Pilot Funding Opportunities

Required Interest Letter (IL): Each interested applicant must submit an IL by February 18, 2020. 

The link to upload Interest Letters is included in the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). Please review PCRC’s “Tips for preparing a successful pilot application”.

For planning purposes, Interest letters will be limited to 1 page including the following:

• Title of proposed activity
• PI Name, Address, Phone Email
• Mentor Name, Address, Phone, Email
• Other Key Personnel
• Participating Institution(s)
• Requested Budget (maximum of $50k total costs)

Your One-Page IL (limited to one (1) page**) should include:
(Please also include your name (last name, first name) in the header)

• Title of proposed activity
• Specific Aims
• Background/Evidence Gap
• Significance to palliative care community
• Study Design/Method
• Study population & setting
• Planned use of PCRC resources (list out options XYZ) [including the transfer of project data to the PCRC De-Identified Data Repository]
• Plans for future extramural funding using the PCRC from this work

**References are not required in the ILs.

Scope

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages small pilot research grant applications focused on generating pilot data and supporting investigator development for building the science of palliative care.

Purpose of the PCRC Pilot Awards

The PCRC was established in 2010, with foundational funding by a cooperative agreement from the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) (NINR; U2CNR014637). The PCRC exists to lead, catalyze, and empower a community of investigators who are developing an evidence base to ensure high quality care and optimal well-being for persons with serious illness and those who care for them. An overview of the PCRC resources and scientific environment is available on the PCRC website: www.palliativecareresearch.org.

The PCRC Pilot Award opportunities encourage small research grant applications focused on generating pilot data and supporting investigator development for building the science of palliative care. The goal of the PCRC pilot awards is to provide seed funding for future research activities through the PCRC. Additionally, the awards offer opportunities for investigators to participate in investigator development activities and be mentored/coached by senior investigators in the field. For your reference, previously funded PCRC pilot grant awards are listed on the PCRC website [https://palliativecareresearch.org/research/pilot-studies]

The PCRC study section, NINR program officers, and PCRC leadership will prioritize projects that:

• • Align with National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) Innovative Questions
  • Use the PCRC infrastructure and cores;
  • Involve PCRC investigators/members as mentors as applicable
  • Focus on patient and caregiver outcomes
  • Are feasible to accomplish in a 12-month period
  • Generate pilot data that support future extramurally-­‐funded studies involving the PCRC. 

For the purpose of this pilot award, research evaluating medication efficacy or health services interventions is discouraged. Your research study must focus on patient and caregiver outcomes.

Topics of Interest include, but are not limited to: 

• Experience and outcomes of caregivers in hospice and palliative care.
• Trajectories of symptom experience, patient functioning and relationship to interventions delivered in hospice and palliative care settings.
• Populations particularly in need of palliative care research, including: pediatric populations, caregivers, underrepresented minorities, those who are economically disadvantaged, and those with multiple chronic conditions.
• Portfolios of nonpharmacologic interventions used in hospice and palliative care.
• Defining patient populations in the PCRC that can be enrolled in future studies.
• Pilot-­‐testing interventions and study procedures in preparation for future PCRC studies.
• Projects utilizing the PCRC Data Repository to engage in measurement development/validation and secondary data analysis.
• Development of measures to fill a critical gap in end-of-life / palliative care science OR validation studies of existing measures to establish psychometric properties for end-of-life / palliative care populations

Funding Information

• Estimated individual Award Total budget limited to $50,000
• This budget includes both direct and indirect costs
• Duration One year (12 months). We will be unable to grant no-cost extensions for these pilots.

Any individual with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research is invited to submit an Interest Letter. Individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

Eligible applicants

Eligible applicants are investigators who have not yet competed successfully for a substantial, NIH research grant, such as independent-level R01 or PCORI award. Applicants must be a PCRC member or have applied for membership at the time of the Interest Letter submission. To become a PCRC member, please complete an online application.  All pilot project applications should include a mentor with extramural funding and projects must be completed in one year.

*Please note individuals who are currently on a training award (e.g. T32, F awards) are not eligible.

Foreign Institutions

• Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are not eligible to apply.
• Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply.

Number of Applications

Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is scientifically distinct.