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FC Fellowships - Call for Proposals 2017
FC - Fondazione Celiachia – www.celiachia.it
Scientific Office
Via Caffaro 10, 16124 Genoa, Italy
1
- FC - Fondazione Celiachia
Foundation for Celiac Disease
FC FELLOWSHIPS
CALL FOR PROPOSALS 2017
FC Fellowships - Call for Proposals 2017
FC - Fondazione Celiachia – www.celiachia.it
Scientific Office
Via Caffaro 10, 16124 Genoa, Italy
2
Table of Contents
1. Foreword 3
2. Documentation and Regulation/Policies 3
3. Legend 4
4. Eligibility criteria for Applicants 5
5. Eligibility criteria for the Hosting Institute and of the Head of the Hosting Lab 6
6. Expected Outcomes of the Triennial Fellowship Project 7
7. The Research Plan 8
8. Application Submission and Deadline 10
9. Funding, Legal Fulfilments, Annual Instalments and Reports 13
10. The Review Process 16
11. Report Meeting at the National AIC Congress 19
12. Suspension, Waiver and Interruption, Revocation 20
13. Transfer of the Applicant/Head of the Hosting Lab to another Institute 22
14. Code of Conduct and Scientific Integrity 22
15. Intellectual property 22
16. Publications and Printed Materials 23
17. Privacy Law (Informativa ai sensi dell’art. 13 Del D.LGS 196/03) 24
18. Competent law-court (Foro Competente) 24
FC Fellowships - Call for Proposals 2017
FC - Fondazione Celiachia – www.celiachia.it
Scientific Office
Via Caffaro 10, 16124 Genoa, Italy
3
1. Foreword
The Fondazione Celiachia (FC) is releasing the ‘FC Fellowships - Call for Proposals 2017’
aimed at awarding up to 5 Triennial Fellowships to highly qualified young graduates
and/or post-doctoral fellows who wish to broaden or acquire experience in scientific
research within the field of celiac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis in public or private
non-profit Italian research institutes/organisations.
Each Triennial FC Fellowship is granted for a total of € 85.000, of which € 75.000 for the
triennial gross salary of the FC Fellow (€ 25.000 per year gross salary) and € 10.000 to be
used during the Triennial FC Fellowship program exclusively for the purchase of
Consumables and Supplies.
The total funding available for the ‘FC Fellowships - Call for Proposals 2017’ is € 425.000.
2. Documentation and Regulation/Policies
Document Aim
FC Fellowships - Call for
Proposals 2017
Sets the aims and objectives of the Call, along with the rules
governing the granting process
Application Form
Application Signature Page
Form
Head of the Hosting Lab
Letter Form
Head of the Hosting Lab
Letter Signature Page Form
Standard Forms to be mandatorily used for submitting the
Proposal. The documents contain all relevant instructions for
correctly filling in, and confirm or complete the rules expressed by
the present Call
Regolamento FC per i Bandi
Fellowship
Rules, policies and guidelines reported in the present Call are also
described in Italian language for the use of the Hosting Institute.
The document also contains additional administration rules and
policies dedicated to the Hosting Institute
The present ‘FC Fellowships - Call for Proposals 2017’ and the annexed documents
(Regolamento, Application Form, and Letter of the Head of the Hosting Lab, which
confirm or complete the rules expressed by the present Call) do represent the Regulation
and Policies; Applicants and Hosting Institutes are required to fully adhere to it.
FC reserves the right of integrating the Regulation with ad hoc decisions in case of
dissimilarities or other eventualities.
FC Fellowships - Call for Proposals 2017
FC - Fondazione Celiachia – www.celiachia.it
Scientific Office
Via Caffaro 10, 16124 Genoa, Italy
4
3. Legend
Legend Definition
Applicant/Candidate The Applicant or Candidate is the young graduate and/or post-
doctoral fellow who submits the Application Form for the
Fellowship research plan and aims at receiving the Triennial FC
Fellowship Grant
FC Fellow The Applicant awarded with the Triennial FC Fellowship Grant
Triennial FC Fellowship The FC Fellowship is the triennial employment contract between
the Hosting Institute and the awarded Applicant.
Each Triennial FC Fellowship is granted by FC for an overall amount
of € 85.000, of which € 75.000 for the triennial gross salary of the FC
Fellow (€ 25.000 per year gross salary) and € 10.000 to be used
during the Triennial FC Fellowship program exclusively for the
purchase of Consumables and Supplies.
Head of the Hosting Lab The Head of the Hosting Lab is the senior investigator coordinating
the laboratory in which the awarded Applicant will perform the
research plan
Hosting Institute The Hosting Institute is the public or private non-profit Italian
research institute in which the Head of the Hosting Lab is working
and the awarded Applicant will perform the research plan
The Legal Representative of
the Hosting Institute
The Legal Representative is the authorized representative of the
Hosting Institute, who will be responsible, along with the Head of
the Hosting Lab, of all the legal and administrative duties related
to the FC fellowship award.
The Legal Representative of the Hosting Institute signs the
Application Signature Page Form and the Head of the Hosting Lab
Letter and Signature Form, thus guaranteeing that the Fellowship
and the research plan will be performed in the Hosting Institute
under the conditions established within the Call and the annexed
Regolamento FC per i Bandi Fellowship.
