Announcements of Opportunity

International program of spaceflight research

The Canadian Space Agency is pleased to announce opportunities for Canadian researchers to participate in an international program of spaceflight research. It is expected that these space flight experiments will be performed during the time period of 2004 and 2006.

This is the third of a continuing series of announcements. It will be released simultaneously by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), European Space Agency (ESA), French Space Agency (CNES), the German Space Agency (DLR) and Ukrainian Space Agency as well as the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).  Each agency is responsible for the support of successful proposals within its jurisdiction.

Proposals will be accepted from Canadian citizens and landed immigrants.  Proposals from individuals who are not Canadian citizens or landed immigrants, or proposals from non-Canadian institutions should be directed to the appropriate agency.  NASA will accept proposals from countries not listed above.  Please refer to the NASA announcement at the address listed below for further details.

Each agency is also responsible for the direct costs associated with co-investigators participating in international science teams. Canadian investigators who wish to participate as a co-investigator for a proposal submitted to another Agency are required to submit a copy of the proposal together with budget information forms which define the costs for the proposed project as well the costs proposed to be incurred by the Canadian co-investigator.

The Canadian Space Agency will accept proposals only in the following areas of interest:

1. Bone Demineralization
2. Muscle Atrophy
3. Cardiovascular Physiology
4. Metabolism
5. Developmental Biology
6. Radiation Biology
7. Radiation Dosimetry
8. Neurophysiology

All studies must concentrate on the use of the environment of space to answer critical scientific questions in one of the above areas. While spaceflight experiments may include a component performed on ground which supports the flight experiment, studies relying solely on ground experimentation are not within the scope of this announcement.  Such studies should be submitted in response to CSA Announcement of Opportunity for Concept and Ground Studies.

NOTE: Maximum annual funding is $100,000 for up to three (3) years

Experiments must take advantage of existing flight hardware.  There will be no funding for the development of new spaceflight hardware.  A complete list of spaceflight experimental hardware is available in the Flight Experiments Information Package at the web site listed below or upon request from the Canadian Space Agency.

Scientists may propose experiments, which require rodents and are capable of being completed on recoverable satellites such as the Bim or Photon satellite for periods of approximately 16 days.

Human subjects:

Proposals involving human subjects are required to include the approval of the Institutional Review board of the researcher's institution.  All such proposals should be in accordance with the Guidelines on Research Involving Human Subjects.  If approval cannot be obtained from the Review board by the submission deadline then a letter from the Review Board stating receipt of the proposal and their intent to review must be submitted with the proposal.  No proposal will be funded without all appropriate research reviews successfully completed and a copy of the letter from the committee in the possession of the CSA.

Vertebrate animals:

Proposals involving vertebrate animals are required to include the approval of the Institutional Review board of the researcher's institution. All such proposals should be in accordance with the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC) guidelines. If approval cannot be obtained from the Review board by the submission deadline then a letter from the Review Board stating receipt of the proposal and their intent to review must be submitted with the proposal.  No proposal will be funded without all appropriate research reviews successfully completed and a copy of the letter from the committee in the possession of the CSA.

An international standard format has been established for proposals in response to this Announcement of Opportunity.  These guidelines and forms are included in the International Life Sciences Research Announcement flight information package (see URL below or contact CSA to obtain copies).  Canadian investigators are required to provide the following forms:

Form A - Solicited Proposal Application
Form B - Proposal Abstract
Form C - Space Flight Experiment Information Summary
Form D - Biographical Sketch
Form E - Other support
Form F - Detailed Budget, First year
Form G - Detailed Budget, Entire Project Period
Form H - Checklist for Proposers

NOTE: Proposals submitted by Canadian investigators with non-Canadian co-investigators should provide separate budget pages for the non-Canadian co-investigator.  Proposals submitted to the CSA with a U.S. co-investigator should include the U.S. specific forms (US-1, US-2, US-3, US-4, and US-5) completed with respect to the involvement of the U.S. co- investigator.

The proposal should include the following material, in this order.  These items are described in more detail in the Flight Experiment Information Package.

1. Cover Page: Solicited Proposal Application (Form A) *
2. Proposal Abstract (Form B)
3. Proposal Title Page
4. Project Description
5. Space Flight Experiment Information Summary (Form C)
6. Management Approach
7. Letter of Assurance of Foreign Support (for non-Canadian co-investigators)
8. Biographical Sketches (Form D)
9. Other Support (Form E)
10. Facilities and Equipment
11. Special Matters
    (specific information on animal and/or human subjects protocol approval required, if applicable) *
12. Detailed Budget, First year (Form F)
13. Detailed Budget, Entire Project Period (Form G)
14. Supporting Budgetary Information (if applicable)
15. Checklist for Proposers (Form H)
16. Appendices, if any
17. Computer diskette with soft copy of proposal (3.5 inch, PC format)

*One signed original required.

