The European Hematology Association (EHA)

Research

EHA Innovation Grant

The call for applications closed on April 2, 2024.


The EHA Innovation Grant is intended to encourage and support the creation of consortia and the generation of preliminary data to facilitate applying for larger funding opportunities. Each consortium must include at least 3 Principal Investigators (PI) operating in 3 different European countries.

The grant is for a maximum of 2 years and a total of €300,000 will be provided, for the whole consortium.

No more than 40% of the total grant should be allocated to one member of the consortium.

Eligibility

  • Applicants should be conducting high-quality clinical or translational research. Basic and/or translational researchers can also be included, but the general focus of the project must remain clinical and translational.
  • At least one of the PIs must be within 5 years of his/her first senior appointment. More junior independent group leaders are encouraged to participate, and their addition would add value to the evaluation.
  • The consortium must include researchers operating in at least 3 different European countries, including at least one from the following countries: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Türkiye, Ukraine.
  • The outcomes of the innovative project proposed by the consortium must serve as the basis for applying to larger research projects (e.g. HORIZON EUROPE, EIC ACCELERATOR). Hence, it is mandatory to indicate in the research proposal what funding opportunity will be targeted using the data that will be produced by the consortium supported by the EHA Innovation grant.
  • The connection with one or more EHA Specialized Working Groups (SWGs) must be stated in the application, for example by indicating PIs that are members of an EHA SWG, or by including a letter of endorsement from an EHA SWG Chair.
  • Co-financing (next to the requested EHA support) from public or philanthropic institutions is acceptable and must be specified in the project proposal.
  • Co-financing (next to the requested EHA support) from industry or for-profit entities is not acceptable.

Note! Applicants who currently hold or have sent a proposal for a EHA Research Grant or EHA Bilateral Collaborative Grant in the current call are not eligible for an EHA Innovation Grant.

All applicants with questions about eligibility must contact the EHA Grants Manager at grants@ehaweb.org before submitting an application.

How to apply

The application portal

Access the grantee portal and register yourself via http://eha.fluxx.io. Should you have been the recipient of an EHA Research Grant in the past 5 years, or have applied for any other EHA opportunity through the EHA portal- https://eha.fluxx.io, you already have an account that you can access, either by logging in using your existing credentials or by selecting ‘Reset or create password’ if you do not have your login details. Be sure to use the email address that EHA has on file. If you encounter any issues, please contact grants@ehaweb.org.

Please keep in mind that once you register, it may take up to two business days before your registration is processed and you are given access to the system. Registrations are approved Monday to Friday between 08:00-18:00 Amsterdam time. You are advised to plan accordingly, as delays occasioned by late registration will not exempt you from the deadline.

While only one PI (“Coordinator”) will submit the proposal on behalf of the collaboration, all PIs must create a profile in the EHA portal and provide personal details.

A complete application should include:

  • Completed online application form
  • A Project Proposal of maximum 8 pages (including rationale, SMART [Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound] objectives, methodology, figures, abstract and references). If you go over this limit, your application will be rendered ineligible and will not be considered.
  • A clear assignment of responsibilities and tasks between the research groups, Max 1 page
  • An explanation of the expected results and the potential for supporting future applications to larger funding opportunities (with mention of the target opportunities), Max 1 page
  • CVs of the PIs involved in the proposal, Max 2 pages per CV, separate from the project proposal. The CVs should include the following information:
    • Education & Employment
      • Position title (current position at the institute)
      • Previous positions and employment
      • Education (Including MD/PhD/Hematology Training graduation dates)
      • Explanation of career breaks, as defined in the application guide
    • Other experience
      • Other experience and professional membership
      • Honors and awards
    • Publications:
      • 5 top publications (please provide the full citation and the impact factor of the journal on the year the paper was published)
      • Selected peer-reviewed publications (Max 10)
      • Total Citations (Google Scholar)
      • H-index according to Google Scholar
    • Other projects
      • List of other projects for which you are a PI
  • Budget (this will be filled into a template in the online application form):
    • The grant can be used for lab consumables, personnel, small equipment and travel
    • Include the cost of a mandatory external project audit at the end of the grant period of maximum €2,000 per PI
    • The budget should have both itemization and justification. PIs should show well-considered use of funds in the proposed research project's design. The budget justification should briefly explain how estimated and final figures were defined. For example, if you request equipment funds, you should provide details about the equipment needed and how it will be used to further the project's aims. The justification should also include a clear overview of how the funds will be shared between the PIs including the total allocation per PI
    • In addition, any other existing/planned funding that has/will have an impact on the submitted work must be disclosed. PIs should provide details on how the various grants will be used together.
    • Although the involved groups will have the discretion to share the total funding of €300,000, the allocation between the groups must reflect the collaborative spirit of the grant (specifically, not more than 40% of the total should be allocated to one group)
    • Overhead costs will not be funded
  • Letters of support from:
    • Heads of Department of institutes involved on institute letterhead, Max 2 pages each. These letters should include:
      • A description of the institutional commitment and facilities to support the project
      • A description of how the proposed project will fit into the current research of the department
      • Commitment of the institute to the potential follow up project resulting from this Innovation Grant
      • Acceptance statement that possible overhead costs for this EHA grant will be paid for with funds other than the EHA grant
      • Acceptance statement that the Terms & Conditions as set forth on EHA’s website, are agreed to
      • Signature by the chairperson of the department (or director of the institute/hospital in case the applicant is head of the department)
    • Signed Statements of Institutional Support (from all Institutes) for the application in which the Institutes agree to the Terms & Conditions as set forth by EHA, signed by the Administrative Authority of the Institute (Max 1 page each)

