Frequently Asked Questions - AASM Foundation (original) (raw)
Frequently Asked QuestionsJacob Davidson2024-09-16T19:32:53+00:00
Frequently Asked Questions
Program Application Process
Program Eligibility
The following table provides guidance to prospective applicants on which research program they are eligible to apply for, by career stage.
| Research Program | Early Career Investigators | Mid-Career Investigators | Senior Investigators |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bridge to Success Grant for Early Career Investigators | |||
| Bridge to Success Grant for Mid-Career/Senior Investigators | |||
| Diversity Supplement Grant | |||
| Focused Projects Grant for Junior Investigators | |||
| Physician Scientist Training Grant | |||
| Strategic Research Grant |
The only research grants that require applicants to have a mentor are the Bridge to Success Grant for Early Career Investigators, Bridge to Success Grant for Mid-Career/Senior Investigators, Focused Projects Grant for Junior Investigators and Physician Scientist Training Grant.
Applicants of the Diversity Supplement Grant are required to serve as a mentor.
International institutions are eligible to apply for research grants, however, payment of grant funds must be accepted by the institution in US dollars.
Individuals may apply for multiple AASM Foundation grants however, the same proposal (i.e. projects with budgetary and scientific overlap) may not be submitted for multiple requests for applications in a given cycle.
For most research grants, individuals who are the Principal Investigator on an open or previous AASM Foundation research grant at the time of the application deadline are eligible to apply if:
- The open or previous grant is NOT a Bridge to Success Grant for Mid-Career/Senior Investigators or Strategic Research Grant – Category I (this only applies to Bridge to Success Grant for Early Career Investigators, Bridge to Success Grant for Mid-Career/Senior Investigators, Focused Projects Grant for Junior Investigators and Physician Scientist Training Grant programs)
- They can demonstrate that there is no budgetary or scientific overlap between their open grant and the new project they are applying for funding. If there is budgetary and/or scientific overlap between projects, the applicant must indicate their plan to close their open grant in the event their new application is selected for funding (e.g., relinquish the current grant or complete the current grant to start the new grant).
Applicants are encouraged to resubmit their unfunded AASM Foundation research grant application as a new application for another funding opportunity.
For the Physician Scientist Training Grant, applicants are allowed to submit a single resubmission of an original and unfunded application within 12 months of receipt of the original application notification. If resubmitting an original and unfunded application, the applicant must still meet all eligibility criteria. The resubmission must include a response to the reviewers of the original application; resubmissions that do not include this response will NOT be reviewed.
For the Bridge to Success Grant for Early Career Investigators, Bridge to Success Grant for Mid-Career/Senior Investigators, Focused Projects Grant for Junior Investigators and Physician Scientist Training Grant, applicants are ineligible to apply if they have received independent research funding of more than $250,000. This excludes post-doctoral/fellowship level training grants primarily covering the applicant’s salary.
Individuals who have a financial conflict of interest or have the potential to incur significant financial benefit from the proposed work and beyond the work itself are not eligible to apply.
AASM Foundation research grants do not to support ongoing projects that are currently funded by another awarding body or supplement ongoing work (e.g., enrolling additional subjects into an ongoing trial).
From the date a grant RFA is issued, applicants have up to 6 weeks to submit a grant proposal. Due dates vary by research grant program. Please refer to the RFA for the due date.
Extensions cannot be given for submission of grant proposals.
We encourage applicants to be members of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, however, it is not required.
You may contact the AASM Foundation national office at foundation@aasm.org with any questions about eligibility. We encourage potential applicants to contact us early in the application process with questions. Eligibility questions may need to be reviewed by a member of the AASM Foundation Executive Committee, so please allow for at least a 1 week response time for eligibility questions. Please note that questions received within 48 hours of an application deadline may not be answered before the deadline.
Completing and Submitting Program Applications
LOIs must be submitted and approved by the AASM Foundation for the Strategic Research Grant.
