CIMIT New Concept Grants

Review Criteria
Submission Process

There is no deadline for New Concept Grant applications, which are accepted throughout the year. Submissions for New Concept Grants will be reviewed monthly and investigators notified as soon as possible thereafter. This non-renewable, entry-level award (maximum, $25,000 direct cost) is designed to allow initial exploration of a new idea. Review criteria includes the novelty of the technology and its potential application to healthcare. Review criteria include the novelty of the concept, its potential application to clinical care, and a strong interdisciplinary team. Successful applications must satisfy the Standard CIMIT Review Criteria. Resubmission of rejected New Concept applications is not permitted.

CIMIT Standard Review Criteria:

All CIMIT proposals will be evaluated for fit with the CIMIT mission and the following criteria:

• Programmatic fit within an existing CIMIT program area, or desirable expansion to an important new area within the CIMIT mission
• CIMIT does not fund projects in drug development, information- technology-centric areas, basic research, or clinical trials
• Collaborative nature of the project (inter-disciplinary/ inter-institutional)
• CIMIT does not support projects in areas of well-established, large-scale multidisciplinary collaboration, such as MRI pulse sequence development
• CIMIT track-record of previously CIMIT-funded applicants
• Intellectual property history and opportunities
• CIMIT support is essential to success (i.e., the project could not be done without CIMIT support)
• Potential exit strategies for the project including future alternative funding sources, contacts with companies, licensing and venturing opportunities
• Probability of clinical adoption, if the project is concluded successfully
• The project does not fit another established funding mechanism
• CIMIT does not fund projects for which corporate sponsorship or federal (NIH or other agencies) sponsorship is appropriate
• It is likely that CIMIT can provide facilitation support, in addition to funding
  
  

Submission Process

All proposals must use a web-based submission system. This is the same system used for the CIMIT Science, CSI, CDA, Fast Forward and Working Group Grants. If you've applied for an award online in 2007, use the same login information to apply (the email address you registered with is your user ID and corresponding password).

The URL for the submission site is:
https://www.precisionconference.com/~cimit

Once you have registered and log in, click on "new submissions" and then "Make a new submission to CIMIT Open" to access the online form for New Concept.

To input your proposal online you must supply nine separate PDF files of the following: Abstract, Body Text, References, Biographical Sketches, Letters of Support, Budgets, Budget Justifications, Compliance Form, and Institutional Approval (instructions for each are below). All must be individual PDF-formatted files:

• Prepare the material for each document.
• All text material must be in a readable font (at least Arial 11 point), and margins must be at least 0.7 inches.
  
• Convert each to a PDF.
  
• When all PDFs are made, upload them sequentially.
• These instructions on this page are also available on the web-based submission site where you upload PDFs.
• You may replace a loaded PDF with a newer version. If you have problems making the PDFs, contact Marcy Lender at mlender@partners.org.
• Click to download required forms for: Budgeting and Compliance. After completing, covert to PDF format.

Here are instructions for each PDF file:

Abstracts
Give the title of your work and a short abstract listing the overall goals, approach, and specific objectives. Also, please provide a "layman's version" of the title and a simplified description of the work in language suitable for a general audience.

Body Text
This section is limited to 6 pages, including all figures and tables. Do not restate the Abstract. List the Background, the Overall Goals of your proposed activity (emphasizing the impact on clinical care), the Approach or Methods, the Objectives or Aims and the metrics by which they will be measured, and the Next Steps once the work is completed. List Key Personnel, their roles, and institutions.

References
List references for the Body Text

Biographical Sketches
Provide a two-page NIH style biosketch (or equivalent) for each key person.

Letters of Support
Provide letters of support as relevant to your activity. They are not required. If you do not have letters, submit a blank file.

Budgets
Using the standard CIMIT Budget Form list all planned expenditures and then convert form to PDF format. Do not exceed $25,000 maximum total direct cost. Include 40% IDC. If you have questions regarding budgeting, you may contact JoAnn Moretti at 617 768-8763.

Budget Justifications
Justify all budget items as you would for NIH or DoD. A statement clarifying overlap with other funded or pending projects must be included.

Compliance Form
Complete the CIMIT Compliance Form and convert to PDF format. Remember that animal or human use activities require an additional approval step if your award is funded by DoD, which is the likely funding source for these Grants.

Institutional Approval
Scan and upload a copy of your completed, signed Institutional Approval cover page from your Research Administration Office. Do not upload the full budget approval package; if the project is approved, the full budget package will be requested.

MGH-based applicants need only supply the signed Partners Research Proposal Coversheet...the page you would normally submit to MGH Grants and Contracts. (Please note: MGH applicants need not submit the proposal to MGH Grants and Contracts.)

Also check the "Frequently Asked Questions" section where queries and responses will be posted.

Remember -- Make all your PDF files before you upload.

Please note that your total submission size cannot exceed 10.0 MB (including your submission document and any additional material). If you cannot comply with this limit or have any questions about the submission process, please contact Kirby Vosburgh at kvosburgh@partners.org.