Funding schemes for trials endorsed by the GCRFF Multinational Clinical Trials Initiative
If an Expression of interest is endorsed by the GCRFF Multinational Clinical Trials Initiative Expert Advisory Panel, applicants can apply for support for the proposed clinical trial through the national funders' usual funding mechanisms.
Please find below information on the relevant funding schemes for clinical trials for the eight member organisations of the GCRFF Multinational Clinical Trials Initiative. We suggest that you contact the individual national funders directly to discuss how to proceed with your applications (including funders who are not members of the GCRFF Multinational Clinical Trials Initiative).
Please note: endorsement by the GCRFF is intended only to demonstrate support for applications to individual funders and is not a guarantee of receiving funding if an application is made.
Jump to funder
- British Heart Foundation
- CIHR - Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health, Canada
- Dutch Heart Foundation
- DZHK - German Centre for Cardiovascular Research
- National Heart Foundation of Australia
- National Heart Foundation of New Zealand
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
- Swiss Heart Foundation
British Heart Foundation
Name of funding scheme: Clinical Study Grant
Link to information about scheme and how to apply
Who to contact for further information: Dr Shannon Amoils - [email protected]
Committee/panel: BHF Clinical Studies Committee (CSC). Applicants must also submit a Plain English Summary of the research and information on patient and public involvement, which is assessed by the BHF Patient Advisory Group (PAG). Two members of the PAG attend the CSC as lay representatives.
Frequency of funding rounds: Two funding rounds per year. Full applications must be submitted in January to be considered at the April Clinical Studies Committee (CSC) meeting, and in July to be considered at the October CSC meeting. See 'Decision process' section of scheme webpage for exact dates.
Can proposals endorsed by the GCRFF bypass the preliminary application phase? Yes - can proceed straight to a full application.
CIHR - Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health, Canada
Name of funding scheme: Project Grant Program
Link to information about scheme and how to apply
Who to contact for further information: ICRH Institute - [email protected]
For specific questions on the Project Grant application process, contact the CIHR Contact Centre (Officers are available Monday to Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET. Telephone: 613-954-1968; Toll Free: 1-888-603-4178; [email protected]).
Committee/panel: Clinical Investigation – D: Cardiovascular Systems (CID): Clinical and clinically relevant studies on the heart and circulation: hemodynamics, hypertension, myocardial protection, cardiac remodelling, myocardial ischemia and reperfusion, neuro- and endocrine regulation. Cardiovascular clinical pathophysiology, diagnosis and therapeutics, arterial and venous vascular disease / Randomized Controlled Trials (RC1): Studies in which investigators randomly assign eligible human research participants into groups to receive or not receive one or more interventions that are being compared. The results are analysed by comparing outcomes in the groups. Includes pilot/feasibility randomized controlled trials (RCT) and studies using novel RCT designs. Studies relating to the development of methodologies for the design and conduct of randomized clinical trials. View a full list of Peer Review Committee Mandates for the Project Grant Program here.
Frequency of funding rounds: Two funding rounds per year (Spring and Fall).
Can proposals endorsed by the GCRFF bypass the preliminary application phase? No - applicants must complete the registration process in advance of the full application deadline.
Dutch Heart Foundation
Full clinical trial applications can only be submitted to the DHF after a positive evaluation of a pre-application (which should be done before submitting an Expression of Interest to the GCRFF). The pre-application form is available via our website. Completed pre-applications forms should be submitted by email to [email protected]
Name of funding scheme: Clinical Trial Program
Link to information about scheme and how to apply
Who to contact for further information: Dr Joost Leenders - [email protected]
Committee/panel: DHF Clinical Trial Committee
Frequency of funding rounds: No funding rounds. There are 3-4 committee meetings each year at which the DHF Clinical Trial Committee discusses the applications received in the previous period.
Can proposals endorsed by the GCRFF bypass the preliminary application phase? A pre-application must be submitted to the DHF before submitting an EOI to the GCRFF.
Additional information: The committee’s decisions are based on expert reviews or an advice report of another funder. The committee assesses how well a project fits with the ambition of the DHF to lower the burden of cardiovascular disease and prioritises the projects.
German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK)
If you plan to apply to the DZHK for funding for the German component of the study, please proceed as follows:
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You are a member of the DZHK and want to participate in a multinational study as a country lead investigator:
Please have the DZHK check your eligibility to apply before you submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to the GCRFF.
The pre-check takes about 14 days. Send EOI for a formal pre-check to [email protected] (Clinical Research Group at DZHK main office) to clarify:
- Is the PI for the German component of the study basically established in the DZHK and eligible to apply?
- Does the EOI follow the rules outlined in the DZHK funding scheme for guideline-relevant studies?
