Alzheimer Research Foundation

DEADLINE: APRIL 26th MIDNIGHT (GMT+1)

2024 GRANT APPLICATION GUIDELINES (PDF )

CONTENT

1. AWARD TERMS AND CONDITIONS

I. TERMS OF FUNDING

II. ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS

2. AWARD GUIDELINES AND INSTRUCTIONS

I. ELIGIBILITY

II. GUIDELINES AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR GRANT APPLICATIONS

III. GUIDELINES AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR 1ST YEAR PROGRESS REPORTS

IV. GUIDELINES AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR FINAL PROGRESS REPORTS

AWARD TERMS AND CONDITIONS

TERMS OF FUNDING

Funding Restrictions

SAO-FRA will award grant applications for research performed in non-profit organizations only. Funds are awarded to the authorized organization and not to the Principal Investigator or his/her coworkers. However, SAO-FRA requires that all funds are solely used for research and not for overhead, administrative costs or any other peripheral cost. SAO-FRA will only fund the proposed research that was described in the Research Plan in the awarded grant application.

Researchers who are administrator or director in another foundation, fund or institute that is dedicated to raise money for dementia or Alzheimer research will because of conflict of interest not be entitled to apply for a grant of SAO-FRA. However, demands of these organizations, foundations, funds, institutes, etc., for cooperation with SAO-FRA will be thoroughly examined by the Board of Directors and the Scientific Advisory Board of SAO-FRA. The Alzheimer Research Foundation is open to all proposals for cooperation.

Entitle to stop or recuperate Award Funding

Although SAO-FRA has committed funds for the stated term of the SAO-FRA Award, it reserves the right to recuperate the award funding or refuse award funding for the next award year(s) if the research performed is found to violate accepted scientific and ethical practices or is in breach of any of the terms and obligations stated herein. The Authorized Organization is responsible for maintaining the integrity of research performed pursuant to this award including the prevention, detection, and remediation of research misconduct, and the conduct of inquiries, investigations, and adjudication of allegations of research misconduct.

Legal Assurances and Certifications

SAO-FRA will only award grant applications that fulfill all ethical and legal requirements for research using human subjects and/or vertebrate animals in a research environment that protects both the safety of the researcher and the environment. A signed approval of the appropriate ethical committee for human or animal experimentation is mandatory and must be provided to SAO-FRA before funds are released ([email protected]).

Cost sharing

If it is anticipated or known that funds for support for this research is or will be sought from other sources, this should be reported to SAO-FRA for its expressed full knowledge and permission. Cost-sharing information differs in that it is a pending (or planned) request for support from another funding organization that is specific to this research proposal. This should be reported to SAO-FRA for its expressed full knowledge but will not influence the decision on funding. Double funding or failure to report available financial support provided by other funding agencies may require, as determined at the sole discretion of SAO-FRA, the return of all funds awarded by SAO-FRA. Furthermore, the Authorized Organization of the Principal Investigator is responsible for all costs spent by SAO-FRA in obtaining the return of funds, including but not limited to reasonable attorney’s fees, legal costs etc.

Sharing of Biological Reagents

SAO-FRA subscribes that biological reagents (e.g. recombinant DNA clones, cultured cell lines, hybridoma cell lines, mutant or unique model organisms, etc.) developed partly or completely during the course of SAO-FRA-sponsored research must be made available to qualified investigators after publication of data using or describing these reagents.

These (bio)-materials represent a valuable resource for the scientific community at large, paid for by the generous contributions of SAO-FRA's donors. The availability of these reagents directly affects the ability of members of the scientific community to replicate the experiments.

Therefore, SAO-FRA requires that the Principal Investigator and the authorized organization accept the responsibility of providing biological reagents developed during the course of SAO-FRA-sponsored research when reasonably requested to do so by other investigators.

