Neuroscience Collaborations Vision Statements Call
- Announce Call for Vision Statements:
- Webinar outlining call for vision statements:
- RFA open:
- RFA closed:
- Announce Call for Vision Statements:
- Webinar outlining call for vision statements:
- RFA open:
- RFA closed:
- Administrative Inquiries:
[email protected] - Scientific Inquiries:
[email protected] - Technical assistance:
[email protected]
Monday– Friday:
9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. ET
We seek vision statements to identify new, emerging breakthrough areas of neuroscience that are poised for high-impact funding by the Simons Foundation. We are interested in bold and cutting edge, idea-generating research that focuses on basic principles of brain function and may be overlooked or too risky for other funding organizations.
We will prioritize cross-disciplinary collaborations that integrate many levels of analysis, methodologies, ways of thinking, and scientific communities. We endeavor to encourage conversations within and across fields while bringing together diverse groups of researchers to investigate important questions about the basic principles of brain function. Investigators in a Simons Collaboration are expected to openly share data, code, analysis pipelines, protocols and reagents.
Vision statements should clearly outline the big idea and hypotheses that the proposed neuroscience collaboration will address, including high-level overviews of the methods and approaches that will be used. Why is this work uniquely suited for Simons Collaboration funding? Why should this collaboration be funded now? Why is it difficult to obtain funding to investigate these questions from other funding agencies and foundations? Vision statements should address why and how the support of a large collaborative research project from the Simons Foundation will transform our understanding of how the brain works. Please propose investigators who may be included in the collaboration and an estimated anticipated overall yearly total cost.
The goal of the Simons Collaborations is to bring together groups of outstanding scientists to address topics of fundamental scientific importance, with a focus on fields in which significant new developments have created novel opportunities for exploration. To enable bold, creative and innovative research, each collaboration is funded for ten years.
Current Neuroscience Collaborations at the Simons Foundation include: the Simons Collaboration on the Global Brain (SCGB) and the Simons Collaboration on Plasticity and the Aging Brain (SCPAB).
- Announce Call for Vision Statements:
- Webinar outlining call for vision statements:
- RFA open:
- RFA closed:
- Administrative Inquiries:
[email protected] - Scientific Inquiries:
[email protected] - Technical assistance:
[email protected]
Monday– Friday:
9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. ET
The deadline for Letter of Intent (LOI) submission is 12:00 p.m. EST on March 8, 2023.
Applications must be submitted via the Simons Award Manager (SAM). Please click on the Funding Opportunities icon and navigate to the Neuroscience Collaborations – Simons Collaborations in Neuroscience call. Click the Create Application button to begin. LOIs should be started and submitted under the applicant’s own account in SAM.
For instructions on how to submit an application through our new grants management system SAM, informational videos can be found here.
Letter of Intent (LOI) Submission: Vision Statements will be submitted as LOIs in SAM.
- Proposal Tab:
- Applicant Details & Personal Data: Complete all required fields, including academic rank, demographic data, position/title, and ORCID iD. This information should be completed in the user’s profile. The applicant may use the Edit Profile button to update their information as needed.
- Degrees: Click the Add/Modify Degrees(s) button to provide this information.
- Application Details: Please complete the following required fields:
- Title
- LOI Requested Budget: Please input the estimated yearly cost of the collaboration.
- Proposal: The following information must be entered/uploaded;
- LOI Narrative: Upload via template provided in SAM. This should be a vision statement that clearly outlines the big idea and hypotheses that the proposed collaboration will address. Vision statements must not exceed two (2) pages, single-spaced, 11pt font, 0.5 inch margins. Figures and references should be uploaded in the Additional Application Information section (details are below).
- Additional Application Information: Upload via template provided in SAM. Please use this additional page to provide:
- A list of proposed PIs with a summary of their expertise. This list is to provide some insight on who might be included on a full application. It is not binding and may change at the full application stage.
- Figures
- References
- Contacts & Personnel Tab:
- Institution Administrative Contacts: Institution contacts are not required at the LOI stage. However, if you would like to grant an institutional official or administrator access to assist in the completion of the LOI, please add them to this section.
