Research time for clinicians within the infection area: antibiotics and antibiotics resistance

Please refer to the application form in Prisma in parallel with reading the instructions below, which describe the call-specific content of the application. More information on what to do in practical terms is available in our Guide for applicants Opens in new window..

Language

Foreign experts may be involved in the scientific assessment of the applications. To ensure fair and equitable assessment and efficient processing, please therefore complete your application in English.

Sections of the application

The application form includes the following tabs:

• Descriptive information
• Research description
• Budget and research resources
• Publications
• Letter of support
• Administrating organisation
• Participants (only administrators in this call)
• CV

Descriptions of the call-specific information requested under each tab follow below.

Descriptive information

Abstract

The abstract shall include a brief description of the following:

• what is to be done: purpose and aim
• how the research problem will be studied in a summary project design, including patient sample, choice of variables, data collection and analysis methods, and time plan. Please use PICO (population/intervention/control/outcome) for controlled studies
• how the research relates to your clinical work
• what the direct patient benefit is from the planned research.

The abstract shall provide a summary guide to the purpose and implementation of the research. Please use wording to ensure persons with another subject specialisation can understand the information.

The description may cover a maximum of 1 500 characters including blank spaces (approximately one third of an A4 page in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing).

Popular science description

Describe the project in such a way that a person who is not familiar with the subject can understand it. Describe what is to be done and why, and explain in what way the new knowledge may be important.

The popular science description is an important tool when we inform about the research funded by the Swedish Research Council. If we grant your application, we reserve the right to use the description for information purposes.

Note: The popular science description must be written in Swedish, unlike the rest of the application.

The description may cover a maximum of 4 500 characters including blank spaces (approximately 1 A4 page in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing).

Clinical activity

The grant shall be combined with clinical work in Sweden, corresponding to at least 30 per cent of a full-time equivalent, in a position such as a physician, hospital chemist, nurse, physiotherapist, occupational therapist or dentist. Describe in what way you fulfil this requirement and what your clinical work involves. If applicable, please also state who your employer is/will be within health and medical care. The description may cover a maximum of 750 characters including blank spaces in Arial, font size 11.

Deductible time

Please state the recognised grounds for any longer interruptions in your active research time after your doctoral degree. The interruption shall be calculated as a full-time equivalent and be rounded up into full calendar months. Please see the Swedish Research Council’s recognised grounds for deductible time under the heading “Career age” above.

Research description

Ethical considerations

Describe the ethical issues raised by your project or corresponding. You must also describe how you plan to address ethical dilemmas that may arise. Please justify why the research should be carried out against the background of the ethical issues you have identified. How do your research questions and expected results measure up in relation to the ethical issues? Please also state whether the research involves any handling of personal data, or experiments on animals or human subjects. If no ethical issues are raised, please justify this.

Research plan

The research plan shall consist of a brief but complete description of the research task. The focus of the research plan shall be forward-looking, and it shall cover a maximum of 4 page-numbered A4 pages in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing, including references and any images.

The research plan shall include the following headings and information, listed in the following order:

• Purpose and aims: State the overall purpose and specific goals of the research project, and provide brief background information and justification for the project. Clarify the primary question.
• State-of-the-art: Summarise briefly the current research frontier within the field/area covered by the project, and as applicable the current clinical practice. State key references.
• Significance and scientific novelty: Describe briefly how the project relates to previous research within the area, and its importance in the short and long term. Describe also how the project moves forward the current research frontier, increases the knowledge background of the field of research, or innovates current clinical practice.
• Preliminary and previous results: Describe briefly your own previous research and pilot studies within the research area that make it probable that the project will be feasible. State also if no preliminary results exist. State whether the project contributes further to research and scientific results from a grant awarded previously by the Swedish Research Council.
• Project description: Describe the project design, including the following items:
  • Theory and method: Describe the underlying theory and the methods to be applied in order to reach the project goal.
  • Time plan and implementation: Describe summarily the time plan for the project during the grant period, and how the project will be implemented.
  • Project organisation: Clarify the contributions of yourself and any other researchers to the implementation of the project, including a description of competences and roles in the project.

