Click through the tabs below for specific FAQs on the CIMIT FY12 CIMIT Innovation Grants grants and the
CIMIT Student Prize for Primary Healthcare for engineering students.
- Grants FAQs
- CIMIT Prize FAQs
Print this page.These FAQs pertain specifically to FY12 CIMIT Innovation Grants.
1. Who can apply for CIMIT grants?
2. What are CIMIT's areas of interest?
4. When will I be notified if my pre-proposal has been selected to submit a full proposal?
5. Is there anything "special" that applicants should know?
6. Who should I list as collaborators?
7. Does CIMIT give multi-year Grants?
8. In preparing my proposal, may I use pieces of my recent NIH proposal?
9. What support does CIMIT provide to applicants during proposal preparation?
10. How is "novelty" characterized by CIMIT?
11. Does CIMIT support software development?
12. Why does CIMIT not support pharmaceutical development?
13. Why doesn't CIMIT fund development and testing of new MR pulse sequences?
14. Does CIMIT fund clinical trials?
15. Does CIMIT support projects outside the Boston region?
16. Does CIMIT accept applications for funding from companies?
EVALUATION AND REVIEW OF PRE- AND FULL PROPOSALS
17. Who reviews the applications?
18. What does it mean that Full Proposals are evaluated “as written?”
19. Does CIMIT have oral presentations given by some PIs during the full proposal review session?
20. How are oral presentations selected?
21. Does giving an oral presentation give the applicant an advantage?
22. Is my proposal treated confidentially?
23. If I present at an Army review, is that a "Public Disclosure"?
INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING PROPOSALS
24. I am writing a pre-proposal. May I include lots of references?
25. Where do I submit my pre-proposal?
26. My pre-proposal was accepted and I have been invited to submit a full proposal. Now what?
27. Where and how do I submit my full proposal?
28. Should I submit copies of relevant publications?
29. Will you accept a video showing how my system works?
PREPARING AND ASSEMBLING THE FULL PROPOSAL DOCUMENTS
30. What is the "institutional sign off page?"
31. Are there any budget restrictions or limitations?
32. How do we compute indirect costs or overhead?
33. Why does the Army require secondary reviews of animal and human use?
35. When will I receive my funding?
36. When is funding activated?
37. What are my reporting responsibilities if I receive a CIMIT Innovation Grant?
1. Who can apply for CIMIT grants?
Anyone holding a faculty appointment at an academic medical center or university in Greater Boston may apply for a CIMIT Innovation Grant. However, CIMIT grants are generally awarded to principal investigators within CIMIT's consortium institutions.
2. What are CIMIT's areas of interest?
CIMIT seeks multidisciplinary projects to improve patient care, including the unmet medical needs of the wounded warrior, related to the CIMIT Programs. Projects relevant to CIMIT Programs, as well as other health-related areas, are welcome. Projects are particularly encouraged pertaining to 1) Neurotechnology, traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder, and pain; and 2) Projects that create transformative innovations in the delivery of healthcare within or across care environments through the integration of medical devices, decision-support algorithms, electronic medical records, or patients and care providers. Projects that propose to simulate such integration are also eligible (see http://www.cimit.org/programs-clinicalsystems.html for examples of projects CIMIT has previously funded in this area).
3. When are applications due?
Pre-proposals are due by 11:59pm EST January 14, 2011.
Full proposals are due by 11:59pm EST March 31, 2011 (invitation only).
4. When will I be notified if my pre-proposal has been selected to submit a full proposal?
All pre-proposal applicants will be notified on or before February 10, 2011 whether or not they have been selected to advance to the full proposals phase of the FY12 RFA/Innovation Grants.
5. Is there anything "special" that applicants should know?
Key elements of a strong application are collaboration and innovation. CIMIT encourages work between investigators in different institutions, and among clinicians, scientists and engineers who might not normally work together. The Collaborators section of your proposal should make this explicit.
6. Who should I list as collaborators?
List only individuals who are considered key personnel or significant contributors to the work that will be performed, and who have agreed to their role.
