The IV call for the POLISABIO 2020 grants, the collaboration program between the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) and the Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research of the Valencian Community (FISABIO) is set to launch, with two grant subprograms to fund Joint Preparatory Actions and Innovation Projects coordinated between UPV research staff and FISABIO professionals
Due to the obligatory social distancing measures imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Monitoring Commission of the POLISABIO Program held an online meeting to agree on the requirements for this call with the aim of creating synergies between the staff from both entities that will give rise to to research and innovation projects with tremendous scientific-technical potential oriented towards innovative topics.
The meeting was attended by José Antonio Manrique, Mónica Vázquez, María Prada, Elena Carrió and Amparo Arlandis, from FISABIO; and by José Esteban, Jesús Alba (Campus Gandia), Juan Ignacio Torregrosa, Fernando Javier Conesa, Pilar Sánchez (Campus Gandia), Vicente Díez, Mª Carmen Rodrigo and Piotr Adam, from the UPV.
DEVELOPMENTS
POLISABIO 2020 consists of two grant subprograms:
- UPV-FISABIO Preparatory Actions Subprogram for the exploration and formulation of Future Research and Innovation Projects.
- Support Subprogram for the development of Innovation Projects.
The requirements for this call features key changes with respect to previous calls. The budget allocated for the grants in this edition are higher, making for a budget of €120,000 compared to the € 90,000 budgeted for 2019. This budgetary increase corresponds to an increase in the number of preparatory action projects and innovation projects that will benefit from the grant this year. In total, the grants will fund 12 preparatory actions for €5,000 each and 4 innovation projects for €15,000. In addition, the call is extended to all the centers associated with Fisabio of the Valencian Community.
Funding is to continue for a minimum of 3 preparatory actions for both the Alcoi and Gandia campuses, provided that the proposals meet the minimum quality standards required.
Applications with proposals aimed at promoting knowledge about SARS-COV2 and COVID-19 disease, as well as its socio-health impact, will be positively evaluated.
STAGES OF THE PROGRAM
The POLISABIO 2020 program is carried out in three stages of operation:
STAGE I (Until 06/30/2020): presentation of expressions of interest on the part of the participants, based on capacities and or unsolved technical problems for the search of possible partners.
STAGE II (01/07/2020-15/07/2020): submission of applications. Participants may request competitive aid in any of its two modalities (Preparatory Actions or Innovation Projects).
STAGE III (September-November): evaluation of the applications received and result of the call.
EVOLUTION OF THE PROGRAM
The POLISABIO Partnership Program was launched in 2017 with the aim of generating synergies and stimulating new collaborations between researchers from the UPV and the staff of the Valencian Community Health Departments affiliated with FISABIO. Initially, the program was developed jointly only between FISABIO and the Alcoi and Gandia Campuses, with the hospitals in their vicinity. As a result of the success of the prior edition, the 2018 program was extended to the Vera campus and to the rest of the FISABIO centers in the province of Valencia. In 2019 ,the budget increased and more healthcare centers in Valencia and Alicante were incorporated, thus expanding this call to the entire Valencian Community.
Polisabio Team:
Campus Gandia (UPV): Pilar Sánchez
Campus Alcoi (UPV): Vicente Díez
Campus Vera (UPV): Laia Bielsa
FISABIO: Amparo Arlandis
RDI Management and Promotion Officer at Campus Gandia
