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Introduction

An effective method of encouraging interdisciplinary collaborations and multi-institutional research projects is to promote formal and informal meetings. To promote high-impact areas of research and interdisciplinary collaboration, the ACCEL Clinical & Translational Research Program will provide limited financial support (up to $10,000) to researchers and clinicians for a one-day focused Research Retreat with the specific intention of stimulating new collaborations. Successful retreats will generate ACCEL pilot grant proposals, mentored research development awards applications, and/or future publications. ACCEL pilot project grant proposals that emerge from these retreats are given funding priority. Retreats should be aimed to involve researchers from more than one ACCEL institution. Areas of high importance to the ACCEL program include rehabilitation, preventive medicine, and behavioral and mental health. Funds may be used for conference hosting as well as for travel of guest speakers or participants (e.g., between Delaware and South Carolina). Administrative support for the retreat will be provided.

Each proposal must be submitted by one investigator from one of the ACCEL partner institutions (i.e., University of Delaware, Nemours, Christiana Care Health System, Delaware State University and the Medical University of South Carolina). Investigators must hold a faculty appointment or equivalent at the time the award commences. These are individuals who can independently apply for Federal or non-Federal investigator-initiated peer-reviewed Research Project Grants (RPG). Individuals holding postdoctoral fellowships or other positions that lack independent status are not eligible.

Format of the Proposals

Proposals for ACCEL Research Retreats should be no more than three pages in length and should address the following six points:

Title

PI(s)

Introduction and Significance

What is the purpose of this meeting? Why is this an important topic? Who is likely to attend? How does it complement other ACCEL activities? In what way is it clinical and translational?

Proposed Activities

How many participants do you anticipate? What type of investigators will they be (mostly physicians? Scientists? Engineers? Etc.). How long will the retreat be and when (roughly, what month) will it be held? How will the time be utilized (i.e., what types of activities are planned). Will students or post-docs be invited or encouraged to attend, or is the focus mostly for senior investigators? What efforts will be made to form new partnerships and collaborations? Mentoring should be addressed as well. How will the funds be used?

Expected Outcomes

What are the anticipated outcomes of this retreat? What are the possible barriers to success and what measures can be taken to overcome them?

Budget

State the amount requested and briefly describe how the funds will be used.

Due Dates

ACCEL Research Retreat Proposals will be reviewed as they are received. There is no due date. However, the fiscal year for the grant ends June 30th and we will only fund up to four awards each year.

Reporting

One month following the retreat, a 1-2 page meeting evaluation/statement of accomplishments must be completed. An additional brief report describing what collaborations or proposals emerged from the retreat will be due six months following the retreat.

To Apply

You must have a DE-CTR ACCEL account and be logged-in to apply.

Visit https://apps.de-ctr.org/dash/apps/proposal/retreat/

Comments or questions about the program?