Society of Family Planning Request for Proposals
The Society of Family Planning (SFP) was founded in 2004 to bring together professionals committed to the scientific study of family planning, focusing in the areas of contraception and abortion. The activities of the organization are conducted for scientific purposes, for the advancement and promulgation of knowledge regarding family planning, and for the facilitation of personal relationships among scientific investigators of family planning and related topics. SFP is one of the few organizations in the United States that provides research grants for interdisciplinary research in the biological, medical, epidemiological, behavioral and social sciences related to family planning.
Go to www.societyfp.org/research/default.asp to apply. Application submission opens February 1, 2010 and closes at 11:59 pm EST, Tuesday, April 13, 2010. No late materials or changes to your application will be allowed after the cut-off date.
SFP is pleased to announce its fourth competitive grant funding cycle. SFP’s grant program is intended to generate knowledge in the field of family planning through scientific research and strengthen family planning policies, services and programs. Proposals are requested that cover a wide range of research areas—from improvements in underlying conceptual or biomedical knowledge that advance fundamental understanding in the field of family planning, to knowledge of improved programs or policies that will provide family planning more safely, effectively, efficiently, and to wider groups of people in need. The research program will also provide support for research that focuses on social and psychological dimensions of family planning services and programs.
High-priority research areas
SFP’s primary goal is to support the best scientific research that contributes to the greater understanding and advancement of family planning; therefore, we will fund the top merit-based proposals that fall within SFP’s guidelines. Secondarily, we are interested in the following topic areas:
Post-abortion infection
Post-abortion contraception
Cervical preparation for second trimester abortion
Pain management in surgical abortion
Factors associated with decision-making between medical and surgical abortions
Multi-center tabulations of second-trimester abortion complications
Abortion stigma, including perspectives of patients, providers, and the public
Abortion providers—factors that determine providers’ surgical limits in terms of gestational age
Contraceptive decision-making and the impact of a recent unplanned pregnancy
Management of breakthrough bleeding in continuous hormonal contraception
Intrauterine, implantable and injectable contraception
Health care providers—how their personal contraceptive choices impact patient decision-making
Small research grants
The purpose of the small research grants is to provide start-up or supplemental funds to support the initial phase of a project, including solidifying collaborations, identifying research questions, negotiating roles and responsibilities, detailing the research plan and methods, and collecting pilot data. Such a study may be designed to determine the feasibility of conducting a larger and more expensive research project, test a new method or approach, or to collect data on a sample of subjects to document the practicality of a project.
Funds can be used for a variety of purposes: to hire a research assistant or statistical consultant; to acquire special data sets; meet unusual computer processing or programming needs; or cover costs associated with the collection or processing of primary or secondary data; or for other similar purposes.
SFP prefers not to pay institutional indirect costs for this very modest award; if the institution is unwilling to waive such costs, they are limited to no more than 10% of the total direct costs. The total costs (direct and indirect) may not exceed $15,000. These awards are designated for Society of Family Planning Junior Fellows.
Maximum duration: 12 months
Budget cap: $15,000 per grant (including direct and indirect costs)
Large research grants
These awards provide support for projects representing the investigator’s specific interest and competencies. The project must be original research relevant to the field of family planning and abortion. Research proposals responding to SFP’s high priority research areas or those difficult to fund from other sources will be given priority. Indirect costs up to 20% of total direct costs are allowed. The total costs (direct and indirect) may not exceed $120,000.
Duration: 12 or 24 months
Budget cap: $120,000 per grant (including direct and indirect costs)
Eligibility
The principal investigator of any proposed large research project must be an SFP Fellow, Candidate Fellow, or Junior Fellow and a faculty or staff member of the applicant institution. Small grants are reserved for SFP Junior Fellows.
Grants will be made to institutions on behalf of a named principal investigator, not to individuals. Eligible organizations employing SFP members include but are not limited to universities, independent non-profit agencies, community-based organizations, and hospitals. Investigator(s) must have principal investigator status at a non-profit institution with at least 10% of effort contributed to the proposed study.
For questions regarding grant requirements:
Marlo Polonsky, Grants Officer
MPolonsky@societyfp.org
Society of Family Planning
255 South 17th Street
Suite 1102
Philadelphia, PA 19103
866.584.6758, ext. 301
