ARC Pilot Grant Application Requirements

The submitted application should be in Word or pdf format, following NIH requirements such as minimum font size (Arial 11) and 0.5-inch margins.

Completed applications should be submitted on this page below the guidelines.  

1. Cover Page
   1. Title of Proposal
   2. Key Personnel (indicate Clinical and Health Services Researcher co-PIs and affiliation/department)
   3. Contact PI with e-mail and phone number
   4. Total Amount Requested
   5. Resources Used (indicate which of the following: Department of Medicine Research Core, REDCap, CCTS Informatics Core, CCTS Quantitative Methods Core)
2. Lay Summary(<1/2 page [up to 300 words] lay summary of the proposed work, which would be used on the ARC website)
3. Research Plan (maximum 6 pages, excluding references)
   1. Specific Aims
   2. Significance
   3. Innovation
   4. Research Design and Methods
   5. References
4. Supplementary Information (maximum 1 page)
   1. Plans for External Funding– briefly describe future plans for external funding once pilot study has been completed, indicate NIH program announcement or RFA if appropriate
   2. Involvement of ARC PBRN– briefly describe how ARC will be involved and stakeholder engagement in the proposed research (including clinical sites, providers, staff, and patients)
5. Protection of Human Subjects– please use the NIH guide for Protection of Human Subjects and include:
   1. Risks to human subjects
   2. Adequacy of protection against risks
   3. Potential benefits of research to subjects and others
   4. Importance of knowledge gained or to be gained
   5. IRB status (please provide protocol number if available, and indicate status, e.g., pending, submitted, or approved)
6. Biosketches of key personnel– please use the NIH biosketch format
7. Budget & Budget Justification– budget should be limited to $25k total. There are no indirects. Funds can be used for student/postdoc support, supplies, research coordinator support, informatics, investigator support, and project costs such as incentives. Indirect costs are not allowed. Research coordinators with appropriate training are available through the Department of Medicine Research Core and can be supported with grant funds for part time effort on the project.  Informatics support from the CCTS Research Informatics Core is available. Projects that plan to utilize this core (e.g., working with electronic medical records, such as data extraction for patient recruitment) should dedicate a minimum of $3,000 in their budgets for this resource. Projects with more complex informatics needs may require additional funding for the RIC, to be determined on a project-by-project basis. Reaching out for consultation with the RIC is required during project development.
8. Letters of Support – include letters from Co-PI’s Department Heads or Clinical Supervisor supporting the study, and optional letters from other significant contributors and consultants if applicable.