- Are there overlaps with a DZHK-funded study?
Please note: The formal check is no guarantee for funding by the DZHK -
You are a member of the DZHK and want to lead a multinational study:
Please proceed as outlined on the DZHK website.
Name of funding scheme: Guideline-relevant clinical studies
Please note: you must be a DZHK PI, DZHK scientist, member of the Young DZHK, and/or a member of one of the Cardiological Competence Networks associated with the DZHK to be eligible to apply for funding from the DZHK. If you are not a member of the DZHK, and are therefore not eligible to apply for funding from the DZHK, you should plan to apply for national funding for the German component of your study from other organisations, for example from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) or the German Research Foundation (DFG).
Link to information about scheme and how to apply: Please note that this is a DZHK internal link accessible only to DZHK members.
Link to submission portal: Please refer to funding guideline linked above.
Who to contact for further information: Dr Stephanie Lesser - [email protected]; [email protected]
Committee/panel: DZHK Clinical Study Group (CSG). The CSG recommends whether or not to fund a trial / the national component of a trial to the DZHK Research Coordinating Committee (RCC). The implementation of a positive funding intention is conditional on the funding of the overall international study. After a positive funding decision as soon as full funding is foreseeable, the DZHK Funding Management Department (FMM) reviews the national application within the planned study to ensure compliance with German public funding regulations and issues the funding agreement.
Frequency of funding rounds: One funding round per year. Full applications must be submitted in June to be considered at the October/November RCC meeting for a funding decision.
Additional information: There is an upper limit of €2,500,000 of funding per national study part. The DZHK can only fund a limited number of potentially guideline-relevant studies under the programme (maximum 1 - 2 positive funding decisions per year).
National Heart Foundation of Australia
Name of funding scheme: No specific scheme, various grants available for people and project support.
Link to further information and how to apply
Who to contact for further information: Dr Anna Calkin - [email protected]
Committee/panel: Applications will be assessed by dedicated independent peer review and consumer review panels. Recommendations of the panels will be endorsed/approved by the Heart Foundation governance committees.
Frequency of funding rounds: Annual funding round, launching from February each year.
Can proposals endorsed by the GCRFF bypass the preliminary application phase? Not applicable.
Any additional information: The Heart Foundation does not have a specific grant for clinical trials. Aspects of the study can be supported through the Heart Foundation's existing grant schemes. The Foundation will work closely with GCRFF endorsed clinical trial CIs to assist with finding funding through other sources, both government and philanthropic.
National Heart Foundation of New Zealand
Name of funding scheme: No specific scheme, various grants available for people and project support.
Link to information and how to apply
Who to contact for further information: Greer Makoare, [email protected]; [email protected]
Committee/panel: The Heart Foundation Scientific Committee (SC) review full applications. Sub-committees of the SC are created depending on the requirements of certain grant types e.g. interview stage or NHFNZ funding partnerships. The SC discuss and finalise funding decisions (guided by approved funding budgets) at their annual meeting.
Frequency of funding rounds: One major funding round per year. Application guidelines are available in the Published rounds page on the NHFNZ portal. Closing dates for each grant type are outlined on the Published rounds page.
Can proposals endorsed by the GCRFF bypass the preliminary application phase? Not applicable. The NHFNZ process does not include a preliminary application stage. All applicants are required to submit one online application form (on the NHFNZ portal), for each application, to the respective funding round.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Name of funding schemes: Clinical and Data Coordinating Center for Multi-Site Investigator-Initiated Clinical Trials: PAR 22-192 UG3/UH3 Exploratory/Developmental Phased Award Cooperative Agreement and PAR 22-193 U24 Resource-Related Research Projects – Cooperative Agreements
Who to contact for further information: Dr Yves Rosenberg - [email protected] or Dr Kathleen Fenton - [email protected]
Frequency of funding rounds: Depending on costs, applications are accepted two or three times a year. Deadline for applications over $1,515M in direct costs in any year are in February and September.
Can proposals endorsed by the GCRFF bypass the preliminary application phase? No.
Additional information: Applicants must contact NHLBI Program staff for any application with direct costs of over $500K in any year to request submission to submit to peer-review. Submission of a Letter of Request and a formal staff consultation is required as part of the process. View details and deadlines.
Swiss Heart Foundation
Name of funding scheme: Research Grant
Link to information about scheme and how to apply
Link to submission portal
Who to contact for further information: Dr Robert C Keller - [email protected]
Frequency of funding rounds: Annual. Yearly deadline for submissions is 31 May, 5:00 PM.
Can proposals endorsed by the GCRFF bypass the preliminary application phase? There is no preliminary application phase. Centres participating in proposed clinical trials endorsed by the GCRFF can proceed to request funding via our Research Grant process.