SFI Principal Investigator Programme 2011 call

Research for Ireland’s Future

SFI Principal Investigator Programme

2011 call


Webinar information

• This webinar consists of a PowerPoint presentation with voiceover (1-way!)

• I’ll walk you through the PI presentation, Neil will then take over and go through SESAME, and we’ll answer questions at the end

• Submit questions by text on the GoToMeeting control panel – please be concise

• FAQ’s and a link to the recording of the webinar will be on www.sfi.ie over next few days


• This webinar is an overview of the PI2011 call. It is not designed to

cover all detail. Please ensure that you read the call and follow the

guidelines carefully.

• It will be followed by an overview of SESAME, SFI’s grants and awards

management system.

• Key points:

• Eligibility of applicant

• PICA – categories 1, 2 and 3

• Funding available

• The importance of including preliminary supporting data

• CV – template

• Ethical issues

Presentation Overview


Process

• Two stage process

• Call will open in SESAME on Monday 6 December

• Pre-proposal deadline: 19 January 2011 @ 13:00

• Invitations to submit full proposal by late March 2011

• Full proposal deadline: 10 May 2011 @ 13:00

• Outcome expected Q4 2011


Definitions of Applicant, Co-Applicant and Collaborator

• Please refer to the call document for details

• Lead applicant is the main contact for the proposed programme and has primary fiduciary responsibility and accountability

• Co-applicant – receives equal evaluation as the applicant. Applicant and co-applicant are interchangeable within the call document.

• Official Collaborator • Committed to providing a focused contribution for a specific task(s)• May receive funding if in an eligible research body• May not be the primary supervisor/mentor of postgraduate students,

postdoctoral researchers or research staff• Official Industry collaborators – industry partners in a genuine scientific

collaboration


Eligibility of Applicant

The lead applicant/co-applicant must be:

• a member of the academic staff of an eligible research body (permanent or with a contract that covers the period of the grant)

• a contract researcher with a contract that covers the period of the grant, who is recognised by the research body as an independent investigator and will have an independent office and research space at the host research body for which he/she will be fully responsible for at least the duration of the SFI grant

• an individual who will be recognised by the research body upon receipt of the SFI grant as a member of the academic staff or as a contract researcher as defined above. The applicant does not necessarily need to be employed by the research body at the time of proposal submission


Eligibility of Applicant- In Addition

• MUST hold a Ph.D./M.D. or equivalent for at least 8 years by the pre-

proposal deadline (only individuals with an official date of 2003 or prior are

eligible to apply to the 2011 PI call) (FAQ 3f)

• The applicant and co-applicant(s) must be senior author on 10

international peer reviewed articles. Only original research

publications, and not review articles, are acceptable. (FAQ 3g)

• The lead applicant and co-applicant(s) are required to have

demonstrated research independence through securing at least one

independent research grant as a lead investigator or as co-

investigator (FAQ 3h)


Eligibility of Applicant- In Addition

• Expected to have proven prior experience, capability

and authority to mentor and supervise postgraduate

students and team members.


Eligibility – Please Note:

• If you are a currently-funded PI/co-PI under for example, SFI PI/PICA, SFI PIYRA, SFI SIRG, SFI Research Prof, SFI MI etc, you are not entitled to apply to the SFI PI programme UNLESS you are in the last 18 months of your award.

• Investigators funded under the SFI RFP programme, can apply to PI 2011

• Applicants under active review by SFI (for example, SFI PI/PICA, SFI PIYRA, SFI SIRG, SFI Research Prof, SFI MI) as PI or co-PI, are NOT entitled to apply to PI 2011.

• PIs/co-PIs under the SFI SRC or CSET programme should note that their progress on the SRC or CSET award will be assessed if they submit an application to the SFI PI Programme-must provide justification in their CV for holding two major SFI awards under the section “Other Information as Appropriate” (see Appendix A). Applications that were funded in TRA 2010 and any applications made to future TRA calls must be distinct and bear no overlap.

