Request for Applications

Grant Application Information and Guidelines for the FIGHT KIDS CANCER & St Baldrick’s Foundation Arceci Innovation Award

The Innovation Award by FIGHT KIDS CANCER & St. Baldrick’s Foundation is to be made for innovative and impactful research. The nomination and review process is to be administered by the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, funded and awarded by FIGHT KIDS CANCER.

Innovation Award Overview

  • Award is €250,000 a year for 4 years (€1 million in total) to support innovative childhood cancer research.
  • Award to be presented at the SIOPE / CCI-Europe annual conference in Milan, in May 2024.
  • Award to a researcher working in an institution based in one of these countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom.
  • There is no citizenship requirement.

This Innovation Award is inspired by our common values, which include:

  • Thinking outside the box – risk-taking – true innovation
  • Collaboration – including international participation.
  • Development of early- to mid-career scientists

While this Innovation Award is unique and focuses on innovation with freedom from the constraints of normal grant mechanisms, the following guidelines apply.

NOMINEE CRITERIA

Each Nominee must…

  • Be nominated for this Innovation Award; there is no Letter of Intent/Expression of Interest and researchers may not apply directly.
  • Hold an M.D., a Ph.D. or equivalent advanced degree(s).
  • Be within 10 years of their first academic appointment as of Jan. 1, 2024. Up to one additional year will be allowed for time off for medical reasons or the birth or adoption of a child.
  • Be nominated by a member of ASPHO, COG, SIOP, SIOPe or ITCC (no self-nominees).
  • Be available to attend the SIOPE / CCI-Europe annual conference in Milan, in May 2024.
  • Work in a research environment with mentoring and support conducive of continued academic success and innovation.
  • Have presented, published, or received funding for highly innovative research with the potential to lead to critical discoveries or major advancements that will accelerate important advances in our understanding of childhood cancer.
  • Have demonstrated participation in team science, in addition to success in innovative discovery.

Timeline:

  • Nominations open Nov 6, 2023
  • Nominations due by Dec 1, 2023 by 5 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) – United Sates / 11 p.m. Central European Time (CET)
  • Nominees for consideration chosen and invited to file an Application by Dec 17, 2023
  • Applications due by Feb 9, 2024 by 5 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) – United Sates / 11 p.m. Central European Time (CET)
  • Grantee notified by April 24, 2024
  • Award announced at SIOPE / CCI-Europe annual conference in May 2024 in Milan, Italy (Grantee must be present)

Note: This Innovation Award cannot be applied for; only Nominations are accepted.

 

NOMINATION PROCESS

Submit the following by email to Grants@StBaldricks.org, subject line: “FKC SBF Arceci Award Nomination.”

  1. Nomination:

ASPHO, COG, SIOP, SIOPe or ITCC members making Nominations will submit:

  1. a 2-page nomination letter, to include information about the Nominee’s research environment.
  2. the Nominee’s NIH, Europass CV or similar format biosketch
  1. Application Requirements:

If the Nomination is accepted, the Selection Committee will request from candidates selected for further consideration an Application which shall include:

  1. A complete curriculum vitae, including prior/current grant funding.
  2. A 2-3-page summary of the Applicant’s track record of innovation, contributions to science, and what important research questions he or she feels need to be answered (This is not a proposal or grant application)
  3. One letter of support from the chief academic officer of the investigator’s institution
  4. Two letters of support from scientists familiar with the Applicant’s work
  5. A commitment to be available to present their work at the SIOPE / CCI-Europe annual conference in Milan, in May 2024.

By submitting a nomination in the framework of these Guidelines, you consent and warrant that the nominee consents, to the processing of the data and information provided for the purposes of the Nomination and Selection process.

REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS

Judging Criteria:

  • Innovation
  • Quality of the science
  • Potential for clinical impact

Each Application is scientifically reviewed by qualified paediatric oncology research experts. Recommendations for funding are made to FIGHT KIDS CANCER, which makes the final decisions.

Applicants who have been selected for funding (as Grantees) will be notified as soon as possible. Funding status shall be relayed through email or by phone. All rankings and evaluations are considered confidential.