FC Fellowships - Call for Proposals 2017
FC - Fondazione Celiachia – www.celiachia.it
Scientific Office
Via Caffaro 10, 16124 Genoa, Italy
5
4. Eligibility criteria for Applicants
At the time of the deadline for submission, the following eligibility criteria must be met:
1. Applicants must have obtained a Master’s Degree (equivalent to the Italian Laurea
Magistrale) or a Long Single Cycle Degree (equivalent to an Italian Laurea a ciclo
lungo, lasting 5 or 6 years) or an equivalent non Italian degree in Medicine, Biological
Sciences, Pharmacy, Chemistry, Agriculture or other scientific disciplines. The obtained
degree should formally entitle the Applicant to embark on a doctorate in the country
where the degree was attained. Applicants who have obtained a PhD will also be
eligible. Applicants having obtained a Bachelor’s degree (equivalent to the Italian
“laurea breve”) are not eligible
2. For all Applicants, the Degree (Laurea) must have been obtained after 31st December
2010
3. Applicants must submit research plans exclusively and fully focusing on celiac disease
and/or dermatitis herpetiformis
4. The Applicant and his/her Head of the Hosting Lab must not have any kind of active
FC Grants in which they act as principal investigator, Head of the Hosting Lab, internal
collaborator, fellow, doctorate, technician, etc., nor as multicentre study partners
receiving part of the funds of the active FC Grant. Exceptions are allowed only in case
of Applicants/Heads of the Hosting Lab participating to other active FC Grants as
external collaborators who do not receive any FC funds
5. Only 1 Applicant per research group (i.e. having the same Head of the Hosting Lab)
can apply, and only 1 proposal per applicant can be submitted.
Applicants can submit Proposals also when holding other positions, but this condition must
be declared in the dedicated Section of the Application Form including the starting and
ending dates of the position/positions held and the site/centre/institute where the
position/positions are held. However, it is mandatory that the awarded Applicant gives up
all open positions before starting the Triennial FC Fellowship contract as described in
Section 9 of this Call.
Applications which do not fully adhere to the above requirements will
be rejected.
FC Fellowships - Call for Proposals 2017
FC - Fondazione Celiachia – www.celiachia.it
Scientific Office
Via Caffaro 10, 16124 Genoa, Italy
6
5. Eligibility criteria for the Hosting Institute and of the Head of
the Hosting Lab
At the time of the deadline for submission, the following eligibility criteria must be met:
1. The Hosting Institution is an Italian non-profit research organisation (such as university,
hospital or other research centre) which irrespective of its legal status (public or
private law bodies) has the primary goal to independently conduct non-profit
biomedical research and to disseminate its results. Possible revenues coming from
non-profit research activity must be completely reinvested in the non-profit research
activities. Where the Hosting Institution also pursues economic activities, the financing,
the costs and the revenues of those economic activities must be accounted for
separately. Shareholders, members or other individuals that can exert a decisive
influence upon the Hosting Institution cannot enjoy a preferential access to the
intellectual property of the results generated by the non-profit research activity.
2. Hosting Institutes and the Head of the Hosting Lab must ensure optimal working
conditions to the FC fellows: in addition to providing facilities, equipment, reagents,
consumables and infrastructure, they are expected to offer adequate training
resources and cover expenses for travel, conferences and meetings when these are
deemed important for the training and education of the FC fellow.
3. The Head of the Hosting Lab is an investigator with proved experience in the field of
celiac disease and/or dermatitis herpetiformis in whatever scientific discipline
accepted by the FC Call (see the Research Plan Section), is required to supervise the
work of the FC fellow, and provide training and mentoring. A letter of the Head of the
Hosting Lab must be included in the Application Form (Head of the Hosting Lab Letter
Form), describing all resources and training opportunities available. The letter MUST
commit the Hosting Institution and the Head of the Hosting Lab to:
Provide the necessary lab space and infrastructures to the FC Fellow
Make available the necessary resources (e.g. research grants held by the Head of
the Hosting Lab) to the FC fellow for carrying out the proposed research plan
Make sure that the Head of the Hosting Lab will offer complementary skills training
(e.g. written skills for preparation of grants and papers, ethical issues and
regulations in biotechnologies. etc.) and mentoring activities, following a specific
training plan for the fellow (e.g. frequency of one-on-one meetings, lab meetings,
participation to seminars and international congresses etc.).
Applications which do not fully adhere to the above requirements will
be rejected.
FC Fellowships - Call for Proposals 2017
FC - Fondazione Celiachia – www.celiachia.it
Scientific Office
Via Caffaro 10, 16124 Genoa, Italy
7
Moreover, these conditions shall be maintained during the entire Grant
duration. Disregarding these rules at any moment during the Grant will
lead to the suspension of the FC Fellowship Grant, and complete
refund will be requested by FC including funds already allocated.
6. Expected Outcomes of the Triennial Fellowship Project
As pointed out in Sections 1 and 10.2 of the Call, the Triennial Fellowship not only aims at
carrying out a Research Plan and achieving the expected results, but should also point at
broadening the experience of the young Candidate in scientific research within the field
of celiac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis.
As key outcomes of the Triennial Fellowship, FC expects that the FC Fellow will:
Run the Research Plan as reported in the Application Form, and yield the expected
results
Improve his/her expertise and knowledge in the field of celiac disease/dermatitis
herpetiformis, and his/her track record. In particular, it will be expected that the FC
Fellow will publish at least one or more papers about the Fellowship Project as first
Author in the international Journals (Pubmed quoted)
Acquire/improve his/her technical skills in terms of methodologies, instruments,
organisation of lab space and resources
The above aspects are considered directly relevant to the success of the Fellowship
Proposal’s aims. Annual Progress Reports and the Final Scientific Report will be used by the
FC Fellow to describe his/her achievements.
