Call for proposals 2025: Fund for OUH Frontline Centres

Proposals for OUH Frontline Centres are invited. A maximum of four new frontline centres may be funded with this call.

Launch of call	Application deadline	Assessment meeting
10 January, 2024	6 May, 2025 at 23.59 p.m.	26 June, 2025 (13:00 - 18:00)

Proposals for OUH Frontline Centres are invited. A maximum of four new frontline centres may be funded with this call.

Background and focus

Over the past decade, OUH has maintained a clear objective to sustain and expand its specialised functions while supporting cross-functional areas.

The primary focus of the Frontline Centres has to date been on:

• Establishing Frontline Centres for new highly specialised functions (HSFs) requiring research support.
• Supporting existing specialised functions at risk.
• Development functions with the potential to become HSFs at OUH.

In line with the Danish government's new 2024 healthcare reform agreement, which emphasises bringing the healthcare system closer to the citizens, OUH aims to align its strategy to support this vision.

The 2025 call for frontline proposals is therefore expanded to include support for Frontline Centres which e.g.:

• Focus on research aimed at enhancing local healthcare delivery, such as improving transitions between sectors.
• Strengthen collaboration with psychiatry, e.g. through initiatives targeting psychiatric patients within somatic hospital settings.
• Address the management and treatment of chronic diseases (as defined by the government's new 2024 healthcare reform agreement).
• Explore other areas of significance to our patients.

As such, it is no longer a requirement for new Frontline Centres at OUH to support HSFs. Proposals focusing on regional or main function levels will also be considered.

A Frontline Centre at OUH creates impact

While the specific focus areas of the new Frontline Centres may vary, it is important that the centres aim to create impact. This could include, but is not limited to:

• For patients: Enhancing treatment outcomes, improving the quality of care, or elevating the overall patient experience.
• For patients’ relatives: Providing better support and resources to improve their well-being and ability or assist patients.
• For healthcare professionals: Strengthening working conditions, fostering professional development, or improving collaboration across sectors.
• For society: Addressing public health challenges, reducing healthcare system pressures, or contributing to long-term health improvements.

Organisation of a Frontline Centre at OUH

A Frontline Centre at OUH must meet the following criteria as regards to organisation:

• Involvement of at least three distinct groups. These groups can be:
  • Three OUH departments, or
  • Two OUH departments combined with at least one external collaborators such as a municipality, general practice, or psychiatry.
• Anchored in a single OUH host department, which assumes responsibility for its financial and managerial aspects.
• Organised under a programme management structure, led by the OUH Head of Department and Head of Research or a senior researcher (professor or associate professor) from the OUH host Department.

Requirements for applicants

Applications must be submitted by the proposed Frontline Centre leader and prepared in collaboration with a consortium that includes research management and researchers from the participating groups.

The proposed Frontline Centre leader must be employed at OUH and hold a position as either professor or associate professor with allocated research time.

Budget

The OUH Fund for Frontline Centres provides co-financing, with the expectation that Frontline Centres secure additional external funding. It is expected that 66 % of the centre will be funded from external sources (regional funding is not external sources). Each approved centre will receive up to DKK 1.25 million annually for three years. The annual distribution of funding will follow the below allocation:

Year	2025	2026	2027	2028	2029	2030
Amount	625,000	1,250,000	1,250,000	625,000	0	0

Eligible costs

The OUH Fund for Frontline Centres can co-finance the following:

• Employment of researchers: Salary for academic staff (“VIP-løn” in Danish), including funding for PhD students. This includes a maximum of one year salary (stipend) and associated study fees per PhD student.
• Employment or co-financing of non-academic staff: Salaries for technical and administrative staff (TAP-løn in Danish) involved in research projects, such as e.g. biomedical laboratory technicians and research nurses.
• Start-up expenses: Initial costs related to the establishment of research activities.
• Equipment purchases: Procurement of apparatus or other material necessary for research projects.
• Biobank and databases: Costs for establishing and operation biobanks and databases.

Non-eligible costs

The following costs cannot be covered by the OUH Fund for Frontline Centres:

• Conference participation and travel: Expenses related to attending conferences or congresses.
• Overhead: Overhead costs cannot be covered as it is an in-house fund.
• External staff costs: Salaries or other expenses related to staff not employed at OUH.
• Expenses for Open Access: OUH encourages publishing via green Open Access/parallel publishing. For more information, please refer to the SDU Library.

Budget approval

Before submitting an application, the budget must be approved by ForskerService.

ForskerService provides guidance on how to draft a budget. For assistance, please refer to: reg.forskerservice@rsyd.dk

Considerations regarding content of your application

To ensure that your application meets all requirements and highlights the full potential of your project, we kindly ask you to address the following considerations in the application form in efond (see “How to submit an application” below for more information about efond). This will help strengthen the quality of your proposal and increase its relevance in the evaluation process.

