HSC Research Program
The long standing Navigator Research Program supports HD researchers across Canada. This program supports basic scientific research of direct and immediate relevance to Huntington Disease in Canada with the aim of providing a platform for the recruitment of outstanding investigators to HD research, to facilitate research collaboration nationally and internationally, and to support research that is relevant to other neurodegenerative disorders. The competition is run once per year.
2020 Competition Closed
**Please check back in the Fall of 2020 for details on the 2021 NAVIGATOR Research Program**
NAVIGATOR RESEARCH PROGRAM
TERMS OF REFERENCE
2020 COMPETITION
Timeline
- Full proposal, electronic and hard copy, due February 24, 2020 (3:oo p.m. ET)
- Announcement of decisions March 24, 2020
- Funding may commence March 31, 2020
Background
Each NAVIGATOR award will provide funding up to $75,000 per year for one or two years.
1) Goal
The goal of the NAVIGATOR Research Program is to provide funding for Canadian scientific research of direct and immediate relevance to Huntington Disease; to provide a platform for the future recruitment of outstanding investigators to HD research; to facilitate research collaboration nationally and internationally, and research which is relevant to other neurodegenerative disorders as well as HD.
2) Eligibility
Individuals holding a full-time faculty appointment in an appropriate discipline at a Canadian university, research institute, or hospital are eligible to apply for funding through the NAVIGATOR Research Program.
3) Criteria
All applications for funding through the NAVIGATOR Research Program are subject to review by the Society’s Research Council, which may elect to enlist external reviewers with particular expertise in the appropriate area.
The criteria for evaluating applications are:
The direct and immediate relevance of the work proposed to Huntington Disease (i.e., improved understanding of pathogenic mechanisms; significance with respect to the development of new treatments); the scientific excellence of the research proposal; the potential relevance of the work to other neurodegenerative disorders; the specific rationale and budget rationale for support (i.e. how will support enable the laboratory to pursue research not funded from other sources, and contribute to the emergence of special areas of expertise).
4) Term and Amount
Funding recommendations for awards through the NAVIGATOR Research Program will be made by the Research Council, subject to the availability of funds.
Each NAVIGATOR award will provide funding of up to $75,000 per year for one or two years.
Funding for specific laboratories will be incremental to, but will take into account current funding provided by HSC and/or joint HSC/CIHR programs, and may fluctuate based on emerging program priorities, progress of specific projects, and other factors.
All awards are made for a period of one or two years. It is the Huntington Society’s intention to provide seed funds (and ongoing support to projects) prioritized by the Research Council, and to laboratories that are actively engaged in Huntington Disease research.
5) Terms and Conditions
i) Institutional Approvals: Institutional approvals for research involving humans, animals, and/or biohazardous materials must be submitted to the Huntington Society prior to the release of funding.
ii) Expenditure of Funds: Funds awarded through a NAVIGATOR grant must be expended in accordance with the approved budget, within the following categories:
Personnel (i.e., technicians);
Supplies (i.e., expendables, services, animals);
Equipment (not to exceed $5,000);
Travel (i.e. to present research findings or to attend a major conference or symposium; not to exceed $3,000).
Funds may not be allocated to salary support for graduate or post-graduate students, institutional overheads, or construction. The Huntington Society of Canada does not fund indirect costs, overhead or institutional support costs.
Up to 25% of funds awarded to a laboratory through the NAVIGATOR Research Program may be remitted by the receiving institution to other laboratories outside of Canada, where this will help to promote collaborative research for the grant funded.
iii) Payment of Grants: The payment schedule will be confirmed along with notification of the award, to the financial officer of the principal investigator’s institution.
Please Note: The 1st year progress report (with budget summary) must be received by February 15, 2021. If the report is not received by the above date, funding will NOT be extended for the second year unless provisions have been made with HSC to approve an extension. A request for an extension of the timeline must be provided in writing, with reasons for the delay and a proposed date of completion, prior to February 15, 2021
iv) Deficits: The Huntington Society of Canada is not responsible for any expenditure incurred by a grantee over the approved budget.
v) Unexpended Funds: Any unexpended funds must be returned to the Huntington Society of Canada on completion of the period of the grant, unless the Society approves, in advance, an extension to the term of the grant.
vi) Financial Reporting: All grantees must provide a financial statement within three months of the completion of the period of the grant.
vii) Research Reporting: As a general principle, grantees must openly share their findings with the scientific community on a timely basis for the purpose of accelerating the process to find treatments for Huntington disease. In other words, all grantees must ensure that the findings of their research are available to the widest possible audience at the earliest possible opportunity.
viii) HSC Open Science Policy: Our Open Access policy contains the following elements:
- Publications Are Discoverable and Accessible Online. Publications will be deposited in a specific repository(s) with proper tagging of metadata.
- Publication Will Be On “Open Access” Terms. All publications shall be published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 General License. This will permit all users of the publication to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and transform and build upon the material, including for any purpose (including commercial) without further permission or fees being required.
- Publications Will Be Accessible and Open Immediately. All publications shall be available immediately upon their publication, without any embargo period. This can be accomplished by uploading a manuscript to a preprint server such as BioRxiv.
- Data Underlying Published Research Results Will Be Accessible and Open Immediately. The HSC will require that data underlying the published research results be immediately accessible and open. A 12-month embargo will be applied.
- It is the responsibility of the grant recipient to notify the Society prior to publication.
All grantees must provide copies of publications reporting on research supported in whole or in part by the Huntington Society. In addition, all grantees must provide a brief summary, in lay language, of the results of their work, within 3 months of the mid-point of their work and again within 3 months upon completion of the grant.
viii) Patents and Intellectual Property: The Huntington Society of Canada reserves the right to participate in any royalty stream from patentable discoveries arising from research funded in whole or in part by the Society.
ix) Acknowledgement of Support: The Huntington Society of Canada should be acknowledged in all publications, presentations, and other public information relating to research supported in whole or in part by the Society.
How to Apply
Full Application (maximum 4 pages)
i) Full applications, original hard copy and electronic version, due no later than 3pm ET on February 24, 2020.
ii) The application form is available here and must comply with the requirement to include an appropriate structured lay summary of the proposed work.
iii) Comprehensive CV of the PI should be completed using the Canadian Common CV as a guide, details of which can be found at: https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/45641.html
Questions may be directed to: research@huntingtonsociety.ca
