We are currently accepting pilot funding applications. Interest forms are due September 5, 2023. Complete applications are due September 18, 2023. View the Request for Applications (RFA) information below or download the RFA.
The Pilot & Feasibility Program provides support for early-stage investigators (ESIs) committed to conducting translational research related to diabetes in American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian (AI/AN/NH) populations.
During this 18-month research and training program, funded investigators will:
Successful applications will be those that hold promise of benefiting Native people, are scientifically meritorious, are feasible within the time and resources available, and represent an early step in an innovative line of inquiry that can continue
beyond this initial investment. CAIANDTR funding cannot be used to supplement funded research already in progress.
Applications will be accepted from faculty members affiliated with any institution in the United States that is eligible to receive research awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including universities, Tribal organizations, and Tribal
Epidemiology Centers. Applicants must meet the NIH definition of an ESI. An ESI is an investigator who is within 10 years of completing their terminal degree (MD or PhD) or post-graduate clinical training and who has not previously received a substantial
independent research award from NIH as Principal Investigator (e.g., R01). Information about ESI status is provided on the following website: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/esi-status.pdf.
The application process involves 2 steps:
Investigators planning to submit an application to the Pilot & Feasibility Program should submit a completed CAIANDTR Pilot & Feasibility Program Interest Form. The form helps program staff to anticipate the number of applications that will be received, identify reviewers with appropriate expertise, and reach out to interested investigators with guidance on application development. Please submit the completed Interest Form via email to Dr. Angela Brega, Program Director (angela.brega@cuanschutz.edu).
Download the CAIANDTR Pilot & Feasibility Program Interest Form
Applications should describe a proposed secondary analysis that can answer important questions related to the translation of diabetes-related treatments or interventions into AI/AN/NH populations. We are open to projects examining a wide range of topics, so long as they are innovative and hold promise for improving the diabetes-related health of Native people. Applications should include the following sections:
Proposal Narrative. The narrative should describe the study’s specific aims and research strategy. Investigators should provide an overview of the data set to be used in the proposed secondary analysis, summarize the methodologic approach, highlight the significance of the proposed project for Native health and diabetes translation research, and identify how the proposed research is innovative. Applicants should describe the quality of the research environment in which the work will be completed and highlight the unique and complementary expertise of the key personnel.
Career & Research Plans. Applicants should describe their career aspirations and summarize plans for a future research program addressing diabetes-related outcomes in Native populations. Investigators should clarify how the proposed secondary analysis project will serve as an important stepping stone to reaching their larger research goals. Although not required, applicants may identify the NIH institute/center and funding opportunity announcement they might wish to target in their grant-development efforts.
Mentorship Plan & Letter of Support. Applicants must identify a Senior Mentor to work with them on the project. The Senior Mentor must be an experienced researcher, with expertise relevant to the content or methods of the proposed project. In the application, the Principal Investigator should summarize the mentorship plan, describing the means through which mentorship will be provided and the frequency of project-related contacts between the applicant and the Mentor. The application should include a Letter of Support from the Senior Mentor, committing to the provision of guidance and oversight of progress.
Project Timeline. Each application should include a table and narrative briefly outlining the timeline for major project milestones. The timeline should include at least the following tasks:
Protection of Human Subjects & Cumulative Inclusion Enrollment Report. Although proposed projects will involve analysis of existing data, proposals should describe risks and methods for protecting human subjects (e.g., confidentiality) and plans for obtaining approval from relevant IRBs. IRBs that will have oversight over the project should be identified. The HHS website can help investigators determine what sort of review their proposed project is likely to require.
Investigators should identify and describe the data set to be used as part of the proposed secondary analysis project, including information about measures included, the participant sample, and the process of obtaining permission to use the data. Investigators should complete the Cumulative Inclusion Enrollment Report.
Biosketches. Biosketches are required for the Principal Investigator, Senior Mentor, and all key personnel. Key personnel include all individuals who will contribute in a substantive way to the scientific development or execution of the project (whether or not they are paid members of the staff). Applicants should prepare biosketches using the latest NIH biosketch format.
Detailed Budget & Institutional F&A Agreement. Applicants should provide a detailed budget that covers the full 18-month project period and includes both phases of the program:
Budgets should be prepared using PHS 398 Form Page 4 – Detailed Budget for Initial Budget Period. The budget should not exceed $37,500 in direct costs for the 18-month project period. For applicants from the University of Colorado, indirect costs are not allowed and should not be calculated into the budget. For applicants outside the University of Colorado, indirect costs are allowable and should be accounted for in the budget, using the applicant’s institutional F&A rate. If an external applicant can obtain institutional approval for an 8% training indirect cost rate or a full waiver of indirect costs, the difference can be converted to direct costs, thus allowing an increase in the project’s Scope of Work. Please contact Dr. Brega to discuss this option before submission of an application (angela.brega@cuanschutz.edu).
A copy of the institution’s F&A Agreement should be included in the application.
Budget Justification. A budget justification should describe project costs using the categories identified in the PHS 398 budget form. Allowable expenses include salary support, travel to present study findings, and project-specific research supplies. Although salary support is allowable for the Principal Investigator, key personnel, and other project staff, salary support cannot be requested for the Senior Mentor. Other unallowable expenses include (but are not limited to) rent, computer equipment, food, furniture, telecommunications (i.e., monthly line charges), administrative support, and professional society dues.
Formatting. Applications should use Arial 11-point font, be single-spaced, and use ½-inch margins.
Application Submission. Applications should be submitted via email as a single PDF document to Dr. Brega, Director of the Pilot & Feasibility Program (angela.brega@cuanschutz.edu).
We encourage applicants to contact Dr. Brega with questions and to obtain guidance on the development of their applications.
Angela Brega, PhD
Director, Pilot & Feasibility Program
angela.brega@cuanschutz.edu
Applications will be reviewed by investigators with expertise in the content area addressed and/or the methods described in the proposed project. Reviewers will evaluate applications based on the 5 criteria normally used in the review of NIH grants.
Factors considered in the review process include the following:
Following the review process, Pilot & Feasibility Program staff will ask applicants with competitive scores to prepare a formal written response addressing the reviewers’ critiques. Applicants need not revise the application itself. Funding
decisions will consider the application, the original review, and the applicant’s formal response to the reviewers’ concerns.
| Item | Date |
| Call for Application Opens | June 13, 2023 |
| Interest Form Due | September 5, 2023 |
| Application Due | September 18, 2023 |
| Review Critiques Sent to Applicant | October 19, 2023 |
| Written Response to Review Due | October 30, 2023 |
| Notification of Award | December 1, 2023 |
| Project Period | January 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025 |
Major expectations for investigators funded through the CAIANDTR Pilot & Feasibility Program include:
Throughout the project, investigators are expected to attend and complete all required milestones and planned program activities, including:
To ensure that CAIANDTR Pilot & Feasibility Program staff can monitor study progress and that projects comply with the Center’s Human Subjects Research Oversight Plan, funded investigators will be required to:
Near the end of each project year, investigators will be asked to provide updated CVs and complete a brief survey outlining their accomplishments during the project year (e.g., publications, presentations, grant applications, honors). Because some outcomes
of pilot funding will not be immediate, program staff will request this information annually during all remaining years of the parent grant (2021-2026).
Contact Angela Brega, Pilot & Feasibility Program Director, at angela.brega@cuanschutz.edu for questions.