Provide the following information also. If a heading is not relevant to your application, please leave it blank.

• International and national collaboration: Describe your collaboration with foreign and Swedish researchers and research teams. State whether you contribute to or refer to international collaboration in your research.
• Other applications or grants: If you are applying for or intend to apply for other grants from the Swedish Research Council, the relationship between the projects shall be clarified. This applies also if you are receiving ongoing grants from the Swedish Research Council with grant periods that wholly or partly overlap with the grant you are now applying for. You should also justify why you are submitting one or several further applications. Describe also the relationship with other applications to or grants from other funding bodies for the same project concept (from you or another researcher).
• Independent line of research: If you are working or will be working in a larger group, please clarify how your project relates to the other projects in the group. If you are continuing a project that was wholly or partly started during your doctoral or postdoc studies, you must also describe the relationship between your project and the research of your former supervisor.

Relevance

Describe how your project is relevant for the focus (see the definition under the heading “Focus” above) and how the project promotes the development of this field.

The description may cover a maximum of 4 000 characters including blank spaces (approximately one A4 page in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing).

Budget and research resources

The grant is a standard amount and you therefore do not need to enter any budget applied for in the application form.

Justification of the budget applied for

Describe briefly the primary costs you intend to cover within the framework for the grant budget. The description may cover a maximum of 4 000 characters including blank spaces (approximately one A4 page in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing).

Other funding

Please state your or any other researcher’s funding over and above what is applied for in this application. Please state rounded amounts in SEK.

Publications

Applicant’s publication list

Please attach your publication list drawn up according to the headings and information below. The list shall cover a maximum of 5 page-numbered A4 pages in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing.

Please sort the publications under each heading in reverse chronological order, so that the latest publication is at the top of the list. Please only include articles or corresponding that are published or accepted for publication at the time of applying. The author order shall be identical to that of the published work. The application cannot be supplemented with publications after the deadline for the call.

1. Selection of publications: List the maximum 5 publications of greatest importance to your application. For each publication, please state how you contributed to it, and its relevance to the research project described (maximum 4 lines per publication). Highlight your name in bold in the author list. State “Part of PhD thesis” in bold in brackets for the publications included in the doctoral thesis.

2. Total number of publications: Sort the publications, with your name highlighted in bold in the author list, under each heading (publication type) in the following order: State “Part of PhD thesis” in bold in brackets for the publications included in the doctoral thesis.

• Peer-reviewed original articles
• Peer-reviewed conference contributions, the results of which are not included in other publications.
• Peer-reviewed edited volumes
• Research review articles
• Peer-reviewed books and book chapters
• Other publications including popular science books/presentations

Letter of support

The appendix covering a maximum of 1 A4 page shall include information about your clinical activity (job title and employer) and percentage employment (minimum 30 per cent), and certify that working hours will be freed up for the research project in question. The name and contact details of the clinic manager or corresponding signing the certificate shall be stated.

Administrating organisation

Please state the administrating organisation and project site.

Participants

Here you may invite participating administrators to your application.

CV

Under this tab, please upload your relevant CV information from your personal account in Prisma.

The following information, where available, must always be included in your CV, taking into account the stated limitation in numbers:

• Education: First, second and third cycle higher education and specialist degrees.
• Work: Current employment (including employment form) and longer relevant employment, postdoctoral visits (also included as employment if relevant), research exchanges relevant to the research described and any longer interruptions in the research that have impacted on your opportunity to gain merits as a researcher.
• Merits and awards: Docentship/associate professorship, supervisees (postdoctoral and doctoral students; state the overall number of each category and list the 10 most relevant to you), up to 10 of your most relevant grants awarded in competition, up to 10 of your most relevant prizes and awards, and up to 20 other merits relevant to the application.
• Intellectual property rights: For example, patents and open access computer programs developed by you; state up to 10 of your most relevant.

