All applicants and key collaborators must hold a Ph.D., M.D. or equivalent degree and have a faculty position or the 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 and units of state and local government; and eligible agencies of the federal government. There are no citizenship or country requirements. See the Personnel FAQ section for more information on the responsibilities of a SFARI PI.

No, postdoctoral associates may not apply as PIs even if your institution is willing to submit an application on your behalf.

Yes, foreign institutions may apply. Please see our grant policies regarding international grants.

A SFARI policy change in effect since July 2022 now allows BTI awardees to apply as PIs to this RFA, as long as they meet all eligibility criteria outlined in the RFA.

Principal Investigator

The individual(s) judged by the applicant organization to have the appropriate level of authority and responsibility to direct the project or program supported by the grant. All PIs must hold a Ph.D., M.D. or equivalent degree and have a faculty position or the equivalent at a college, university, medical school or other research facility. They are responsible and accountable to the applicant organization and SFARI for the proper conduct of the project or activity, including the submission of all required reports. They will act as the main point of contact for the foundation.

Co-investigator

An individual involved with the PI in the scientific development or execution of a project. The co-investigator must hold a Ph.D., M.D. or equivalent and be employed by, or affiliated with, the applicant/grantee organization or another organization participating in the project under a consortium agreement. A co-investigator is considered key personnel, but the Simons Foundation does not require a minimum effort from the co-investigator. The designation of a co-investigator, if applicable, does not affect the PI’s roles and responsibilities, nor is it a role implying multiple PIs.

We seek applications from independent investigators who can devote a substantial portion of time to this effort. There is no minimum percent effort required for any personnel, but we expect personnel, in particular PIs and co-investigators, to have efforts that reflect their roles in the project.

Yes. Grants awarded through this RFA are intended to bring together scientists of diverse expertise. Multiple PIs share the authority and responsibility for leading and directing the project, intellectually and logistically. Each PI is responsible and accountable to the applicant organization or, as appropriate, to a collaborating organization, for the proper conduct of the project or program, including the submission of all required reports. The presence of more than one identified PI on an application or award diminishes neither the responsibility nor the accountability of any individual PI.

The first PI listed, under whose name the main proposal is submitted, will serve as the Spokesperson PI for administrative purposes. The Spokesperson PI must be affiliated with the institution submitting the application. The Spokesperson PI will be responsible for communication between SFARI and the rest of the leadership team.

The role type “Co-PI” will not be used by SFARI.

Multiple PIs can be added under three scenarios: when they are from different institutions that would like to be paid separately, when they are from different institutions that would like to be paid directly by the main institution, and when they are from the same institution. Instructions for each scenario are below. Please also refer to the instructional videos on our website: “Add contacts to an application,” “Generate collaboration and multi-site applications” and “Add a subcontract budget to an application.”

Applications with multiple PIs from different institutions that would like to be paid separately must list the additional PI(s) in the Project Personnel section and use the Application Role dropdown that indicates “Principal Investigator: Multi-Site.” This will generate a linked application that the additional PI and their institution must complete. Additional PIs will be notified via email that they have been invited to participate in a collaboration and will be able to access their application upon logging into SAM, which includes a budget and requires sign-off by a signing official from the individual PI’s institution. Additional PIs can work on their applications at the same time as the Spokesperson PI.

Applications with multiple PIs from different institutions that would like to be paid directly by the main institution are considered subcontracts. Subcontract PIs should be listed in the Project Personnel section either with or without access to the application.

1. Subcontract PIs with access should be added using the Application Role dropdown that indicates “Subcontract Lead – With Application Access,” which will generate an email notification that they have been added to the application with access to view or edit the main or any subcontract budgets.
2. Subcontract Leads without access should be added using the Application Role dropdown that indicates “Project Personnel (Including Subcontracts) – Without Application Access,” which will not notify the Subcontract PI and will not allow them access. Instead, this allows the Spokesperson PI to fill out the subcontract budget on their behalf.

Applications from multiple PIs at the same institution do not need to submit additional materials. Additional non-applicant PIs can be added to this section as “Project Personnel – With Access” or “Project Personnel (Including Subcontracts) – Without Application Access.” Under “add more details,” select the role “Non-Contact Principal Investigator.”

