ESPR Research Grant Programme

The European Society for Paediatric Research (ESPR) launched a large-scale research grant programme in 2017. Scheduled to run for six years (2017-2022), the society makes available new calls on an annual basis.

All grants have in common that they require ESPR membership, with the exception of the ESPR Young Investigator START-UP GRANTS and the ESPR Nursing GRANTS, where only the applicant's supervisor/host or secondary supervisor must be affiliated with the society. Thus, we would like to encourage you to present your data at one of the next ESPR conferences, sign up for ESPR membership and become eligible to apply for a grant of your choice.

We are currently restructuring the ESPR Research Grant programme, and new opportunities will be made available in 2024.

• Meet the ESPR Research Grant Committee

   

  Adelina Pellicer, MD, PhD University Hospital La Paz Spain	Olivier Baud, MD, PhD Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève Switzerland	Topun Austin, MD, PhD Cambridge University United Kingdom
  Sotiris Fouzas, MD, PhD University of Patras Greece	Katie Gallagher, PhD EGA IfWH University College London United Kingdom
• Meet the previous awardees & learn about their projects

  We would like to wholeheartedly congratulate the awardees of 2022. Meet them here.

  Here is the long and distinguished list of our past ESPR Research Grant awardees:

   

  

   

Funding opportunities:

• ESPR Young Investigator START-UP GRANTS 2022
  Amount: EUR 10,000 per grant

  The committee wishes to encourage in particular proposals from Eastern European countries.

  Purpose: To help young investigators establish, perform and complete a research project in all fields related to Paediatrics.

  Eligibility Requirements: At the time of submission, applicants must:

  • be within 10 years of having received a degree in their undergraduate qualification in biomedical sciences/medicine/life sciences. Extensions are possible in case of parental leave or serious illness;
  • be ESPR members or intending to join the society, supported by their supervisors/hosts, of whom at least one should be an ESPR member*;
  • be willing to present their research findings at a future ESPR conference.

  *The primary supervisor should be from the applicant's institution. In case he/she is not an ESPR member, a secondary supervisor who is an ESPR member may support the project. Should you not fulfil this requirement, please contact the ESPR office. We will assist you in identifying a secondary supervisor that is part of the society.
• ESPR Nursing GRANTS 2022

  Amount: EUR 10,000 per grant.

  Purpose: To support nurses or allied healthcare professionals with a research project in all fields related to Paediatrics.

  Eligibility Requirements: At the time of submission applicants must:

  • be registered nurses or allied healthcare professionals;
  • be ESPR members or intending to join the society, supported by their supervisors/hosts, of whom at least one should be an ESPR member*;
  • be willing to present their research findings at a future ESPR conference.

  *The primary supervisor should be from the applicant's institution. In case he/she is not an ESPR member, a secondary supervisor who is an ESPR member may support the project. Should you not fulfil this requirement, please contact the ESPR office. We will assist you in identifying a secondary supervisor that is part of the society.
• ESPR Early Post-Doc RESEARCH GRANTS 2022

  Amount: EUR 25,000 per grant.

  Purpose: To support a research project of established researchers at an early stage of their career, in all fields related to Paediatrics.

  Eligibility Requirements: At the time of submission, applicants must:

  • be within 6 years of having received their PhD certificate in biomedical sciences/medicine/life sciences. Extensions are possible in case of parental leave or serious illness;
  • have a proven track record in research;
  • be ESPR members;
  • be willing to present their research findings at a future ESPR conference.

How to apply:

You can apply by sending an email with the following, clearly-labelled and filled-in documents in PDF format to office@espr.eu.

• The ESPR Research Grant Programme 2022 Application Template (download here). Only submissions using this template and adhering to the length requirement of a maximum of three pages (one extra page for references is allowed) will be considered;
• For the ESPR Young Investigator START-UP GRANT and ESPR Nursing GRANTS: the Laboratory Application Form (download here);
• At least one Letter of Recommendation, which should be from your supervisor/host. For the ESPR Young Investigator START-UP GRANTS and the ESPR Nursing GRANTS the (secondary) supervisor/host must be an ESPR/SPR member;
• A short version Curriculum Vitae including a list of ist peer-reviewed publications of the previous 5 years (4 pages max);
• An Institutional Letter from a European institution which indicates:

N.B.: Only complete applications fullfilling the formal requirements as indicated above can be considered for evaluation. Moreover, while we encourage multiple applications per institution, only one candidate per institution will be eligible for funding.