FC Fellowships - Call for Proposals 2017
FC - Fondazione Celiachia – www.celiachia.it
Scientific Office
Via Caffaro 10, 16124 Genoa, Italy
8
7. The Research Plan
7.1. Duration
The FC Fellowships - Call for Proposals 2017 is aimed at granting triennial fellowships.
For this reason, the present Call will only consider 3-years research plans submitted by
young graduates and by post-docs in scientific disciplines, with a clear focus on celiac
disease OR dermatitis herpetiformis. The research plan, agreed with the Head of the
Hosting Lab, will be included into the Application Form.
Please make sure to propose a research plan that is consistent with the work of one person
and with the triennial duration of the fellowship. Proposals that look like requiring the work
of several people will be judged as not feasible by the Reviewers and will be scored as
WEAK proposals (see Section 9).
7.2. Research Topics
All proposed research plans must have a clear focus on ONLY ONE of the following
research topics:
1. Celiac Disease
2. Dermatitis Herpetiformis
ONLY ONE research topic can be indicated in the Application Form.
7.3. Research Areas
Moreover, proposed research plans must fall into ONLY ONE of the following research
areas:
Allergology - Biomedical Research
Anatomic pathology – Histopathology - Biomedical Research
Biochemistry - Biomedical Research
Biology (structural, computational, signalling) - Biomedical Research
Clinical trials - Biomedical Research
Clinics (paediatrics or adult) - Biomedical Research
Dermatology - Biomedical Research
Drug discovery – screening – development - Biomedical Research
Endocrinology - Biomedical Research
Epidemiology – Prevention - Biomedical Research
Genetics - Control of gene expression and epigenetics - Biomedical Research
Gynaecology - Biomedical Research
Immunology – Immunobiology - Biomedical Research
Infection and inflammation - Biomedical Research
FC Fellowships - Call for Proposals 2017
FC - Fondazione Celiachia – www.celiachia.it
Scientific Office
Via Caffaro 10, 16124 Genoa, Italy
9
Nutrition - Biomedical Research
Oncology - Biomedical Research
Preclinical study - Biomedical Research
Proteomics - Biomedical Research
Grains chemistry and biochemistry - Food Technology Research
Microbiology and grain biotechnology - Food Technology Research
Grain genomics and proteomics - Food Technology Research
Grain processing - Food Technology Research
ONLY ONE research area can be indicated into the Application Form.
7.4. FC’s HIGH Funding Priorities
Research plans (whatever topics and areas) falling into one of the following definitions will
be considered by the Peer Reviewers as high research priorities:
Proximity to find new pathogenic mechanisms
Proximity to cure
Natural history of the pathology by linking different phases of the disease to specific
biological/genetic profiles
Interactions between environmental risk factors, genetic profiles and intermediate
biomarkers. This also includes defining harmful components of gluten
Innovation of clinical methodologies
Evaluation in clinical practice of the efficacy of diagnostic and therapeutic
approaches, in terms of outcome and quality of life. This also includes improvement
of the quality and safety of the gluten-free diet, and innovation of food products
New therapeutic drugs, procedures or strategies (pilot clinical studies)
Critical evaluation of last generation drugs (their activity by mechanistic insights).
7.5. FC’s LOW Funding Priorities
The following kinds of research plans will receive low priority during the peer review
process and have marginal chances of being funded:
Studies that are essentially confirmatory in nature or represent marginal “variations-
on-the theme” of well-established concepts
Studies contemplating descriptive screenings of molecules and/or phenotypes
without mechanistic insights and/or elements of innovative discovery. These include
purely descriptive microarray and proteomic profiling studies that are not associated
with a strong strategy for clinical application, or the generation of chemical
compounds without validating their activities in pharmacological and biological
studies
FC Fellowships - Call for Proposals 2017
FC - Fondazione Celiachia – www.celiachia.it
Scientific Office
Via Caffaro 10, 16124 Genoa, Italy
10
Generation of reagents and/or optimization of technologies, or creation of
services/technological facilities in the absence of a coherent and innovative
research plan
Chemical and/or viral studies not embodied in the framework of mechanistic studies
Requests for on-going routine collection of current statistics, such as celiac disease
registry
Descriptive epidemiology studies
Health economics proposals
Studies that do not contribute to build or expand an original and independent line of
research.
8. Application Submission and Deadline
1. Documents for applying to the FC Fellowships - Call for Proposals 2017 are
downloadable at the following FC webpage:
www.celiachia.it/Fondazione/BandoFellowship2017
2. Download and complete the following documents:
Application Form
Application Signature Page Form
Head of the Hosting Lab Letter Form
Head of the Hosting Lab Signature Page Form
Each of the above Forms contain detailed instructions for completion.
The Application Form and the Head of the Hosting Lab Letter Form must be written
entirely in English.