Important: Please do not include the Spokesperson PI (main PI) in this section. Please list all other personnel, including any other individuals who contribute to the scientific development or execution of a project in a substantive, measurable way, whether or not they request salaries or compensation. This may include co-investigators, collaborators, postdoctoral research associates or equivalent employee positions.

You can save personnel details in the Project Personnel section on the Contacts and Personnel tab of the application.

Yes, co-investigators and additional personnel can be listed on multiple applications.

We do not require letters of support or letters of collaboration from co-investigators.

The submission schedule is as follows:

• January 6, 2025: RFA Opens
• March 6, 2025, 12:00 p.m. (noon) ET: Submission Deadline

Applications must be submitted via the Simons Award Manager (SAM). Please click on the Funding Opportunities icon and navigate to the Autism Research – Autism Rat Models Consortium call. Click the Create Application button to begin. Applications should be started and submitted under the applicant’s own account in SAM.

If you are applying to the Simons Foundation for the first time, please register in SAM before selecting “Apply now.” If you have a ProposalCentral (pC) account, a profile was created for you in SAM using the email address associated with your pC account. Please select “Forgot Password?,” set a new password for your SAM account and then select “Apply now.”

No, the Simons Foundation only accepts applications submitted online through Simons Award Manager (SAM).

Yes, adding a user to the Institution Administrative Contacts section of the application as an Institution Administrator will give them full access to edit an application and submit it for sign-off. To do so, the person who created the application would navigate to the contacts and personnel tab of the application. Under the Institution Administrative Contacts section, they would select the user and use the drop-down to indicate their role. If the user does not yet exist, click on the “create new institution official” button, and add the newly created user as an Institutional Administrator.

Separately, to modify another user’s degrees, publications and other support, the user must add them to the Profile Access tab of their profile.

If one institution is included, or if multiple institutions are included but they are all paid directly by the main institution as subcontracts, only the Signing Official may sign and submit the application. When the application is complete, the PI will click on the “send for sign-off” button to send to their signing official for signature. Your signing official will see the application in the “Applications to Review” section when they log in and will be responsible for signing and submitting the application to the Simons Foundation.

Multi-site applications for institutions paid separately have an additional step for final submission. Once all linked applications have been signed by each institution’s signing official as described above, the Spokesperson PI will receive a notification that the application is ready for submission. The Spokesperson PI should click on “Submit Application Package” to finalize and submit the application package including all components from multiple sites.

The Submit button is located at the bottom right of the screen. You will be unable to submit if you have not provided all the required information. If the submission deadline has NOT passed, use the Check Application Progress button to check for missing requirements. If the problem persists, please contact [email protected].

If the deadline has passed, the submission period has closed, and you will not be able to submit.

The Check Application Progress button reviews your application for missing sections. The submission instructions list the required sections and attachments. You must complete the missing sections listed. If you are still receiving error messages after completing and saving the indicated sections, please contact [email protected].

No, please be advised that application deadlines on the application are in Eastern Time. We recommend registering early and submitting applications with ample time for corrections prior to the deadline hour. Site traffic can slow page-load times. The “Submit” button will not work after the deadline time has passed.

A confirmation email is sent upon submission of the application. Make sure that spam filters allow emails from [email protected]. Additionally, the application will appear in the Submitted tab of the Applications in Progress table after submission.

Before you can make changes to your submitted application, you must first contact the Simons Foundation. Please email [email protected]. Applications can only be changed prior to the deadline.

You should receive a notification during the month listed on the RFA’s important dates section. Please check your spam filter settings if you have not received a notification by then.

The Specific Aims page should be a summary of the proposed project focused on the research aims of the project, including a concise rationale for the hypothesis, description of preliminary data and experimental approach, contribution to the Autism Rat Models Consortium, and impact on autism research.

The Specific Aims page should not exceed one (1) page of single-spaced, size 11 text, 0.5 margins.