7. Does CIMIT give multi-year Grants?
Currently, CIMIT is only accepting pre-proposals and full proposals for one year of funding. This solicitation does not support multi-year awards.
8. In preparing my proposal, may I use pieces of my recent NIH proposal?
Yes, but remember CIMIT has different goals and review criteria and will not fund budgetary overlap. CIMIT also does not require extensive bibliographies or preliminary studies. However, if there is related work done by another group, you should distinguish your approach from theirs.
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9. What support does CIMIT provide to applicants during proposal preparation?
CIMIT Program Leaders, Site Miners and staff are available to answer questions throughout the year as well as during the time when pre-proposals are being developed by applicants.
10. How is "novelty" characterized by CIMIT?
CIMIT rarely supports novel basic science or engineering as normally interpreted in those disciplines, because such projects typically require many years of development before they may be considered for use in medicine. More often CIMIT supports novelty in applying an existing technology to a particular medical problem.
11. Does CIMIT support software development?
CIMIT distinguishes between routine software engineering, which it does not typically support (data processing, interfacing, simple signal processing), and research software in which new algorithmic approaches are required to solve a clinical problem. Like any other task, software engineering may be supported when it is necessary to meet project objectives. Research software projects must be approached in the context of a clinical procedure or care pathway, and the project must involve direct collaboration with a physician in the appropriate specialty.
CIMIT does not support classic Information Technology projects (electronic patient record, data mining for decision support, etc.), because CIMIT member institutions and industry groups are already investing significant resources in these areas.
In general, CIMIT does not support the development of public domain data repositories that can be used to further medical research. However, CIMIT has supported projects that use such repositories for algorithm validation. For Clinical Systems Innovation projects, the best gauge of the suitability of a software project for CIMIT funding is whether it is more appropriate for a hospital IT department, using their much more substantial research resources. Collaboration with hospital IT groups should be an option that is pursued on a case-by-case basis.
12. Why does CIMIT not support pharmaceutical development?
CIMIT recognizes that the development of new pharmaceutical agents is generally well supported by major industrial labs, while the underlying basic research is supported by the NIH, both at much larger scales than CIMIT can fund. This is also true of the general fields of surface chemistry and coatings. CIMIT has, however, actively supported the development and demonstration of devices for the local delivery of pharmaceutical agents and, on occasion, agents to improve the contrast of imaging systems when the project is multidisciplinary. Also, CIMIT has supported multidisciplinary teams seeking new approaches to tissue engineering and wound healing.
13. Why doesn't CIMIT fund development and testing of new MR pulse sequences?
MR pulse sequence development and similar large multidisciplinary fields are well supported by industry and NIH.
14. Does CIMIT fund clinical trials?
No, based on the definition of a clinical trial as patient-oriented research in which the data is gathered for possible presentation to the FDA. We do support earlier stage feasibility or proof-of-principle efforts that involve human subjects.
15. Does CIMIT support projects outside the Boston region?
While CIMIT frequently supports local effort as a part of national collaborations, CIMIT grants are generally awarded to Consortium Member Institutions. However, collaborators outside of Boston can be included in the proposal with sufficient justification.
16. Does CIMIT accept applications for funding from companies?
No. Principal Investigators of CIMIT-supported collaborations have faculty appointments, usually at one of the CIMIT consortium institutions.
EVALUATION AND REVIEW OF PRE- AND FULL PROPOSALS
17. Who reviews the applications?
The CIMIT Review Panels are made up of practicing clinical specialists, engineers and scientists with broad experience in medical innovation. All full applications are also reviewed by an outside panel of leading physicians and engineers convened by the US Army.
18. What does it mean that Full Proposals are evaluated “as written?”
The reviewers will not suggest modifications to your proposal, nor will they assume that gaps that they identify in the work plan will be filled. CIMIT Site Miners and Program Leaders can provide helpful feedback on your proposal before you submit it. Please seek them out for their input.
19. Does CIMIT have oral presentations given by some PIs during the full proposal review session?
Yes. Most often these presentations occur during the outside panel review of the full proposals.