For any doubts concerning the rules of the FC Fellowships - Call for Proposals 2017, and
the completion of the Application Form and the other associated Forms, please send
an email with your query to the FC Scientific Office: [email protected]. FC
will provide you a written answer. Questions will be accepted until 27 April 2017 at
18:00 o’clock Italian time. Questions and Answers will be published on the FAQ page:
www.celiachia.it/Fondazione/BandoFellowship2017
3. The Application Form and the Head of the Hosting Lab Letter Form must be each
completed and saved as two distinct PDF files:
DO NOT SCAN them, but just SAVE them as PDF files: scanned PDF file and image
file will NOT be accepted
4. The Application Signature Page Form and the Head of the Hosting Lab Letter Signature
Page Form must be completed, printed, signed and scanned. All signatures must be in
FC Fellowships - Call for Proposals 2017
FC - Fondazione Celiachia – www.celiachia.it
Scientific Office
Via Caffaro 10, 16124 Genoa, Italy
11
blue ink. The two Forms must be sent as separate annexes along with the Application
Form and the Head of the Hosting Lab Letter Form.
5. Also include a copy in PDF format of the Degree certificate (certificato di laurea)
mandatory reporting all of the following data: the University, the type of the degree,
the degree score, the official date the degree was awarded, the title of the Thesis,
and the Discipline
6. If applicable, also include a copy, in PDF format, of the Doctorate certificate
(certificato di dottorato) mandatory reporting all of the following data: the University,
the doctorate score or evaluation of the examining committee, the official date it was
awarded, the title of the Thesis, the Discipline
7. If applicable, also include a copy of the clearance/clearances (for human and/or
animal experimentation) of the Ethical Committee/Institutional Review Board, as PDF
scan. If not already available, the Applicant is required to send a copy of the
clearance submission/submissions (on Institutional Paper, signed by the Applicant
and the Head of Laboratory) to the Ethical Committee/ Institutional Review Board, as
PDF scan. Please note that it is not possible to submit the Application Form in the
absence of the above described documents (clearance ore clearance submission)
8. All Forms and files must be sent as attachments within one single email
communication:
Be careful not to produce large PDF files: all the files taken together should not be
larger than 12 MB and must be sent as attachments within one single email
communication.
In case all the files taken together are larger than 12 MB, the files can be sent as a
unique zipped folder which should NOT exceed 12 MB. The zipped folder must
contain all the requested files.
9. The email communication containing all the requested files must be sent to the
following email address:
The [email protected] receives emails from any other kind of
addresses, including non-pec email addresses
FC Fellowships - Call for Proposals 2017
FC - Fondazione Celiachia – www.celiachia.it
Scientific Office
Via Caffaro 10, 16124 Genoa, Italy
12
The deadline for submitting Applications (sending the email containing
all the requested files) is 29 April 2017 at 18:00 o’clock Italian time
Once received, the Application is considered as definitive, thus it
cannot be amended/edited/integrated with missing data or
documents. FC reserves the right to ask for clarifications concerning
the submitted project proposal to the Applicant and/or to the Head of
Laboratory and/or to the Institution at any time during the evaluation
process.
Applications missing requested data or documents, as well as
Applications not entirely written in English will be rejected.
Applications presenting documents differing from the above Forms will
be rejected.
Applications sent to FC after the indicated deadline will be rejected.
FC Fellowships - Call for Proposals 2017
FC - Fondazione Celiachia – www.celiachia.it
Scientific Office
Via Caffaro 10, 16124 Genoa, Italy
13
9. Funding, Legal Fulfilments, Annual Reports
9.A Funding
1. The FC Fellowship is a triennial employment contract between the Hosting Institute
and the awarded Applicant. The overall amount of each FC Triennial Fellowship (FC
Fellowship Grant) is € 85,000 and is made of the following two typologies of funding:
€ 75,000 for the 3-years Personnel Cost of the FC Fellow (triennial gross salary)
€ 10,000 exclusively for Consumables and Supplies to be purchased during the FC
Triennial Fellowship Research Plan
2. The 3-years Personnel Cost of the FC Fellow (€ 75,000 triennial gross salary).
The 3-years Personnel Cost of the FC Fellow (triennial gross salary) is € 75,000 (€ 25,000
per year) and will only cover the gross personnel cost of the Fellow (salary), whereas
NO OTHER COSTS (including consumables and other direct costs, indirect costs,
general costs of the Hosting Institute, etc.) can be ascribed to this part of the FC
Fellowship Grant.
Please note that depending on the legislation and the rules applied by the Hosting
Institution, the FC Fellowship contract may not be tax-exempt, in which case revenue
taxes or social security contributions will be deducted. For instance, universities may
be able to offer a tax-exempt fellowship contract, while this option may not be
available in non-academic institutions. This will depend on the Hosting Institute only,
and cannot be ascribed to FC whose allocation to the FC Fellow salary will remain €
25,000 gross amount per year.
3. Consumables and Supplies (€ 10,000).
With the exception of the 3-years Personnel Cost of the FC Fellow (€75,000 triennial
gross salary), all the other costs annexed to the FC Triennial Fellowship Research Plan
will be completely covered by the Head of the Hosting Lab and the Hosting Institute.
However, the FC Fellowship Grant also includes € 10,000 that can be used exclusively
for Consumables and Supplies to be purchased during the FC Triennial Fellowship
Research Plan, according to the Estimated Budget Plan reported in Section 9 of the
Application Form.