An authorized representative from a University’s Sponsored Projects, Grants or Awards Management Office or Awards Research Administration Office must complete the Authorized Representative Section of the application. This excludes departmental officials, such as the Departmental Chair or Division Chief. Instructions on inviting the appropriate representative to collaborate on the application form are available here.
The individual who will handle the contract negotiations for the institution.
Key personnel include mentors, co-investigators and others who contribute to the scientific development or execution of the project in a substantive, measurable way, whether or not they receive compensation.
Direct costs include, but are not limited to, salaries with fringe benefits, consultants, equipment, supplies, travel, publication and student fees/tuition (if included in the development plan for career development grants only), that are directly related to the conduct a project. There are no restrictions on the distribution of direct cost expenses.
Indirect costs include facility costs, taxes, administrative costs, personnel, security, etc. These costs are not directly related to the conduct a project. The cap for indirect costs varies by grant and is stated in the RFA for which you are applying. The indirect and direct costs combined cannot exceed the total grant amount.
Non-wage compensation provided to employees in addition to salary. Examples include housing, reimbursement, insurance, etc.
Effective June 2024, budget forms have been incorporated directly into the application form for each program. The requested information for each program can be found on the forms below, which are provided for informational purposes only.
All Research Grant Programs: Research & Related Budget Form
Community Sleep Health and Public Awareness Grant: Budget and Budget Justification Form
You may contact the AASM Foundation national office at foundation@aasm.org with any questions about submitting applications.
Grant Notification and Contracting
Notifications will be sent to each applicant informing them of the grant decision. The specific date for each grant notification can be found in the RFA.
The start date of the project performance period is based on the date your grant contract is fully executed with your institution. Various factors can affect this start date, including obtaining IRB/IACUC approval of your project (if required) and the length of time it takes for the AASM Foundation and your institution to agree on the contract terms of your grant. Note that the AASM Foundation requires all new grants to have a contract executed within 9 months of notification of funding, otherwise, the AASM Foundation reserves the right to revoke grant funding.
Post-Award Process
Payment
The period of performance starts on the date the grant contract is fully executed with your institution and ends based on the length of the grant. It does not start from the date you are notified that your application has been selected for funding.
The first payment will be distributed to the grantee’s institution upon receipt of IRB or IACUC approval naming the study/principal investigator for which AASM Foundation funding has been granted, and a fully signed grant contract.
Grantees will receive up to three grant payments depending upon the length of the project and total amount awarded. The first payment is in the form of a cash advance upon receipt of a signed grant contract. The second and/or third payments are paid out upon receipt and approval of progress/final reports. Some grants, such as supplemental grants, provide 100% of the payment upfront.
The percentage depends on the total amount of the grant; typically, it is up to 10%.
The final payment will be distributed to the grantee’s institution upon receipt and approval of the final report from the principal investigator which must include a detailed accounting of all expenses.
Yes. Any funds not used by the principal investigator for the purpose of the project must be returned to the AASM Foundation. The AASM Foundation reserves the right to audit any institution that received grant funding. The sponsoring institution is required to retain all records and reports related to the grant contract for a period of three years from the date of the end of the contract term.
Extensions
A one-time, no-cost extension, which shall not exceed 12 months, may be requested if additional time beyond the established expiration date of the grant is required to assure adequate completion of the research project. Additional extensions will not be permitted.
No-cost extensions requests must be submitted before the end of the period of performance of the grant (see What is the period of performance of my grant? section above).
The following information is needed as part of the no-cost extension request for all research grants and community sleep health grant:
1. A request letter signed by the principal investigator/project leader and authorized organization representative, explaining:
- Justification, including progress to date
- Length of extension requested
- Plan for use of funds during extension period
2. Progress report (see What information needs to be included in the progress report? section below)
3. Detailed expense reports of funds received to date from your institution’s accounting/finance department.
The AASM Foundation will not accept a no-cost extension request beyond the end of the grant period of performance.