Applications are currently closed.

The ESPR does not take responsibility for accidents or legal issues occurring during the period a person is benefiting from a grant.

Please contact office@espr.eu if you have any questions about the process or eligibility.

Other important information:

• General regulations

  All applications will be evaluated by the Research Grant Committee of the ESPR based on:

  • The scientific merit of the proposed research, and
  • The qualifications of the investigator. Only work published in peer-reviewed journals or periodicals will be considered.
• Terms of the awards
  • The awardee will be responsible for managing the funds to be administered by the institution. The award does not cover any overheads.
  • To ensure direct support of the research project of the awardee and to allow highest flexibility, the money can be transferred to an account of the institution, to the awardee directly or to a not-for-profit organisation provided that:
    - a written assurance is given indicating that the money will be used exclusively for the research project;
    - a list of items/activities will be prepared indicating what will be covered by the grant;
    - a check-up by the ESPR Research Grant Committee on a 6/12 month basis will be enabled with a report to verify how the funds were used.
  • The awardee must acknowledge the ESPR as the source of funding in any publications arising from work supported by these grants.
  • The awardee must agree to start the project within one year of the announcement of the award, to write a brief scientific and financial report within three months after completing the project (max. 2 pages excluding references) and present a final scientific report at an ESPR congress within two years after completing the project.
• Additional requirements
  • Extended projects: If a project exceeds a length of two years, the supervisor of the applicant should provide proof that the project will be continued with another source of funding and the applicant must be taking a role in the project as first or last author.
  • Funding to cover salaries: Funding used for the applicant's personal salary is only accepted for Young Investigators and Post-Dos, not for senior researchers.
  • Project budget higher than grant: In case the proposed budged is higher than the amount covered by the ESPR grant, applicants must clarify how the difference will be covered.
  • Project co-funding: Co-funding is welcome and should be indicated in the application.
• Institutional overhead and indirect costs
  • The awardee may determine best use of the award to support the direct cost of the project. No part of the award may cover institutional overhead or other indirect costs, nor should the awardee be obligated or penalised to pay by substitution such indirect costs by any other means.
  • By accepting an ESPR Young Investigator Award, the supporting institution agrees not to take any part of the funding for institutional overhead or other indirect costs, and will not obligate or penalise the recipient of an award or a sponsoring research laboratory to pay by substitution such indirect costs by any other means. With the exception of health insurance, no portion of an award may be subject to deductions for discretionary fringe benefits by the sponsoring institution.
• Requirements for acknowledging the ESPR in society-supported publications

  Research or review papers: For regular research or review papers resulting at least in part from ESPR research support, either through a society funding scheme (e.g. the Young Investigator Start-Up Grants, Nursing Grants, Post-Doc Research Grants, the Mentoring Programme) or through dedicated ESPR support (e.g. the ESPR section activities), please state in the section 'Funding' or 'Acknowledgements' according to the journal's requirements the following:
  
  

  • This work was supported by a research grant from the European Society for Paediatric Research (ESPR) provided to [full name or initials of the recipient(s) or the name of the ESPR section]. The funder had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, preparation of the manuscript or decision to publish.

  
  ESPR guidelines or opinion papers: For guidelines or opinion papers reflecting the view of the society or one or more ESPR sections, the European Board of Neonatology (EBN) or other, ESPR-integrated initiatives such as Neonatologist Performed Echocardiography (NPE), please proceed as follows:
  
  

  • Give in the title of the manuscript, whenever the character count allows, the full name and abbreviation of the society: European Society for Paediatric Research (ESPR).
  • State in the section 'Funding' or 'Acknowledgements' according to the journal´s requirements the following: This work was supported by a research grant from the European Society for Paediatric Research (ESPR) provided to [full name or initials of the recipient(s) or the name of the ESPR section or project]. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, preparation of the manuscript, or decision to publish.