The Health Effects Institute

POLICY ON FOLLOW-ON APPLICATIONS This section is addressed to HEI investigators who, when nearing completion of their projects, would like to apply to HEI for funding to continue their research. Its purpose is to describe guidelines and procedures HEI's Research Committee has adopted to evaluate requests for continuing support. Approval of “follow-on” applications by the Research Committee will be on a highly selective basis. The Research Committee will recommend for funding only those applications most relevant to the current scientific objectives of the Institute, when evaluated against all other applications. The usual mechanism for a follow-on application is the preliminary application process.  This process involves submission of a short preliminary application. If the Research Committee is interested in the additional work, then the investigator will be asked to submit a full application for a follow-on study. PROCESS AND TIMING FOR SUBMISSION The Research Committee recognizes that a hiatus between projects can have an impact on experimental continuity and personnel adjustments in a laboratory. In order to minimize delay between project completion and the beginning of new research, investigators may submit their follow-on preliminary application 4-5 months prior to the contract termination date. By submitting the preliminary application during this timeframe, the Research Committee can decide whether it will be interested in reviewing a full application while the original study is still ongoing. If the Research Committee requests a subsequent full application, it can be submitted at any time after the draft final report for the original study is submitted. Although the Research Committee will begin the process for evaluating the full application as soon as it arrives, it may delay a decision until the Review Committee has completed its initial evaluation of the draft final report. Alternatively, investigators may choose to delay submission of a preliminary follow-on application until after they have submitted their final report. Please contact the assigned HEI study oversight scientist with any questions regarding the timing of submission. PRELIMINARY APPLICATION The preliminary application should contain two elements: a description of the project plan containing an outline of the intended experimental techniques and a rationale for the proposed study indicating its importance in light of current insights and knowledge about vehicle emissions. It should also provide justification for the follow-on study in light of the main findings of the initial study. It is essential that both the scientific questions being addressed and the methodological approach be explained clearly. When critical, the experience of the investigators and the availability of any special equipment and facilities should be mentioned. The preliminary application must be no more than five pages in length (references are not included in the 5-page limit). No forms are necessary. In addition to the preliminary application, brief (2-page) curriculum vitae of the principal investigator and co-investigators should be provided. This information is not included in the 5-page limit outlined above. Detailed budgetary information is not desired in the preliminary application, but investigators should indicate the estimated scope of the project in terms of time and money. The preliminary application should be submitted electronically to the Staff Scientist with oversight for the initial study. The investigator should contact the Staff Scientist about the timing of submission to ensure it can be discussed at the next Research Committee meeting.   FULL APPLICATION (IF REQUESTED) The full application, if requested, should contain all of the elements for a full application to the Health Effects Institute as outlined in the RFA booklet, including a budget, a project plan, and any additional submissions and should be prepared using forms F-1 to F-10 that can be found here. In the project plan, investigators should provide a brief summary of results available to date and describe the relationship between these results and the future experiments described in the proposal. Furthermore, the application should include a discussion of how anticipated results might apply to specific issues of potential health risks from exposure to mobile source emissions. The full application should be sent to the following address: Ms. Terésa Fasulo Science Administration Manager Health Effects Institute 101 Federal Street, Suite 500 Boston, MA 02110, USA Tel: +1-617 488-2345 Fax: +1-617 488-2335 tfasulo@healtheffects.org Fifteen copies of the full application for a follow-on study are needed by HEI for the review process. At least one of these should be unbound; we also request a CD of all application materials. As with the preliminary application, the investigator should contact the Staff Scientist about the timing of submission to ensure it can be discussed at the next Research Committee meeting. CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION Depending on the scope of the proposed research, follow-on applications may be subjected to outside peer-review prior to the Research Committee evaluation. The Research Committee's recommendation concerning approval of follow-on applications will depend on its appraisal of (1) the project just completed, (2) the scientific quality of the new proposal, and (3) the ways the proposed research could improve the understanding of the specific problem under investigation. The Research Committee will take into account performance, productivity, scientific results, and responsiveness to HEI contract obligations during the initial project period.

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