20. How are oral presentations selected?
Presenters are selected based primarily on their availability for the time slots with the outside panel.
21. Does giving an oral presentation give the applicant an advantage?
Data from the past five years show that it usually doesn't make a difference. Sometimes, though, the PI succeeds in significantly raising his or her score with the outside panel. However, sometimes the PI exposes a significant shortcoming of the proposed work, and lowers the score. The outside panel rankings are factored into the final CIMIT funding decision.
22. Is my proposal treated confidentially?
All proposals are managed with all reasonable efforts to ensure that intellectual property (IP) rights and confidential plans are protected. CIMIT reporting does not constitute a public disclosure of an idea. However, investigators should take all the normal steps to protect valuable IP within their own institution prior to submitting their pre-proposal, and should exercise discretion in sharing sensitive materials in public environments such as the CIMIT Forum. Furthermore, investigators should be aware that the reports that CIMIT sends to the Department of Defense or other federal agencies may become public at some point, in response to requests from private parties, and redaction of information thought to be confidential cannot be guaranteed.
23. If I present at an Army review, is that a "Public Disclosure"?
No. Army reviews such as the CIMIT proposal peer review are confidential. However, items presented at an open Army Meeting such as ATACCC or at a CIMIT Forum would likely be considered public disclosure.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING PROPOSALS
24. I am writing a pre-proposal. May I include lots of references?
You can use as many references as you want, but the reviewers, who are likely to be sophisticated in your field, may wonder why you are using that space when you could be explaining the clinical impact or novelty of your work. Your mastery of the literature will be apparent from what you say, not how you footnote it.
25. Where do I submit my pre-proposal?
All pre-proposal information must be submitted through the CIMIT proposal submission system. No material may be submitted directly to CIMIT staff.
26. My pre-proposal was accepted and I have been invited to submit a full proposal. Now what?
Submit a Full Proposal by 11:59pm EST March 31, 2011. Follow the step-by-step instructions on the web-based submission site. The files do not need to be loaded all at once. The PI may log on as many times as he or she wishes until the March 31, 2011 deadline.
27. Where and how do I submit my full proposal?
All full proposal information must be submitted through the CIMIT proposal submission system. Instructions will be provided on the CIMIT website. No material may be submitted directly to CIMIT staff.
28. Should I submit copies of relevant publications?
No. Standard citation of publications is acceptable.
29. Will you accept a video showing how my system works?
No.
PREPARING AND ASSEMBLING THE FULL PROPOSAL DOCUMENTS
30. What is the "institutional sign off page?"
It is the official sheet from your research administration office indicating that your full proposal is approved by your institution. If you are at MGH, approval from your Department Chief is needed in lieu of central Grants and Contracts approval. Be sure to ask your research administration office how much lead time they need to process this form in the event you are invited to submit a full proposal so that you can submit all your documents before the deadline.
31. Are there any budget restrictions or limitations?
Foreign travel, subcontracts, patient care, and equipment require prior approval. If you know your project will involve these costs, please include them in your proposal budget.
32. How do we compute indirect costs or overhead?
CIMIT provides for a 40% indirect cost rate on a modified total direct cost base.
33. Why does the Army require secondary reviews of animal and human use?
Due to the nature of military service, the regulations governing the experimentation on animals and humans by the armed forces have explicit extra protections for research subjects. CIMIT is supported by the Army and these regulations apply to all funded CIMIT projects supported with Army funds.
34. What should I do if my project requires work to be completed before an IRB application can be written?
Awards can be released in two stages. To submit a proposal with a design that requires separate pre-human and human use stages, your proposal must clearly state which aims will be completed in each of the two stages. Separate budgets must also be submitted to clearly delineate funds used for non-human use work from those funds that would support work that involves human use.
35. When will I receive my funding?
Federal funds provide the majority of support for CIMIT awards and must be received by CIMIT prior to your award release. The timeliness of your revisions to administrative materials, should they be needed, and any necessary protocol approvals will also affect when you receive your award, which would not be sooner than October 1, 2011.