Public Education

SAO-FRA is a private non-profit charity organization funded by donor contributions, and has an active public education program that informs donors and other interested individuals about awarded research. Information provided to the public by SAO-FRA may include the title of the awarded grant application, name, affiliation and photograph of the Principal Investigator, the amount of the award, and the non-technical description of the research in Flemish or French. The non-technical abstract is provided upon project submission through the online Optimy platform. Acceptance of the award shall be deemed consent by the Principal Investigator and the authorized organization to publication of this general information on awarded grant applications.

The SAO-FRA will communicate research outcomes obtained through the grantees more explicitly in their newsletters and press releases. To facilitate this, the grantee will provide SAO-FRA a summary of any of such publications (send to [email protected]) in Dutch or French in lay terms.

The SAO-FRA request from each pilot grand awardee a video for the lay public (in Dutch/French for Belgian applicants, in English if otherwise) wherein the research is proposed and what the ambitions are. The video (max 1 min 30) has to end with the statement that the research is made possible through the funding of SAO-FRA.

ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS

Award Budget Payments Scheme

Standard grant applications are to be submitted for 3-year periods; pilot grant applications for 2-year periods. The start date of an awarded grant application is January 1st of the year following its selection. Funds are paid per year of the investigation according to the budgets adopted in the Award Budget Table. Second and third year, in case of a Standard grant, will only be paid after reception of the first year progress report.

Funds are paid in accordance with the approved budget table, which has to be signed by the principal investigator, the financial officer and certified by the chair of the Board of Directors of SAO-FRA.

Approved budget tables are also submitted through Optimy.

Grant Award Ceremony

Each year both standard and pilot grants are awarded during a Grant Award Ceremony. The presence of each awardee at this Grant Award Ceremony is mandatory. If for some reason -for example illness, professional obligations,…- the awardee cannot attend the ceremony, a peer of the Principal Investigator or a senior researcher of the same research lab should be present.

Allowable Revisions of an Award Budget

A transfer of less than € 10.000 between budget categories does not require prior approval by SAO-FRA. Transfers of more than € 10.000 are acceptable from one budget category to another eligible budget category (personnel and/or supplies). In this case, budget transfer requests must be made in writing to the SAO-FRA Scientific Secretariat, by completing a Revised Award Budget Table form showing the originally approved budget amounts as well as the proposed revised budget amounts per category. The Revised Award Budget Table can be obtained upon request via the SAO-FRA Scientific Secretariat and should be accompanied by a detailed budget justification for each allowable inter-category transfer of > € 10.000.

Extension of an Award Period

SAO-FRA prefers that the Award Budget is spent in a timely manner in accordance with the proposed research described in the Research Plan presented in the original and/or revised grant application.

If more than 20% of the Award Budget (as indicated in the project-specific Award Budget Table) is remaining at the end of the Award Period, a written request to extend the Award Period by maximum one year must be made to SAO-FRA Scientific Secretariat when submitting or final scientific progress report respectively. This request should provide an explanation for the remaining budget balance and how the remaining balance per category will be used in the award extension period together with a Revised Award Budget Table and explanatory budget justification for each budget category.

All changes must be entered into Optimy and MUST be requested at the same time by email to : [email protected]

An extension of the Award Period has no effect on the original amount of the Award Budget in such that no additional funds can be obtained. Also, the extension period has no effect on the Award Terms and Conditions for Awards signed by the Principal Investigator and the officials of his/her authorized organization.

A new grant application cannot be considered in case it overlaps in time with an extension period of a previously allocated Award. Also, for each extension period a financial and scientific report will be required (cfr. the final progress report). In case an extension of the Award Period is rejected, the authorized officials of the organization will receive a request to return the remaining funds to SAO-FRA within 30 days.

Transfer of an Award

In the event of a Principal Investigator moving away from his/her authorized organization, the Principal Investigator has to inform SAO/FRA at least 2 months before he/she leaves the organization about his departure. Funding by SAO-FRA can be continued only if the proposed research as described in the Research Plan of the awarded grant application can be continued in the same research environment.

A new Principal Investigator has to be assigned who is a member of the research team and meets the application criteria. The new Principal Investigator has to confirm in writing that he/she will take over the full scientific responsibility for the continuation of the proposed research in agreement with the Award Terms and Conditions.

