Frequently asked questions – Multinational clinical trials initiative 

No, the GCRFF Multinational Clinical Trials Initiative does not fund trials directly, nor does it guarantee funding by individual funders.   

The aim of the Initiative is to help increase the likelihood of academic-led, multinational clinical trials securing the funding they need to be delivered successfully. When you submit an EOI to the initiative, it will be reviewed by an Expert Advisory Panel (EAP) who will provide detailed feedback on your proposed trial and study design. Representatives of the funders involved in the initiative also attend EAP meetings, and can indicate whether they would be willing to receive an application for your trial. Trials considered to have merit will be endorsed, which is intended to demonstrate strong support for the trial and subsequent funding applications. 

The idea is that having input into your proposal trial and its design before you start applying for funding, plus being able to share that your trial was endorsed by the GCRFF in any funding applications, helps put your trial in a competitive position to secure funding. It also helps potential funders know the level of support you are requesting from other funders, providing greater assurance that the trial will be deliverable and costs will be shared. 

No, you can only submit an EOI if you are planning to conduct the trial/recruit participants in at least two countries where funders that are members of the GCRFF Multinational Clinical Trials Initiative are based (see list). 

No, if the trial has already started recruiting, it will not be eligible for endorsement through the GCRFF.  

The initiative aims to facilitate funding applications for academic investigator-led trials. We welcome collaboration with industry for specific trials, however this collaboration should take place via the academic principal investigator. The initiative cannot accept applications for endorsement of EOIs directly from industry.  

We would usually expect that for a trial to be submitted as an EOI: 

• A core international team has been established that is planning to deliver the trial. 

• The team should have agreed a harmonised protocol (e.g. the inclusion criteria, intervention and control and primary endpoint should be the same across all countries involved). 

• The team have planned which funders they intend to apply to. This means that the EOI should include co-applicants that will be national leads for the trial in each of the countries that will be receiving a request for funding. Please note that we encourage you to informally discuss your trial proposal with the relevant national funders before submitting an EOI. In addition, if you plan to apply to the DZHK for funding for the trial, you must check your eligibility with the DZHK head officebefore submitting to the GCRFF. If you plan to apply to the DHF for funding for the trial, you must submit a short pre-application before submitting to the GCRFF. 

You will be asked to provide an estimated total cost for the trial and indicative amounts to be requested from each proposed funder. While a detailed breakdown of costings is not required at this stage, the indicative costings should be a reasonable estimate of the funding required to successfully deliver the trial, and the amounts attributed to the individual funders should be realistic. Please note that the EAP will take into account whether a trial potentially offers value for money when making endorsement decisions. See an example completed summary of costs table. 

No, we aim to keep the EOI form brief. If the EOI is endorsed, then there will be an opportunity to add supporting information on applications for funding to the relevant organisations. 

You can apply for support for the proposed clinical trial through the national funders' usual funding mechanisms. See Next steps for endorsed Expressions of Interest for more information.  

Your decision email will include a list of GCRFF funders that would be willing to receive an application for the trial. Occasionally, this may include funders that you did not include in your Expression of Interest. 

We also encourage you to take into account the Expert Advisory Panel’s feedback when preparing any subsequent funding applications.