Reporting Requirements
Grants that are 1 year in duration are required to submit a progress report at 6 months and a final report at 12 months (plus 90 days). Grants that are 2 years or more in duration are required to submit a progress report annually and a final report at 24 months or 36 months (plus 90 days).
The dates your progress report(s) and final report are due will be provided by the AASM Foundation. Reminders for upcoming reports are sent by the AASM Foundation at least one month before they are due.
Reports are considered overdue if they are 2 weeks late from the original due date. A delinquency notice will be issued to the grant recipient and their institution, with a final deadline to provide the overdue report. If the overdue report is not submitted by the final deadline included in the delinquency notice, the AASM Foundation will withhold any pending grant payments and the grant recipient will not be allowed to apply for future AASM Foundation funding opportunities until all grant reporting is up to date.
Grant recipients may request a report extension in advance of a report due date.
If extenuating circumstances will prevent a grant recipient from submitting a progress or final report by the deadline stated in the delinquency notice, the grant recipient and grant administrator must notify the AASM Foundation in writing and request an extension. The AASM Foundation will review and approve/decline the extension. If declined, the grant recipient must submit the outstanding report within 2 weeks of notification; if the outstanding report is not received, the AASM Foundation will proceed with closing the grant.
In cases where grant recipients and administrators are notified that the AASM Foundation has declined their extension request and/or will proceed with closing their grant due to overdue report(s), an appeal may be submitted. To initiate the appeal process, the grant recipient and administrator must meet with AASM Foundation staff and submit a written appeal that explains the circumstances leading to the overdue report(s), as well as either a plan to mitigate overdue reports in the future or to submit the significantly overdue report(s). The AASM Foundation will review the appeal request and decide whether to approve or decline it. If the appeal request is not approved, the AASM Foundation will proceed with closing the grant.
Foundation Acknowledgement
AASM Foundation funding can be acknowledged as follows: “This research/project/program was made possible by grant (enter #) from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine Foundation.”
Transfers
Transferring a grant requires coordination between your current institution and new institution. You must contact the AASM Foundation at foundation@aasm.org to advise you on the exact steps you must take to transfer the grant; the general outline of these steps is below:
Step 1: Submit a formal request to transfer the grant and close out at current institution
To start the grant transfer process, the grant must first be closed at your current institution. The following information is needed to consider your transfer request:
- Formal request letter from the principal investigator to move the grant to the new institution. Briefly explain:
- If it will impact the original project in your proposal that was selected for funding (i.e. scope, timeline, resources)
- If there will be a change in the research team (i.e. key personnel)
- If the transfer will be budget neutral
- A statement from your current institution stating that they will relinquish the grant and are supportive of transferring it to the new institution
- Final report for the grant, including detailed expense report (see What information needs to be included in the final report? section above)
- Letters of support from mentors (for career development grants) and other key personnel that will remain the same
Concurrently, your new institution must provide the following:
- A signed Applicant Sponsoring Organization Page (see Who signs the Applicant Sponsoring Organization Page? section above)
- Revised Research & Related Budget Form (see Where can I find the template budget form? section above) to reflect the new institution and any change in key personnel
- Biosketches for new key personnel
The AASM Foundation will review these items and determine if the request to transfer the grant is approved.
Step 2: Close grant with your current institution
Once the AASM Foundation has approved the request to transfer the grant, any unused funds from your current institution need to be provided to the AASM Foundation. Upon receipt of the unused funds, the AASM Foundation will close the grant with the current institution and proceed with contracting the grant with your new institution.
Step 3: Contract grant with your new institution
The following is needed to contract the grant with your new institution:
- Contact information for your new grant administrator
- IRB approval/exemption or IACUC approval from your new institution
- W-9 form and electronic payment approval form from your new institution
The grant contract must be fully executed before starting your project at your new institution. Funds will be transferred from the AASM Foundation to your new institution.