Instructions for the Group Foundation for Advancing Mental Health Research Grant Application


Before you begin your submission, you must either log in or create a new profile.
 
To create a profile, click the “Login” tab in the menu bar above.
Click "New User" then complete information requested.
Please Note: This information is not linked to your AGPA profile. If you created a profile for this system previously, use that login information.
Once this is completed, this tab will display as “My Profile” in the menu bar.

Please note that after 30 minutes of inactivity, you will be automatically logged out of the system and the information you entered will be lost.


To begin your application, click
"Applications" in the menu bar; then click “add new.” 
You will have the option to SAVE & RETURN (you can return and edit your submission) at any point during the process. When the application is finished then you can SAVE & SUBMIT. The scholarship application will be submitted when the "Save & Submit" button is clicked, at which point you will NOT be able to edit your application. 


Funds are available from the Group Foundation for Advancing Mental Health to support research that demonstrates the effectiveness of group psychotherapy. The Group Psychotherapy Foundation is seeking research-focused, rather than program-focused, applications.


Donate Now to Support Research
- when making your contribution, select the Research Fund


Grants are typically awarded at $2,500-$15,000 depending on the importance of the research to the field, the experience of the investigative team and the number of research applications received. Grant funding can be used to support the basic costs of research, e.g., supplies, research equipment, photocopying, postage, computer services, statistical consultation and research assistant salaries; investigator salaries and travel expenses are not funded. (Equipment purchased for use with a research project is to be donated to an institution at the completion of the project.) Grant monies are awarded with an expected completion of the project in one year as follows: fifty percent upon grant approval, forty percent upon submission of a six month progress report and the final ten percent upon receipt of a post project report.


The deadline for receipt of research grant application materials is November 1. 


Applications must include:

  • Completed application form
  • 1-page summary of research project;
  • Detailed description of research project which covers the 8 areas mentioned below;
  • Budget information;
  • Information about the investigators, including curriculum vitae of principal investigator;
  • Approval form from the appropriate local ethics review board;
  • Sample of participant consent form;
  • Optional additional materials, e.g., letters of support, reprints.


Applications will be reviewed by researchers who are experts in the field of group psychotherapy research. Applications are given scores from 1 – 5 on each of the following areas:


1.
Importance of the topic (from “not at all important” to “very important”). Successful applications will make a compelling and logical argument for why the completion of the research project would move the field of group psychotherapy research forward and/or improve public health.


2. Would the study contribute to the body of evidence supporting the efficacy of group psychotherapy (rated from “not at all” to “greatly”)? Successful applications will illustrate how the research study, if conducted, will provide a needed contribution to the existing group psychotherapy literature.


3.
Coverage of the literature (rated from “poor” to “excellent”). Successful applications will provide an organized, focused review of the literature on which the study is built, illustrating the contribution that the new study would provide.


4. Conceptual framework
(rated from “poor” to “clear and compelling”). Successful applications will provide a clearly delineated theoretical rationale for their intervention strategy, possibly including a diagram or other description of how the intervention affects its proximal and ultimate targets.


5. Methodological rigor (rated from “flawed” to “state-of-the-art”). Successful applications will provide a clear rationale for the choice of study design (e.g., open trial, non-randomized control, randomized control), along with a clear and accurate description of how the design will help meet the purposes of the study. For example, a small open trial of a new treatment can be extremely useful for working on additional treatment development and demonstrating feasibility and acceptability of the new treatment, but it cannot demonstrate treatment efficacy.


6.
Appropriateness of measures (psychometric quality, relevance; rated from “inappropriate” to “appropriate”). Successful applications will use instruments that measure the constructs in question and will include information on the reliability and validity of the measures for the target population.


7.
Appropriateness of statistical approach (relevant analyses, power considerations, etc.; rated from “inappropriate” to “appropriate”). Successful applications will include a complete and appropriate analytic plan.


8. Feasibility of study (investigator experience, realistic proposal, etc; rated from “doubtful” to “no concerns”). Successful applications will be feasible.


The detailed project summaries should be detailed enough to allow reviewers to accurately rate each of these eight categories. There are no page limits for the Group Foundation grant applications.


Conditions Governing the Award: Recipients must agree to accept the conditions governing the award as determined by the Group Foundation for Advancing Mental Health which include:

  • Carrying out the project as approved by the Group Foundation;
  • Submitting progress reports as requested by the Group Foundation;
  • Submitting a final report no later than three months after completion of the project;
  • Returning any unspent funds to the Group Foundation.


Should funding of the project be approved, acknowledgment of the Group Foundation's support is to be included in all publications derived from the award. Additionally, grant recipients are encouraged to submit reports to the
International Journal of Group Psychotherapy for consideration of publication.



Please submit your grant application before November 1.

Thank you!