Note: The 2010 RFA has ended. Please check this page at a later date for details about upcoming requests for applications.

November 30, 2009

SFARI Mission
The mission of the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI) is to understand the causes of autism and thereby improve the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of this and related developmental disorders. To this end, we solicit applications for SFARI Awards from individuals who will conduct bold, imaginative, rigorous research relevant to this spectrum of prevalent disorders.

Objective of the SFARI Awards
A deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying Autism Spectrum Disorders will require approaches at multiple levels of analysis, including but not limited to studies focused on gene discovery, molecular mechanisms, and cognition and behavior. We will consider proposals at all of these levels.

We seek applications from independent investigators who can devote a substantial portion of time to this effort (a minimum of 15%). We will also accept collaborative grants involving multiple investigators.

Collaboration among Simons Investigators is encouraged. Applicants are strongly advised to familiarize themselves with the work currently supported by SFARI and to think how their proposals might complement existing grants. We also encourage researchers to apply who may not currently be working on autism, but who have skills that could be brought to bear on this complex research agenda.

Access to the Simons Simplex Collection, a resource of rigorously characterized phenotypic data and biomaterials, will be available to all scientists. Please be advised that the policies regarding distribution of SSC biospecimens have been modified from previous RFAs. In the same spirit, we will expect Simons Investigators to share reagents and data developed with Simons Foundation funds.

Types of Applications
Investigators may submit three types of applications:

SFARI Pilot Awards: Junior and senior investigators who are new to the field of autism should consider applying for a pilot grant to support activities that will lead to the formulation of competitive grant applications. SFARI Pilot Awards provide support for two years.  Receiving support for a pilot grant does not guarantee support for future grants from the Simons Foundation.

SFARI Individual Awards: SFARI Individual Awards provide resources to work on an experimental hypothesis for which enough preliminary data has already been gathered. SFARI Individual Awards provide support for three years.

SFARI Project Awards: SFARI Project Awards provide resources for multiple labs to work on an experimental hypothesis for which enough preliminary data has already been gathered and the expertise of the collaborators in the field has already been proven. These awards are appropriate for projects focused on a central hypothesis where success depends on close collaboration between two or more labs. SFARI Project Awards provide support for three years.

Budget
The Simons Foundation will support applications for a maximum total cost of: 

• $150,000/year for up to 2 years, for SFARI Pilot Awards
• $400,000/year for up to 3 years, for SFARI Individual Awards
• $1,000,000/year for up to 3 years, for SFARI Project Awards 
• 20% for indirect costs is included in the total award amount per year

The Simons Foundation’s salary support guidelines are identical to those set by the National Institutes of Health for faculty, trainees, and students. The Simons Foundation reserves the right to modify budgets when an application has been selected for an award (see Simons Foundation Policy).

Eligibility
All applicants and key collaborators must hold a PhD, MD, or equivalent degree and have a faculty position or equivalent at a college, university, medical school, or other research facility. Applications may be submitted by domestic and foreign nonprofit organizations, public and private institutions, such as colleges, universities, hospitals, laboratories, units of state and local government, and eligible agencies of the federal government. For-profit organizations will not be considered. There are no citizenship or country requirements.

Instructions for Submission
Applications must be completed electronically and submitted using forms provided at https://proposalcentral.altum.com. Please log in as an applicant, scroll to Simons Foundation, and click on the program. For customer service inquiries, please call 800-875-2562 or email pcsupport@altum.com.

Deadlines and Notification Schedule

• January 6, 2010 – Letter of Intent due
• February 17, 2010 – Notification of Approval of Letters of Intent
• March 23, 2010 – Full Proposal due
• June 15, 2010 – Notification of Grant Awards
• July 1, 2010 – Grant Award Funding begins

Letter of Intent
Prospective applicants must submit a letter of intent (LOI) using the LOI template via proposalCENTRAL. The deadline for LOI submission is January 6, 2010, 5 p.m. EST.

The LOI should be no more than three (3) pages long (including any figures and references) and should include:

• Title
• Name, affiliation, contact of PI and key collaborators
• Research project description, including significance, preliminary data (as applicable; it is understood that preliminary results may not be needed for pilot proposals), experimental design, specific aims, potential impact on autism research, novelty, milestones, and timeline.

Applicants are strongly encouraged not to devote too much space to the Introduction; there is no need to provide a scholarly review of autism.

Please note that Letters of Intent exceeding the three (3) page limit will not be reviewed.

Successful LOI applicants will be notified by February 17, 2010, and will be invited to submit a Full Proposal. Only then will applicants have access to the Full Application on proposalCENTRAL.

Full proposal
Applicants will receive notification regarding approval of the Letter of Intent. If your LOI is approved, you will be invited to submit a full proposal via proposalCENTRAL.

The deadline for Full Proposal submission is March 23, 2010, 5 p.m. EST.

Full Proposals should include:

• Narrative, not exceeding six (6) pages (excluding references and figures), describing relevant background to the application, significance of the proposed studies, preliminary results, experimental design, pitfalls and alternative strategies, novelty, relevance to autism, timeline, and milestones.
• Bio-sketch of Principal Investigator and Key Collaborators
• Current and pending support for Principal Investigator and Key Collaborators
• Budget
• Research Environment and Resources

Please note that Full Proposals exceeding the six (6) page limit will not be reviewed.

Review of Applications
A committee of peers will review applications.  Reviewers will consider excellence of science, relevance to autism, and appropriateness of budget.  The list of previous reviewers can be found at https://sfari.org/scientific-review-board. The Simons Foundation Board of Directors makes final funding decisions.

Grants selected for SFARI Awards will be announced on June 15, 2010, and funding will begin July 1, 2010.

SFARI and proposalCENTRAL Contacts:
grants@simonsfoundation.org
800-875-2562 or pcsupport@altum.com

A PDF version of the 2010 RFA is also available.