What to Expect

Deadline

Application deadline is 2 April 2024, 12 Noon CEST.

Eligibility check

After the deadline has passed, the EHA office will check your application for completion and compliance with the eligibility criteria. Incomplete applications (missing signatures, no budget, etc.) or those that do not meet the criteria for eligibility will not be reviewed further.

You will be notified if your application did not qualify for review. This decision is final.

Preliminary Review

EHA’s Taskforce on Innovation will perform a preliminary review of the applications and decide which applications will proceed to the next stage of an in-depth evaluation by an external peer review panel. 
 
You will be notified whether your application succeeded in this first round of review.

External Review

At least 3 external reviewers, who are experts in the topic of the proposal, will be reviewing the project in detail to assist the EHA’s Taskforce on Innovation in the selection procedure.

External reviewers will score your application based on the following parameters: 

1.  PROJECT

  • To what extent does the proposed research address important challenges?
  • To what extent are the objectives ambitious and beyond the state of the art (e.g., novel concepts and innovative approaches and how these will enable critical questions to be novelly answered)?
  • What are the expected outcomes for patients and how will this improve the treatment of blood disorders?
  • Can the project be completed in the proposed time frame?
  • Is the collaborative nature of the project justified?
  • Do the expected results have the potential to support the application to the targeted larger funding opportunity?

2.  INVESTIGATOR

  • Competence of research partners with respect to the project
  • Complementary qualities of research partners
  • Track record and international standing of PIs

3.  BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS

  • Are the budgeted activities clearly listed and assigned?
  • Is the cost estimate of resources/activities appropriate and substantiated?

This external review will produce feedback for the committee as well as feedback for the applicants. Irrespective of the outcome of the application, applicants will receive this feedback after the awardees are announced. It is hoped that this feedback will provide some guidance on how the application and research plan could be improved. 

Please note that there will be no further correspondence regarding this feedback.

Notification of Award

June 2024

Ceremonial Award Acceptance

June 2024 – Grant recipients are expected to attend the EHA Congress where they will formally receive the award during the Opening Ceremony.

For Recipients

PIs selected as winners will receive complimentary registration for the 2024 EHA congress.

Funding Agreement

The PIs will provide necessary information for the funding agreement, e.g., bank details, project start date (note that you are required to start your project within one year of being awarded), etc. The PIs and their Institutes will be required to sign the funding agreement, which refers to the Terms & Conditions that will have been read and approved during the application phase. Withholding this approval can result in the ineligibility of the applicants and the withdrawal of the award.

Obligations

Once the funding agreement has been signed by all parties, EHA will transfer the first instalment to the institutes (according to the disbursement schedule in the agreement).

Scientific and Financial Reports are expected at the end of the project, within 6 weeks of the project end date. One PI appointed by the group of proponents is expected to submit the reports on behalf of the consortium. Reports include 1 Joint Scientific Report and separate Financial Reports submitted by each PI. The financial reports from all institutes must be audited & signed by an external auditor and the institute’s financial head. The templates for these reports will be provided upon winning.

Any publication arising from the work funded by EHA, must acknowledge EHA funding as stated in the Terms & Conditions.

Amendments

Any deviations from the approved project scope or budget are to be formally requested before being implemented. Please see the Terms & Conditions or ask the Grants Manager via grants@ehaweb.org.

Questions?

Contact the Grants Manager at grants@ehaweb.org