Concept Paper Format

The concept paper is a three page document that enables the Executive Committee to assess how well the proposed research fits with the Fund’s interests. The three pages will be read together, although the Structured Scientific Summary is directed to the scientific members of the Fund’s Executive Committee, and the Structured Lay Summary is directed to the non-scientific members of the Committee. Concept papers should be emailed as a Microsoft Word attachment to martinezaf@thrasherresearch.org. Concept papers that do not follow the guidelines below will not be reviewed. Download a template for the concept paper here.

Page One: Administrative Information

1. Title of the Study
2. Principal Investigator
3. Length of Study (Maximum 3 years)
4. Estimated Total Budget (Does not need to be itemized) 
5. Supervising Institution
6. Project Site(s)

Page Two: Structured Scientific Summary
The scientific summary should be no longer than one page using 12-point Times New Roman font and one-inch margins all around. The following information should be incorporated in the scientific summary:

1. Background: Describe the significance of the medical problem under study. Include information on incidence or prevalence and severity of the problem in children. Describe what is not known about the problem that the proposal intends to address. Include any preliminary data or additional background information indicating the rationale for the proposed research.
   

2. Objective(s) and Hypothesis(es): Describe the precise objective(s) of the proposed research. State the specific hypothesis(es) to be tested.
   

3. Design: Describe the basic design of the study. As applicable, include information about study subjects, sample size, enrollment criteria, or other sample material to be used in the study. Indicate the primary outcomes and how they will be measured.
   

4. Potential Impact: Discuss where the research is leading and in what ways and in how many years the findings might potentially influence the prevention, diagnosis and/or treatment of the particular medical problem in children.

Page Three: Structured Lay Summary
The lay summary should be 250 words or less and is intended as a brief, simplified summary for those who may not have scientific training. It should include three sections:

1. Background: Provide a lay summary of the Background from the Scientific Summary.
   

2. Objective(s) and Hypothesis(es): State each of the main objectives and or hypotheses in a single sentence (one sentence per objective/hypothesis).
   

3. Potential Impact: Provide a lay summary of the Potential Impact from the Scientific Summary.