Submission of Financial and Scientific Reports

The 1st year scientific progress report is mandatory. After the last award year, SAO-FRA demands a final financial statement and scientific report covering all award years. Reports have to be submitted no later than February 15th unless communicated differently, and will be evaluated by the Scientific Advisory Board. In case the first year scientific progress or final report and financial statement are not received, the Principal Investigator, as well as the Authorized Organizational Official will be notified that further support by SAO-FRA could be compromised. In case the first year scientific progress or final report and financial statement are considered unsatisfactory, the SAO-FRA will formally notify the Principal Investigator, as well as the Authorized Organizational Official of its objections and invite the Principal Investigator to submit an amended report or statement within 30 days of receiving notification. In case a remediated report remains unsatisfactory, reduction of further support will be evaluated with the Authorized Organizational Official, proportionate to the seriousness of the errors, irregularities or fraud or breach of obligations.

SAO-FRA will send out invitations to access the online ‘Optimy’ platform for submission of the financial statements. The financial statement has to be signed by the Principal Investigator and the financial official of the Principal Investigator’s authorized organization. In case, during the duration of the award period, a change in authorized officials occurs, the SAO-FRA should be informed immediately. The financial statement has to be in agreement with the SAO-FRA Award Payment and Award Terms and Conditions.

SAO-FRA will send out invitations to access the online ‘Optimy’ platform for submission of the scientific progress and final reports. All scientific publications resulting from research sponsored by SAO-FRA should explicitly acknowledge the financial support by the “Alzheimer Research Foundation (SAO-FRA)”. Electronic reprints of publications acknowledging SAO-FRA support should be sent by e-mail to the SAO-FRA Scientific Secretariat upon completion of the progress or final progress report with the addition of the Award number.

Support Duty to SAO-FRA

If asked and needed by SAO-FRA, all awardees agree to give at least one lecture per year for lay public about Alzheimer’s disease research in general and that can include their own scientific contributions.

All appointments will be made in dialogue and after agreement between the awardee and SAO-FRA. Travel costs will be paid by SAO-FRA to principal investigators.

2. AWARD GUIDELINES AND INSTRUCTIONS

Submission deadline: 26/04/2024

I. ELIGIBILITY

The Alzheimer Research Foundation (SAO-FRA) awards grant applications in the areas of Basic and Clinical research of Alzheimer disease and related dementia. There are two types of grant applications: standard and pilot grant applications. Grant applications are accepted from investigators working at Belgian non-profit research organizations. Projects must be novel and original and cannot be submitted both as pilot and standard grant. The applicant of a pilot and standard grant are considered to be the principal investigator.

Standard Grant Applications

Research proposals have to be written for a 3-years award period. The amount of this award is fixed at € 300.000. Assistant professors up to full professors (with a minimum of 10% appointment at a Belgian university) are eligible (unless within less than 3 years from their official retirement) and preferentially experienced in research in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia.

Pilot Grant Applications

Research proposals have to be written for a 2-years award period. The amount of this award is fixed at € 110.000. Postdocs with at least 1 year (date of submission deadline) up to a maximum of 9 years postdoc experience and at least one first author research paper in the field of neurosciences and preferentially neurodegenerative disorders, at the date of the submission deadline, are eligible applicants in this award category. Young researchers have to be legally associated with an experienced research team working on Alzheimer disease and related dementia.

Young Research Award

Applicants for a Standard Grant Application are also eligible for the Young Research Award, if they are within 3 years from the official start of their academic appointment, at the date of the submission deadline. The winner, as selected by the Scientific Advisory Board, will be awarded € 50.000 on top of his/her Standard Grant. This money must be used to broaden the scope of the research project. If the applicant wishes to enter the contest he or she should tick the required box in the online Standard Grant Application form.

Dementia with Lewy Bodies

For the grant cycle of 2024, an additional standard grant for research in Dementia with Lewy Bodies specifically will be financed.

