Requests for supplemental S&S to offset exceptional experiment costs in support of ongoing research (e.g., core or vendor services or specialized reagents) should be submitted via the Supplemental Technology Award Review System (STARS). Note that STARS is not designed to initiate new projects or develop new directions for an ongoing project.
From the STARS overview page, click the “STARS request form” tab. Here you will enter the Requestor PI information, a brief description of the services for which a supplement is sought, and the total cost of the project (defined as the sum of the supplemental support and the proposed PI contribution.)
Note that the maximum supplement offered for projects of $20,000 or less is 50%. Therefore, if your total project cost is $20,000 or less and you have not yet received a supplement in the current FY, you will be considered to be below the $10,000 threshold and the maximum allowable will be applied. If you have reached the $10,000 supplement limit in the current FY as a result of a prior request, you will be tracked to the “above $10,000” tier.
- Requests for support below $10,000 require that you complete only the PI Requestor information and the brief description of the services found on the first page of the STARS request form. Such requests will receive technical review/approval by OSTR within a few days.
- Requests for support above $10,000 require both scientific and budgetary justification and should be proposed in the context of a specific project resulting from the PI’s ongoing research. The CCR Science Board (CSB) will make funding recommendations for STARS proposals based on technical appropriateness, scientific merit, and potential impact, based on the information you provide. Therefore, the following elements should be prepared in advance and entered into the corresponding fields to facilitate online submission and review:
Title: Brief but informative title indicating both the technology or reagents sought and disease, pathway or model system under study.
Research Plan (Limit 4000 characters, including spaces): Briefly describe the project’s background, significance, overall aims and any key preliminary data. Explain the proposed experimental design, highlight how the experiments for which you are requesting support will advance the project goals. If alternative approaches are possible, please indicate the advantages of the proposed approach(es).
Scientific Justification (Limit 2000 characters, including spaces): Discuss how this project fits within the context of your overall research program. Accurately assess the potential impact of this project. Is the proposed research likely to produce key insights on particularly difficult or important problems or contribute to the development of new diagnostics or therapeutics? Please indicate major collaborators and their roles.
Budgetary Justification (Limit 2000 characters, including spaces): Discuss the relative priority of this project within the context of your overall research program, addressing how your base budget is allocated among your major projects areas. Explain how you arrived at the proposed PI contribution for this specific project and why this project cannot be accommodated within your base budget.
Supporting Documentation: Note that only figures or data referred to in your research plan or justification may be uploaded using the supporting documentation link on the submission form. Please make sure that your proposal text is complete within the limits of the research plan and justification, as additional information other than figures or data will not be considered. Do not upload extended proposals or reprints. Acceptable files include: doc, docx, xls, xlsx, txt, rtf, pdf.