Opening of New Lines of Research and Units:
On an annual basis, the Scientific Director and the Board of Trustees of the CRIS Cancer Foundation set the strategies to be implemented and the lines of research deemed to be of interest, following the advice of CRIS’s scientific committee.
After defining the field in which a project or unit is to be opened, the Foundation contacts the Spanish State Research Agency (Agencia Estatal de Investigación), with which Cris Foundation has signed a cooperation agreement. The State Research Agency identifies national and international research groups taking into account the following criteria:
- Group’s history
- Relevance of the research.
- Innovation
- Stability
In its application to the State Investigation Agency, the Foundation requests that the list of research groups be ranked by relevance and interest. Any group that is already financed by the CRIS Foundation or forms part of its Scientific Committee is taken out of the list.
Once groups of potential interest to been identified, CRIS Foundation contacts the top three. If they should be interested in working with CRIS Foundation, the researchers will then draft a proposal for a 3-year research project, adjusted to the financing agreed with CRIS Foundation.
The projects are assessed by the Board of Trustees, the Scientific Committee and the Scientific Director. The Foundation prioritises one of the three, on the basis of the Foundation’s strategic plan and how the project fits in within it.
The project is presented to the State Research Agency, which evaluates it based on:
- The Group’s history and experience in the proposed field of research.
- Relevance of the Project.
- Innovation and potential.
- Project feasibility.
- Additional funds and financing.
The scoring criteria are drafted in the relevant document. Once the proposal has been evaluated, a collaboration agreement is drafted, setting out the duration of the collaboration (usually 3 years), the amount of CRIS Foundation’s contribution to the project and remaining terms and conditions of the collaboration. The Project proposal is attached as an appendix to the agreement.
Agreements with the State Research Agency are signed on an annual basis. Every year, in January, a review and annual schedule of projects and fellowships to be evaluated and financed is undertaken, in order to draft the annual agreements
Reception of Project Proposals:
In principle, CRIS Foundation will not finance projects that do not fall within the strategic plan defined by the scientific director and the Board of Trustees, and which have not been identified by the Spanish State Research Agency.
However, if a researcher submits to the CRIS Foundation of the project that may entail a significant clinical advance or a very innovative proposal, the CRIS Foundation may consider opening an additional line of research.
Projects received in this way will be forwarded to CRIS’s Scientific Director, who will evaluate the following aspects:
- The Group’s history and experience in the proposed field of research.
- Relevance of the Project.
- Whether the project is translational.
- Innovation and potential.
- Project feasibility.
- Additional funds and financing.
- Projects undertaken in Spain will be prioritised.
If the project meets these criteria and the Scientific Director approves it, the researcher will be requested to submit a project proposal, which will be forwarded to the State Research Agency so that it may evaluated according to the same criteria as mentioned above.
In the event of a positive evaluation, a collaboration agreement will be drafted setting out the duration of the collaboration (usually 3 years), the amount of CRIS Foundation’s contribution to the project and remaining terms and conditions of the collaboration. The project proposal will be attached as an appendix to the agreement.
Evaluation of Ongoing Research Projects:
On an annual basis, the CRIS Foundation will monitor and evaluate ongoing research projects. For these purposes, it will submit an evaluation application to the State Research Agency, with an update of the project, the result obtained, future expectations, etc. The following scoring criteria will be applied (as specified in the relevant document):
- Execution of the Project in Spain.
- The Group’s history and experience in the proposed field of research.
- Relevance of the Project.
- Innovation and potential.
- Project feasibility.
- Additional funds and financing.
In the event of a positive evaluation, the project will continue as it was to date. In the event of a negative evaluation, an attempt will be made, together with the researcher, to correct any deficiencies and implement the suggestions made in the State Research Agency’s report. If no solution can be reached, the collaboration will not be renewed.
Selection of Clinical Trials promoted by CRIS:
The goal of the CRIS Foundation is, inter-alia, to help finance researchers who submit relevant and innovative clinical trials. For these purposes, they are offered structure and support, where CRIS acts as sponsor of the trials.
The clinical trial selection processes is as follows:
Researchers contact the CRIS Foundation, submitting proposals for clinical trials. These proposals are forwarded to the Scientific Director, who will evaluate the following aspects:
- Execution of the Project in Spanish hospitals and laboratories.
- The Group’s history and experience in the proposed field of research.
- Relevance of the trial.
- Innovation and potential.
- Feasibility of the trial.
- Full financing of the trial.
If the trial meets these requirements, CRIS will offer itself as sponsor to provide structure and support.