Accelerator Grant

Built on the new strategy and rooted in the Shared Values of HFSPO

The International Human Frontier Science Program strives to strengthen open scientific inquiry by initiating international collaborative, interdisciplinary and cutting-edge research in the life sciences. The program supports projects studying fundamental problems on all levels of life sciences. The potential of a project to move the frontiers of life sciences and lead to a breakthrough, is the main criterion in the review of HFSP research grants, and projects with this potential may entail high risk.

The new Accelerator Grant was created to increase diversity among awardees and equity among member countries. Starting in FY 2024 there will be annual calls inviting all newly funded Research Grant teams (RG - Program and RG - Early Career) to apply for an HFSP Accelerator Grant to integrate one additional scientist - the accelerator team member - in the funded HFSP grant project and team.

Eligibility criteria:

• Accelerator team members have to be working at a research institution in one of the following countries: India, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Republic of Korea, Singapore, South Africa.
• Accelerator team members must conduct the research supported by HFSP in this institution.
• A scientist working in an eligible country may join a team already including one team member in that country but a scientist is not eligible to join a team that already has a team member working in the same research institution.
• Else, the same general criteria apply for accelerator team members as for regular Research Grant – Program team members.

Application process: Research Grant teams awarded in 2024 are invited to apply for additional funds to add one new member to the team. They submit a proposal on behalf of the awarded team and written together with the proposed new accelerator member. The application site will be opened, for PIs of awarded grants only, in early July, the submission deadline is 24 September 2024.

Review process and awards: all applications are reviewed by the HFSP Research Grant Review Committee, and the decision on awards is taken by the Board of Trustees of HFSPO in March 2025. If awarded, accelerator members join the team a year after the team started the project, and the accelerated team receives an additional 100 000 USD to support the accelerator team member, for the second and third year of the project period.

Additional information including eligibility rules will be provided on the HFSP homepage: https://www.hfsp.org/accelarator-grant

All 34 awarded teams and projects that can add a member are described in the Research Grant awardees online booklet.