The Project Description is limited to 20 pages. Any pages in this section beyond 20 will not be reviewed.  There is no specific page limitation on other sections of submitted proposals. However, every effort should be made to keep proposals as brief as possible.  The name of the Principal Investigator should appear in the upper right hand corner of each page of the proposal, except on the Forms where special places are provided for this information.  Note that the proposal must specify the period of performance for the work described; periods of performance may be for any duration up to three (3) years but should be suitable for the project proposed.

As the review of all proposals will be performed by an international panel, the language of review will be English.  Proposers wishing to submit a proposal to the Canadian Space Agency in French must indicate their intention at the time of submitting their letter of intent, and CSA will undertake translation.

To facilitate processing, potential Principal Investigators are requested to send a letter of intent to propose confirming plans to submit a proposal. Please note that this letter of intent is not binding but should be received by June 28, 2001.  For those Canadian co-investigators whose Principal Investigators are non-Canadian, please forward to us a copy of the Principle Investigator's letter of intent.  Although the letter of intent is not essential, it is to the proposer's benefit as the information will be used in organization of peer review panels. The letter of intent, which should be no more than two pages, should contain:

1. The names, addresses, and telephone numbers of a single Principal Investigator and all co-investigators
2. A descriptive title of the research.
3. A brief summary describing the proposed research
4. The major participating institutions
5. Up to six (6) key words that best describe the research area of the pending proposal

Letters of intent to propose may be submitted through the postal service or commercial delivery services to the same address as proposals.  In addition, letters of intent (only) may be submitted electronically via e-mail to the following address:

lifesciences@space.gc.ca

The subject heading of the e-mail should read "Space Life Sciences 2001#01".

Important note for Canadian Investigators

Proposals must be submitted to the Canadian Space Agency by the above closing date.  Proposals submitted through any other agency or address will not be considered for funding under any circumstances.  Proposals submitted in response to this A/O will not be returned.

Canadian proposers are required to provide two copies of their proposal and a 3 1/2" disk copy (PC format Wordperfect or Word and .rtf format) with soft copy of proposal.  The CSA will accept responsibility for further duplication of proposals.

The evaluation of each proposal will involve four separate components:

1. Space Agency Screening

Each research proposal submitted to the CSA will be reviewed to ensure that it is complete as per the guidelines above.  Proposals that do not meet the guidelines will be immediately returned to the proposer.  Therefore it is recommended to communicate with the CSA if there are any questions or doubts regarding acceptability of a proposal.

2.  Merit Review

The scientific merit of each proposal will be evaluated by an international peer review panel with members nominated by all space agencies.  All panels will utilize the same factors in their evaluation and all panel meetings will be conducted using the same review guidelines.  The merit review panel will assign a numerical score from 0-100 or a score of "not recommended for further consideration" based upon the intrinsic scientific or technical merit of the proposal. 

3. Flight Feasibility Review

For flight experiment proposals there will be an evaluation of the feasibility of implementation of the proposed work on a space platform.  This review will be conducted by an international team qualified to determine the feasibility of implementing the proposed projects using available flight and ground facilities.

4. Evaluation of Programmatic Relevance and Cost

Finally, the CSA will determine the relevance of each competitive proposal to its program.  This will be done by evaluating the proposal's contribution to the development of a sound Agency program having the appropriate balance required by the CSA's goals and objectives.  Evaluation of the cost of a proposed effort includes consideration of the realism and reasonableness of the proposed cost and the relationship of the proposed cost to available funds. To determine that proposals funded provide maximum benefit to the Canadian population each proposal will be evaluated for the following in addition to scientific merit:

• Science team strength
• Use of space environment
• Terrestrial application and benefits
• Efficiency and effectiveness
• Opportunities for students and young researchers

Background information and further detail is available from the NASA/International AO Web site (address below) or from the Canadian Space Agency:

Dr. A. Mortimer
Director, Life and Microgravity Sciences
Space Science Program
Canadian Space Agency
P.O. Box 7275
Vanier Postal Station
Ottawa  K1L 8E3
Telephone:  613-990-0801
Fax:  613-952-0970

E-mail: alan.mortimer@space.gc.ca

All proposals should be submitted to:

Dr. A Mortimer
Director
Life and Microgravity Sciences Division
Space Science Program
Canadian Space Agency
REF: SPACE LIFE SCIENCES 2001 #01

Courier address:
100 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, Ontario  K1A 0R6

Postal Address:
P.O. Box 7275, Vanier Postal Station
Ottawa, Ontario   K1L 8E3

http://peer1.idi.usra.edu/peer_review/nra/ILSRA_2001.html