By signing the ‘Award terms and conditions’, applicants agree that a certain amount of their grant can be funded by funds from the King Baudouin Foundation. SAO-FRA will inform all Principal Investigators awarded with a fund from the King Baudouin Foundation as the King Baudouin Foundation also requests a yearly report. Guidelines for this report will be provided to these applicants by the SAO-FRA Scientific Secretariat.

Adjustments for career interruptions can be requested by the applicant in writing to the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) via [email protected]. These would include, but are not limited to maternity and paternity leave and major illness or injury. It is the responsibility of the applicant to point out and document such interruptions.

In each grant cycle, there can only be applied for one standard and one pilot grant from the same lab, provided that there is no scientific or financial overlap between these grant application proposals. Furthermore, a lab can submit one pilot grant maximally in each cycle, whereas for standard grants a maximum overlap of one year is allowed.

If you have doubt on the eligibility of your project, you can send an email to [email protected] containing the title and short abstract before submission of the project well in advance to the submission deadline.

At the end of each grant cycles, both successful and unsuccessful applicants will receive a summary of the reviewer reports. Rebuttals and/or discussions about the final decision however will not be accepted.

II. GUIDELINES AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR GRANT APPLICATIONS

Grant applications must be submitted in time on the Optimy platform. Incomplete grant applications that do not comply with the SAO-FRA Application Guidelines and Instructions and the SAO-FRA Award Terms and Conditions, or submitted after the application deadline will NOT enter the review process.

STYLE AND FONT: It is obligatory to use Calibri, font 11, single spacing, to fill in the application form. Other styles or fonts are NOT accepted.

PROJECT CONTENT:

⦁ Project Title: Choose a title that is descriptive for the research outlined in the grant application.

⦁ Principal Investigator: Name, Telephone Number and E-mail Address of the Principal Investigator i.e. the applicant. List only one Principal Investigator (PI). For Standard Grant applications, the addition of one co-PI is allowed if he/she is majorly contributing to the writing and/or responsible for a major part of the execution of the grant. A co-PI must be at least a postdoc associated with the laboratory of the PI. A Principal Investigator can submit at the earliest a new grant application in the second year of a preceding active award. Investigators of the same laboratory can submit a Standard or Pilot grant application in the same grant application cycle provided that there is no scientific or financial overlap between the grant applications or with active awards of other investigators in their laboratory.

⦁ Research Organization: Provide the location where the research will be executed including Research Organization Name, Department, Laboratory and Postal Address. This address is where the Principal Investigator is working on a daily basis and is to be reached. The address of the Research Organization can be different from that of the Authorized Organization.

⦁ Head of Laboratory: Provide Name, Telephone Number and E-mail of the Head of the Laboratory in which the applicant will be performing the proposed research.

⦁ Authorized Organization: Provide Name and Postal Address of the Authorized Organization that will be legally and financially responsible for the research and financial activities awarded by the SAO-FRA. Indicate whether your Authorized Organization is a Public or Private non-profit organization. SAO-FRA provides awards only to non-profit organizations.

⦁ Authorized Organizational Official: Enter Name, Position Title, Telephone Number and E-mail Address of the Authorized Organizational Official acting for the Principal Investigator and accepting the Award in agreement with the general obligations outlined in the Award Terms and Conditions.

⦁ Authorized Financial Official: Enter Name, Position Title, Telephone Number and E-mail Address of the Authorized Financial Official acting for the Principal Investigator and taking the responsibility for the financial accounting in agreement with the financial obligations outlined in the Award Terms and Conditions.

⦁ Grant Type: Indicate for which type of grant (standard or pilot) you are applying.

⦁ Research Summary: State the hypothesis, general objective and specific aims of the proposed research. Describe, briefly and concisely, the experimental design and methods for achieving these goals. The summary is meant to serve as a succinct and accurate description of the Research Plan when separated from the grant application. Maximum 3000 characters.

⦁ Research Plan: For standard grant applications a pdf of maximum 10 pages (including figures, but excluding references) can be uploaded. For pilot grant applications a pdf of maximum 5 pages (including figures, but excluding references) will be accepted. The Research Plan should include the following sections:

> General and Specific Aims of the proposed research: Provide a short state of the art, hypotheses, general objective and specific aims, and describe concisely and realistically what the research described in this application is intended to accomplish.