- Project Personnel: Project personnel are not required at the LOI stage. However, if you would like to grant a key personnel access to assist in the completion of the LOI, please add them to this section in the role Key Personnel – With Application Access.
- Check Application Progress: Click the Check Application Progress button 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 LOI can be submitted.
- Submit Application: When the LOI is complete, please click on the Submit Application button. A confirmation page will appear once the LOI is successfully submitted. It will appear in the Submitted tab of the Applications in Progress table. Please note that you will not be able to submit an LOI if the deadline has passed.
LOI Approval:
A submitted LOI will appear in the Submitted queue of the Applications in Progress table on your SAM home page. If an LOI is approved, the status will change to In Progress. Click on the record to gain access to the full proposal application.
- Announce Call for Vision Statements:
- Webinar outlining call for vision statements:
- RFA open:
- RFA closed:
- Administrative Inquiries:
[email protected] - Scientific Inquiries:
[email protected] - Technical assistance:
[email protected]
Monday– Friday:
9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. ET
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How much detail is needed for the two (2) page vision statements?
Vision statements should clearly outline the big idea and hypotheses that the proposed neuroscience collaboration will address, including high-level overviews of the methods and approaches that will be used. Why is this work uniquely suited for Simons Collaboration funding? Why should this collaboration be funded now? Why is it difficult to obtain funding to investigate these questions from other funding agencies and foundations? Vision statements should address why and how the support of a large collaborative research project from the Simons Foundation will transform our understanding of how the brain works.
All of the details of a proposed collaboration do not need to be worked out at the vision statement stage. We are interested in the big idea and the scientific vision. A subset of the vision statements will be invited to submit a full application, which will include a detailed 20-page proposal.
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Is this call for Vision Statements for new Simons Foundation Neuroscience Collaborations intended for clinical or translational work?
For this call, we are interested in bold and cutting edge, idea-generating research that focuses on basic principles of brain function.
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What model systems can be used for research in Simons Collaborations?
We have no restrictions on the model systems used for research in Simons Collaborations. We are open to vision statements that include research across model systems and organisms, from invertebrates to humans.
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Does the Simons Foundation consider clinical neuroscience and/or disease-related projects to be within the purview of the call for Neuroscience Collaborations?
Projects that incorporate clinical neuroscience and/or disease-related research to understand basic principles of brain function are within the call’s purview. However, projects whose aim is solely to develop treatments for specific diseases are not within scope.
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How often will the Simons Foundation announce calls for vision statements for new neuroscience collaborations?
We anticipate that we may host another call for neuroscience collaborations in five (5) years.
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Is the Vision Statement the same as a letter of intent?
Yes, the vision statements will be submitted as a Letter of Intent (LOI) in the Simons Award Manager (SAM).
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A proposed list of PIs involved in a potential collaboration is requested. Is this list final? Can this list change?
The list of PIs requested for this vision statement call is intended to give us an idea of the investigators you may approach about being a part of a neuroscience collaboration if you are invited to submit a full proposal. This list is proposed and may change between the LOI and full proposal stages of this process. Specifically, we anticipate that vision statements will be submitted by a small group of PIs, but will provide preliminary information about a larger number of investigators who would be included if the vision statement were selected for full proposal submission.
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Is there a typical number of PIs envisioned for a proposed collaboration?
No. The number of PIs involved in a proposed collaboration should be driven by the needed expertise for the scientific question that will be investigated. As a loose guide, 20-25 PIs is likely of the right order for this call. We will consider smaller or larger proposed collaborations. PIs may be grouped into smaller teams to facilitate deeper collaboration. Teams should be organized in a manner that facilitates communication and sharing of data and information across the collaboration. Details of the administrative and organizational structure of the collaboration is not necessary at this time; guidelines will be provided when a subset of vision statements are invited to submit a full proposal.
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Will the PIs in a given collaboration be fixed for the duration of the program?
The composition of PIs involved in a Simons Collaboration will be dictated by the scientific questions investigated. This may mean a fixed or evolving group of PIs over time, depending on the scope and goals of the program. However, while new PIs may be recruited to bring on new areas of expertise, the overall budget envelope will remain largely fixed over the span of the collaboration. Moreover, once established, the Simons Collaboration will not host new calls for funding of projects within its umbrella. Rather, major changes in direction and in PI composition of the Simons Collaboration will be made in conjunction with the 5-year review.