9.B Legal Fulfilments
1. Hosting Institutes of the selected Candidates will receive a Grant agreement
(“CONTRATTO DI GRANT FELLOWSHIP TRA FC E L’ISTITUTO”). Within 90 days after the
signature of the FC Grant Agreement between FC and the Hosting Institute, the FC
Fellow and the Hosting Institute MUST finalise the following mandatory steps:
FC Fellowships - Call for Proposals 2017
FC - Fondazione Celiachia – www.celiachia.it
Scientific Office
Via Caffaro 10, 16124 Genoa, Italy
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Provide a copy of the fellowship contract between the Hosting Institute and the FC
Fellow (“CONTRATTO DI BORSA DI STUDIO TRIENNALE TRA L’ISTITUTO E IL BORSISTA
FC”). Among the other requested data, it is mandatory that the fellowship
contract starts between February and March of the year following the launch of
the FC Call (for the FC Call 2017, the fellowship contracts must start between
February and March 2018)
In case the FC Candidate is holding other positions, provide a copy of the
document in which the FC Candidate declares to give up the position he/she is
currently holding at the Hosting Institute or at any other site/centre/institute. The
FC Candidate must provide such a renunciation document for each of the active
positions he/she is holding or is going to hold. The FC Fellow must not receive any
other continuous employment income during the Triennial FC Fellowship period,
and the Triennial FC Fellowship cannot be cumulated with any other
revenue/contract (fellowships, any kind of employment contract, collaboration
contracts, etc.)
In case the FC Candidate is holding other positions, provide a copy of the written
approval by the site/centre/institute of the renunciation document of the FC
Candidate for each of the active positions he/she is holding or is going to hold
In case of human/animal involvement, provide a copy of the Ethical Committee
approval to the Triennial FC Fellowship Research Plan. In fact, for studies involving
human subjects, human biological samples and/or for animal experimentation,
the corresponding approval of the competent authorities (i.e. Ethical Committee)
is mandatory and must be provided together with a copy of the informed consent
form (if applicable). Experimentation on animals (vertebrates, cephalopods and
foetal forms of mammals) must conform to all regulations protecting animals used
for research purposes. Research supported by FC that involves animal
experimentation must comply with the principle of the Three Rs (3Rs) to Replace,
Reduce and Refine the use of animals in research, as required by national and
international rules. FC is not responsible for any inaccuracy in the ethical
documentation provided and does not accept any liability for harm to
participants in FC funded trials. The approval document issued by the Ethical
Committee MUST indicate:
The date when the Ethical Committee meeting was held; approvals obtained
more than 8 months before the submission of the Application Form, as well as
approvals relating to other projects will NOT be accepted
The name of the Applicant and/or of the Head of the Hosting Lab
The title of the Fellowship Proposal and a clear reference to the study
described in the Fellowship proposal.
2. The FC Fellowship Grant will not be awarded in the absence of even one of the
requested documents and/or in case of delivery after the fixed deadline. This will lead
FC Fellowships - Call for Proposals 2017
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Scientific Office
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to the cease of the Grant agreement (“CONTRATTO DI GRANT FELLOWSHIP TRA FC E
L’ISTITUTO”).
3. For the entire duration of the Triennial FC fellowship the Fellow must guarantee a full
time effort (100% of his/her working time) for 12 months per year on the Fellowship
Project, and must operate within the indicated Hosting Institute and in the laboratory of
the identified Head of the Hosting Lab.
Any change occurring in the relationship between the Fellow and the Hosting
Institution, or between the Head of the Hosting Lab and the Hosting Institution (e.g.
termination, leave of absence, etc.), or any change of the Hosting Institution legal
entity or organisation (e.g. changes in Institution name, merging, Legal
Representative turn-over, changes in addresses, etc.) must be promptly notified to
FC
4. Conditions described in the present Section shall be maintained during the entire FC
Fellowship Grant duration. Disregarding these conditions at any moment of the Grant
might lead to the suspension of the FC Fellowship Grant, and complete refund might
be requested by FC
9.C Annual Instalments and Reports
1. Upon the receipt of all the requested documents within the fixed deadline, FC will
transfer the first annual instalment of the FC Fellowship Grant (€ 25,000 for the FC
Fellow gross salary, plus the amount requested for the first year – out of € 10,000 - for
the Consumables and Supplies) to the Hosting Institute.
2. The FC Fellowship Grant will be allocated on three annual instalments. Each annual
instalment is made of € 25,000 for the FC Fellow gross salary, plus the amount
requested for each year – out of € 10,000 - for the Consumables and Supplies.
Allocation of 2nd and 3rd annual instalments is made at the beginning of the
corresponding year of the Triennial FC Fellowship Program, and will follow upon the
presentation, and FC approval, of an yearly report through appropriate Forms
provided by FC, including:
A Scientific Annual Progress Report signed by the FC Fellow, the Head of the
Hosting Lab and the Legal Representative of the Hosting Institute
A Financial Annual Report signed by the FC Fellow, the Head of the Hosting Lab
and the Legal Representative of the Hosting Institute. The financial annual report
will comprise the following documents:
The 12 pay slips (buste paga) paid out to the FC Fellow during the reported
period, which must overall account for 25,000 € per year, including taxes if
any. The pay slips MUST report the name of the FC Fellow, the Hosting
Institution and the title and the number of the FC Fellowship Project
FC Fellowships - Call for Proposals 2017
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Scientific Office
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The reporting of the amount spent each year – out of € 10,000 - for the
Consumables and Supplies. The corresponding invoices MUST report the
Hosting Institution and the title and the number of the FC Fellowship Project
10. The Review Process
All Applications received by FC within the framework of the FC Fellowships - Call for
Proposals 2017 undergo the following steps:
First Step Administrative Check of Conformity
Second Step Peer Reviewers’ Evaluation
Final Step Approval of the Ranking List by the FC Board, and funding
10.1. – First Step: Administrative Check of Conformity
1. All Applications undergo an initial administrative review with FC checking the
compliance with guidelines and the eligibility criteria
Those Applications that are found to be non-compliant to any of the requirements
and rules reported in the present Call and annexed Forms will be triaged out
FC holds the responsibility and authority of making the final decision on the
Application’s completeness and eligibility.
