Novartis – Faculty Grant Applications

In the July 20, 2021 announcement, the Novartis US Foundation, TMCF and the presidents of 26 participating HBCUs stated:

In the current era, there are strong indications that health disparities affecting minority groups are endemic in the US. Compared with non-Hispanic whites, Black/African Americans have a lower life expectancy, a higher mortality rate from cancer, a dramatically greater likelihood of diseases such as asthma, and significantly increased rates of infant mortality.¹ Some of these health disparities are further exacerbated by minorities’ increased exposure to negative environmental factors such as air pollution, excessive heat, and poorer water quality.² The COVID-19 pandemic further demonstrated long-standing, systemic racial inequities in health as measured by disproportionate rates of hospitalization and death in minority groups.³

The COVID-19 pandemic has also revealed a reluctance among minority patients to participate in clinical trials and associated vaccine hesitancy. The exclusion from the research and development ecosystem, which existed and extends beyond the pandemic, is both the result of, and results in mistrust and a delayed uptake of life-saving innovative medicines and effective care models, further exacerbating racial disparities in care and outcomes.

Looking ahead, we envision a country that embraces equity in health for all. We believe that the next generation of researchers in health, science, and technology will have a particularly essential role to play. Furthermore, we believe there is urgency to empower these future leaders with the education and technology needed to bring full visibility to the breadth and nature of health disparities in the US and to design and implement enduring solutions.

To achieve a paradigm shift in education and health equity, it will take the concerted action of diverse stakeholders across public and private sectors. Inspired by the opportunity to bring to bear synergistic expertise and resources across disciplines, Novartis is convening this initial group of stakeholders to collaborate with the aim of generating robust data to find solutions that address systemic disparities in education and health outcomes to create greater diversity, equity and inclusion across the research and development ecosystem.

A guiding principle to our approach is to co-create programs under the direction of Black/African American community members and other minority groups. We also recognize that achieving sustained changes in health equity at population scale is a long-term endeavor that will take a sustained and multifaceted effort to realize.

¹US Dept. of Health and HumanServices: https://www.minorityhealth.hhs.gov accessed June 2021
²Hsu, A., Sheriff, G., Chakraborty, T. et al. Disproportionate exposure to urban heat island intensity across major US cities. Nat Commun 12, 2721 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22799-5
³https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/health-equity/racial-ethnic-disparities/disparities-deaths.html

As part of this revolutionary agreement, TMCF will award ten grants of $25,000 each annually for nine years to HBCU faculty employed at one of the selected 26 undergraduate/graduate programs at Historically Black colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and including four Historically Black Medical Schools (Selected school listing) . Successful grant applications funded through this program, as described in the Novartis Beacon of Hope announcement, will focus on research to substantiate key drivers of health disparities for African-Americans in their lived experience. Such research may include, but is not limited to:

• Health care assumptions, diagnosis, treatment and clinical experience

• Environmental risks

• Attitudes towards Black Americans and the impact of racism on health and wellbeing

• Health insurance coverage disparities

• Internet access disparities

• Underlying conditions

• Factors that exacerbate health inequities. 

The purpose of this research is to quantify and identify solutions, which will inform areas for change, and impact Policy and funding at local, State, and Federal levels that will lead to greater health equity for African-Americans.

Grant proposals should be no more than ten (10) pages, and include the following elements:

1. Project Title
2. Project Summary (350 words)
3. Project Narrative, no more than six (6) pages, single spaced, 1” margins, 12-point font. The Project Narrative should include:
   1. Description of Need for Research/ Rationale, including how the proposed research fits into the above research parameters as well as the anticipated impact of the research and estimated outcomes.
   2. Proposed Research, including a question or hypothesis
   3. Description of how the research fulfills the scope of the RFP
   4. Research methodology
   5. Key research personnel, including description of past research experience
   6. Proposed dissemination process for research results
4. Budget Narrative (included in 10-page limit)
5. Project Timeline (not included in 10-page limit)
6. Project Budget (not included in 10-page limit).  Note:  Within research proposal budgets, indirect costs are generally incurred unless the fee is waived, according to each university’s policy.  Due to the size of the grant being $25,000, TMCF prefers indirect fees to be waived.  However, due to university policies, if an indirect allocation is required for grant funded research projects, TMCF is recommending an negotiated de minimis indirect cost/rate of no more than 8%.  If the indirect fees have been waived by a university, we will accept documentation to reflect the waiver.

