SNSF IICT Call Support

Think about the project idea and discuss the concept with colleagues. Check eligibility for the grant and check relevant databases to see that the study is not already being performed (e.g. ClinicalTrials.gov).

You do not need to have advanced any further than this to contact DCR for consulting. However, make sure this step is done many months before the grant is due. Consider enrolling in the DCR Grant Writing Program for Clinicians.

The grant may require a Letter of Intent. Read instructions carefully and note dates.

Any support letters from DCR will only be provided if the consultation process through DCR has been activated.

Once you have the summary ready it is time to contact the Department of Clinical Research for a first discussion (consulting).

To do so, please complete the project enquiry form. This must be done well in advance, including submitting an expression of interest ahead of time. Last minute requests cannot be assisted.

A curriculum vitae must be prepared using the dedicated template of the Swiss National Science Foundation. More information can be found on the CV website. If you have not used the format so far, plan for enough time to enter all the information on the website (no Word template or similar). 

Active involvement of patients, members of their family, carers, the public, or the relevant patient organizations is an essential part of clinical research and for many grants, is mandatory across the entire lifecycle of the project (development, set-up, conduct, and completion). Please familiarize yourself with the PPI information on the DCR website.

PPI Preparatory Grant

To allow for appropriate planning of these activities, Swiss National Science Foundation provides a preparatory grant of up to CHF 5,000. The grant covers Patient and Public Involvement activities for developing the full proposal including the plan for activities over the course of the project. The preparatory grant proposal is primarily a budget justified by a patient engagement plan. The budget can cover compensation of PPI representatives for the time spent on providing input, as well as reimbursement of travel costs and expenses for accommodation and meals. In addition, the costs associated with the organization of meetings for PPI activities can be charged to this grant.

The proposal is not sent out for peer reviewer but is evaluated by the Swiss National Science Foundation internally to ensure that formal requirements are met.

Other granting bodies may have explicit PPI policies. If not available, it is worth asking if there are specific requirements and funding for PPI preparatory activities.

Some grants, including the SNSF IICT call, require submission of LOI and PPI preparatory grant proposals. Make sure you are familiar with whichever portal or means your submission is to be received. Do not leave this to the last minute.

Developing a full grant proposal is labor intensive. It not only requires dozens of working hours but also time for repeated discussions and networking activities.

The Department of Clinical Research can support you in various activities.

Writing of the full proposal

Plan enough time and start early! Department of Clinical Research support includes:

• specific Grant writing for Clinicians courses
• templates for specific sections that can be customised by you

Please familiarize yourself with the PPI information on the DCR website

In many research plans, applicants must document their efforts and plans to actively involve patients, members of their family, carers, the public, or the relevant patient organizations across the entire lifecycle of the project (from the design of the study to its management and conduct, data analysis, dissemination of results and final evaluation). During the development of the full proposal, activities focus on two main areas:

• Getting input to the clinical study itself
• Developing a Patient and Public Involvement activities plan for the project

Sample size calculation and statistical study design

Sample size is often critical for the feasibility and success of a clinical trial. The Department of Clinical Research can provide you with the appropriate sample size calculation. Note that this is usually not a one-off calculation but rather an iterative process where we provide several scenarios and where changes to the design (can) happen. The amount of work varies a lot, from a few hours to dozens of hours. Please take this into account.

Contacting potential trial sites and collection of Letters of Commitment

Start very early to contact potential trial sites. They will need to provide a letter of commitment. The letter must contain evidence for the site-specific enrolment potential. This evidence can come from pilot studies, previous trials (of similar population and interventions) or extracts from the data warehouse of the hospital/institution (preferably multiple sources). Simple statements about enrolment potential are not sufficient!

Logistics and collecting offers (especially in case of trials with medicinal products)

Especially for trials with medicinal products (medical devices), explore different options for the supply. The grant can cover these costs. Placebo production can be expensive, so different suppliers should be approached. You will need formal offers for the submission. We can help identifying suppliers and support you in the discussions with the suppliers.

Budget

Be familiar with the level of detail that the grant requires for its budget, as these vary significantly. Read carefully which costs can / can’t be applied for.

The budget for the SNSF IICT Call is different to many other project funding budgets. It has much more details. Plan enough time for entering in mySNF And check the specific requirement which can vary from year to year, so don’t assume previously prepared budgets can automically be re-used.

DCR has expertise in preparing budgets for grant applications and can discuss this with you in the initial consultation.

Make sure you are registered and familiar with the grant portal. For SNSF, submission of the full proposal is via mySNF. 

Many grants will have a rebuttal process. For the 2024 SNSF IICT call, all proposals that meet formal requirements (checked by Swiss National Science Foundation internally) are sent out for international peer review. From experience, you will receive at least four written peer reviews one of which is from a biostatistician.

The Swiss National Science Foundation will forward you the reviews beginning of March 2025 and asks you to provide a rebuttal letter within two weeks. This rebuttal should be a point-by-point discussion of the points raised by the peer reviewers. Note that no changes to the proposal are possible at this stage. The rebuttal can only clarify misunderstandings or provide further explanations and justifications for certain design choices.

We suggest at least two meetings are prescheduled (at the time of submission) to discuss the rebuttal: one at the beginning of the two weeks to go through the comments, discuss possible responses, and distribute responsibilities for drafting the response to the different points, and one at the end of the two weeks to finalize the rebuttal letter.

The rebuttal letter must be submitted via mySNF (not the SNSF Portal).

SNSF IICT 2024: The full proposals with the accompanying peer reviews and the rebuttal are discussed by a dedicated, international panel of clinical research experts (clinical researchers, biostatisticians, (clinical) epidemiologists,…). The panel provides recommendations to the Research Council which makes the funding decisions.

The decision will be communicated in writing during the second half of June 2025.

Be conscious of timelines for project commencement and other milestones once your grant is successful!

For SNSF 2024, if your project is funded, the official start of the funding period must be between July 2025 and June 2026. Activities (e.g., drafting the trial protocol or other documents) can be started even before the official start of the funding period given that you have sufficient resources.