With the soon to be announced award recipients of the Blue-KC Outcomes Research grants and the early March release of the Patton Trust Development Grant request for proposals, it is a good time to review the value of the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute’s development grant program.
Launched in 2001, KCALSI’s development grants were specifically intended to foster scientific collaboration among regional academic institutions and generate preliminary data required for larger federal grants. The first $25,000 grants were awarded for one year and proposals had to provide evidence for substantive inter-institutional collaborations and provide a plan for obtaining follow-on federal funding. Realizing the value of the grant program, the Institute increased award amounts to $50,000 in 2007.
With an eye toward long term sustainability of the development grant program, KCALSI turned to external funding sources to support the grants. TEVA stepped up as the first corporate supporter, funding proposals focused in the area of neuroscience (2006-2008). Bank of America, seeking a mechanism to fulfill the terms of the Paul Patton Trust, partnered with KCALSI to fund research targeting genetic diseases mainly affecting children. Funding provided through a large grant to the Kansas City area supported funding for academic/industry collaborations in the area of animal health and comparative medicine from 2007-2010. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City is our most recent partner supporting grants in outcomes research.
From 2007 to 2012, the KCALSI program has managed 44 grants totaling $2,200,144 million, which enabled area researchers to successfully compete for $18,725,823 million in additional funding. Thus, for every $1 invested in grants, $8.50 has been returned to the region’s scientist in follow on funding from federal sources and foundations. KCALSI’s Research Development Grants program includes proposal review, evaluation by subject matter experts, written reviews for all applicants, and post-award management.
If you or your company are interested in supporting this valuable program for the greater Kansas city area, please contact Dr. Wayne Carter at wcarter@kclifesciences.org.