Scientific quality is the fundamental criterion when the Swedish Research Council allocates grants to research. Your application is evaluated in competition with the other applications on the basis of the following evaluation criteria.

Evaluation process

Your application is evaluated by a specialised subject review panel where the members are Swedish and international researchers.

At least three members review and grade your application individually. The entire review panel then meets at a review panel meeting to discuss and prioritise the applications, and finally to make a proposal for a decision to the Scientific Council for Medicine and Health.

Review Panel Opens in new window.

A certain proportion of the applications with the lowest grades from the members’ individual reviews are screened out in the beginning of the review panel meeting. These applications will not be the subject of discussion, which gives room for more detailed discussion and prioritisation of the applications of higher quality, which have a reasonable chance of being funded.

The applications screened out only receive an overall grade and a standardised final statement after the decision is made. The other applications receive an individual final statement that reflects the review panel’s discussion and overall assessment of the scientific quality of the application.

Evaluation criteria and guiding questions

The evaluation of the scientific quality of your application is made based on four basic criteria (Scientific quality of the proposed research, Novelty and originality, Merits of the applicant, Feasibility). The purpose of using several components is to achieve a multi-faceted evaluation. The criteria are assessed on a seven-grade scale, except for feasibility, which is assessed on a three-grade grade scale.

In addition to the basic criteria, your application is also evaluated using an additional criterion (Relevance to the call) on a three-grade scale.

For each criterion, there are guiding questions to support the panel members’ evaluation of your application. These can also function as guidance for you when you write your application.

Scientific quality of the proposed research (1–7)

Guiding questions:

• In what way will the project advance the understanding of how infection diseases caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria, best be diagnosed, treated and how to reduce or prevent their emergence and spread, e.g. by antibiotic stewardship or improved clinical practice, including medical hygiene practices?
• Is the definition of the problem and proposed solutions clear, convincing and compelling?
• Does the study design, its research questions and hypotheses, meet the standards of highest scientific quality?

Novelty and originality (1–7)

Guiding questions:

• Does the project extend or challenge current understanding, opinion or practice in its field?
• Is the project built on a unique combination of ideas, preliminary data, and different methodologies to create novel approaches to address the question at hand?
• Is there potential for creation of new knowledge, novel technologies, or new directions for research and advancement of the field?

Merits of the applicant (1–7)

Guiding questions:

• How does the applicant’s academic qualifications and achievements relate to his or her career stage and active time for research?
• Does the applicant have sufficient clinical and research experience, expertise, level of independence and scientific network for implementation of the proposed project?
• Will the applicant combine research and clinical duties with time for visits at international institutes?

Feasibility (1–3)

Guiding questions:

• Is the general design, including the time frame, realistic for implementing the proposed project?
• Are the materials, methods, experimental models, and when appropriate, patient cohorts adequate and well adapted to the hypothesis or research question?
• Are the resources needed well defined and at place?

Overall grade (1–7)

The above subsidiary criteria are weighed together into an overall grade, which reflects the review panel’s joint evaluation of the application’s scientific quality.

Additional assessment criterion

For the call an additional assessment criterion, “Relevance to the call”, is used. The three-grade rating scale shall be used for this criterion. The “Relevance” criterion must not be weighed into the overall grade. Instead, it is to be weighed into an application’s ranking in relation to others. Thus, an application can be of high relevance, but low scientific quality (or vice versa). The following additional guiding questions have been adapted for use in the Research time for clinicians call:

Relevance (1–3):

• Does the project have the potential to provide new knowledge of disease mechanisms and factors that affect emergence or spread of infectious diseases or antimicrobial resistance?
• Does the project have the potential of advancing the field with regard to treatments and/or interventional procedures for conditions that occur due to infections and antimicrobial resistance?
• Will the research findings from project have translational impact on healthcare practice of prevention and treatment of infections or antimicrobial resistance?