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Summary
Closing date:	February 10, 2020
FAPESP scheme:	PITE Program
Maximum duration of the project:	Up to 36 months (item 10)
Submission:	Proposals must be submitted only through SAGe system
Contact:	Patrícia Tedeschi – chamada_agilent@fapesp.br

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The São Paulo Research Foundation and Agilent announce this Call for Research Proposals and invite researchers associated to Institutions of Higher Education or Research, public or private, in the State of São Paulo, to present research proposals within the scope of the Agreement between FAPESP and Agilent, according to the following specifications.

1. Background

The theme of interest shared by Agilent and FAPESP for this call for proposals is:

BioPharma – We live in a time of rapid advances in the study of disease and the development of new therapies. New tools lead to new understanding that is revolutionizing the development of biotherapeutics. Companion diagnostics are leading us into the era of personalized medicine. New approaches based on a sound understanding of biology may lead to exciting new cures for some of our most intractable diseases.

Within this focus area, the goal is to fund projects that can advance the state of the art of measurements for BioPharma, for human health, veterinary medicine and agricultural research. Specifically, we are interested in finding ways to make the discovery, development, and manufacture of biologics and biosimilars faster, easier, more robust and higher in quality. This includes characterization of monoclonal antibodies and addressing all phases of the manufacturing process: QC of inputs, process control, characterization of outputs, and authentication. Our interests span sample prep, LC, LC/MS, Columns, cellular analysis, informatics, database development and management, workflow development and standardization, and effective integration of services in support of robust and efficient analytical measurements. Research which combines leading academic work, a Biopharma partner with analytical challenges, and Agilent’s unique measurement capabilities would be of added interest.

Successful proposals could include refinement of instruments, development of new measurement protocols, new ways to analyze data, invention of new workflows, or applications of existing techniques to yield new biological understanding within the context of this specific focus.

2. Call for Proposals

There are multiple scientific and technological challenges in making progress with respect to advancing research related to biopharma in the state of São Paulo. With this request for proposals, Agilent and FAPESP will support academic research and have a keen interest in interdisciplinary approaches to the research issues presented at item 1, Background. The objective of the academic research projects must be to advance the state-of-the-art of technologies relevant to biopharma.

Expected outcomes of research projects would include, but not be limited to, academic peer-reviewed paper publications, web sites with information for the academic community, and presentation of findings at academic conferences.

Projects will be reviewed specifically for the merit of the following research goals:

1) Bold scientific objectives and sound methodology and goals.

2) Focus on relevant technology advancements, taking into account the technology issues described in the points above, which will provide benefits in such areas as biopharma.

It must be emphasized that creativity and novel approaches are strongly encouraged.

3. Objectives

The objective of this FAPESP/Agilent Request for Proposals is to identify, select and support world-class research in technologies related to biopharma. For the purpose of this Request for Proposals, academic research has two essential ingredients: creation of new scientific knowledge and communication of results in the world-wide academic community. Both of these ingredients are essential. Projects should have a very high impact through:

1. Interesting, creative, novel work in: biopharma

2. Publication and dissemination of knowledge and experiences to the world-wide academic community.

4. Eligibility

Conditions of eligibility listed below will be strictly adhered to, so please read them carefully. Proposals not meeting all these criteria will not be considered.

a) Proposals should be submitted by researchers from higher education and research organizations, public or non-profit, in the State of São Paulo.

b) Proposals that are incomplete, inaccurate, request funds in excess of the maximum award available, or are otherwise not responsive to the terms and conditions of this CFP will, at the sole discretion of the Joint Steering Committee for the FAPESP-Agilent cooperation, be excluded from consideration.

c) Meet the conditions and restrictions of the FAPESP Program for Cooperative Research for Technological Innovation (PITE), described at www.fapesp.br/pite, excluding those restrictions and conditions explicitly excepted in this CFP

5. Research proposal characteristics

Proposals should target some or all of the following research goals:

a) Novel and Creative Solutions: The intention of the project is not to enable incremental engineering projects with a known outcome, but rather to explore and create new knowledge and technology. FAPESP and Agilent encourage bold, novel, and unconventional approaches to the core science and technology challenges in this area.

b) Immediate Relevance: FAPESP and Agilent are seeking academic research projects that are highly complementary to a broad community need. Goals should be specific, measurable, and results-oriented with tangible metrics.

c) Potential for Economic Impact: An ideal project will have the potential of sustainability beyond the timeframe of the proposed funding. Projects with direct economic impact offer far greater incentive for regional stakeholders to learn and support new technologies.

d) Dissemination and Potential for Academic Publication: Research results should be widely communicated through relevant scientific communities using established academic channels, such as international conferences and refereed journals. All funded projects should result in a detailed Web presence and relevant conference publications or presentations. Other channels for community development include regional workshops, graduate seminars, and curriculum components such as courses or course materials.