> Background and Significance: Briefly summarize the background to the proposed research, critically evaluate existing knowledge, and specifically identify the gaps which the Research Plan intends to fill. State concisely the importance and relevance of the Research Plan to Alzheimer disease and related dementia.

> Preliminary Data if applicable: Provide a concise summary of scientific data that has already been obtained by the Principal Investigator and/or Key Personnel in support of the general and specific aims stated in this grant application.

> Experimental Design and Methods: Outline the experimental design and the procedures to be used to accomplish the specific aims of the Research Plan. Include the means by which the data will be collected, analyzed, and interpreted. Describe any new methodology and its advantage over existing methodologies. Discuss the potential difficulties and limitations of the proposed procedures and alternative approaches to achieve the aims. Please include a gantt chart.

> Figures: Enter relevant figures (jpg, gif, png or tiff format) cited in the Research Plan, and provide a figure title and legend.

> References: List references.

> Appendices: Submitting additional documents with the grant application such as manuscripts is not allowed. All research information that is essential to the international peer review evaluation of the grant application should be incorporated within the Research Plan.

⦁ Key Scientific Personnel: only valid for Standard Grant Applications! Key personnel are scientific team members belonging to the Laboratory of the Principal Investigator submitting a standard grant application. This Laboratory should be identical to what is indicated under Research Organisation. Importantly, Name, Position Title, Time spent on the Research described (%) and the specific role should not only be provided for the Principal Investigator but also for Key Scientific Persons that will contribute to the execution of the proposed research. Only include scientific personnel e.g. PhD Student, Postdoctoral Scientist, Project Leader, Group Leader, etc. Postdoctoral scientists that are as well co-PI on the application should motivate this briefly.

⦁ Non-technical Abstract: write a summary in lay terms in Dutch or French of max. 200 words. The abstract should end with a brief statement summarizing the aim of the research and possible beneficial effects for the lay public (max. 30 words, included in the 200 words).

⦁ Assurances and Certifications: SAO-FRA will only award grant applications that fulfill the ethical and legal requirements for research using human subjects and/or vertebrate animals in a research environment that protects both the safety of the researchers and the environment.

> Human Subjects/Vertebrate Animals: If research activities involving human subjects or vertebrate animals are planned at any time in the Research Plan, indicate "Yes" and briefly explain. If your grant application is awarded, a signed approval by the appropriate ethical committee(s) of the Principal Investigator’s organization of the Research Plan described in the grant application will be requested and must be provided before funds are released. If already approved upon project submission, please load up the signed approval of the appropriate ethical committee. If not approved yet, the signed approval will have to be provided in order to release funds.

> Biosafety and Biotechnology: Indicate whether the Research Plan involves the use and/or production of hazardous biomaterials, recombinant DNA or genetically engineered organisms. If yes, briefly explain. Provide for your research organization the legal authorization and provide permission number and period.

> Important notice: If any delay occurs in obtaining the necessary certificates, the principal investigator must inform the scientific secretariat of SAO-FRA and confirm that he/she will deliver the necessary certificates as soon as possible.

⦁ Research Environment: Provide information on the research environment in which the proposed research will be executed e.g. expertise (centralized and core) facilities, major equipment, relevant scientific resources. Ongoing national collaborations relevant for the current application can also be included.

⦁ Available Other Support: List all current and pending financial support related to the proposed research with name of funding agency, type of grant (e.g. research project, fellowship, travel grant, mobility grant, etc.), title, funding period, total amount in €. Briefly motivate the funding overlap. SAO-FRA does not allow its funds to be used for research funded by another funding agency without its full knowledge. Failure to report the receipt of overlapping funds may require, as determined at the sole discretion of SAO-FRA, the return of all funds awarded by SAO-FRA.

⦁ Research Areas: Provide maximum two keywords that describe the general research area and maximum three keywords that describe the specific research area(s) expertise needed to adequately review your grant application.