2. Applications that meet the eligibility requirements undergo a peer review process that
ensures a fair, independent and expert evaluation of their scientific merit and
competitiveness.
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10.2. Second Step: Peer Reviewers’ Evaluation
1. For the scientific evaluation of FC Fellowships, FC relies on the expertise of
internationally recognised scientists working outside Italy
2. Applications are independently evaluated by three reviewers
3. Reviewer assignments are made in compliance with conflict of interest rules to ensure
a review free from inappropriate influence
4. When accepting to evaluate an application, reviewers agree that they will maintain
the confidentiality on the application and associated materials they have received.
Reviewers will evaluate the Applicants, the Head of the Hosting Lab and the Research
Plan.
Reviewers evaluate each proposal by a two-step procedure:
A. Triaging the Proposal as Strong or Weak
B. Score Evaluation of the Proposal
A. Triaging the Proposal as Strong or Weak
In this step, the reviewers evaluate the proposal as strong or weak on the basis of the
following criteria:
Criteria Description
Adherence to FC’s high
research priorities
The Reviewers assign HIGH/LOW priority to each Proposal, with
respect to FC’s high research priorities.
LOW priority Proposals will be scored as WEAK Proposals
Consistency of the
Proposal with a triennial
duration
The Reviewers evaluate the consistency of the Proposal design,
structure and purposes with a triennial duration
Proposals not consistent with a triennial duration will be scored as
WEAK Proposals
Consistency of the
Proposal with the selected
Research Topics
The Reviewers assess the consistency of the Proposal with the
selected topics and areas
Proposals not consistent with selected topics and areas will be
scored as WEAK Proposals
Consistency of the
Proposal with the work of
one person
The Reviewers evaluate if the Fellowship Project Proposal is
consistent with the work of one person
Proposals that look like requiring the work of several people will
be judged as not feasible by the Reviewers and will be scored as
WEAK Proposals
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At the end of this first evaluation step, the Reviewer ranks the Proposal as STRONG or
WEAK: Proposals scored as WEAK by at least 2 out of 3 Reviewers will be triaged OUT, and
will NOT enter the Ranking List.
B. Score Evaluation of the Proposal
Strong Proposals are further evaluated by the Reviewers.
This second part of the assessment is made of two Evaluation Areas. Each Evaluation Area
has an overall weight and is in turn composed of different criteria.
The Reviewer assigns a score to each criterion and provides a written comment:
Weighted Evaluation Areas Scored Criteria
Proposal’s intrinsic Scientific
Value
(50% weight)
Clearness of the Proposal’s purposes
Design and tasks of the Proposal and of the research
plan: background, rationale and aims, experimental
design, methodologies (Preliminary data supporting the
working hypothesis, if the case), benefits in using animals
(if applicable)
Improvement of basic/clinical comprehension of the
disease
Methodological or conceptual innovation of the
Proposal; originality of the Proposal
Feasibility of the Proposal
(50% weight)
Potential difficulties, pitfalls, caveats and limitations of
the Proposal, and their impact on the success of the
research
Applicant’s education/publications, track record and
professional and research experience (Curriculum Vitae
of the Applicant)
The relevance of the competence of the Head of the
Hosting Laboratory in terms of expertise in the field, track
record, international standing and ability to provide
mentoring (Curriculum Vitae of the Head of the Hosting
Lab) with respect to the success of the Proposal’s aims.
Also methodologies, instruments, lab space,
infrastructures, and resources made available by the
Head of the Hosting Laboratory, as well as the
complementary skills training/mentoring activity offered
by the Head of the Hosting Laboratory and the training
plan dedicated to the FC fellow are evaluated as
directly relevant to the success of the Proposal’s aims
The consistency of the estimated Research Budget Plan
with respect to the design and the aims of the Proposal
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The score system adopted by the Reviewers during the assessment of the project is here
represented:
Score Value
0 Unacceptable
1 Very Weak
2 Weak
3 Acceptable
4 Good
5 Very Good
For each Proposal, the scores received from the 3 reviewers will be averaged to generate
the Proposal’s global score, which will be used to rank the Proposals in the Ranking List.
Two Ranking Lists will be obtained at the end of the evaluation process:
1. The Ranking List of Proposals submitted by graduated Applicants
2. The Ranking List of Proposals submitted by Post-Doc Applicants
By comparing the Proposals submitted by the same category of Applicants, FC aims at
guaranteeing the best equal treatment of all Candidates.
10.3. Final Step: Approval of the Ranking Lists by the FC Board, and
funding
Provided that funds are available, FC’s Board of Directors meets to decide on the
allocation of funds to the most deserving Proposals of both Ranking Lists. FC reserves the
right of allocating funds only to most deserving Proposals of only one of the two Ranking
Lists, depending on funds availability and results of the evaluation process.
