VUMC Institutional Letters of Support – General Guidelines
Updated: August 2022
All requests for letters of support should be sent to the attention of Amy Martinez (amy.f.martinez@vumc.org) and Katelyn Poole (katelyn.poole@vumc.org) in the VUMC Office of Research.
Requests for letters of general support should be submitted at least two weeks prior to the preferred grant submission date.
Requests for letters of support that ask for specific financial, space or other material resource commitments from the institution should be submitted at least 30 days prior to the preferred grant submission date.
Requests should include:
- Draft letter for editing (Word document)
- Brief summary of the project including project title
- List of co-investigators and key personnel
- Program name with solicitation number and/or link to RFA
Letters of support are subject to review, editing and approval and additional information may be requested. Letters will typically be signed by the VUMC Chief Scientific and Strategy Officer. If matching funds, space or any other material resources are committed, letters may be co-signed by appropriate institutional leaders.
The VUMC Office of Research does not typically handle letters of support for R01s, however if an institutional letter of support is required by the program announcement please reach out.
Other recommended letters:
- If there will be a subaward to or significant collaboration with VU, separate letter(s) of support from the VU Vice Provost for Research or appropriate Dean's office are encouraged. The VUMC Office of Research is happy to advise on appropriate letters. See below for instructions on requesting a letter from the VU Dean of Basic Sciences.
- Applications that will be supported by VICTR resources (including BioVU, Synthetic Derivative, Clinical Research Center, pilot funding, grant studios, and many others) should request a VICTR letter of support. See below for instructions on requesting a letter from VICTR.
Templates and style guide:
The following documents are working drafts available for your use in preparing draft letters. They are offered as guidance, not rules. We welcome feedback and suggestions. Please send any comments to Katelyn Poole.
NIH Training Grant Requirement: VUMC Institutional Letter of Commitment to Protections Against Harassment and Discrimination
NIH institutional training grants now require a letter on institutional letterhead and signed by a key institutional leader that describes the applicant institution’s commitment to preventing occurrences of and responding to allegations of discriminatory harassment or other discriminatory practices.
Learn more on the VUMC Office of Sponsored Programs Blog and access the VUMC Commitment to Protections Against Harassment and Discrimination (NIH Institutional Training Grants) letter here (Log-in with netID required)
*Note that this letter is for training grants submitted by VUMC. Training grants submitted by VU require a letter signed by VU officials.
VICTR Resource Commitment Letters
VICTR can provide a letter of support that will be specific to your study and describes the general resources available through VICTR that could be awarded. Please contact Research Services Consultant Lesa Black at lesa.black@vumc.org to request a general letter of support.
VU Basic Sciences Letters of Support
Guidelines for letters of support from the VU Dean of Basic Sciences (a division of the School of Medicine), can be found on the School of Medicine Basic Sciences website.