⦁ International Reviewers: You are allowed to exclude a maximum of 3 International Reviewers but you are obliged to propose 3 International Reviewers to review your grant application. Proposed reviewers need to fulfil following conditions:

- Not being a co-author in the past 5 years. In the case of pilot grants, also not through the PI of the research team the applicant is applying from;

- Not having participated in a thesis committee of PhD students of the research group in the past 5 yrs;

- Not being involved as a co-PI or co-investigator in a joint grant application in the past 5 yrs

- Not involved in ongoing collaborations

⦁ Biographical Sketches: Provide a bio sketch of education, professional experiences, honors and awards, research funding and publications for:

- Standard Grant Applications: Add a biographical sketch for each Key Scientific Person.

- Pilot Grant Applications: Add a bio sketch of the Principal Investigator and the Head of the Laboratory in which the applicant will be performing the proposed research.

⦁ Signature from the Principal Investigator: with this original signature, the Principal Investigator signing the grant application confirms that he/she read the SAO-FRA Award Terms and Conditions of which he/she accepts scientific obligations on behalf of his/her organization, including the timely delivery of the first year scientific progress and last year final reports. However, when the principal investigator is not the head of the laboratory, an additional, original signature of the head of the laboratory is required. It is the Principal Investigator’s duty to inform his/her head of laboratory and/or organizational official about the application.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Upload following documents:

⦁ Award Terms and Conditions:

> Download document

> To be signed by the Principal Investigator; i.e. the Head of the Laboratory in case the Principal Investigator is not the head of the laboratory and the authorized organizational official.

> Upload

⦁ Award Budget Table and Justification:

> Download document

> Complete Budget Table:

For a 3-year SAO-FRA Standard grant application the budget is € 300.000. For a 2-year Pilot grant application the budget is € 110.000. Do not use decimals when filling in the budget table.

SAO-FRA does not fund the salary of the Principal Investigator except for Pilot Grant applications. Indicate the total salary cost per year.

SAO-FRA will not fund the purchase of large capital equipment. Maximum budget in the equipment category cannot exceed 10% of the whole grant, and this over the full grant period.

Travel must be relevant to the accomplishment of the Research Plan. Maximum cost in this category is € 2.000, and this over the full grant period. First class travel may not be used.

The budget cannot contain any administrative overhead or any other peripheral costs.

A transfer of less than € 10.000 between budget categories does not require justification and prior approval by the SAO-FRA. Transfer of more than € 10.000 from one budget category to another does require justification and prior approval by the scientific advisory board of SAO-FRA.

Budget Justification: Provide a brief justification and rationale for each of the budget categories i.e. personnel, supplies, equipment and travel.

Personnel: Include the name of the person(s) to be paid if the grant application is approved for funding. Also, include for these persons the Name, Position Title and Time in Research (%) under Key Personnel.

Supplies: Itemize supplies in separate categories. If vertebrate animals are to be involved, state how many are to be used, their unit purchase price and their unit care cost.

Equipment: List each item and describe briefly.

Travel: State the purpose of the travel.

Open Science: SAO-FRA stimulates an Open Science policy to make research data more open and transparent. To stimulate open research, data should adhere to be ‘Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-Usable (FAIR)’. SAO-FRA stimulates awardees to publish their data in open access. In case that a journal does not provide open access by default, but through paying an additional fee, a specific budget can be included in the budget table. Alternatives for open access can be achieved as well by depositing draft manuscripts in open archives such as BioRxiv, or to upload the manuscript in an open repository, such as provided by the university (= delayed open access: at the latest 6 months after publication, the paper should be uploaded and freely available).

> To be signed by the Principal Investigator and the Authorized Financial Official

> Upload

⦁ Award Payment Form

> Download document

> Complete Award Payment Form

> To be signed by the Principal Investigator and the Authorized Financial Official

> Upload

III. GUIDELINES AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR 1st YEAR PROGRESS REPORTS

Reports must be submitted in time on the Optimy platform. Incomplete reports that do not comply with the SAO-FRA Guidelines and Instructions and the SAO-FRA Award Terms and Conditions will not enter the evaluation process but will be returned to the Principal Investigator. This might delay the grant budget payments since a positive evaluation of the 1st year progress report is mandatory for the funding continuation of your grant.