36. When is funding activated?
If your work involves human subjects, data or tissue derived from humans, or live animals, the necessary IRB, IACUC and DoD OHRP approvals must be in place prior to the activation of your award.
37. What are my reporting responsibilities if I receive a CIMIT Innovation Grant?
CIMIT requires investigators to submit quarterly or semi-annual progress reports. The frequency of reporting depends on the terms and conditions of the parent award that is used to support your individual project. You will be notified of further details with the Notice of Award if your full proposal is selected for funding.
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FAQs for Letter of Intent Submissions (Pre-proposal)
1. What is the definition of primary care?
Primary care is “frontline medicine” typically delivered by internists, pediatricians, family practitioners and is usually found in a clinic-based setting. Primary care may be delivered via outreach in the home or community as well. A multi-disciplinary team-based approach to primary care includes nurse practitioners, nutritionists, physical therapists and other professionals.
2. Can one university or program submit multiple applications?
There is no limit on the number of applications a university or program can submit, however, a student can submit only one application.
3. Can a student submit more than one application?
Students can only submit one application, however, there is no limit on the number of applications a university or program can submit.
4. Can a team of students apply or just individual students?
Teams of students are strongly encouraged.
5. Can a student team include students from multiple universities and/or disciplines?
Students can be drawn from multiple universities and disciplines (e.g., medical students), however, the project leader must be an engineering student enrolled in good standing at the responsible institution.
6. Can the team include industry partners?
Only students can be on the team receiving the prize and using the prize money. However advice and/or technical help from industry professionals is acceptable as long as it is consistent with the student team’s institutional policies regarding industry relations.
7. Can the team include faculty members?
Only students can be on the team receiving the prize and using the prize money. However, mentorship by faculty members is certainly acceptable.
8. Can students participate who will graduate during the competition?
The student project leader submitting an entry must be enrolled and in good standing at the responsible institution for the duration of the competition, but the variations of student status of other members of the team is not a concern.
9. What is meant by “the responsible institutional official”?
Institutional Official means an individual at your engineering school with authority to accept responsibility for funds.
10. What information must the institutional letter of support convey?
The Letter of Support simply needs to be on institutional letterhead for verification of authenticity, and needs to affirm three things:
a) that the entrant is a student in good standing in the school,
b) that the institution will accept the responsibilities for oversight of any matters of compliance with regulations and policies,
c) that the institution will disburse the Prize funds, as transferred from CIMIT, for purposes related to the advancement of the project or for direct support of the student or the benefit of the student's career, and will not deduct any indirect-cost amounts, tuition charges, or other fees of any sort.
11. Who retains the rights to any intellectual property generated by a proposal?
Management of intellectual property will be determined by the institutional policies of the entity responsible for the proposal. No rights to intellectual property are retained by CIMIT entities administering the award.
12. Should I disclose any unprotected proprietary information in the letter of intent?
Protecting proprietary information is the responsibility of the applicant and the applicant institution. Any intellectual property needing protection should be protected before submission (within the applicant's own institution's processes and policies) or should not be disclosed in the letter of intent, leaving time to protect it later before any public disclosure. A variety of reviewers will be used to select the finalists. They will not be asked to commit formally to non-disclosure agreements because of the volume of material they will be asked to review. Reviewers will be asked to treat conceptual material with the normal discretion asked of peer reviewers of manuscripts or proposals.
13. Can individuals who are not graduate or undergraduate students in engineering programs apply?
Individual applicants, or team leaders in the case of applicant teams, must be graduate or undergraduate students in engineering programs. Clinicians may be collaborators. Business-school students or medical students may be team members, but the project leader must be engineering students.
FAQs for Finalists
1. What expenses are allowable?
Any expense that advances the project towards a more advanced and compelling final submission is allowable. For example, these include any expenses for supplies, machine-shop charges, partial stipend support for a student-member of the team, project-related travel, and the like. Expenses must be reimbursed via your institution's check-payment procedures with the assistance of your institutional official who will act as steward of the $10,000 fund CIMIT is providing to them.