6. Funds

The total amount available under this call for proposals is R$800,000 with 50% of this value to be provided by FAPESP and 50% by Agilent. It is anticipated that 1-3 proposals will be selected, with individual values in the range of R$200,000 to R$800,000,00. The appropriateness of the requested funding amount in relation to the proposal goals and qualification of the proposing team is a primary review consideration. In addition, FAPESP and Agilent reserve the right to propose lower funding levels for projects.

7. Presentation of proposals

The proposal should clearly state the problems and opportunities to be addressed and the potential impact if the research is successful. It should specifically address the quantifiable goals listed in this request for proposals and provide milestones reflecting the progress towards them.

The list of documents that must be submitted is available at the SAGE System. The documents must be submitted in English, considering the following instructions.

FAPESP Curricular Summary, in English, for the PI and each Co-PI and Associate Researcher. Instructions for elaborating the Curricular Summary are available at www.fapesp.br/en/6351.

Research Proposal must be written in English and have 12 to 14 pages (not including bibliography and budget), containing the following sections.

1. Cover page {1 page}. Title of the proposal, name(s) of author(s), contact information, name of university/research institute.

2. Executive summary {1 page}. Define the problem/challenge that this research will address, the technical objectives, success criteria, and the proposed approach.

3. Relevance and impact claims {1-2 pages}. This section is the centerpiece of the proposal. It should succinctly describe the uniqueness and non-incremental benefits of the proposed objective and approach relative to the state-of-the-art and current approaches.

4. Detailed technical rationale, approach, and constructive plan {3-5 pages}. Details of the proposed research. Proposals should address key issues along the Biopharma theme, and the rationale should include a basis of confidence for meeting the program objectives. Proposals should provide indication of how they intend to manage the data produced during the project (where the term “data” is taken on the large, and includes files, algorithms, software, samples, models, pedagogical material, and others).

5. Statement of work, schedule, milestones, success criteria and deliverables {2 pages}. Outline the scope of the effort including tasks to be performed, schedule, milestones, deliverables, and success criteria. It is understood that this is an exploratory research effort and schedules/deliverables reflect intentions rather than a firm commitment.

6. Proposal team {1-2 pages}. Describe the team member qualifications with respect to the research goals, their level of participation in the project, as well as previous experience in collaborative projects.

7. Other support {1 page}. List other contributions by the Host Institution to this project (cash, goods, or services), if any, but not including items such as the use of university facilities otherwise provided on an ongoing basis.

8. Bibliography {unlimited}

Requested Fellowships {unlimited}. The proposed budget may include costs for Technical Training (TT), Academic Training (PC), Scientific Initiation (IC), Masters and Post-Doctoral fellowships. The ending dates for each fellowship must be at or before the ending date of the project. For each requested fellowship, a work plan of two pages must be submitted together with the research proposal. Work plans must include: Title for the Fellowship research project, Problem/Challenge to be addressed, Methodology, and Expected Results. It is not necessary to nominate the holder of the fellowship. If the grant is approved, the Principal Investigator will be in charge of organizing a public selection process to select the appointees for the fellowships through a merit review process. TT fellowships must contain the information requested in fapesp.br/tt.

Requested budget description {unlimited}. Proposals must include a budget justifying each of the requested items, which can be any of the ones described in www.fapesp.br/1656. The budget must be filled at the R$/US$ field at the SAGE System and must include the total amount of the project. It is not necessary to separate the requested budget between FAPESP and Agilent.

IMPORTANT: It is necessary to attach three quotes for each requested equipment expense (national or imported), according to FAPESP instructions. If it is not possible to obtain the requested 3 quotes, please attach a clarification letter.

8. Analysis and selection of the submitted proposals

An international and multidisciplinary team of scientists will review the proposals; therefore, it is very important to write the proposals in clear and well-structured English. Proposals that are difficult to understand in English might be poorly understood and receive poor ratings.

The criteria used will be that applied to the selection of proposals in the FAPESP Program for Cooperative Research for Technological Innovation (PITE), with the addition of the analysis by the Joint Steering Committee for the FAPESP-Agilent cooperation

Researchers participating in any submitted proposal will not take part in the analysis and selection process.

