Strategic Investment Fund
The ISHLT Strategic Investment Fund offers members a unique opportunity to propose transformative programs and activities that will advance the field of advanced heart and lung disease care and deliver significant value to the Society.
This initiative reflects ISHLT’s commitment to shaping the future by allocating capital reserves to support new ISHLT programs with high potential for impact.
Proposals will be assessed on their alignment with ISHLT’s mission, strategic relevance, potential for measurable outcomes, feasibility, speed of implementation and cost-effectiveness.
Proposal submission opens 15 January and closes 30 April each year.
Examples of eligible programs include a new registry or registry function, a regional meeting, a training program, a program that brings together ISHLT members and industry to accelerate the development of new interventions. Note that this program will not fund individual research projects, research grants, standards and guideline documents, consensus conferences or programs run independently by ISHLT members or third parties. All funded programs will be ISHLT programs.
What is Considered a Proposal?
Proposals should introduce new programs, services, or initiatives that benefit the ISHLT community and align with ISHLT’s strategic goals to foster innovation, education, and research. Funded projects will support ISHLT’s strategic priorities, such as strengthening global collaborations, expanding access to transplant and advanced therapies, fostering innovation in treatment approaches, and enhancing data collection and analysis capabilities.
Research grants, endorsement requests, standards and guidelines documents, and consensus conferences are not considered new programs.
Who Can Submit a Proposal?
Any individual ISHLT member or group of members can submit a project proposal.
What is the First Step?
Before beginning your online proposal submission, gather the information you’ll need by reviewing the program proposal document, which provides the questions you’ll answer when submitting. You may also review frequently asked questions about the program.
Submission Process
- Review the online proposal questions and review the requently asked questions below.
- Submit your proposal to ISHLT using the online proposal form by 30 April.
- ISHLT staff will review application forms and work with the submitter to ensure a complete proposal, including a rough budget sketch.
- One or more Interdisciplinary Network Steering Committees (IDNs) will review the proposal for content and interdisciplinary value. Should the plan be supported, an IDN Committee will act as the Project Sponsor.
- ISHLT staff will work with the submitter and IDN Project Sponsor to develop a budget, including first year and subsequent years’ revenues and expenses, and assess staff and volunteer support requirements.
- The ISHLT Finance Committee will review the proposal for business value and risk assessment. Resulting questions will be addressed by the submitter, staff, and the IDN Project Sponsor.
- The appropriate oversight committee (Statements & Publications, Research, Education, or Membership & Outreach) will review the proposal for implementation and compliance with ISHLT quality, transparency, and diversity standards.
- The ISHLT Board of Directors will review projects for final approval. After Board approval, a project timeline will be developed, and the project may begin.
FAQs
Funded projects will introduce or expand ISHLT programs, services, or initiatives that benefit the ISHLT community and align with ISHLT’s strategic goals to foster innovation, education, and research. They will align with key ISHLT strategic priorities, such as strengthening global collaborations, expanding access to transplant and advanced therapies, fostering innovation in treatment approaches, and enhancing data collection and analysis capabilities.
No. As part of its mission and through the support of the ISHLT Foundation, ISHLT offers a variety of grants and awards to support research training in heart and lung transplantation as well as end-stage heart and lung diseases to encourage the development of clinical or basic science research implications.
No. There are separate proposal mechanisms for these types of projects. For more information, email Megan Barrett at Megan.Barrett@ishlt.org.
ISHLT will acknowledge your submission upon receipt. The subsequent review process takes several months.
Per the submission process, proposals must be approved by an IDN Steering Committee, the Finance Committee, an Oversight Committee, and the ISHLT Board of Directors.
The proposal evaluation process is designed to take approximately 120 days, though timing can vary based on the submission date.
Upon approval by the ISHLT Board of Directors, a project timeline will be developed. Projects may begin relatively quickly or may be initiated as funding and resources become available, or in correlation with other considerations.
Email ISHLT COO, Aaron Adair, at aaron.adair@ishlt.org or call +1-312-224-1261.