• Pilot Grants:  Small pilot grants to provide preliminary data for larger scale future projects or to perform novel analyses on existing data sets.
• Extension Grants: Grants to expand an existing research project (e.g., add additional interventions, outcome measures, follow up assessments, etc.), or to set up the infrastructure for a collaborative research effort.

Priorities:

• Pediatric population (0-21 years)
• Cerebral palsy and related neurodevelopmental disorders

Special Consideration:

• Early diagnosis
• Early treatment
• Research applicants from or collaborating with affiliates of UCP

The UCP Research Committee will sponsor and support high-quality proposals, addressing shared goals and priorities. Grant applicants should consider the following criteria:

• A research idea should address treatment for cerebral palsy or a related neurodevelopmental disability.
• Appropriate project goals should be set considering SMART design principles (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely). Data collection, compliance, and progress reporting will be required.
• The Principal Investigator and all co-investigators on the grant must in professional good standing and have relevant expertise related to the research proposal.
• Applicants must have the infrastructure appropriate to their project, including study design and implementation, facilities and services, patient recruitment, and staffing.

Other considerations:

• Applicants will be invited to apply with a full application after submission of a Letter of Intent (LOI).  The LOI deadline is April 14, 2023.
• Applicants do not have to be part of the UCP affiliate network, but preference will be given to those applications from organizations who are UCP affiliates or have a strong association with UCP.
• Applicants can work with other organizations on the same project (multi-center project), but these organizations should submit a common application to better ensure collaboration.
• Projects that will facilitate sustainable, ongoing novel treatments or services that can be adopted by other organizations after completion of the project will be given preference.

Note: Awardees may be eligible to apply for additional grants to complete the next step of their project if the initial project demonstrates success and ongoing goals are appropriate.

• March 25, 2023 – Grant Application Form becomes available
• April 14, 2023 – Letter of Intent submission deadline
• April 21- 25, 2023 – Full applications requested from strong candidates
• June 9, 2023 – Full submission deadline
• August 2023 – Notification of awards sent
• October 1, 2023 – Grant funding period begins

The following criteria will be scored by UCP Research Committee member reviewers and outside reviewers (ad hoc).

• Significance: How might this work support or enhance the community or advance the science in the field of cerebral palsy?
• Innovation: How original and/or novel are the ideas of the application? Both the setting and the field of investigation will be considered (e.g., bringing a novel intervention to a center where it is not currently available may be innovative).
• Investigators: Does the research team have appropriate expertise or have they shown commitment to obtaining the necessary expertise?
• Approach: Are the investigators well trained or have they shown commitment to obtaining training? Are the methods sound? Is the research plan realistic?
• Environment: Is the setting supportive of the research? Will it facilitate the project’s success?

• Award recipients will be expected to provide a progress report at 12 months in a short-answer format.  At the end of 18 months, a final report will be due.
• Award recipients should expect to present accomplishments at the UCP Board of Trustees, UCP Town Hall meetings and/or at the UCP Annual Meeting. Findings from URC-supported research may warrant press releases and videos highlighting investigators and describing URC-sponsored discoveries may be used in support of national fundraising efforts.