For the Explorer track, the Proposal Narratives should not exceed three (3) pages of single-spaced, size 11 text, 0.5 margins. For the Collaboration track, the Proposal Narrative should not exceed five (5) pages single-spaced, size 11 text, 0.5 margins. Figures (limited to 10), figure legends and references should follow the narrative text and will NOT count towards the page limit.

The Proposal Narrative should be considered an expanded version of the Specific Aims page and used to provide more detail on the following:

• Relevant scientific background
• Preliminary results when applicable
• Specific aims
• Experimental design, including data analysis plan
• Pitfalls and alternative strategies
• Project significance and relevance to autism
• Timeline and milestones

As mentioned in the template available in SAM, there is no need to provide a scholarly review of autism. Applicants should discuss how they and their project would contribute to the larger Autism Rat Models Consortium. For Collaboration track projects, please clearly describe the role of each group and how efforts will be coordinated across labs.

SFARI considers the following information crucial for the evaluation of a project and encourages including the following details (where relevant):

• Induced pluripotent stem cell lines and controls to be used and their availability
• Animal model strains/lines and their availability
• Patient cohorts used (including source of participants, sample size and availability of genetic data)
• Datasets or biospecimen collections to be used (including SFARI resources) and their availability
• A brief statement of statistical power
• Investigators should refer to the Methodological and Statistical Considerations Sheet for further information on necessary experimental detail to include in the proposal narrative.

References, figures and figure legends are not included in the page limits for the Proposal Narrative, although we have a limit of ten (10) figures (each fitting on a single page). Please attach them at the end of the narrative in the same PDF file. The Simons Foundation’s preference is for figures to follow the narrative rather than be embedded in the text. References should be in Journal of Neuroscience format, including full author list, title and a link. The Simons Foundation does not require a minimum.

Applications with a subcontract (including additional PIs from institutions that will be paid directly by the Spokesperson PI’s institution) should review the instructional video, “Add a subcontract budget to an application,” on our website.

Applicants on the Explorer track, which is meant to support individual labs or small collaborative groups, may request an annual budget of $200,000, inclusive of 20 percent indirect costs, over a period of two (2) years (and a two-year maximum of $400,000).

The Collaboration track is appropriate for multi-lab collaborative projects that are based on existing work in autism/NDD-relevant rat models. Each lab within a Collaboration project may request a maximum of $300,000, inclusive of 20 percent indirect costs, for each year of funding over a period of three (3) to four (4) years. The budget for Collaboration projects, regardless of the number of labs included, may not exceed an annual maximum of $900,000 (and a four-year maximum of $3,600,000).

We encourage investigators to take advantage of the flexibility in budget and duration, tailoring the scope of the award as appropriate for their specific aims. As with all SFARI-funded projects, it is at Simons Foundation’s discretion to modify final budgets as needed. Recognizing that different stages of a project may have different personnel and financial requirements, the primary PI may adjust PI membership during the funding period to reflect scientific needs, with SFARI approval.

Please note that indirect costs cannot be taken on tuition, equipment with a unit cost of more than $10,000, any portion of a subcontract in excess of $25,000, or SFARI Cohorts biospecimens.

No, SSC, Simons Searchlight and Autism Inpatient Collection (AIC) biospecimen costs are not included in the budget limit. Prices can be found on the price list on our website

You can access and request information about the SSC, Simons Searchlight, SPARK, AIC and Autism BrainNet on SFARI Base. If you do not have SFARI Base account, you must create one. If you have problems with the login or have questions regarding the collections, please email [email protected].

Please see the SPARK webpage for more information about the SPARK cohort and available data. You can access and request information about the data collected from SPARK via SFARI Base. If you do not have a SFARI Base account, you must create one. If you have problems with the login or have questions regarding the collections, please email [email protected].

No, but phenotypic and genetic data are currently available to approved researchers via SFARI Base.

Researchers may submit an application on SFARI Base. The SPARK and Simons Searchlight Participant Access Committee considers applications on a quarterly basis, but applications may be submitted at any time. Please refer to the SPARK recruitment process document for more details and email [email protected] with any questions.

Researchers may submit an application through SFARI Base. Information on Autism BrainNet tissue and data are available in the Autism BrainNet tissue catalogue.