Advarra Launches Dedicated Support Services for Research Grant Applicants
Services help ensure researchers submit a complete budget application that accounts for all necessary research support and avoids post-award financial shortfalls
(COLUMBIA, MD) – Advarra, the market leader in regulatory review solutions, clinical research technology for sites and sponsors, and research quality and compliance consulting services, announced today the launch of new dedicated support services for researchers and institutions applying for research grant funding.
Including a complete, customized grant budget that considers all necessary study resources will help researchers avoid financial and operational surprises in later study conduct. Key offerings include a thorough estimate development process for grant applications, supported by a new dedicated request form and a checklist document outlining elements commonly forgotten in grant application budgets, as well as streamlined expert internal processes to provide timely budget estimates for grant applications. Additionally, Advarra offers special pricing considerations for research funded by federal grants.
“Even though more and more funding agencies are requiring single IRB (sIRB) review of multisite studies, many researchers either forget to include this line item or assume their institution can serve as sIRB,” said Frank Conte, Vice President of Institutional Partnerships at Advarra. “Not all institutional IRBs can or are willing to do that. Plus, there are many other tasks and services that investigators don’t consider when they’re submitting the application – then down the road they have to reconfigure the study structure because they forgot to budget for something.”
Grant funding is a critical part of many research programs, both at academic institutions and other research organizations. Federal agencies, like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), require sIRB oversight of the multisite studies they fund or oversee. Other non-governmental funding organizations have established similar policies, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made clear its support of such requirements via 2006 published guidance.
“Research organizations, especially sites and institutions, are incredibly under-resourced right now,” said Robann Cunningham, Chief Commercial Officer at Advarra. “We hope these tools help research professionals make the most of the resources they do have and prevent future shortfalls that could easily be avoided with a little extra planning.”