Letter of Intent (LOI) Instructions: Clinical and Non Clinical Studies

The objective of this Request for Proposals is to fund the best overall clinical trial and non-clinical trial research with high value to the MSRC.

A clinical trial is defined as a prospective accrual of human subjects where an intervention (e.g., device, drug, biologic, surgical procedure, rehabilitative modality, behavioral intervention, or other) is tested on a human subject for a measurable outcome with respect to safety, effectiveness, and/or efficacy. This outcome represents a direct effect on the subject of that intervention or interaction.

The MSRC is interested in the following research areas:

  • Help-seeking behavior (e.g., interventions, messaging campaigns, resource portals which encourage and facilitate service members accessing care without prompting from command/clinicians)
  • Community and peer-based interventions, specifically identifying at-risk individuals and what to do when an individual is in crisis (e.g., programs aimed at teaching service members to recognize and respond to risk in others)
  • Suicide bereavement (e.g., programs which seek to decrease the negative impacts of suicide losses within a unit on unit members)
  • Messaging about interventions to increase effectiveness in dissemination and implementation (e.g., dissemination and implementation interventions to effectively roll-out existing military-specific suicide prevention interventions)
  • Translation of research into practice (e.g., studies that evaluate how we can facilitate the effective and consistent adoption of evidence-based therapies; evaluation of military medical records to assess to what degree the treatment offered was evidence-based)
  • Postvention addressing or, perhaps primarily focusing on, suicide attempts, not suicide (e.g., develop and evaluate best methods to promote continued unit function at high level, avoid stigmatization of survivors (peers, friends, family), avoid "glorification", etc.)

Funding

  • The maximum period of performance is two years.
  • The MSRC anticipates 6-8 proposals will be funded. There is no budget cap; however, the MSRC recommends a maximum total budget of $1.5M.
  • All direct and indirect costs of any subaward must be included in the total direct costs of the primary award.

Submission Guidelines and Requirements

  1. Only qualified individuals with prior experience as Principal Investigators (PIs) for military and/or suicide-related research should submit a letter of intent (LOI).
  2. The Letter of Intent (LOI) should be submitted no later than 11:59 pm EST on Monday, April 23, 2018. LOI submissions are to be made through our website: https://msrc.fsu.edu/loi.
  3. Proposals will be by invitation only and include a Narrative/Research Strategy (limit 12 pages, excluding references), Abstract (1 page), Statement of Work (limit 5 pages), and a detailed budget. Full details on proposal requirements will be distributed with invitations.
  4. The LOI must be clear and legible. Documents must conform to the following guidelines:
    1. Type Font: 11-point or greater (Times New Roman is strongly recommended).
    2. Margins: Minimum of 1 inch on all sides.
    3. Length: No more than three double spaced pages.
    4. Acronyms: Spell out all acronyms the first time they are used.
    5. References: List the references according to current APA or AMA format. Do not send or attach copies of articles (published or in print). References do not count toward page limit.
    6. LOIs must be submitted as a PDF using the following file name format:
      LOI_Research_PI Last Name_PI First Initital.PDF.

Elements of the Letter of Intent

In order to determine fit of the proposed project with MSRC priorities please address the following points in no more than three double spaced pages to be uploaded on our website.

  1. Background.Provide a brief statement of ideas and reasoning behind the proposed study. State the relevance of the proposed project to at least one of the topic areas listed above and explain the applicability of the anticipated findings. Cite relevant literature and pilot or preliminary data.
  2. Personnel.Briefly state the qualifications of the PI(s) and key personnel to perform the described research or clinical trial. Briefly describe their roles on the project.
  3. Military Significance. State how the proposed study is responsive to improving scientific knowledge about suicidal behavior in the military that improves mental health outcomes of service members. Proposals should focus on military populations (Active Duty, National Guard, Reserve), or, if veterans (OEF/OIF/OND). If a veteran or non-military population will be used, a phased approach building to the inclusion of Active duty, National Guard or Reserves within the overall research design is required. Proposals which do not include an active duty sample at some point will not be considered.
    The MSRC can provide contacts to help identify military sites. Please contact us early in the proposal process for assistance.
  4. Aims and Hypotheses.State the aims and hypotheses to be tested and the expected results.
  5. Methods.Provide an overview of the experimental design and methodology.
  6. Budget.Provide an estimate of the total direct and indirect costs of conducting the study. A budget justification is unnecessary for the LOI.
  7. Length of Study. Please indicate the proposed length of study, not to exceed two years.

In addition to the three-page double spaced letter of intent, PIs will be prompted to answer the following with the online submission:

  1. Institution/Organization name and job title.
  2. Research information including project title, total budget, and which staff are MSRC members.
  3. Three to five sentences on your success and challenges in clinical trial and/or clinical research.

Submit an LOI