EHA Innovation Grant review and selection process

1. Eligibility check

After the deadline has passed, we'll check your application for completion and compliance with the eligibility criteria. 

We will not review applications that:

  • Are incomplete—for example, that are missing signatures or do not include a budget
  • Do not meet the eligibility criteria

If your application did not qualify for review, you'll receive a notification. This decision is final.

2. Review       

EHA’s Fellowships and Grants Committee will review all the applications.

To assist our Fellowships and Grants Committee with the selection procedure, external reviewers may also be approached to review the project proposal in detail. These reviewers will be experts in the proposal's topic.

The committee will score the applications based on the following parameters.

Project

  • To what extent does the proposed research address important challenges?
  • To what extent are the objectives ambitious and beyond the state of the art (e.g. novel concepts and innovative approaches and how these will enable critical questions to be novelly answered)?
  • What are the expected outcomes for patients and how will this improve the treatment of blood disorders?
  • Can the project be completed in the proposed time frame?
  • Is the collaborative nature of the project justified?
  • Do the expected results have the potential to support the application to the targeted larger funding opportunity?

Investigator

  • Competence of research partners with respect to the project.
  • Complementary qualities of research partners.
  • Track record and international standing of PIs.

Budget

  • Are the budgeted activities clearly listed and assigned?
  • Is the cost estimate of resources/activities appropriate and substantiated?

What happens at the end of the review

The winners will be notified in the beginning of May 2025.

Whatever the outcome of your application, you'll receive the external review feedback after the awardees are announced. We hope that this feedback will provide some guidance on how the application and research plan could be improved. Please note that there will be no further correspondence regarding this feedback.

3. Ceremonial award acceptance

If you're selected as a winner, you'll receive complimentary registration for the EHA2025 Congress. This will take place from June 12–15, 2025, in Milan, Italy.

Grant recipients are expected to attend this event, where they will formally receive their award during the opening ceremony.

4. Actions after a grant has been awarded

Starting your project

You must start your project within one year of receiving your award.

Funding agreement

All PIs must provide all of the necessary information for the funding agreement. This will include:

  • Bank details
  • The project's start date

The PIs and their institutes must also sign the funding agreement. This refers to the terms and conditions that all parties read and approved during the application phase.

If you withhold this approval, you may become ineligible and your award may be withdrawn.

Your obligations

Once the funding agreement has been signed by all parties, we'll transfer the first installment to the institutes. This will be done according to the disbursement schedule in the agreement.

Interim reports

We expect to receive interim reports halfway through the project. You'll receive templates for these reports in advance. As the winner, you're expected to collect financial reports from the institute and ensuring we receive these documents.

PI 1 is expected to submit the following reports on behalf of the collaboration:

  • Separate financial statements from each institution

We'll only pay the next installment of your grant funding if:

  • We've received all of your reports
  • Our review of them is favorable

The Fellowships and Grants Committee is responsible for reviewing all scientific reports.

Amendments

Any deviations from the approved project scope or budget must formally requested before you implement them. For guidance on this, please see the terms and conditions or email the Grants Manager at grants@ehaweb.org.

Finishing your grant period

You must submit all final reports within six weeks of your project's end date. You'll receive templates for these reports in advance.

PI 1 is expected to submit the following reports on behalf of the consortium:

  • One joint scientific report
  • Separate final financial statements from each institution

Your financial reports from all institutes must be:

  • Audited
  • Signed off by an external auditor and the institute’s financial head

Any publication arising from work funded by EHA must acknowledge EHA funding, as stated in the terms and conditions.