Transcript Slide 1

Science Foundation Ireland
Research Frontiers Programme (RFP)
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Overview
• Introduction
• Eligibility
• Proposal Submission & Structure
• Review Process
• Application Preparation
•Q&A
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Introduction
Objectives:
•
To support innovative, cutting-edge and internationally competitive
research in a broad range of disciplines in Science, Mathematics and
Engineering.
•
To establish a mechanism of looking forward to allow for changes in
strategic areas in the future.
•
To provide a broad base of support to underpin the strategic areas of
Biotechnology, Information & Communications Technology, and
Sustainable Energy & Energy-Efficient Technologies.
•
To provide advanced education and training for young researchers in a
wide variety of areas.
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Eligibility

Applicant must be:

a member of the academic staff (permanent or with a contract that covers the
period of the grant), or
•
a contract researcher recognised by the research body as an independent
investigator who will have an independent office and research space at the host
research body for which he/she will be fully responsible, for at least the duration
of the SFI grant, or
•
an individual who will be recognised by the research body upon receipt of the
SFI grant as a contract researcher as defined above. The applicant does not
necessarily need to be employed by the research body at the time of proposal
submission.
Research body endorsement certifies that applicant meets eligibility criteria
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Eligibility

Applicant must hold a Ph.D., M.D. or equivalent, by closing date of
Call

Applicant is expected to have the capability and authority to mentor and
supervise postgraduate students and postdoctoral researchers
This competition is intended for independent researchers only
Where an applicant fails to meet the eligibility criteria, the application will be
deemed ineligible and will not be accepted for review.
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Eligibility – October 2008 RFP Deadline
Applicants, or co-applicants, who submit an application to the SFI PI or
PICA Autumn 2008 Call are not entitled to submit a concurrent
application to the Research Frontiers Programme.
Submission of an application to the Research Frontiers Programme may affect
eligibility to submit to other SFI Programmes – please refer to appropriate Call
document.
For example, applicants who submit a proposal to the Research Frontiers
Programme will not be eligible to submit an application (as applicant or coapplicant) to the PI or PICA Spring Call 2009.
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Eligibility – Advance notice for
Autumn 2009 RFP Deadline
Investigators named as an applicant, or co-applicant, on a proposal
currently under review (under the SFI PI, PICA, PIYRA, Research
Professor Programme ) are not entitled to submit a concurrent application
to the Research Frontiers Programme.
Investigators who have received an SFI Award (start date as per Letter of
Offer), as either PI or co-PI (under the PI, PICA, PIYRA, Research
Professor Programme) during the 6 MONTHS prior to the Call deadline
are not entitled to submit an application to the Research Frontiers
Programme.
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Proposal Submission
• Research Frontiers Programme is now a ONE STAGE Process, with the
elimination of the pre-proposal stage
• Applications will only be accepted through the Award Management
System (AMS)
• Applicants may only submit ONE proposal as applicant
Note: No restriction on the number of proposals on which an individual
can act as a collaborator
Following submission, an application cannot be withdrawn and modified for
resubmission in the same Call.
Proposals received after the deadline will not be accepted.
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Application Preparation
•
All text should be written in single-spaced using at least 12 point Times New
Roman font, or similar, with at least 2.54 cm (1 in) right and left margins.
•
The number of words/pages in any given section must not exceed the
specifications.
•
Appendices, or other unsolicited documentation, e.g. equipment quotations, are
not permitted.
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All attachments in the AMS must be submitted in Adobe PDF format and should
not exceed 2MB.
•
Do not cut and paste anything to the ‘Offline Assistant’ directly from Microsoft
Word, HTML code, or other code. Paste to a ‘Wordpad’ text file, and then cut
and paste to the ‘Offline Assistant’.
Applications not adhering to the specified guidelines (e.g. page limit
specifications), or with incomplete content, will be deemed ineligible and
will not be accepted for review.
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Proposal Structure
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Proposal Title
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Applicant Details
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Collaborator Details (if any)
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Lay Abstract (max. 100 words)
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Scientific Abstract (max. 100 words)
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Scientific Content (max. 8 pages)
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References (no page limitations)
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CV – Applicant and Collaborator(s) (max. 2 pages; MUST be included for
EACH collaborator)
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Support of Applicant (current and pending)
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Budget (staff, equipment, materials and travel) & justification (max. 1 page)

Letter(s) of Support (MUST be included for each collaborator)
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Application: Scientific Content
1. What is the question this proposal addresses?

Include research aim, objectives, hypotheses, as appropriate. The
objectives should be coherent & well planned and should be linked
with real deliverables
2. Why is this question important?
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Include the background for context; details of the state of the art in
the research field should be included (with references)
3. How will the question be addressed?
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Include details of the methodology. Timelines, milestones and
expected outputs for the proposed research should be included, as
appropriate.
Scientific Content - 8 pages max.
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Application: Scientific Content

What is your recent record of accomplishment in research
that would suggest that you can achieve success in
addressing this problem?