GENERAL INFORMATION

  • Research is an international endeavour that must remain true to a mission of scientific progress, placing a premium on collegial collaboration across time zones and oceans.
  • It is difficult to fund truly high-risk, high reward research.
  • By empowering innovation in established early career investigators, we have the potential to amplify the impact over the career of a promising scientist.
  • While the selection process will include information from the Nominee/Applicant about the work proposed, the Innovation Award is unrestricted, providing freedom to pursue true innovation.
  • Brief Applications are by invitation only and based solely on results of the nomination process.
  • Nominees’/Applicants’ work must reflect the values of the Innovation Award by FIGHT KIDS CANCER & St. Baldrick’s Foundation.
  • Research projects must have direct applicability and relevance to paediatric cancer. They may be in any discipline of basic, clinical, translational, or epidemiological research.
  • All Innovation Awards will be payable to the research institution (or to its foundation or funding arm) to administer for the purposes of this Grant only.
  • All Application instructions and templates/requirements will be available in ProposalCentral upon approval of a Nomination.
  • It is the responsibility of the Applicant to ensure and to verify that the Application is received by the deadline and that the Application is complete and correct prior to submission.
  • All Nomination/Application evaluations are considered confidential and are available to scientific reviewers and the administrative personnel of FIGHT KIDS CANCER and the St. Baldrick’s Foundation only.
  • Nomination and application materials will be shared via email between St. Baldrick’s Foundation and FIGHT KIDS CANCER representatives.

Grant Terms

Post Award:

  • Each Grantee must be a member of SIOP or SIOPe at the time of the Innovation Award.
  • Grantees will present their work at a scientific meeting (ASPHO, COG, SIOP, SIOPe or ITCC…).
  • The Innovation Award by FIGHT KIDS CANCER & St. Baldrick’s Foundation will be managed by the European Science Foundation on behalf of the organisations constituting FIGHT KIDS CANCER.
  • The Selection Committee or its designees will review awardees’ work every six months.
  • 2nd, 3rd and 4th year’s funding is dependent upon review approval.
  • Award recipients and their institutions will agree to terms from FIGHT KIDS CANCER regarding publicity, communications, how the award and work are referenced and more. 

USING ProposalCentral

The St. Baldrick’s Foundation uses ProposalCentral (proposalcentral.com) for electronic submission applications. Fax, email, or hard copy submissions will not be accepted. See “How to Create an Application using ProposalCentral” at https://docs.proposalcentral.com/CreateApp.pdf for more information.

Registration

First-time users must register and fill out a Professional Profile in ProposalCentral to begin the LOI/Application process (see “How to Register as a ProposalCentral User” at https://docs.proposalcentral.com/RegUser.pdf for more information).

Submitting the Application

  1. COMPLETE AN APPLICATION AFTER INVITATION. Login as an Applicant and select the Proposals tab. Select the “In Progress” status from the drop-down menu. Find the Application that was started for you and click the “Edit” button to access and complete your Application.
  2. ENABLE ACCESS FOR OTHER USERS. Once an Application is begun, access for Application submittal can be given to other users, such as collaborators, assistants, or grants and contracts staff.
  3. Applicants do not need to complete the Application in one session; a partially completed Application can be saved and completed at any time prior to the deadline.
  4. Applications that have not been validated cannot be submitted. “Validate” checks for required items and attachments, and you will not be able to submit if required items and/or attachments are missing.
  5. After successfully passing the validate check and signing, click the “Submit” link. An email will confirm your submission. Once your Application is submitted, you may view it by accessing the “Submitted” status under the “Proposals” tab.

It is the responsibility of the Applicant to ensure and verify that the Application is received by the deadline date, before 5 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) – United States / 11 p.m. Central European Time (CET) and that the Application is complete and correct prior to submission.

ABOUT FIGHT KIDS CANCER

For the Innovation Award, FIGHT KIDS CANCER includes four European philanthropic organisations that actively support research on paediatric cancers and decided to join forces and establish the FIGHT KIDS CANCER (FKC) research programme. These organisations are:

FKC aims to address the lack of research dedicated to paediatric cancers by sustainably providing support to the best European research. FIGHT KIDS CANCER aims to catalyse and support pan-European leading-edge research initiatives in paediatric cancer to develop innovative approaches to improve the outcome for all children and adolescents with cancer. The FKC Programme is operated by the European Science Foundation. For more information, please visit https://fightkidscancer.eu/

ABOUT THE ST. BALDRICK’S FOUNDATION

The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is a volunteer and donor powered charity committed to supporting the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long and healthy lives. For more information, please visit StBaldricks.org. You can also search current and past grants at StBaldricks.org/grants.

Any questions about the nomination, application, or review and selection process should be addressed in writing to:

Laura Chung, MPH
Director of Grants Administration
St. Baldrick’s Foundation
grants@stbaldricks.org

Any questions about post award management should be addressed in writing to:

 Eve Lemercier
FIGHT KIDS CANCER
coordinator
eve@fightkidscancer.eu