can I change my application once submitted?Once you submit the application, the information is “locked” and cannot be changed without “un-submitting” the application. You may un-submit your application, make changes and resubmit it at any time prior to the application deadline. After that time, an application cannot be changed. For instructions on how to un-submit a proposal, refer to the Prepare and Submit a Proposal (PDF). Are there font or margin requirements for the institutional proposals? Use standard 11- or 12-point font for the text, and no smaller than 9- to 10-point font type for figures, legends, tables, and diagrams. Text must be single-spaced, with one-inch or larger margins on all sides. Do I have to use the templates provided on the proposalCENTRAL site? Yes, use of the templates is required. If you have Adobe Acrobat on your system, you can complete the forms online, save them to your system, and upload them to proposalCENTRAL. If you ONLY have Adobe Reader (free software) on your system, complete the forms, print the pages, scan them back in, and upload them to proposalCENTRAL. You can also complete the MS Word version of the forms, convert to PDF, and upload them. For complete instructions on converting documents to PDF files, refer to the Prepare and Submit a Proposal (PDF). Terms of AwardMay funds from this award be used to meet student tuition costs if they are participating in the grant? Yes. Student tuition costs and fees are covered under this award. Are administrative costs allowed? Yes. Salaries of support personnel and materials appropriate to administering the program should be included as direct costs. Are indirect costs allowed? No. Indirect costs may not be charged against the grant. When will I be notified as to whether my LOI has been approved? Applicants who are invited to submit a full application will be notified by March 31, 2008. We expect that most institutions submitting an LOI will be invited to submit full applications. For answers to eligibility issues not covered in the program guidelines or the FAQ’s, please contact Jean Kramarik, senior program associate, at 919/991-5122 or jkramarik@bwfund.org. Questions regarding whether the institutional proposal falls within the scope of the program may be directed to the senior program officer, Dr. Victoria McGovern, 919/991-5112, vmcgovern@bwfund.org. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
© 2002 Burroughs Wellcome Fund. All
Rights Reserved. Terms
of Use
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
