Frequently Asked Questions - General

Please refer to ADA's Research & Grants website for any current funding opportunities.

Application deadlines vary by RFA. Please refer to ADA's Research & Grants website for additional information.

Applicants must decide which grant will best suit his/her needs and qualifications. Should you have specific questions after carefully reviewing award guidelines, please contact Association staff at grantquestions@diabetes.org.

The Association cannot review grant topics or aims prior to application submission. But as general guidance, the scope of our research program is broad: we seek projects that advance our mission to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. We support basic, clinical, translational, epidemiological or health services research that is relevant to any diabetes type, diabetes-related disease state or diabetes complication. Refer to our ADA-Funded Research Database for descriptions of currently supported projects.

Please refer to ADA's Research Programs Approved Data-Sharing Repositories list.

Non-U.S. based researchers may serve as collaborating investigators and can be added as a subcontractor or consultant. All ADA awards are payable to the PI's sponsoring institution (Grantee Institution). The Grantee Institution is responsible for paying subcontracts/consultants and must forward the appropriate amount to the non-U.S. collaborating investigator/institution.

U.S. citizenship is not a requirement for award eligibility, but applicants must have authorization to work in the United States or U.S. possessions.

No, the ADA does not follow the NIH salary cap. Requested salary support (including fringe benefits) cannot exceed the maximum allowed for the award and should follow institutional guidelines.

Key Professionals play a significant role in the proposed work by contributing to the scientific development or execution of the project in a substantive way, whether or not they receive salary or compensation from the award. Professional Support pertains to the consultants, technical personnel, and other professionals associated with the project. These individuals will most likely receive salary support.

You are only eligible to apply for another Award if your existing award ends prior to the funding start date of the new grant, if funded.

If the proposal requires drug or drug placebo, the investigator must demonstrate their ability to obtain the needed research supplies. A letter confirming drug supply must be included in the Body of the Application if available. If confirmation is not obtained by the application deadline, proof of drug supply may be submitted as an addendum or just-in-time by the start date of the award. An award letter will not be offered and the grant will not be activated until proof of drug supply is received.

The Principal Investigator must spend at least 75 out of every 100 professional hours on any research (funded by ADA and/or another institution). If the Principal Investigator's percent effort varies throughout the year, they should calculate an average for the course of the year. If needed, we should be able to verify your percent effort claim with your institution.

Letters of Recommendation must be submitted at the time of application through the Grant Application Site. Refer to the Letters of Recommendation page for further details.

Confirm that the email address entered in the system was valid. The applicant may try copying the email from ADA Grant Application Site into another email and sending it to the recommender to confirm email account is working properly. The applicant may remove the email address entered for that recommender and reenter to ensure the email address is working correctly.

Depending on the format of the recommender's email, the link may be wrapping to another line. The recommender must copy and paste the entire link into a browser window. The link is specific to the applicant and designated recommender. If the recommender is still experiencing issues, please refer to our troubleshooting tips or contact grantquestions@diabetes.org.

Applicants are permitted to submit an Addendum to a grant application after the application submission deadline. Addendum materials may include manuscripts, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) and/or Institutional Review Board (IRB) approvals, and confirmation of study drug (if applicable for clinical studies). Applicants may only submit two (2) manuscripts per application. If one manuscript was already included in the Body of the Application, only one manuscript is permitted as an addendum.

If IRB and/or IACUC approval(s) are not available by the Addendum deadline, the Association will accept just-in-time submission of institutional assurances. Applicants must submit proof of approval(s) by the funding start date of the award. Award activation is contingent upon submission of institutional approval(s). The award start date will be delayed until all required proof of approval(s) has been submitted.

There are no page limits for addendum materials. However, please note that a total of two manuscripts may be submitted per application. If one manuscript was already included in the Body of the Application, only one manuscript may be submitted as an addendum.

The Addendum form will be made available online via the Association's Grant Management Site approximately two weeks following the grant application deadline. Applicants will receive an automated email notification from the system when the online Addendum form is available.

To complete the optional Addendum requirement form and upload files, please log-in to the Grant Management Site with the username and password associated with your award. If you do not remember your password, access the "Forgot Password?" link on the log-in screen to receive an email with your account details. Upon logging in, view the Requirements tab and then click the "Addendum" link.

Our system will automatically generate a confirmation email, which includes your application tracking ID number. If you do not receive an email within 24 hours, please contact us at grantquestions@diabetes.org.

Each grant is reviewed by three panel members. Reviewers are experts in the diabetes field and are carefully selected based on their areas of expertise. Reviewers are provided all applicable application information and carefully review and score each assigned to them. Preliminary round status depends on scores.Those that do not make it past the first round will receive notifications via email. Final round applications will be reviewed by the full review panel selected for each RFA. Once final scores are determined, ADA selects the highest ranked applications for funding. At this point, all applicants will be sent Final Status Notifications, including reviewer comments. The number and percentage of applications accepted for funding each round depends on the number of applicants and funds available.

Resubmissions of eligible* previously unfunded applications must be submitted using the current version of application instructions and/or templates. If the grant mechanism that the application was originally submitted as is no longer offered, the applications must be adapted into one of the current grant mechanisms. Summaries and critiques of unfunded grants should not be included within the body of the application. Before preparing a grant application, please consult our website for details on the current grant portfolio, revised eligibility criteria and changes to the application format.

*Applications eligible for resubmission are only those that were not funded on the first submission. Applications not funded on second submission are not eligible for resubmission.

IACUC/IRB approvals and drug confirmation must be received before the start date of your award. We will not forward Award Agreement Letters if these assurances are missing. As the approval process can take several months, we suggest you submit your research for IRB and/or IACUC approval(s) upon notification your proposal has been promoted to Final Review.

If you obtain institutional approval(s)/drug confirmation by the Addendum deadline (see Application Addendum section for details), they may be uploaded through the Grant Management Site and it will be attached to your application for review. Early submission of these materials may strengthen your application for review.

Refer to the Membership page for details.

Please contact Research Programs staff by email at grantquestions@diabetes.org.