• Individuals who are considering applying to the SFI-HRB-Wellcome - should note that any application made to the funding schemes under this partnership will be considered separately by the Wellcome Trust

• Where an applicant or co-applicant fails to meet the eligibility criteria outlined above, the application will be deemed ineligible and will not be accepted for review.


Principal Investigator Career Advancement programme (PICA)

• The aim of the PICA programme is to support those researchers returning to active academic research after either a prolonged absence, or those within the early consolidating stages of their independent research career.

• PICA applicants must be eligible under all of the standard PI criteria (with the exception of the publication number requirement in Categories 1 and 3)

• PICA is a once-off career advancement award – if previously funded under PICA, cannot apply again

• If applicants have incurred significant career breaks but are not eligible under the PICA programme, they are still encouraged to detail these breaks within their CV.


PICA Eligibility Criteria

Category 1: Any applicant who has taken consecutive documented eligible leave (minimum 18 weeks) since 1st January 2003 and have since returned to work. This can include, but is not limited to, the examples below.

• Statutory adoptive leave• Statutory parental leave • Statutory maternity leave • Statutory paternity leave • Carer’s leave • Long-term medical illness leave • Conscription

• Documented maternity leave of less than 18 weeks will be considered upon receipt of a valid birth certificate.

• In all cases, documentary evidence is required



Category 2:

Permanent or contract academic staff who have returned

to an academic research position since 1st January 2006,

having worked for a minimum of 2 years in a science or

engineering-related industry.



Category 3:

It is recognised that some early-career-stage independent investigators may have an excellent publication record evidenced by high-quality publications. Therefore, SFI will consider grant applications from exceptional investigators provided that they are 8 to 12 years post-Ph.D., and have 5 or more publications of excellence.

This allowance is now extended to Category 1 applicants.

must provide justification (1 page max.) at the pre-proposal stage, outlining the significance, impact and quality of these publications. If justification is not deemed satisfactory, applications of this type may be withdrawn prior to peer review, at the discretion of SFI.


Funding

• SFI Principal Investigator grants may range from €100,000 to €500,000 direct costs per year and may be 3 to 5 years duration. General overheads, currently 30% of ‘modified’ total direct costs, should not be included in the requested budget (see below).

• The budget requested should be appropriate to the proposed work, taking into account the applicant’s experience and recent research funding record.

• Applicants should be aware that the average PI award granted in the SFI PI Programme Spring 2009 Call was under €200,000 per annum.

• Please refer to the Grant Application Budget Policy when preparing your budget:

http://www.sfi.ie/funding/grant-policies/grant-applications-budget-policy/


Submission

Pre-proposal: Deadline: 19 January 2011 @ 13:00

• Call will open in SESAME, SFI’s grants and awards management system, on Monday 6 December 2010

• Submission using SESAME from the lead applicant’s Research Body to include:

• CV for applicant and co-applicant(s)

• Technical summary (250 words max.)

• Research description (3 pages max. including references). Please follow guidelines in Section 8(v).

• PICA documentation as detailed previously (if relevant)

• Additionally, you will be asked to select two categories which best describe the research area of your proposal - this is for information gathering purposes only, and also detail current or pending funding.


Preliminary supporting data

• Please note the importance of including

preliminary supporting data, or reference thereof,

in both the pre-proposal (research description)

and full proposal (research programme)


Submission

Full proposal Deadline: 10 May 2011 @ 13:00

• By invitation after the pre-proposal evaluation (expected late March 2011)

• There should be no significant deviation in content between the pre-proposal and the full proposal – applicant and co-applicant(s) must not change but collaborators can change

• Submission via the SESAME system – more information later

• Please see Section 8, step 3: Full proposal preparation for details

• When preparing your budget, please refer to the Grant Application Budget Policy and Staff member salary scaleshttp://www.sfi.ie/funding/grant-policies/grant-applications-budget-policy/

http://www.sfi.ie/funding/grant-policies/grant-applications-budget-policy/


CVs

• Please use the template provided in appendix A of the call document for applicants and co-applicants

• Three sections:

• Section 1 – Required details (2 pages max.)