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Also clearly identify the role of collaborator(s) in the project
What is the value of this research to Ireland?
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Make the case for the value of the research to Ireland
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Include within the 8-page limit; do not exceed 250 words
Structure proposal under above headings
References NOT included within 8 page limit
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
CV (to include)
•
List of most relevant publications from the last 3 years, in order of significance;
include author(s), title of article, name of publication, date of publication and
details (such as volume, pages)
•
Summary of total number of publications (categorised as journal publications,
refereed conference proceedings, books, book chapters, etc.)
•
List of patents, granted or pending, including application number, title, year and
assigned inventors
•
Brief grant support history
•
List of awards, honours and professional activities
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Details of any significant delays in research activity
Note: List of current and pending research funding of APPLICANT should NOT be
included in the CV (details are captured in ‘Support’ section in AMS).
CV of the applicant (max. 2 pages) must be submitted
CV of each named collaborator (max. 2 pages) must be submitted
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Budget
•
Awards may be up to €250,000 (total direct costs) and may be up to 4
years duration
•
A minimum of ONE postgraduate student must be recruited on the grant
•
Research Frontiers Programme awards do not fund the salary or benefits
of the applicant and/or collaborators
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Budget allocation for equipment is normally up to €25,000 - if funding for a
larger equipment item is requested, this must be fully justified
•
Budget justification ONE page max. (do NOT include summary table, this is
generated separately from data entered into AMS)
Institutional submission of an application through the AMS serves as
research body approval of the requested budget.
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Letters of Support
•
Letter of support from ALL named collaborator(s) MUST be
included
•
Full details of the nature of the collaboration or intended support
should be provided
•
Letters MUST be signed.
Applications with incomplete content will be deemed ineligible and will
not be accepted for review.
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Review Process

Panel-based peer review process
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ALL international reviewers

Proposals are reviewed by at least 3 peers with broad expertise
in the research area

Each reviewer will review several proposals

Reviewers who provide written reviews will also serve as panel
members
Selection of reviewers is at the sole and exclusive discretion of SFI
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Review Process
•
Profile & Spectrum of Reviewers
•
Research intensive in areas of panel emphasis
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Department chairs with broader scientific experience
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Experience with review in panel setting
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Mostly from academia with occasional industry reviewers
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Balance of younger and more senior reviewer-scientists
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Span multidisciplinary strands
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SFI considers the panel recommendations when making funding
decisions
•
Final funding decisions are at the sole and exclusive discretion of
the SFI
•
Following conclusion of the review process applicants will receive
feedback - individual reviewers’ and panel comments
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Review Panels
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Astronomy (AST)
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Engineering – Mech (ENM)
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Biochemistry (BIC)
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Biomolecular Medicine & Therapeutics
(BMT)
Engineering – Electronic/Electrical &
Computer (ECE)
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Genetics (GEN)
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Cancer (CAN)
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Geoscience (GEO)
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Chemistry – Analytical and Physical
(CAP)
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Materials (MTR)
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Chemistry – Synthetic (CHS)
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Mathematics (MTH)
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Computer Science (CMS)
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Neuroscience (NES)
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Ecology, Evolutionary, Organismal
Biology & Environmental Science (EOB)

Physics (PHY)
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Review Panels
When considering the most appropriate panel for the proposal,
applicants should consider:
• The core topic area and research activity of the proposal.
• The research area where significant scientific advances are likely to be
made as a result of the award.
• The journals in which the outcomes of the proposed research are likely
to be published.
• The appropriateness of the likely panel members to review the
proposal.
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Review Criteria
•
Quality, significance, novelty and relevance of the proposed research,
including the potential to advance knowledge and understanding within
its own field or across other fields of science, mathematics and
engineering.
•
Quality, significance and relevance of the recent research record of the
applicant (commensurate with career stage).
•
Quality, significance, and relevance of the proposed research’s potential
contribution to fields of science, mathematics or engineering, and
consequently to the economic, scientific, and educational development
of Ireland.
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Review Criteria:
Quality, significance, novelty & relevance of research

