Guidelines for nested research projects
The Swiss HIV Cohort Study (SHCS) welcomes all types of research projects linked to patients with HIV infection. However, preference will be given to projects likely to benefit from the SHCS infrastructure and including at least two of the seven SHCS centres (research on large number of patients and/or necessitating recruitment from more than one centre). The same rules are also valid for submission of MoCHiV projects.
All grant submissions and communication with the Scientific Board (SB) has to occur in English.
Any use of the SHCS/MoCHiV data for research purpose has to be submitted to the SB. This applies even if no funding is requested, to avoid duplication and potential conflicts with other projects. Submission is required prior to the initiation of a project. Ongoing or finalized projects cannot be submitted for retroactive funding.
In case of simultaneous submission to the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the SHCS, the SB has to give a first opinion/advice, which will be transmitted to the investigator and to the SNSF.
If a submitted SHCS project is nested within a research project financed by the SNSF, the two experts designated by the SB must have the possibility to read the grant submitted to the SNSF and have full knowledge of its decision. In order for the experts to gather this information and study the documents, such a project has to be submitted two weeks earlier than the usual deadline.