Application Guidelines and Instructions

The purpose of these awards is to provide essential support when funding for an ongoing project has been interrupted.

Eligibility

Eligibility for the Emergency Grants Program is restricted to peer-reviewed, extramurally funded research and research training grants (the Parent Grant) that have been continuously funded for a period of three years or more by the same agency and that have an indirect cost (IDC) cost rate of at least 10%. Applicants must either be:

• the principal investigator on a research grant that has, or will, sustain a funding interruption;
• the project director of a component of a multi-project (Program Project or Center) grant that has, or will, sustain a funding interruption;
• a program director of a research training grant (which support students pursuing Ph.D. degrees) that has, or will, sustain a funding interruption;

Excluded from eligibility are professional development awards such as Research Career Development Awards, established investigator awards and administrative core components of multi-project (Program Project or Center) grants.

Conditions of the Award

• Emergency Grant funding is proportional to the size of the Parent Grant. HCRAC has set the Emergency Grant award maximum at 20 percent of average annual direct costs of the Parent Grant, not to exceed $70,000 for a six-month period, with a renewal possible for up to three additional six-month periods upon further application. See below for conditions required for continued support beyond the first six-month period.
• If extramural grant funds (for the project in question) become available to the investigator during the period of the emergency award, any balance in the Emergency Grant will be returned.
• Funds may be used for personnel, fringe benefits, supplies, and contractual services.
• The purpose of this HCRAC support mechanism is to maximize the potential of applicants to re-establish extramural research funding with the shortest possible period of interruption. Applicants must thus provide assurance that they will apply for extramural support for the Parent Grant or projects derived from it in a timely manner. It is expected that applicants will have already submitted an extramural grant application and received the corresponding evaluation (i.e., summary statement) prior to seeking a 1^st E-grant installment. In special circumstances the applicant may request a 1^st E-grant installment prior to receiving a summary statement, but must provide a compelling explanation as to why they did not attempt to avoid a funding interruption. Submission of at least one extramural grant application based on the Parent Grant and receipt of the summary statement is mandatory, however, for 2^nd installment requests.
• All applications for Emergency Grant support must first be approved by the department chair or center director. The chair/center director should examine all financial resources available to the applicant as well as personnel, equipment, and supplies. For example, if the investigator has start-up or other discretionary funds available (except their individual investigator DCAA account), then HCRAC expects the investigator to exhaust those funds before seeking Emergency Grant support. The role of the chair/center director is to render his/her best judgment regarding the applicant’s need for emergency funds in the context of the applicant’s other support and departmental resources.

If the chair/center director does not endorse the Emergency Grant request, then the investigator may appeal the negative decision to the Emergency Grant Subcommittee of HCRAC. In such an instance, the chair/center director and investigator should both submit letters to Ms. Stephanie Holden describing the justifications for their different opinions.

Departmental/PI Contributions to Emergency Grants

The applicant’s department will be expected to provide 20 percent (maximum = $14,000 per 6-month installment) of the Emergency Grant support awarded. PIs with funds in their own DCAA account will be expected to contribute to this support in accord with departmental/center practices. Research Finance recommends that 60% come from the department/center and 40% from the PI’s individual DCAA account.  HCRAC will fund 80% of the award. If departmental/PI funds are insufficient to support the 20 percent contribution, funding will be reduced to the amount provided by HCRAC. Departmental contributions may not be met with general fund dollars.

Faculty Salary Support on Emergency Grants

Tenured/tenure track faculty salaries may not be supported with Emergency Grant funds.

Deadlines

There are no deadlines for this program. Applicants may request support as needed. The Emergency Grants Subcommittee will meet whenever a need arises.

Application Procedure

First Six-month Period

Formal applications must be made on the accompanying form and submitted in digital format (PDF).  If an application was submitted to continue funding of the Parent Grant or a project derived from it, provide a digital copy of this application and the critique provided by the funding agency.  If an application was not submitted, explain your logic for delaying submission and your plans for submission of applications (see Conditions of the Award).

Second and Third Six-month Period – without the Critique from an application to continue funding of the Parent Grant or projects derived from it, applications for additional funding will not be considered.

Beyond the first six-month award, each subsequent six-month award is conditional upon the demonstration of adequate progress toward the goal of re-obtaining extramural funding for the Parent Grant or projects derived from it. HCRAC reserves the right to make this determination. Prior to the disbursal of the second and subsequent awards (assuming that the other conditions specified below have been met), the Emergency Grant applicant must provide HCRAC with the following materials: (1) a full list of publications and presentations authored or coauthored by the applicant during the previous six-month period; (2) a complete list of expenses charged against the emergency grant to date; (3) a description of progress to date, including a narrative describing how previous critiques have been addressed and outlining a concrete strategy for obtaining continued funding for this project; and (4) copies of all grant submissions and summary statements related to the project during the previous six-month period. If no proposal was submitted in the previous six-month period, the applicant must provide a compelling scientific rationale for this. Digital copies of these materials must be provided along with a budget proposal for this period.

Fourth Six-month Period

Due to limited funds, award of a fourth six-month E-grant installment is reserved for cases where the most recent review of the PI’s grant has received a potentially fundable score. Requests for a fourth E-grant award will be discussed and voted on by the entire HCRAC E-grant subcommittee with the overall goal of maximizing the ability of faculty to recover external funding for their research.

Unobligated funds may not be carried over from one six-month period to the next, but the six-month period of the award can be extended.  Because the goal of the E-grant program is to provide support for PIs who are actively working to obtain external support for their research program, PIs requesting for their E-grant to remain active beyond 2 years must provide a summary of what has been done with the current E-grant funds thus far to obtain long-term funding for this project as well as plans for upcoming grant applications.

Report the award of grants obtained with the help of the emergency grant program to the chair of HCRAC.

Review Procedure

Applications will be reviewed by a subcommittee of HCRAC. Decisions will be based upon the following criteria:

• Meeting the eligibility and scientific merit criteria set forth in the Emergency Grant guidelines and application;
• Availability of funds.