• Section 2 – Publication listing: complete table and highlight with an asterisk* each of your senior author publications (3 pages max.)

• Section 3 – Research funding history within the last 5 years include expired, current and pending awards (2 pages max.)


Ethical Issues

• Please see Section 10 of the call document.

• Research supported by SFI must respect fundamental ethical principles.

• Furthermore, following a recent national ruling, research funded by SFI must not comprise any component of the following:

• Research intended to create human embryos solely for the purpose of research or for the purpose of stem cell procurement, including by means of somatic cell nuclear transfer

• Research using human embryonic stem cells or tissues

• Where ethical approval is required, applicants must inform SFI ([email protected]) and may be requested to provide further detail.


Institutional Approval

• Both pre-proposals and proposals are submitted by an authorised institutional representative via SESAME, SFI’s grants and awards management system

• Submission approves:

• Eligibility of the applicants.

• That the applicants are, or will be upon receipt of the grant, recognised as employees of the Research Body for the duration of the award (unless otherwise indicated in the individual’s CV)

• That the requested budget including salaries/stipends, equipment, travel and consumables are in line with accepted institutional guidelines

• The availability of infrastructure within the institution as outlined by the applicant in the research proposal

• That the proposed research programme has not been funded by other sources

• That relevant ethical approval has been sought

• That the details provided in relation to research funding history i.e., current, pending or expired awards, as detailed in Section 3 of the CV, are valid and accurate


Frequently Asked Questions

FAQs for the PI programme can be found at:

http://www.sfi.ie/funding/grant-faq/sfi-pi-call-2010-faqs/

These will be updated after this webinar.

http://www.sfi.ie/funding/grant-faq/sfi-pi-call-2010-faqs/


Key Dates

• Call will open in SESAME on Monday 6 December 2010

• Pre-Proposal Deadline: 19 January 2011

• Invitations to submit full proposal by late March 2011

• Full proposal deadline: 10 May 2011

• Outcome expected Q4 2010

SESAME Overview

• Online grants and awards management system

• Application submission, approval and tracking

• Future functionality will include additional SFI programmes, report

submission and other aspects of award management

• As functionality is rolled out - SFI will host regular

webinars/recorded broadcasts on focused topics– “little and often

approach” as new elements released.

• User Guides will also be available for researchers and research body.

• Security questions • Username/Password issues (forget password option available to

researcher) • Title of proposal can now be changed by applicant in SESAME• Single pdf automation through SESAME• Pre and full proposal submission online• Nomination creation no longer necessary, applicant can start their own

nomination• Offline Assistant (client side software) installation no longer required • Built in security (PIN number) when assigning co-applicant to proposal• Researcher can view/print/save proposals pre-submission• Applicant can only submit one application to a call where business dictates• Additional system validation controls in place where possible (i.e.

wordcounts/page limits)• Deadline functionality in place• Electronic approval facilitated

AMS Improvements

System Requirements

Research Body Profile

• Create Researcher Profiles• Provide the following details to your local Research Office:

• Prefix, first name, surname, job title & email address• Application Tracking and review of proposals prior to submission

• Researcher can view open SFI calls, complete eligibility questionnaire &

prepare proposals for submission to SFI following RO approval

• SESAME also provides you with the functionality to maintain a comprehensive

profile to simplify reporting requirements

• SESAME will also be used to manage active awards through scientific and

financial reporting

Researcher Profile


Question and Answer Session

Please wait while we compile the questions…..


www.sfi.ie

E-Mail: [email protected] for PI call-related queries

[email protected] for SESAME-related queries

Tel: +353 1 607 3200

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

SFI Principal Investigator Programme 2011 call

Documents

Transcript of SFI Principal Investigator Programme 2011 call