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Is there a minimum percent effort for Principal Investigators (PIs)?
We seek applications from independent investigators who can devote a substantial portion of time to this project. While we do not require a minimum PI effort, we expect the PI to commit to a level of effort that reflects a leading role and significant engagement in the project.
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Can foreign institutions (non-U.S.) apply?
Yes. Foreign institutions may apply. Please refer to the Simons Foundation policies regarding international awards.
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Is this program explicitly or implicitly aiming to fund multi-institutional collaborations?
We expect that the scope of the proposed collaboration will involve PIs from multiple institutions. We encourage all investigators to assemble the strongest scientific team to address the goals of the proposed collaboration, without restriction based on geographical location or institutional affiliation. This call is not intended for single-institution support.
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Am I eligible to be a principal investigator on a collaboration?
All investigators must hold a Ph.D., M.D. or equivalent degree and have a faculty position or the equivalent (eligible for receiving grant funding) at a college, university, medical school or other research facility. In addition, eligible applicants must have independent research space at their institution.
Applications may be submitted by domestic and foreign nonprofit organizations; public and private institutions, such as colleges, universities, hospitals, laboratories and units of state and local government; and eligible agencies of the federal government. There are no citizenship or country requirements.
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Can individuals employed by for-profit companies apply?
Individuals employed by for-profit companies may not be the primary investigator submitting the application. However, individuals employed by for-profit companies can be part of a Simons Collaboration as long as they can follow all of the open data sharing and intellectual property (IP) policies. Please refer to the Simons Foundation policies for more information.
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Do I need institutional sign-off to submit a LOI?
No, institutional sign-off is not required for the vision statement/LOI stage. If the vision statement/LOI is approved and the collaboration is invited to submit a full proposal, institutional sign-off will be required in order to submit the full proposal.
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Where is the submit button?
The Submit button is located at the bottom right of the screen. You will be unable to submit if you have not provided all the required information. If the submission deadline has NOT passed, use the Check Application Progress button to check for missing requirements. If the problem persists, please contact [email protected].
If the deadline has passed, the submission period has closed, and you will not be able to submit.
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I get an error message citing a missing section when I try to submit.
The Check Application Progress button reviews your LOI for missing sections. The submission instructions list the required sections and attachments. You must complete the missing sections listed. If you are still receiving error messages after completing and saving the indicated sections, please contact [email protected].
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Are deadlines adjusted for time zones?
No. Please be advised that deadlines are in Eastern Standard Time (EST). We recommend registering early for a SAM account and submitting LOIs with ample time for corrections prior to the deadline hour. Site traffic can slow page-load times. The Submit button will not work after the deadline time has passed.
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Does the Simons Foundation grant extensions for vision statement submissions?
No. The deadline is March 8, 2023 at 12:00 p.m. EST. Extensions will not be granted. If you have any difficulties, please email [email protected].
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Is there a confirmation email when I submit?
A confirmation email is sent upon submission of the LOI. Make sure that spam filters allow emails from [email protected]. Additionally, the LOI will be in the Submitted tab of the Applications in Progress table after submission.
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Can I make changes to the LOI once it has been submitted?
Before you can make changes to your submitted LOI, you must first contact the Simons Foundation for assistance. Please email [email protected]. LOIs can only be changed prior to the deadline.
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The application status notification date has passed. What is the status of my Vision Statement/LOI?
You should receive a notification within 24 hours of the application status notification date. Please check your spam filter settings if you have not received a notification by then.
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Do I need to submit biosketches with the vision statement?
No, a biosketch for each investigator is not required at this stage of the application.
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Do I need to submit a budget with the vision statement?
No, a full budget is not required at this stage. Only an estimate of the anticipated annual cost of the collaboration is required. If you are invited to submit a full proposal, all PIs participating in the collaboration will be asked to submit a detailed budget with their full proposal.
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Can I email or mail a LOI?
No, the Simons Foundation only accepts LOIs submitted online through SAM.