Request for Proposals (RFP)

Home Base, a Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Dept. of Psychiatry Program, is providing catalyst funding to be used toward innovative, military-focused research. The purpose of this grant funding is to stimulate new ideas and exciting approaches to research designed to yield meaningful impact for Veterans, Active-Duty Service Members and Military-Connected Families. Data from catalyst awards can then be used to seek larger-scale funding from other entities to conduct additional research. Proposals should relate to advancing one or more of the following areas of clinical or translational research:

• Post-traumatic stress and its most common comorbidities including but not limited to depressive, anxiety, and substance use disorders.
• TBI and its most common comorbidities including but not limited to depressive, anxiety, and sleep disorders.
• The impact of the invisible wounds on the service member’s or veteran’s family relationships, as well as interventions to improve these relationships.
• Interventions to improve wellness among service members and veterans, irrespective of specific clinical diagnoses.

Applications will be reviewed and evaluated by the Home Base Scientific Advisory Council based on their scientific merit, the quality of the research team, the project design, budget, and the likelihood the project will generate novel findings relevant to the invisible wounds.  We plan to provide 2 awards of $75,000 each, inclusive of 20% indirect costs.  The project period for your proposal can be either one year or two years.  Recipients will be expected to present their interim and final findings to the Home Base Program, provide annual progress reports to the Home Base Scientific Advisory Council, and acknowledge the support in any presentations or publications that result from this research.

 

About Home Base

Home Base is dedicated to healing invisible wounds; traumatic brain injury (TBI), post-traumatic stress (PTS) and related conditions, for Veterans of all eras, Service Members, Military Families and Families of the Fallen through world-class clinical care, wellness, education, and research. Home Base is the only private sector clinic in New England, and the largest private sector clinic in America with the sole focus of helping at-risk Veterans and Military Families regain the lives they once had. By caring for Veterans in a family-based clinic, and by working in cooperation with the Veterans Administration (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD), Home Base serves as the model of excellence for promoting the health and well-being of Veterans nationwide. All care is provided at no cost to the Veteran or Family Member thanks to support from a Grateful Nation.

 

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Friday May 31, 2024 by 5:00 pm.

AWARD ANNOUNCEMENT: By August 31, 2024

FUNDING PERIOD: October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2026

 

 

SCOPE OF AWARDS

Successful applications must demonstrate the following:

• An outstanding multidisciplinary team committed to solving a pressing challenge in the field. Team members should have a track record of successful teamwork, although may be new to the team proposed for this grant.
• Evidence of a compelling long-term vision that extends well-beyond the duration of the catalyst award, and toward measurable improvement in patient health and well-being.

 

ELIGIBILITY

• Principal investigator(s) must hold an MGB faculty appointment in any department.
• Awards are for new projects and should not extend ongoing or previous work.
• Awards are not intended to be used as bridge funding.

 

APPLICATIONS WILL BE EVALUATED ON

• Potential to generate findings that will transform the field.
• Potential to catalyze growth of cross-disciplinary military-focused research at MGB
• Scientific merit and novelty.
• Likelihood that preliminary data will be generated that could attract additional funding from federal, industry, or philanthropic sources.

 

EXPENSES FOR WHICH FUNDS MAY BE USED

Funds may be used at investigator’s discretion for completion of the project.  Examples of allowable costs include:

• Salary support (PI, co-investigator, RA, postdoc, etc.)
• Research materials, supplies, software, etc.
• Equipment
• Travel & meeting support
• Participant incentive payments
• Publication costs

 

 

REVIEW PROCESS

Applications will be evaluated and ranked for funding priority by a Scientific Advisory Council consisting of senior researchers and advisors from across the hospital. The SAC recommendations will be submitted to Home Base leadership for final approval. Applicants will be notified by August 31, 2024.

 

 

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

This funding mechanism utilizes the Mass General Research Institute (MGRI) Grant Management Portal.  Instructions on using the Portal are provided in the next section, “HOW TO APPLY”.  The opening screen of the Portal will ask you to fill out some information about the Applicant and the title of your proposed project.  You will then need to upload a series of documents as PDFs.

The PDFs to upload are:

1. Project Proposal

2-page limit, excluding references.  The Project Proposal should describe the nature of the research, the long-term strategy, and how this award will provide the essential first step toward success. This section should include:

• Title of Research Project (this should be the first line at the top of the Project Proposal)
• Background and significance (including a description of the problem to be solved)
• Specific Aims of the project
• Preliminary data (optional)
• Experimental design and methods
• Next steps & long-term impact

2. List of Key Personnel and Performance Site(s).  2-page limit. For each Performance Site (location of where the research will be conducted), include the address of the site, and a description of the site. 

 

3. NIH Biosketches for all Key Personnel

A sample NIH-formatted biosketch, as well as information about the page limit, can be found here: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms/biosketch.htm

 

4.   Budget and Justification

• Please use the template provided by clicking here. This Word document will automatically download to your computer (most likely to your Downloads folder).
• 4-page limit.
• For budget categories that are not applicable to your project, leave the cell blank in the Budget, and enter “Not Applicable” or “None” in the Justification section.
• After completing the Budget and Justification, convert the Word file to a PDF.

