Pilot Innovation Grants Program in the United States

Deadline: 15-Nov-21

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) has launched its Pilot Innovation Grants Program to support research on suicide from a variety of disciplines including psychiatry, medicine, psychology, genetics, epidemiology, neurobiology, sociology, nursing, health services administration, social work, and many others.

• Diversity: Suicide prevention research related to underrepresented communities, health and mental health disparities and inequities, as well as researchers from underrepresented backgrounds proposing research focused on understanding and preventing suicide.
• Evaluation of technological tools for suicide prevention: The application of implementation science methodology to evaluate technological tools available in order to expand access and overcome barriers for suicide prevention.
• Survivors of Suicide Loss: Research related to survivors of suicide loss, understanding the impact of suicide loss and it’s after-effects, and the process of healing.

• Eligible Applicants
  • Investigators from all academic disciplines are eligible to apply, and both basic science and applied research projects will be considered, provided that the proposed study has an essential focus on suicide or suicide prevention.
  • A current grantee may submit a new application as their grant nears completion but it will not be funded until completion of the current grant and submission of a Final Report.
  • New grantees must begin their studies within 6 months of the approved start date. Failure to begin the study within this time frame may result in withdrawal of the grant award.
• AFSP research grants and fellowships are awarded to individuals affiliated with not-for-profit research institutions or organizations in the U.S. and abroad. Grant applications are not accepted from for-profit organizations, or from federal or state government agencies; applications from the Veterans Administration and NIH/NIMH are eligible. 
• Applications from both private and public colleges and universities are eligible as long as the institution is not-for-profit. 
• Grant payments are made to the grantee’s institution for the individual investigator.
• Individuals may be the Principal Investigator (PI), or Site PI, on only one AFSP grant at a time, and may not simultaneously be the PI on any other type of AFSP research grant. 
• This does not preclude serving as a mentor on a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship or a Young Investigator Grant while being the Principal Investigator on another AFSP grant, or serving as a Co-I or consultant on another grant. A mentor may not serve on more than two current funded AFSP grants.
• During the final year of funding, an individual holding an AFSP research grant may apply for another AFSP grant in the same or another category which, if approved, would start after the end date of the first grant. The second grant cannot begin until the final progress report and financial statement for the current grant are received and approved by AFSP and the Initiation papers for the second grant are approved.
• AFSP research grants and fellowships are awarded with the understanding that the recipient individual and institution will not accept funds from any other granting agency for research that substantially overlaps with what was approved by AFSP. Supplemental funding from AFSP grants can use the infrastructure of an already funded grant, but AFSP data must be separable from the larger grant.
• Personnel compensated in whole or in part through an AFSP research grant are not considered employees of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, but of the grantee institution. AFSP does not assume any responsibility for the conduct of the research or other acts of the investigators. AFSP grantees are subject to the ethical and scientific policies of the grantee institution.

For more information, visit https://afsp.org/research-grant-information#research-grant-types