All proposals will be analysed and selected using the following criteria:

a) Adherence to the terms of this CFP

b) Novelty and Ambition of the proposed academic research project, as it relates to the goals of this CFP.

c) Qualification of the research project, in the specification of clear goals, of the challenges to be overcome and the scientific, technical and material means and ways for this, in relation to the state-of-the-art in the field.

d) Engineering diligence, including interface definitions, testing methodology, and plans for experimental deployment.

e) Qualifications of principal investigator and his team, including previous history of work in areas relevant to this CFP, successful completion of previous funded projects, teaching awards, and publications, all of those items being demonstrated in the Biosketches of the principal investigators.

f) Ability to complete the project, including the adequacy of resources available, institutional support, reasonableness of timelines, and number and qualifications of identified contributors; value, which encompasses the efficient use of requested resources and funding.

g) Potential for wide dissemination and use of intellectual property created, including specific plans for publications, conference presentations, web sites, as well as plans to distribute content in multiple formats or languages.

h) Formation of new researchers and professionals, as a result of the execution of the project.

9. Schedule

Event	Date
Launching of the CFP at FAPESP Web site	October 22, 2019
Last date for receiving proposals	February 10, 2020
Publication of results of the selection process	July 13, 2020

10. Project duration

The selected projects will have duration of up to 36 months.

11. Announcement of results

The results of the selection process will be announced in FAPESP’s Web Site at www.fapesp.br and by communication to the proponents.

12. Cancellation of the award

The award might be canceled by FAPESP, in the event of justifiable cause, on the basis of evaluation by the Scientific Director of FAPESP. Cancellation does not preclude other measures that might be deemed necessary.

13. Awarding, Follow-up and Evaluation

If the proposal is selected, there will be a Grant Term to be signed by Principal Investigator, by FAPESP, by the Hosting Institution and by a legal representant of Agilent regarding the rights and obligations of each part. This is similar to the standard FAPESP Grant Award Agreement, with some modifications to allow for the compromises of the FAPESP – Agilent cooperation. The full Term of Agreement can be found at www.fapesp.br/en/6578 to be specified. The main points of the Term are:

a) The concession of support for a project by FAPESP does not create any type of labor relationship between the researchers involved in the project and FAPESP.

b) The timing and amounts of funds disbursement will be mutually agreed upon between the Principal Investigator and FAPESP.

c) Any equipment or materials you wish to acquire to assist you in your research will be subject to standard Brazilian laws and concession of use requirements.

d) You are required to provide FAPESP with yearly progress reports. These reports will be shared with the joint FAPESP/Agilent steering committee.

e) The PI for each selected proposal and his team of researchers and students are required to participate in a yearly scientific workshop with the colleagues from all other selected projects.

f) The PI will notify and obtain approval from FAPESP prior to publication of any details about the research project, in the cases for which the publication might jeopardize the protection of the intellectual property.

f.1) In these cases, FAPESP and the Host Institution will work together to obtain timely protection for any Intellectual Property generated by the project and to allow for the publication of scientific results.

g) The PI will acknowledge FAPESP and Agilent’s support in any approved publication or press release regarding your research project.

14. Intellectual Property Rights

a) According to Brazilian law Hosting Institution is the owner of any intellectual property you create as a result of the research project.

b) The PI and the Hosting Institution are responsible for safeguarding that intellectual property.

c) If the PI and Agilent engage in any joint research activities, the Hosting Institution and Agilent will jointly own any inventions. Terms of that Joint Intellectual Property will be mutually agreed upon between the Hosting Institution and Agilent through a separate agreement.

d) In consideration of the funding being provided, the institution that employs the PI will grant to both FAPESP and Agilent a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to any intellectual property arising from the funded research project.

e) If the research project results in patentable inventions, you must notify FAPESP so that Agilent can decide if it wants to engage with you for an exclusive license. Terms of that exclusive license (fees, etc.) will be mutually agreed upon. The PI and his institution will retain the right to use the technology for research and teaching purposes.

f) If the Hosting Institution receives royalties for technology created as a result of the research project, FAPESP will receive a percentage of those royalties. This will be documented by a separate agreement.

14.1 Intellectual Property Limitations

a) If you wish to use any pre-existing intellectual property in the research project, you must obtain adequate rights from the owner so that you can grant the licenses to FAPESP and Agilent as stated above.

15. Information and clarification

Please send any questions to chamada_agilent@fapesp.br.

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