Conference Support for Rare Neurodevelopmental Disorder Communities Participating in Simons Searchlight: How to Apply

The deadline for application submission is Thursday, March 5, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. (noon) Eastern Time.

Applications must be submitted via the Simons Award Manager (SAM). Please click on the ‘Funding Opportunities’ icon and navigate to the Autism Research — Searchlight Gift call. Click the ‘Create Application’ button to begin. Applications should be started and submitted under the applicant’s own account in SAM.

Please note that anyone submitting an application will be added to the SFARI newsletter mailing list.

Application Submission Instructions

To submit an application, the following sections must be completed in SAM:

1. Proposal Tab:
   1. Applicant Details & Personal Data: Enter required fields. The applicant may edit information via the ‘Edit Profile’ button as needed. If the applicant is a new user in SAM, their profile must be finalized before submission.
   2. Academic Degrees: Click the ‘Add/Modify Degree(s)’ button to provide this information.
   3. Application Details: Provide the conference title, a start date on the first of the month during which the conference is estimated to take place, and an end date three months after the conference will take place, on the last day of the month. (For example, for a conference occurring on April 15, 2026, enter April 1, 2026 as the start date and July 31, 2026 as the end date). Hovering over the question mark icons will provide additional information on required fields.
   4. Proposal – The following information/upload must be provided:
      1. Proposal Narrative: Upload via the template provided, following the instructions on the template and in the RFA. The Proposal Narrative should be formatted with single-spacing, size 11 text, 0.5 margins. There is no page limit, but we anticipate Tier 1 and 2 applications likely will not need to exceed two (2) pages and that Tier 3 proposals will not need more than an additional page or two to articulate the in-person research.
      2. Budget Tier: Check the box to indicate which tier of funding applies to your proposal:
         
         Tier 1: $2,500

         Tier 2: Up to $7,500

         Tier 3: Up to $15,000

         Please see the RFA text for a description of each funding tier.

      3. Draft Agenda: Upload an agenda for the upcoming meeting that is the subject of this application. The agenda should specify:
         1. Location and dates (note confirmed or anticipated)
         2. All talks (names of scientists) and activities (in-person research and/or blood draws) planned (note confirmed or anticipated)
         3. Link to the conference website, if available
      4. Past Conference Agendas: Upload conference agendas for your past 1 to 2 meetings, if applicable.
      5. Researcher Letters of Participation: Letters should be on the investigator’s official institutional letterhead. Scientists should confirm their availability and that they accepted the invitation to speak or to conduct in-person research. For researchers giving a presentation, they should describe their presentation topic and how it is relevant for the gene group. For those proposing in-person research, they should describe the objectives, approach, anticipated new enrollment at the conference, power calculation and future plans for the work. Proposed scientific content or in-person research without a corresponding letter of participation will not be considered in application review.
      6. Biosketches: For applicants applying for Tier 3 funding, please include biosketches of the researchers who plan to participate. (Please leave this section blank if you are applying to Tier 1 or Tier 2 funding).
      7. Other (optional). If there is any other information you would like to provide, please include it here. We anticipate that most applicants will leave this section blank.
      8. Indicate the extent to which generative AI technology was used to develop your proposal.
   5. Data & Renewable Reagents: Indicate your plan for sharing data and renewable reagents (if applicable) by answering the provided questions.
2. Contacts and Personnel Tab:
   1.  Institution Administrative Contacts: At least one institution Signing Official and one Financial Officer must be added to the Institution Administrative Contacts section before you will be able to submit your application. Officials should hold a position in your Patient Advocacy Group (PAG) and have the authority to sign off on your PAG’s materials.
   2.  Project Personnel: It is not anticipated that personnel salaries will be part of your request; therefore, you may leave this section blank. You will be able to add more details in the Budget Justification document in the next section.
3. Budget Tab: Click the ‘Edit/Modify’ button and add your total request from the Simons Foundation in the Non-Personnel Costs line, ensuring that it is not over the funding cap allowed for your tier. For example, if you are applying for Tier 1 funding, please enter $2,500 in the Non-Personnel Costs Line with a brief description (a few words). Please ensure that the ’Period 1 Total Requested Budget Amount‘ line is equal to your total request.
4. Budget Justification: Upload your budget justification using the template provided. The justification includes two sections:
   
   Section 1: Funding Requested from the Simons Foundation: Use the following categories and provide a description of the amount requested and justification for each budget category utilized:
   • Supplies & Small Equipment
   • Travel
   • Other Expenses
   • Total

   Section 2: Total Conference Funding: Describe the overall conference or meeting budget and, if applicable, other sources of funding for this event including whether they are confirmed or pending. Please note that we do not typically fund any conference in its entirety, and all applicants are strongly encouraged to seek multiple sources of funding support.

5. Organization Assurances: Indicate if the conference activities require organizational assurances, including IRB approval. If so, click the ’Add/Modify Assurances‘ button to add the assurance type, status, approval date, expiration date and protocol number. There is a ’pending‘ option for assurances that are in process, and to-be-determined dates can be left blank at this stage.
6. Check Application Progress: Click the ‘Check Application Progress’ button at the bottom of the screen to check for any missing required information or files. All missing required information will be listed at the top of the screen and must be corrected before the application can be submitted.
7. Send for sign-off: When the application is complete, click on the ’Send for sign-off‘ button to send to your Signing Official for signature. The Signing Official added to the application will see the application in the ‘Applications to Review‘ section when they log in and will be responsible for signing and submitting the application to the Simons Foundation.

Confirmation of submission: A confirmation page will appear on the Signing Official’s SAM page once the application is successfully submitted. Please note that you will not be able to submit an application if the deadline has passed.