ASHRM 2014 Research Grants - Call for Letters of Intent

The deadline has passed.

The American Society for Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM), a Personal Membership Group of the American Hospital Association, announces its 2014 Research Grants program. The ASHRM program seeks to stimulate research on healthcare risk management and patient safety issues, and supports research projects that are either quantitative or qualitative in nature.

Letter of Intent Requirements:
Each Letter of Intent must include:

• Letter of Intent Form
• Signed Conflict of Interest Form
• A brief description of the project
• Statement of how this research advances the current state of healthcare risk management and/or patient safety, either substantively or methodologically
  (Description and statement should be no more than three pages.)

Application Submission:
Letters of Intent must be submitted electronically. Applicants should carefully read the entire Guidelines for Submission prior to starting the online submission process. Submissions must be made electronically to the ASHRM inbox at ASHRM@aha.org with Research Proposal Letter of Intent inserted in the subject line of the email. Upon successful submission, applicants will receive notification of receipt by ASHRM.

If you do not receive notification, please call ASHRM at 312-422-3980 or email us at ASHRM@aha.org and request verification of successful submission.

Letter of Intent Evaluation:
Letters of Intent will be reviewed by the Past Presidents’ Council for alignment with ASHRM’s vision and mission. They will be evaluated on the perceived ability to advance safe and trusted healthcare and to advance ASHRM’s research agenda.

Notification:
Successful applicants will be notified by ASHRM by Monday, May 20 and given the opportunity to complete and submit a full proposal. Complete proposals will be due by Monday, July 1. Unsuccessful applicants will be notified by Friday, May 24.

Questions:
If you have questions about your proposal submission, please contact ASHRM at 312-422-3980 or by email at ASHRM@aha.org.

Research Grants Guidelines:

ASHRM invites quality research proposals. Grants are available for faculty or graduate students at institutions of higher education and research, or for other professionals in healthcare fields or healthcare organizations. ASHRM has established the following broad areas of emphasis for proposals:

• High Reliability Organization: High Reliability Organizations (HROs) are defined as complex, high-risk environments where the consequences of errors are high, but the occurrence of error is low as documented by reliable and valid measures. In high reliability organizations, even minor variances in expected outcomes are noted and strong action is taken to prevent serious error from occurring. Proposed research may also include theories of complexity science and cultures of high reliability, as they apply to healthcare.
• Serious Safety Event(s): A Serious Safety Event (SSE), in any healthcare setting, is a deviation from generally accepted practice or process that reaches the patient, and causes severe harm or death. ASHRM expounds on this definition in its Serious Safety Event White Paper released in October, 2012.
• Enterprise Risk Management: Enterprise risk management in healthcare promotes a comprehensive framework for making risk management decisions that maximize value protection and creation, by managing risk and uncertainty and their connections to total value.

We especially encourage research proposals that relate to at least one of the areas above, support ASHRM’s vision and mission, and involve outcomes research, practice guidelines establishment or demonstration projects.

Process:
The 2014 Research Grants Program will be administered in two parts. Anyone may submit a Letter of Intent. These will be reviewed by the Past Presidents’ Council and scored based on alignment with ASHRM’s vision and mission. They will be evaluated on the perceived ability to advance safe and trusted healthcare and advance ASHRM’s research agenda.

The top proposed projects will be invited to submit a complete proposal. The complete proposals will be reviewed by the Research Task Force and scored based on the following criteria:

Letter of Intent Requirements - Deadline: Sunday, April 21, 2013
(please see above):

• Letter of Intent Form
• Signed Conflict of Interest Form
• A brief description of the project
• Statement of how this research advances the current state of healthcare risk management and/or patient safety, either substantively or methodologically
  (Description and statement should be no more than three pages.)

Proposal Requirements:
If invited to submit a proposal, you will be required to submit the following:

A. Personal Information

1. Statement of the qualifications of the applicant(s) to accomplish the proposed research
2. CVs for lead investigator and all co-investigators

B. Organizational Information

1. Organization name, mission and purpose
2. Statement of why this organization can accomplish this project (include history of similar projects, support of organization, etc.)

C. Research Proposal that addresses the following (see complete description below):

1. Problem statement or policy issues
2. Significance to the field of risk management and patient safety
3. Theoretical or conceptual framework for the research
4. Research questions or hypothesis(es) to be addressed
5. Methodology

D. Supporting Documents

1. Proposed Budget
2. Other Support (either requested or received)
3. Research Project Timeline
4. IRB Approval (if applicable)

Proposal Evaluation Criteria:

A. Review Criteria Nominal and Theoretical Definitions:
Reviewers will consider all of the criteria above to determine scientific and technical merit of each submitted proposal. An application should demonstrate strength in each of these areas in order to increase the likelihood of securing funding.

1. Rigor: This criterion refers to the strength of the research design, including the persuasiveness of the rationale, the fit of the methodology and ability of the methods described to address the goals of the research project, demonstrated adherence to research and ethical principles, the potential fruitfulness of the theoretical framework and its fit with the stated research questions or hypotheses, the sample selection size and rationale for adequate power, and a demonstrated understanding of the limitations and implications of the research project and its methodology. If it is a novel approach, are the concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation or interventions well argued and documented?
2. Investigators: Are the PIs and co-PIs (when used) well suited to the project? This criterion is concerned with the qualifications of the investigators, their experience in the field and the methodological approach defined within the project.
3. Relevance: This criterion is concerned with the match between the research goals, and the mission and vision of ASHRM. Is there an appropriate fit and has that fit been articulated within the proposal?
4. Significance: This refers to whether or not the proposed research project addresses an important topic or critical barrier that will progress the fields of healthcare risk management and patient safety. If, for example, the aims of the project are achieved, how will the body of knowledge, technical capacity, and/or clinical practice be improved? How will successful completion of the project change the concepts, theoretical frames, methods, practice, treatments, services, interventions or processes that drive the disciplines?

2013 Timeline

Awards and Funding:
Awards for Research Grants are up to $100,000 for one-year projects. The maximum indirect cost rate is 10% of total direct costs, excluding equipment, and must be included in the total $100,000 maximum award. Multiple year projects will be considered for up to $100,000 per award year.

Funding Period:
Research grants are awarded according to the published schedule for submission and review, and are subject to the limitations of available funding.

Questions:
If you have questions about your proposal submission, please contact ASHRM at 312-422-3980 or by email at ASHRM@aha.org.

Past Recipients
2013 Designing Highly Reliable Adverse Event Detection Systems
2012 Rebalancing Risk Management by Focusing on Solutions

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