Current call for research grants

Applications for ESPN research awards for 2024 are now open. The aim of the grants is to stimulate collaboration between paediatric nephrologists in Europe in the promotion of clinical or basic science research pertinent to children with kidney disease. Research awards are open to all ESPN members working in hospitals or academic institutions within Europe. Preference will be given to applications which are collaborative projects endorsed by ESPN Working Groups. There are 3 categories of award:

  • General Awards. These proposals must have documented support of a relevant ESPN Working Group but the Working Group Board does not have to be actively involved in the research project.
  • ESPN Working Group Awards. These are proposals where the relevant ESPN Working Group is actively involved in the project. Evidence for this by way of accompanying documentation must be provided.
  • Start-up Grants: These provide start-up funding for researchers early in their careers. It is open to proposals where the principal applicant is under 36 years old (unless appropriate motivations are raised including longer training, pregnancies, diseases).
  • ESPN/ERA Registry Travel Grant: This grant is intended to support research projects at the ESPN/ERA registry enabling the applicant to work on site at the registry offices at Amsterdam University Medical Centers (AMC). It is open to proposals from ESPN members, both experienced and young investigators, with a specific interest in clinical epidemiology and/or statistics. The grant will cover a stay of 6 (min) to 10 weeks (max) in Amsterdam at 1,000 euro per week including travel expenses.

The total value of the research grant budget this year is € 50,000. Individual grants are likely to be of max € 20,000.

All applications will be evaluated by the ESPN council and external reviewers on the basis of scientific merit and relevance to the field. All categories of grant will be scored and ranked together but priority will be given to ensure that one Young Investigator grant and at least one ESPN Working Group grant are awarded each year.

The application form should be completed and returned to secretaryespn@oic.it with a 2-page curriculum vitae for the principal applicant and any supporting documentation from an ESPN Working Group.

For the ESPN/ERA grant, the applicants should indicate in their application in the budget justification part the timelines of the project (working weeks on site at the AMC and remote, continuous or split times if applicable). Also, applicants are advised to check the registry webpage for previous publications, on-going projects and the contents of the ESPN/ERA registry database.

A receipt of application will be sent by email.

Applications that do not follow the ESPN application form will be returned to the applicant and will not be sent to reviewers.
The closing date is 31st of March 2024. Late applications will not be considered. The evaluation of ESPN council is final and there is no option for appeals.

Click here to download the application form.

Regulations for the ESPN Research Grants, approved by ESPN Council, February 2021

  1. A progress report is sent after 6 months to the Spring ESPN Council and thereafter every year to the Autumn ESPN Council (up to a maximum of 3 years).
  2. At the completion of the project (or after 3 years if the project is on-going, a final report should be sent that includes details of presentations/publications resulting from the project and a financial report of how the grant monies were spent. The final report will be published in the website.
  3. In all publications and presentations, it should be reported that the work was “supported by an unrestricted grant provided by European Society for Paediatric Nephrology”.