• RFP open for submissions:  November 2, 2023 – February 5, 2024
• Convening to announce/review RFP:  November 14, 2023
• Letter of Proposal Intention:  November 29, 2023
• Pre-Submission deadline:  January 8, 2024
• Submission deadline:  February 5, 2024
• Review and score grant proposals: February – March 2024
• Announce grant winners:  April 2024
• Disburse payment #1:  May 2024
• Interim reports: January 2025
• Disbursement payment #2: February 2025
• Research period: June 2024 – September 2025
• Final research findings:  September 2025

Scoring Rubric
The following scoring rubric will be used to review and assess
submitted HBCU faculty grant proposals:

*Topic must be within the scope of the RFP in order to be scored

Successful grant awardees will receive two funding disbursements. The first disbursement will be upon receipt of finalized award agreement and invoice. The second disbursement will be upon receipt of the interim research report sharing preliminary research findings.

Process Related Questions

Q: What is the process for submitting a TMCF | Novartis Faculty grant proposal?

A: The RFP and submission information can be found on the TMCF | Novartis landing page on the TMCF website.  Please click here for the link to the site.

Q:  If I have questions related to the grant and the process, who should I contact?

A:  Please submit all questions to [email protected].  On the website in the “Contact Us” section, questions can be submitted there as well. 

Q:  What is the amount that will be awarded for each grant and how many grants will be awarded?

A:  Each grant award will be $25,000 and awarding is at the discretion of TMCF and Novartis.  For each of the ten years, a maximum of ten grants will be awarded per cycle.

Q: How many submissions per institution will be permitted?

A:  We do not have a limit per institution for the number of grant proposals.

Q: What is the deadline to submit the grant proposals?

A:  The deadline to submit the grant proposals is Monday, February 5, 2024, by 11:59 PM EST.  Proposals are required to be submitted through the TMCF | Novartis page on the TMCF website under the section titled “Now Accepting Grant Applications”.  

On that page, you will see a button at the bottom of the page titled, “Apply Now”.  Once you select “Apply Now”, a page will be displayed where proposals are to be submitted.

Q:  What is the “Letter of Intention” described on the website and in the initiative webinar?

A: The Letter of Intention is a NEW component to this RFP cycle.The letter of intention is requested for the TMCF and Novartis teams to have awareness of a faculty member’s intention to submit a proposal.  The letter should include a brief description of the project you plan to pursue and includes signature by the proposed PI and their departmental leadership (i.e. department chair, dean, other institutional leadership). This is not mandatory but it is highly preferred.

Q:  What is the proposal “Pre-Submission” deadline?

A:  The pre-submission deadline is a NEW optional component to this RFP cycle.  The opportunity for pre-submission is designed to provide guidance and feedback for those faculty who are close to the completion of their proposal and would benefit from feedback related to the structure of their grant, quality of their proposal, the relevant content, etc.  To benefit from the pre-submission, the deadline to submit a proposal for pre-submission feedback is January 8, 2024. Feedback will be provided by the week of January 29, 2024, to allow faculty to make any desired revisions and submit their final proposal by the submission deadline.  Note:  Pre-submission of the proposal does not guarantee a grant award.  

Grant Specific Questions: 

Q:  Are collaborations between universities permissible for the grant?

A:  Yes, collaborations are allowed with any other HBCU participating in the initiative.  Please see the website for the selected schools.

Q: If a proposal is submitted and selected for funding, could the same proposal be re-submitted for renewal in the following year?

A: Proposals can be re-submitted for renewal. However, there is no guarantee of renewal.

Q: If a project is submitted and is not selected for funding, would the proposal be eligible for resubmission and consideration for the following year, or would a new proposal need to be submitted in the following year?

A: Once the proposals are received and evaluated, we may provide feedback for the proposal to be revised and submitted for consideration in the same year.  

Feedback could also be given for the proposal to be revised and resubmitted in the next year’s application cycle.  These situations will be considered on a case-by-case basis and are at the discretion of TMCF and Novartis.

Q:  Is institutional overhead allowed in the grant budget proposal?  And what overhead percentage is allowed?

A:  Yes, overhead is allowed.  However, due to the size of the grant being $25,000, TMCF prefers indirect fees to be waived.  Due to policies within universities, if an indirect allocation is required for grant funded research projects, TMCF is recommending an negotiated de minimis indirect cost/rate of no more than 8%.  If the indirect fees have been waived by a university, we will accept documentation to reflect the waiver.

Q: Is there a page limit for the faculty bios included in the proposals?

A:  No, there is no page limit for faculty bios.  For the bios, we are looking for information specifically for the PIs and the key personnel associated with the grant proposal and research.  

Q: Are references required within the proposal?

A: Yes.  Please keep references to a reasonable number.  These references and endnotes will not be counted towards your proposal narrative page count. 

 Q: Is a discussion on sustainability required?

A: This will depend on whether the proposal is a continuing project or if the project will conclude at the end of the research term.

Q: If two schools collaborate on a proposal, would each school be awarded $25,000 each (total of $50,000)?   Or is each proposal only awarded one $25,000 grant?

A:  Given the validity and the scoring of the proposals, each selected proposal will be awarded $25,000.