2. Should expense receipts be submitted to CIMIT with the full proposal?
Receipts should be saved as documentation and review according to your own institution's requirements, but need not be submitted to CIMIT.
3. How should proprietary information be managed?
While the submitted materials will be treated with discretion, CIMIT cannot provide any assurance of confidentiality in accepting them. CIMIT uses reviewers, for example, in judging merit of the submissions, and while they will also be expected to use discretion they are not bound by any confidential-disclosure agreements. That would be impractical and unrealistic to seek. In fact your submission should be written with the potential of winning a final Prize in mind, and therefore with the understanding that publicity will be appropriate and of value to you in advancing the cause of your project. Even projects that do not win one of the three large prizes may be suitable for wider dissemination and publicity as part of CIMIT's communication to media about the worthiness of all the entries. Thus information considered proprietary by you and not yet protected by copyright or patent-application processes should not be included in the submission. Functional performance can be described without all the underlying detail of any inventions or proprietary techniques, if those are sensitive material. CIMIT will endeavor to consult with all Finalists about any communications it releases in its publicity, but given the tight time-frame between final submission and announcement of the winners, it may not be possible to arrange your review or approval of the text in our announcements. In addition to general publicity, we may see specific opportunities to help you advance your project by connecting you with companies interested in commercializing portions of your work. In that case we will broker your direct contacts with such company(s) if you so desire. As stated in the original announcement of this Prize, any intellectual property remains under ownership of your institution, if so assigned, or of the inventors. CIMIT will not assert any rights related to the funding we provide.
4. Should the final submission include a budget?
A budget is not required. However, a statement as to the value of the prize to the recipient (either to advance the project or their career) would be a positive addition.
5. Is there a particular format/layout that is preferred for the submission?
There is no specific format/layout that is preferred, except that all text must be in a readable font (at least Arial 11 point) and margins must be at least 0.7 inches. The design of the submission is at the discretion of the finalist.
6. Is there a specific order that the sections must be addressed or is it open for the applicants to provide all of the information in the most compelling way?
The sequencing and approach is at the discretion of the finalist.
7. Should the final submission be more like a scientific write-up or a business write-up to pitch the idea?
The report should provide a compelling justification for the innovation with clear advocacy of the pathway to clinical impact.
8. Can additional sections be added to those listed in the website instructions for the final proposal?
Sections may be added at the discretion of the finalist.
9. Do business financials need to be included in the application?
Business financials do not need to be included in the application. However, any thoughts on the practicality of commercialization are welcome.
10. As we are writing the final proposal, should we address the project as if we are receiving $150,000, $100,000, or $50,000? Since there is a factor of 3 difference between first and third place, certain facets of the project could be accomplished given the largest of the prize monies but not necessarily with the smallest.
Your final entry will be judged based on the work to date (of submission at the end of May), and on its promise for the future within a reasonable time frame, with realistically achievable resources. Don't think specifically about whether it can reach full impact with one particular level of prize money from this competition alone. The judges won't consider that.
11. Given the delays in processing the $10,000 awards, both in sending checks out from CIMIT, and in processing them in the recipient institutions, does all the money have to be spent by May 31, with the residual being returned to CIMIT?
We understand the difficulties created by the short time frame, and thus are re-wording our policy on 'unused funds', as follows: The deadline for final submissions in competition for the CIMIT Primary Care Prize is, and remains, May 31. However the $10,000 award to each Finalist need not be entirely spent by that date. CIMIT will expect that any funds not expended from the $10,000 by October 31 be returned to CIMIT by the recipient institution's officials. The expectations as to 'allowable' versus 'unallowable' uses of the funds remains unchanged. As to the uses of the three top prize awards, there will be no time limit on the use of those funds, just the expectation of proper stewardship regarding their expenditure, for advancement of the winning project and/or the career(s) of the winners.
12. How do I include video attachments in the final submission?
Any videos you may have of your final projects can be posted to YouTube (or any other video hosting site) and the link included in your final submission. Please opt for the "private" posting option rather than the "public" posting.
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