Welcome to the Huntington Society of Canada

NAVIGATOR Coalition

For information on applying for awards please contact the Society's office at [email protected].

Goal

The goal of the NAVIGATOR Coalition is to provide increased, ongoing funding for scientific research of direct and immediate relevance to Huntington disease in Canada under the auspices of a network; to provide a platform for the future recruitment of outstanding investigators to HD research; to promote enhanced strategic coordination of the Huntington Society’s research programme; to facilitate research collaboration nationally and internationally, and research which is relevant to other neurodegenerative disorders.

Eligibility

Individuals holding a full-time appointment in an appropriate discipline at a Canadian university, research institute, or hospital are eligible to apply for funding through the NAVIGATOR Coalition.

Criteria

All applications for funding through the NAVIGATOR Coalition are subject to review by the Steering Committee, which may elect to enlist external reviewers with particular expertise in the appropriate area.

The criteria for evaluating applications are:

the direct and immediate relevance of the work proposed to Huntington disease (i.e., improved understanding of pathogenic mechanisms; significance with respect to the development of new treatments);
the scientific excellence of the research proposal;
specific rationale and budget rationale for support (i.e. how will support enable the laboratory to pursue research not funded from other sources, and contribute to the emergence of special areas of expertise within the Canadian research programme).

Term and amount

Funding recommendations for the NAVIGATOR Coalition will be made annually by the Steering Committee, subject to the anticipated availability of funds from the Huntington Society.

Grants will generally be in the $25,000-40,000 range. All awards are made for a period of one year and are renewable. It is the Huntington Society’s intention to provide modest ongoing support to project prioritized by the Steering Committee, and to laboratories which are actively engaged in Huntington disease research.

Terms and conditions

(a) Institutional approvals. Institutional approvals for research involving humans, animals, and/or biohazardous materials must be submitted to the Huntington Society prior to the release of funding.

(b) Expenditure of funds. Funds awarded through a Navigator Coalition grant must be expended in accordance with the approved budget, within the following categories:

personnel (i.e., technicians);
supplies (i.e., expendables, services, animals);
travel (i.e., to present research findings or to attend a major conference or symposium; not to exceed $1,500);
equipment (not to exceed $5,000).

Funds may not be allocated to salary support for graduate or post-graduate students, institutional overheads, construction, or equipment.

Up to 25% of funds awarded to a laboratory through the NAVIGATOR Coalition may be remitted by the receiving institution to other laboratories in or outside of Canada, where this will help to promote collaborative research.

(c) Payment of grants. The payment schedule will be confirmed along with notification of the award, to the financial officer of the principal investigator’s institution.

(d) Overexpenditure. The Huntington Society of Canada is not responsible for any overexpenditure incurred by a grantee.

(e) Unexpended funds. Any unexpended funds must be returned to the Huntington Society of Canada on completion of the period of the grant, unless the Society approves, in advance, an extension to the term of the grant.

(f) Financial reporting. All grantees must provide a financial statement within three months of the completion of the period of the grant.

(g) Research reporting. All grantees must provide copies of publications reporting on research supported in whole or in part by the Huntington Society. In addition, all grantees must provide a brief summary, in lay language, of the results of their work, on completion of the period of the grant. Grantees are also encouraged to respond favourably if invited to address a volunteer meeting sponsored by the Huntington Society or its chapters.

(h) Intellectual property. The Huntington Society reserves the right to participate in the royalty stream from patentable discoveries arising from research funded in whole or in part by the Society.

(i) Acknowledgement of support. The Huntington Society of Canada should be acknowledged in all publications, presentations and other public information relating to research supported in whole or in part by the Society.

Deadline

NAVIGATOR Coalition grants are offered on a Request for Applications basis. RFAs are distributed to Canadian research institutions. For all information about the NAVIGATOR Coalition grants, please contact the Society at 1-800-998-7398 or by email at: [email protected].

General Guidelines

For general guidelines for all grant applications click here.