How to Apply for a Grant

The process of applying for any type of funding involves 2 stages:

1. Submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) by August 1, 2008 (by 5:00pm EDT). Notification of acceptance will be sent within one week.
2. Submit a full proposal only If the LOI is accepted. The deadline for receipt of proposals is September 15, 2008 (by 11:59pm EDT).

Instructions may be viewed below, or downloaded for reference. Use the Budget and Biographic Sketch forms provided.

Address questions to grants@epilepsytherapyproject.org.

Forms

Right click and choose "Save As.." to download the following forms:

• LOI & Grant Application Instructions [PDF 72k]

Letter of Intent (LOI)

LOI Content and Layout

1. Title of proposed project (not to exceed one line)
2. Principal Investigator (name, titles, affiliation, address, telephone, fax, email address)
3. Co-Investigators (names, titles, affiliations)
4. Contact person if other than the Principal Investigator (name, address, telephone, fax, email address)
5. Anticipated total budget for 1st year
6. Brief summary of project goals (one paragraph)
7. Brief description of intellectual property position and potential for commercialization (one paragraph)
8. Brief description of what is unique about the project, and how it will lead to new treatments for epilepsy (not to exceed one page)

LOI Format

• Must not exceed three pages, inclusive of all information listed above (#6, #7, #8)
• Must be submitted on 8.5 x 11" paper
• Margins 0.75”
• 10 point Arial font
• Convert the LOI document to a PDF file and then upload it in section 5) Upload LOI Template

LOI Submission

• Submit the completed LOI through proposalCentral: https://proposalcentral.altum.com.
• Once there, click on "Applicants: Click here to Login, Register and Apply", and setup an account.
• Click on Validate to make sure all required fields have been filled in.
• Click on the Submit link to submit LOI in proposalCENTRAL.

LOI Acceptance Notification

LOIs will be reviewed within one week, at which time Principal Investigators/Contact People will be notified if the proposal is not considered suitable for a full review LOIs considered suitable must be submitted as full proposals by September 15, 2008 (see grant instructions, following).

Grant Application

Proposal Content and Layout [for all types of proposals]

1. Cover – Page 1:

1. Title of proposed project (maximum one line)
2. Institutional approvals for work involving humans or animals (project number and date of approval)
3. Principal Investigator (name, titles, affiliation, address, telephone, fax, email address)
4. Co-Investigators (names, titles, affiliations)
5. Contact person if other than the Principal Investigator (name, address, telephone, fax, email address)
6. Institutional officers (financial officer and grant administrators) responsible for the proposal and award

2. Budget – Page 2 (Enter your budget online):

1. Detailed budget and justifications for 1st year (and 2^nd year if needed).
2. Funds may only be used for direct costs; Funds may NOT be allocated for travel, administrative purposed, or equipment (apply for an exemption if essential). Salary for pre/post doctoral trainees should be justified.
3. Describe milestones for payments

3. Summary Statement – Pages 3 – 4 (maximum two pages)

1. What is unique and significant from a therapeutic perspective about the project and how will it lead to new treatments for epilepsy
2. What proof of principal or indication of efficacy and safety currently exists
3. A project summary written in lay language for consumers (approximately fifty words)

4. Commercialization Potential – Pages 5 – 6 (maximum 2 pages)

1. Description of intellectual property position
2. Potential pathway for commercialization
3. Possible or actual commercial partners
4. Timeline for work proposed; estimated time to reach patients

5. Proposal (maximum 10 pages including references)

1. Background (suggested limit of one page)(Resubmissions should address previous critiques)
2. Methods
3. Procedures (Most important section: emphasize what will be done during the first year). Include Go/No Go decision points & milestones
4. Sample size (as needed)
5. Statistical analysis plan
6. Facilities: Clinical or laboratories and equipment available for project
7. References (limit to abbreviated, essential references)

6. Biosketches

1. All Principal and Co-Investigators.
2. List only investigators who will actively participate in the program, not merely mentor

7. Other Support (Enter your information online)

1. Title, role in grant, percent effort, amount of funding and years of current and pending support for each grant
2. Include all non-governmental funding (e.g., CURE, Epilepsy Foundation, American Epilepsy Society, SBIR, other foundations) for work related to this proposal (past, current, pending)

8. Collaborators

1. Include letters from collaborators indicating the extent of their participation (no bio sketches). They should be uploaded in the upload attachments section of proposalCENTRAL

Supplementary materials are discouraged, but may be included as an Appendix IF ESSENTIAL.

Note: Save and upload the Summary Statement, Commercialization Potential, Proposal, Biosketches and Collaborators letters as PDF files in the Upload Attachments section.

Proposal Format

• Proposal must not exceed the specified number of pages for each section, inclusive of all information
• Must be submitted on 8.5 x 11" paper
• Margins 0.75”
• 10 point Arial font

Proposal Submission

Proposal Review

Proposals will be reviewed by the Epilepsy Therapy Project’s Scientific and Business Advisory Boards: http://www.epilepsy.com/etp/who_we_are [Investigators are discouraged from contacting the reviewers.]

After combining both sets of scores, proposals will be considered by the Epilepsy Research Foundation in order of score ranking. Principal Investigators/Contact people will be notified of the results (timetable will depend on when committees can meet). If any additional information is needed, it will be requested by the Epilepsy Therapy Project staff. All submissions are considered confidential. Reviewers with a conflict of interest are excused from reviewing that proposal.