At the end of the review process, all Applicants will be notified of the result of their
application with a communication from FC that will include the reviewers’ comments. The
identity of the reviewers will not be disclosed. The decision cannot be appealed
11. Report Meeting at the National AIC Congress
Applicants holding a FC Fellowship Grant are invited to the Scientific National AIC
Congress held yearly in November. A first Progress Report is requested at half of the
triennial fellowship and a Final Report is presented at the end of the fellowship.
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12. Suspension, Waiver and Interruption, Revocation
Submitting an Application implies a commitment for the Applicant and the Head of the
Hosting Lab, which becomes a legally binding obligation in case of notice of
acceptance, to implement the project/activity in accordance with good faith, fairness,
specific diligence, responsibility and reliability criteria. Therefore, the following hypotheses
of suspension, waiver, interruption shall be limited to exceptional situations.
FC in fact draws the utmost attention on the nature of the funds it destines for the funding
of projects, which come from private sources, such as fund-raising, donations, legacies, or
from 5 per mille, and it consequently requires that the beneficiary is fully aware, from the
moment of the submission of the Application, that if the same is accepted, the
relationship originated will entail mutual obligations and commitments, as FC should and
will give account of the best use of the allocations to the various stakeholders.
The beneficiary shall therefore not be allowed to withdraw, or to unilaterally modify any of
the constitutive elements of the project, or to resolve all or part of the obligations
undertaken, unless this occurs within the limits and at the conditions set forth in this
Regulation.
The funding granted by FC shall therefore be binding, to all effects and purposes, for the
researcher and the institution or reference organisation, or the organisation to which they
belong, where the research takes place.
12.1. Suspension
Suspension shall mean a temporary, and not final, stop of the research activities. The
suspension can refer to exceptional circumstances, due to personal or organisational
factors (including those circumstances foreseen by law in the Fellowship Contract
between the Hosting Institute and the FC Fellow - “CONTRATTO DI BORSA DI STUDIO
TRIENNALE TRA L’ISTITUTO E IL BORSISTA FC” – such as maternity leave, disease etc.), or to
force majeure which may for a limited and defined period prevent or hinder the
continuation of the activities, and therefore reduce or jeopardise the usefulness or validity
of the research activity.
Requests for suspension must be urgently forwarded to FC, and shall contain detailed
reasons for the suspension request.
The request for suspension made by the Applicant must be accompanied by an
authorisation of the Head of the Hosting Lab. If the suspension is accepted by FC, it will
imply an extension of the time schedule as originally defined.
Notwithstanding the above, based on the reasons and justifications offered by the
Applicant and also in view of the rationale and of the confirmation of the targets and
results of the project study despite the longer time required, FC reserves the right to
accept or refuse the request. Therefore, the request for suspension shall have no effect if it
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is not expressly accepted by FC: failure to accept it shall have the effect of an interruption
of the project.
The suspension of the Fellowship shall imply the suspension of payments for the period in
question. Requests for suspension for further periods on the same project, in addition to
those already allowed, shall not be admitted.
12.2. Voluntary waiver and interruption
Unless it depends on exceptional factors, of subjective or objective nature, or on force
majeure, voluntary waiver of projects or fellowships has consequences on the assessment
of good faith, fairness, diligence in the fulfilment of the obligations undertaken by the
Applicant, and will also have a negative impact on the evaluation of any subsequent
application.
In such cases, the project ends and the funding is consequently interrupted: the Fellow
and/or the Head of the Hosting Lab/the Hosting Institute shall forfeit the funding, and any
amount not yet spent at the date of the waiver must be returned, within and not later
than 30 days after the cessation of the Fellowship. Of course, any residual amount not yet
paid will be retained by FC.
The scientific and financial reporting, and other activity obligations referring to the period
of actual performance shall remain unprejudiced.
Any interruption of the Fellowship depending on reasons or intent of the Applicant/the
Head of the Hosting Lab/the Hosting Institute is treated in the same way as voluntary
waiver. Exceptions due to serious external factors of particular importance will be
evaluated by FC.
12.3. Resolutory Clause and Revocation of the Fellowship Grant
In case of non-compliance with any of the obligations under this Regulation, FC reserves
the right to revoke the project with the same effects as those resulting from waiver and/or
interruption. The revocation will apply for any of the following reasons (the list is not
comprehensive):
Scarce or none compliance of the project activities with the object of the funding
Insufficient, omitting or inadequate scientific/financial reporting activity
Scarce or none observance of provisions concerning scientific integrity
Omitted or insufficient notice of the results
Failure to comply with protection of property
Impediments or significant changes, either of objective or of subjective nature, of the
project
Any change in the content of the Grant Agreement
Changes in the position of the Applicant resulting in possible incompatibility and/or
conflict or however in the reduction or loss of autonomy and independence
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Changes in the identification of the reference/hosting institute, also in view of the
nature and characteristics of the same
Change in the type and nature of the relation between the Applicant and the
hosting institute
Suspensions not approved by FC
The situations resulting in the revocation, insofar as they may be ascribed to the Applicant,
the Head of the Hosting Lab or the Hosting Institute, may imply liability to FC and are
unfavourably considered; participation in the subsequent Call is however excluded.
13. Transfer of the Applicant and/or Head of the Hosting Lab
to another Institute
Transfer of the Applicant/Head of the Hosting Lab to another Institute is considered by FC
as an exceptional event due to force majeure and rarely accepted by FC.