STYLE AND FONT: It is obligatory to use Calibri, font 11, single spacing to create the report. Other styles or fonts are NOT accepted.

PROGRESS REPORT CONTENT: The 1st year progress report should contain following information:

⦁ Project Title

⦁ Project number

⦁ Principal Investigator: name of the Principal Investigator

⦁ Research Summary: Restate the original hypothesis and specific aims and briefly describe the progress made. Briefly describe changes, if any, since the original application was submitted. (maximum 1 page)

⦁ Publications: List publications that have appeared in print or E-Pub ahead and attach electronic reprints of these papers if not yet previously provided. Additionally list accepted, in press and submitted publications, but do not send preprints of these publications till they have appeared in E-pub ahead or in print. Include in your list only publications that describe results that were obtained within the frame of your grant and acknowledge the support of SAO-FRA.

⦁ Other Relevant Scientific Information: List all other scientific output relevant to the research e.g. published abstracts of participations by the Principal Investigator and/or key scientific personnel to scientific meetings; poster, oral or invited lectures at scientific meetings; scientific prizes and awards.

⦁ Other Relevant Information: List all financial support related to the proposed research that might have been obtained since the application was submitted. Provide name of funding agency, type of grant (e.g. research project, fellowship, travel grant, mobility grant, etc.), title, funding period, total amount in €. SAO-FRA does not allow its funds to be used for research funded by another funding agency without its full knowledge. Failure to report the receipt of overlapping funds may require, as determined at the sole discretion of SAO-FRA, the return of all funds awarded by SAO-FRA.

IV. GUIDELINES AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR FINAL PROGRESS REPORTS

Reports must be submitted in time on the Optimy platform. Incomplete reports that don’t comply with the SAO-FRA Guidelines and Instructions and the SAO-FRA Award Terms and Conditions will not enter the evaluation process but will be returned to the Principal Investigator.

STYLE AND FONT: It is obligatory to use Calibri, font 11, single spacing to create the report. Other styles or fonts are NOT accepted.

PROGRESS REPORT CONTENT: The progress and final reports should contain following information:

⦁ Project Title

⦁ Project number

⦁ Principal Investigator: name of the Principal Investigator

⦁ Research Summary (max. 200 words): Restate the original hypothesis and specific aims or as modified at the time of the 1st year progress report if applicable. Summarize the progress made thus far or during the whole grant period.

⦁ Final report: Provide a description of the scientific progress made during the whole grant period. Be brief and concise, but provide enough detail for adequate scientific evaluation. Include a ‘Future perspectives’ describing briefly if and how the project will be continued. (research summary + report over the whole grant period: maximum 4 pages, including figures, but excluding references)

⦁ Publications: List all publications that have appeared in print or E-Pub ahead during the whole grant period, and attach electronic reprints of these papers if not yet previously provided. Additionally list accepted, in press and submitted publications. Provide the reprints of these publications as soon as they appear in E-pub ahead or in print, even if they appear after the grant period. Include in your list only publications that describe results that were obtained within the frame of your grant and acknowledge the support of SAO-FRA.

Future perspectives: Describe in maximum 10 lines if and how the project will be continued.

⦁ FINANCIAL STATEMENT: A final report should be accompanied with a Financial Statement for which a template will be made available and downloadable from Optimy. This Financial Statement should contain an overview of the Budget, any Budget Changes and optionally Budget Extension requests. The Financial Statement needs to be signed by the Principal Investigator and the Authorized Financial Official.

For information and questions contact the SAO-FRA Scientific Secretariat:

Scientific Advisory Board of SAO-FRA

Chair: Prof. Wim Annaert

SAO-FRA Scientific secretariat

Contact: Soumaya Mesnani/Joost Martens

E-mail: [email protected]

Tel: 02/424.02.04

Submit a new application