The ACR and EULAR are accepting proposals for new collaborative projects in the following areas:

• Classification criteria including the revision or revisiting of old criteria sets that are no longer working due to shifts in disease understanding or management;
• Response criteria for evaluating meaningful change in disease status for use in clinical trials and possibly clinical practice; and
• Points to consider consensus projects geared towards establishing standards for conduct of clinical trials in rheumatic disease.

The ACR and EULAR are particularly interested in proposals that address the following priority areas, which have been derived from rheumatology community feedback and internal ACR and EULAR discussions:

• Childhood arthritis classification criteria
• Undifferentiated connective tissue disease classification criteria
• Vasculitis response criteria
• Osteoarthritis response criteria
• Lupus / SLE response criteria
• Revised SLE classification criteria
• Revised criteria for Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis
• Revised criteria for Reiter's Syndrome / Reactive Arthritis

Investigators may submit criteria or points to consider proposals focused on other diseases or topics, but these proposals should include an explanation of why the proposed criteria/points to consider project is a more urgent priority than those listed above.

Note: To better streamline cross-organizational processes, the ACR and EULAR have agreed to an annual deadline for these types of proposal submissions. Therefore, this will be the only proposal submission opportunity for joint projects of this type before fall 2013.

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated based on:

• Compliance with methodological standards (view checklist) and scientific rigor; and
• Relevance to the practice of rheumatology and quality of life of patients with rheumatic diseases.

Timeline

The 2012 - 2013 timeline for submission of proposals is outlined below.

August 20, 2012
Submission of a Letter of Intent and project outline (maximum 3 pages), including the following:

• Project title (e.g., development of criteria for...);
• Project description;
• Justification of need for project;
• Suggested PIs (one each from ACR and EULAR);
• Suggested collaborators (at minimum, drawn from North America and at least 3 European countries);
• Opportunities for trainee involvement; and
• Anticipated overall budget.

Receipt of letters of intent and project outlines will be acknowledged by reply e-mail. By August 31, the ACR and EULAR will review the submitted Letters of Intent and send formal invitations to investigators from whom full proposals are desired.

October 15, 2012
Full proposals are due.

• 10 pages maximum (this does not include appendices like references and disclosures)
• 1" margins, 12 pt. font

October 2012 - March 2013
ACR and EULAR leadership will review project proposal(s) and vote on whether to fund project(s). Applicants will be notified whether a project has been approved for funding by March 31, 2013.

July 2013
Funding for projects becomes available; work begins.

Terms of the Award / Project Funding

Joint funding from ACR and EULAR may be approved for 1-2 projects. Project proposals will be judged on their merits, however, so it is possible that no projects will be funded, depending on the quality of the proposals.

Each proposal should include an outline of total project funding needs. This information will be evaluated when the proposals are reviewed. The ACR will fund a maximum of $65,000 per project, with no requirements on how these funds must be allocated within the project budget. EULAR support will be equal to ACR funding (i.e., equivalent amount, in Euros). EULAR funding must primarily be allocated to meeting and related travel expenses, with the balance supporting European fellows (up to €15,000) and administrative costs (up to €5,000). Indirect/overhead costs and salary support should not be included in project budgets.

Stipulations to the funding of all joint criteria/points to consider projects include but are not limited to the completion of regular progress reports submitted to the ACR and EULAR, potential for presentation during the ACR and/or EULAR Annual Scientific Meetings, and submission of a completed manuscript to either Arthritis & Rheumatism or the Annals of Rheumatic Disease, as directed by ACR and EULAR for each project, with the intention of joint publication.

Disclosures and Conflict of Interest Requirements

Appropriate disclosure of relationships, especially those that might constitute conflict of interest, is important and will be considered. A completed disclosure form must be submitted with the proposal for each person who would be intellectually involved in the project. The proposal review process will include an examination of balance in the proposed project group, to ensure that various viewpoints are represented and the final product is not likely to be biased because of conflicts within the group.

Letter of Intent and Proposal Submissions

Please submit your Letter of Intent/project outline by August 20, 2012 and your full proposal by October 15, 2012 to Regina Parker at .

Questions?

If you have any questions regarding the submission of a proposal, please contact Regina Parker at or (404) 633-3777, ext. 822.