 

5.  Letter(s) of Support from Collaborator(s).  Letter(s) of Support are optional.  If you plan to engage one or more external collaborator(s), you can include up to two  letters of support from the external collaborator(s). 2-page limit for each Letter of Support. If you obtain two letters, please combine both letters into a single PDF.

 

 

HOW TO APPLY

We are now accepting applications online via the Mass General Research Institute Online Grant Management Portal. Click  the "Apply" button below to start your application.

This user-friendly system allows MGB researchers to submit electronic applications. The system has been designed to allow users to:

• Create a personal profile which will auto populate your future applications
• View current calls and apply to open opportunities
• Assign a delegate to submit an application on behalf of the applicant (optional)
• Save and edit current applications in progress
• Submit completed applications
• View all your applications that have been submitted via the online grants system

 

Instructions for Applying Online

1. Create your account: Login using your MGB credentials and fill-out the profile information.
2. Complete the application: once your profile is complete, you will automatically progress through the online application. If you cannot complete the application at one time, “save” the application and return to it at a later time to finish. Before submitting your application, you will have the ability to make changes to the application.
3. Submit your application: once you have completed the application click on the “submit” button at the bottom of the page. Once you submit it, you will not be able to make further changes unless you send a request to ecor@mgh.harvard.edu (note that once the deadline passes, request to make changes will not be accepted).

 

Useful tips:

• To avoid losing your work, remember to save frequently.
• You can only upload PDF documents. Limit characters to A-Z, a-z and 0-9 when naming PDF documents. Do not use periods, commas, or dashes in the file name.
• If you previously created a profile, please ensure your information is current.

 

Click the Apply button at the bottom of the page to

start your application.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

• Are there specific areas of interest that will be considered?

Home Base is specifically interested in advancing one or more of the following areas of clinical or translational research related to the invisible wounds: post-traumatic stress, TBI, impact of invisible wounds on family relationships, interventions to improve wellness among Service Members/Veterans.

 

• What is the dollar amount of the funding?

Each Catalyst grant will be in the amount of $75,000, inclusive of 20% InDirect Costs (IDC).  Projects can be budgeted for either 1 year or 2 years.

 

• What format should I use for the budget?

Please use the Word template provided by clicking the link in the Submission Requirements section of the RFP.  This template does not have calculated fields, so you’ll need to model your budget in Excel first. 

If you don’t have a preferred budget modeling tool, you can use the Excel budgeting tool provided within Research Navigator at https://partnershealthcare.sharepoint.com/sites/phrmResources/Pages/Forms.aspx .  You’ll then need to transfer the dollar values into the Word template.  The Word template then needs to be converted to a PDF for your submission.

 

• Does the same amount need to be budgeted for each year of the award?

No.  Year-to year differences are common, especially with Personnel, since salaries tend to be slightly higher in Year 2 of a grant than in Year 1.  The Justification section of the template allows plenty of space to explain any material increases or decreases year-to-year for any of the budget categories.

 

• Can the proposed research involve human subjects or laboratory animals?

Yes. Projects can involve human subjects, laboratory animals, or both. IRB and/or IACUC approval will be necessary before a study can begin.

 

• Is the award open to existing teams of collaborators, new teams, or both?

Both. If the project builds on an existing collaboration, it must measurably strengthen the team and address a new scientific question which falls within the scope of the RFP.

 

• Does the PI need to belong to any particular department?

No. Investigators from any MGB hospital or department are encouraged to apply.

 

• Are co-PIs / multiple PIs allowable?

Yes. In the Key Personnel document as well as in the Budget Justification, please specify the unique contributions of each PI to the project and describe how their complementary expertise is essential for the project’s success.

 

• Do all team members need to have MGB staff appointments?
  • PIs/co-PIs must have their primary appointment at MGB.
  • Independent Contractors (aka External Consultants) are allowed, but discuss this with your HR Partner and with MGB Supply Chain before adding any Independent Contractors to your budget.  The contracting process is complicated, with several criteria that need to be addressed before MGB can determine if funds can be remitted to an Independent Contractor.
  • Subcontracts to other institutions are not allowed.

 

• Can postdoctoral fellows apply?

Postdoctoral fellows cannot serve as a PI or co-PI, but may be included within the study staff, and can receive salary support.

 

• Will applicants receive feedback?

Specific scores will not be shared with applicants. Upon request, applicants would be given brief feedback to the extent it is recorded during evaluation and scoring of the application.

 

• Who should I contact with additional questions?

Please reach out to Alan Berkeley, Home Base Research Manager, at aberkeley@mgh.harvard.edu with additional questions. For technical questions about the Online Grant Submission Portal, please email Katherine Book at kebook@mgh.harvard.edu.