Think through research project and methodology with care
Reviewer Comments:
“ The proposal does not test a specific hypothesis but rather takes an exploratory
approach . . .”
“ The goals appear diffuse & the proposal is unfocused . . ”
“ There are no plans for validation…..”
“The fieldwork plan is rather unfocused & lacks a clearly defined strategy ….”
“ It is difficult to judge the quality of the scientific work that will arise from this project due
to the lack of specifics and the absence of proposals for a methodology…”
“ The applicant has provided sufficient background, preliminary data & detail of the
analyses to be carried out…”
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Review Criteria:
Quality, significance, novelty & relevance of research
 What is state-of-the-art?
Reviewer Comments:
“ Is the applicant aware of developments in the field ?… [S/he] has failed to cite
some of the key papers of recent years and this reviewer wonders about the
competitiveness of this submission …”
“ Although the applicant has identified an interesting area of research, the scientific
questions to be addressed are obscured by the apparent unawareness of the
applicant about the area of the proposed inquiry..”
“ The project fails to present the original and novel points of the proposed research…
the literature cited is mostly old….”
“ The proposed work is original and a natural progression from recent work in the
field to which the applicant has made major contributions..”
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Review Criteria:
Quality, significance, novelty & relevance of research

Craft the proposal carefully
Reviewer Comments:
“ The proposal is not well written & suffers from misspellings; in short it seems more like
a rough draft..”
“ Figures would have helped this reviewer in understanding the complex molecular
interactions discussed & proposed..”
“ The proposal as written is dense & jargon-filled..”
“ Only 12 lines of the proposal are dedicated to the approach..”
“ The proposal is rambling, uses vague language at key points, and proposes the use of
many outdated approaches..”
“The questions, hypotheses and methods are clearly articulated..”
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Review Criteria:
Quality, significance, novelty & relevance of research

Be realistic!
Reviewer Comments:
“ The approach is both doable and timely … experiments are well-described..”
“ The rationale for a ‘literature search’ is not justified & is inappropriate with the timescale of the project … get the student in the lab!”
“ The Gantt chart was useful at mapping both students to the project aims..”
“ The simulation component of the proposal is a considerably larger undertaking than
the applicant has suggested..”
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Review Criteria:

Research record of the applicant
Track record appropriate to proposal
Reviewer Comments:
“ Well established investigator, who is well suited to perform the proposed studies…”
“ Applicant has an established track record in the field, has appropriate collaborations in
place and has conducted pilot studies so that the probability of results of significant
impact arising from the work is high…”
“ Applicant has a very modest publication and citation record. None of these are on
…….., no first-authored papers are listed, and his most current publications are in
areas well away from the proposed study..”
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Review Criteria:

Research record of the applicant
Track record as an independent PI is career-stage appropriate
Reviewer Comments:
“ The applicant has Prof. [X] as a collaborator who is a former post doctoral
supervisor. It is anticipated that results from this work will be published with the new
PI as senior corresponding author ..”
“…relatively junior… but promising young investigator in a good position to
undertake the research..”
“Applicant is in the early stages of her career but has a very strong and relevant
track record and is well placed to undertake the work..”
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Review Criteria:

Research record of the applicant
Track record of collaborators is significant
Reviewer Comments:
“ Dr. [X] has brought onboard excellent collaborators to see the research through
and extract the most information from it..”
“ A clinical/pharmaceutical collaboration would also significantly strengthen the
proposal..”
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Review Criteria:

Research record of the applicant
Recent publications/productivity and relevance are important
Reviewer Comments:
“ There is significant enthusiasm . . . a more junior applicant with a good track record,
including a number of recent and pending papers in the area..”
“ Applicant does not have a first or corresponding author publication since 2002
relevant to the research area …”
“ Applicant has an impressive record of achievement with a large number of high quality
papers that have been cited a significant number of times as the standard in the field..”
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Review Criteria:
Research’s potential contribution

Impact on Ireland & Irish society

Quality of life of Ireland’s citizens

Education & training of Ireland’s students

Career development of researchers

Development of Irish industry & economy
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Application Preparation: Points to consider

Read the Call documents carefully & check the FAQs

Get input from colleagues - ask them to be critical
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At least consider the opinions of your colleagues
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Read a successful proposal
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Ask someone to read the proposal before it is submitted
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Check all the references carefully

Spell check the proposal
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Application Preparation: Points to consider

Write for the actual reviewers

Remember that ALL reviewers will NOT be experts in your
particular field

Proposal may be reviewed by an individual who is a expert in the
research area

Try to avoid jargon as far as possible

If a similar proposal has been submitted before, make sure previous
reviewers’ comments have been considered
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Application Preparation: Points to consider

Ask yourself, does my proposal address the criteria?
• Is the novelty/originality clearly spelled out UP FRONT?
• Is the motivation/hypothesis clear?
• Are my methods/work plan for addressing the problem clear?

Think carefully about whether what is promised can be delivered
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Is your time commitment clear and realistic?
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Provide evidence of collaborations - if these are critical
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Bland ‘Letters of Support’ are not useful

Avoid inflated claims on your CV
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future
Proposal Submission
17 October 2008 at 13:00
Documents located on website www.sfi.ie
Submit questions to [email protected]
SFI - Research for Ireland's Future