In any case, the Applicant must urgently demand FC’s authorization first together with a
letter signed by the Head of the Hosting Lab and the Legal Representative of the Hosting
Institute. FC reserves the right to deny the transfer or, where it is not possible to avoid the
transfer, to block the Fellowship Grant, by applying the same rules of the Resolutory Clause
and Revocation of the Fellowship Grant.
14. Code of Conduct and Scientific Integrity
The Applicant will act with honesty, fairness, seriousness and responsibility and in good
faith in each activity relating to research and study activities conducted by the same, as
well as those connected therewith (such as, for example and without limitation, during trial
design, date generation and analysis, publication of results, recognition of direct or
indirect contributions of colleagues, collaborators and others, reports on activities and
costs, etc.), always keeping scientific integrity and the superior interest of research as
his/her primary reference in view of the institutional objectives of FC.
15. Intellectual property
The Applicant and the Head of the Hosting Lab undertake to notify FC as soon as possible,
and however with the progress and final reports, in accordance with the good faith and
fairness criteria, either
a) personally
b) or through the reference Structure
of any invention or result for which it is possible to obtain a patent, protection, industrial
rights or similar, fine-tuned and/or developed by availing, even in part, of resources
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and/or tools procured, supplied or however made available to the Fondazione Celiachia
Onlus.
Being aware that the rights resulting from the invention are governed, except where
agreed otherwise, by the applicable law on intellectual property (Legislative Decree no.
30 of 10th February 2005) and, insofar as compatible, by the civil code provisions on joint
ownership (Arts. 1100 – 1139 It. Civil Code), the Applicant and the Head of the Hosting Lab
undertake to consider FC as the only owner of the rights deriving from the invention, in
particular regarding:
The filing of the patent application
The economic exploitation of the research results and of their technological transfer
Without prejudice to the right of the Applicant/Head of the Hosting Lab to be recognised
as the authors of the invention, the Applicant, the Head of the Hosting Lab and FC agree
that profits resulting from the exploitation of the invention will be distributed as follows:
50% to FC
50% to the Hosting Institute/Head of the Hosting Lab/Applicant.
The Applicant and the Head of the Hosting Lab also undertake:
To mention FC in all documents or publications referred or however connected with
or related to the Foundation’s Grant, as specified in this Regulation
To act so as not to jeopardise in any way the suitable protection of their own and of
FC’s rights regarding the aforementioned results, expressly undertaking a secrecy
and confidentiality obligation, also with regard to what is indicated in the paragraph
below (‘Publications and Printed Materials’).
16. Publications and Printed Materials
The Applicant and the Head of the Hosting Lab shall previously send the Foundation a PDF
copy of the publication, report or congress papers they intend to present with regard to
the research/training activities carried out through the FC funding, first of all to keep the
Foundation informed and, moreover, to permit the organisation of activities of disclosure –
agreed with the researcher/fellow – to the media and through the communication
instruments of the Foundation and of the AIC. All the above is to be implemented both
during and after the period of the research supported, even in part, by FC’s funding.
Such materials are to be sent through transmission means allowing prompt information, at
least thirty days before the date scheduled for their disclosure.
Upon sending the materials, the expected publication data and the name of the
magazine are to be specified, or the date and place of the congress, where the
disclosure should take place.
At any rate, and leaving aside the above indications for the protection of intellectual
property, which apply to all activities supported/funded under this regulation, in each
publication and disclosure activity the Foundation’s contribution shall always be
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acknowledged through a note included in the publication or materials, formulated as
follows and mentioning the identification number code of the Grant:
‘… was also supported by the FC (Fondazione Celiachia Onlus) Grant nr. …’.
The Applicant and the Head of the Hosting Lab shall ensure their availability for any press
office activity organised by FC, and shall therefore be ready to contact the mass media in
the forms and manners deemed appropriate by FC. The Applicant and the Head of the
Hosting Lab and the Organisation or Institution where they operate undertake, at the
same time, not to develop any press office activity relating to the research funded/co-
funded by FC without a prior consent of FC.
17. Privacy Law (art. 13 D.LGS 196/03)
Relating to the Italian Law 30 June 2003 no. 196, art. 13, FC will treat all data provided by
the Applicant and the Head of the Hosting Lab only for the aims of the Call, and for the
allocation of funds. All data requested in the Forms annexed to the present Call are
mandatory in order to allow FC to perform the conformity and scientific evaluation of
each Application. FC undertakes the responsibility to maintain all data highly confidential
and protected. Only for awarded research plans, diffusion of research activities will be
regulated by the Grant Fellowship Contract between FC and the Hosting Institute.
Ai sensi dell’art 13 del decreto legislative 30 giugno 2003 n. 196, i dati personali e sensibili
forniti dai candidati sono trattati per le finalità di gestione del presente bando e per la
successiva eventuale attribuzione del finanziamento. La comunicazione di tali dati è
obbligatoria ai fini della valutazione sia formale che scientifica. FC s’impegna a garantire
che i progetti presentati e non approvati e i relativi giudizi e valutazioni non siano
divulgati, e vengano conservati in modo sicuro e non accessibile. Per i progetti finanziati,
le modalità si diffusione e divulgazione saranno trattate in fase di contrattualizzazione del
Grant. Firmando l’Application Form, il PI e il Rappresentante Legale s’impegnano ad
accettare queste regole.
18. Competent law-court (Foro Competente)
For whatever controversy, the competent law-court is the one sited in Genova, Italy.