What the BIRG Research Grant is about:
In the continuous endeavor of BIRG to stimulate research activities in hand surgery, academic papers on current issues are being supported. Besides research projects in this area, projects serving the attainment of the scientific foundations for work in advanced trainings are supported. Questions on health economics are explicitly included.
Thus applications for research funding by individuals or research groups can be submitted according to the attached regulations by complying with the respective guidelines and by filling out the necessary forms.
The Bone Implant Research Group (BIRG) independently promotes scientific work on current issues in the field of hand surgery. This includes in particular, projects that have a direct impact on everyday clinical practice and are in the interest of the patient. The focus is on clinical and biomechanical studies without a commercial background, which offer the user the possibility of applying procedures safely and efficiently on a sound basis.
Research on new materials is also part of this area, whereby the focus is always on practical application. Further hand surgery projects can as well be supported.
Applications -including working groups- may only be submitted by individuals who have been members of BIRG for at least two years, or can provide letters of recommendation from at least two BIRG members.
Approved project funds are tied to the applicant and the designated project.
In exceptional cases, follow-up funding of already funded research projects must be applied for separately.
Applications may be submitted in the course of a calendar year (January 1 - December 31). BIRG will decide on their award by June 30 of the following year.
Funded research projects from previous years cannot be reapplied for funding - not even by other members of the working group.
A maximum of two applicants from a department or center may be funded per year.
At best, an applicant (a working group) can be funded for different projects every three years.
Funding is provided in the form of material or personnel cost allowances within the scope of the research projects. The maximum funding amount per year is 15,000 EUR (fifteen thousand euros), which can also be divided among several projects. Equipment will only be approved if it is not part of the basic equipment of a department/laboratory. The further use of project-related, approved equipment after project completion is subject to BIRG. In justified cases, personnel positions are only financed in the sense of a transitional solution for a maximum of 3 months. When applying for partial funding of a project, the total funding must be evident from the application.
The project duration is limited to a maximum of 24 months.
In order to assess the quality and originality of the project to be funded, documentation must include information on the following:
1. Title of the research project,
2. State of the art of the research - state of the art of the science so far
3. Applicant (surname, first name, academic degree, institute/hospital address, telephone, e-mail) and complete composition of the research group
4. Application period and desired start of funding, project duration
5. Summary of the project (abstract)
6. Own preliminary work
7. Goals
8. Work program
9. Studies on humans:
For studies involving human subjects, the opinion of the responsible national ethics committee is required. In addition, the ethical and legal aspects of the experimental plan must be presented on the following questions:
10. Animal experiments:
In the case of planned animal experiments, an official permit must be obtained as well as the opinion of the ethics committee responsible for this.
11. Genetic engineering experiments:
Genetic engineering experiments may not be started until the approvals required by the Genetic Engineering Act of June 20, 1990 (BGBL 1990 I, p. 1080) have been obtained.
13. Personnel requirements:
When applying for personnel cost support in terms of the above restriction, the personnel requirements must be stated and justified.
14. Project relevant equipment:
Indication of scientific equipment intended for the project with justification and specific cost estimate.
15. Consumables or other costs
16. Travel expenses (detailed, separate justification in the project context is required).
The application should not exceed 5 pages. It must include a statement that the funding principles and the commitments made with the application are acknowledged.
Applications must be accompanied by the applicant's scientific curriculum vitae. The application must be endorsed and countersigned by the department head in a separate letter.
Please ensure that:
Please send your application to: info@birg-group.com
Funding is provided in the form of start-up funding. The expert evaluation of the applications and the assessment of their eligibility for funding is carried out by the Scientific Department of BIRG according to objective evaluation guidelines. The relevant deadlines can be found on the BIRG homepage (www.birg-group.de). There is no legal claim to funding. Legal recourse is generally excluded.
If a project is deemed worthy of funding and is awarded a research grant, the grant recipient may only make expenditures from the funds provided that are covered by the intended purpose. Applicants for projects will be notified of the final decision after a meeting of the Science Department.
Parallel funding of a requested project by other funding sources in the sense of double funding must be indicated in the application.
The maximum approved funding amount is capped. Follow-up costs will only be covered after a separately approved follow-up application.
BIRG transfers the funding in the form of a one-time payment to a third-party funding account of a research or university institution to be named by the applicant. The grant may be revoked if the funding is not claimed within one year of the grant date. It may be revoked if the above funding principles are not followed.
By submitting an application for funding from the BIRG Research Grant, the applicant(s) agrees to:
1. To comply with the rules of good scientific practice in accordance with the recommendations of the DFG, whereby compliance with the relevant legal regulations is the responsibility of the applicant
2. To use the granted funds exclusively for the realization of the funded project
3. An interim report on the current status of the project and the available interim results must be submitted every 6 months. Proof of the use of the grant funds must be enclosed. The invoiced expenses must be supported by auditable documents.
4. The applicant undertakes to notify BIRG's Scientific Department immediately of any changes that deviate from the planned project schedule.
5. To submit a final report describing the course of the project and the results to BIRG no later than 3 months after completion of the research funding,
6. Upon publication of the research results of the project, to name BIRG as the funding institution. The results will be presented to BIRG members in a paper at the following BIRG Annual Meeting.
Status 01/2023
Please download the following application forms and submit your application to info@birg-group.com.
The application deadline for this year is December 31st.