1.      Laymans´s description (to be written in Danish).

Provide a brief, non-technical summary of the programme, easily understandable for patients, relatives, and the public. Highlight the programme’s relevance to patients and their families, ensuring the outcomes are clear and meaningful.

2.      Involvement of patients and relatives (to be written in Danish).

Explain how patients and their relatives will be actively involved throughout the project, from idea generation and planning to implementation and evaluation. Outline specific strategies to incorporate their perspectives, ensuring the outcomes are relevant and valuable.

Examples of how and when patients and relatives can be involved:

• Clarification of research questions, outcome goals
• Reading the application – especially the sections in Danish (layman’s description, descriptions to Ethical Committee of Science)
• Dissemination of research results

Please find more inspiration at the OUH Center for Forskning Sammen med Patienter og Pårørende (ForSa-P; in Danish), VIBIS (in Danish) or NIHS in the UK.

3.      Description of your Frontline Centre programme

Provide a clear and concise overview of the proposed programme, including its focus, objectives, expected outcomes, feasibility and the innovative aspects of its research activities. Ensure that your application emphasises how your research is innovative and addresses existing gaps in healthcare.

Strategic impact

Explain how your programme aligns with e.g. the strategic priorities of OUH, The national speciality plan (“specialeplanen” in Danish) and national healthcare reform and describe the expected impact on patients, relatives, healthcare professionals, and society. Clearly explain how the programme addresses critical health challenges or unmet needs, and how it will lead to measurable outcomes.

Monitoring and evaluation plans

Provide a description of how the progress and impact of the programme will be measured, including specific metrics for e.g.:

• Patient volume
• Clinical, organizational, and patient-experienced quality and/or impact
• Research output and its potential for impact

Ensure that these metrics will allow for measurable outcomes within the proposed timeframe.

4.      Governance structure

A robust governance structure is crucial for the effective implementation and management of the frontline centre programme. Describe how the programme will be organised, detailing cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral collaboration, as well as the key competences and resources needed to achieve its objectives.

Collaboration and multidisciplinary approach

Describe the involvement of multiple groups – within OUH, and external partners (e.g., national and international researchers, municipalities, general practice, or psychiatry).

Emphasise the cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral collaboration that will be fostered in your centre.

Leadership and organisational structure

Describe the organisational structure of the centre, including the leadership team and their roles in managing the programme. Provide details on the qualifications and leadership capabilities of the centre leader and key staff members. Explain how the leadership team will ensure the effective management of the centre, including decision-making processes, resource allocation, and oversight of day-to-day activities. It is also important to highlight any plans for leadership development within the centre.

Description of competences, education and technology

Outline the skills, training, and technological resources necessary to ensure the success of the programme. Highlight any plans for capacity building and the professional development of staff, including early-career researchers. Also, describe how the centre will ensure diversity and inclusivity in career development opportunities.

5.      International collaboration

Outline planned international activities and collaborations, such as researcher and student exchange programmes, hosting visiting scholars, or engaging in global research networks. Explain how these initiatives will enhance the centre’s work and contribute to its goals.

6.      Ethical and regulatory compliance

Explain how your programme will comply with ethical standards and relevant regulations, particularly in areas such as patient data management, biobank use, and informed consent. Outline the ethical framework guiding your work.

How to submit an application

The application must be submitted via the electronic application system efond. Please read and comply with the instructions provided in efond for the fields described above and attach the following appendices in PDF format: 

• CVs and publication lists from the past 5 years for the applicant, co-applicants and other participants for whom salary (VIP) is requested (max. 2 pages in total for each person)
• Confirmation of participation from researchers described in the application (e.g. WP leaders and other key-researchers).
• Signed approval from OUH host department and other OUH departments or external partners involved in the centre.
• Relevant approvals. To ensure compliance with current regulations, relevant approvals from authorities must be included if they have been obtained at the time of application. These approvals include, but are not limited to, approvals from authorities such as The Scientific Ethical Committee, The Danish Data Protection Agency, and Danish Medicines Agency etc.
• A five-year strategy and research plan: Include goals, milestones, and expected results for the centre, such as targets for publications, guidelines, PhD projects, postdocs, international collaborations, and dissemination for each Work Package (WP). Provide a timeline for achieving these goals.
• Model for organisation, management and collaboration.
• Funding strategy: Detail efforts to secure external funding, including potential sources, estimated amounts, and application timelines. Include plans for ensuring the centre’s financial sustainability beyond the funding period.
• Dissemination strategy: Describe how research findings will be shared with key stakeholders, such as healthcare professionals, patients, policymakers, and the public. Include strategies for knowledge translation and dissemination both within and beyond the centre.
• List of abbreviations (if needed).

Your application must be written in English. However, please note that the layman’s description and the section regarding patient involvement must be written in Danish.

It is also important that your application meets the formal and technical requirements in the call and comply with current ethical requirements.

You will receive a confirmation by email from “efond” upon successful submission of your application (please check your spam filter if you do not receive an email).

Assessment procedure

All submitted applications will be evaluated by OUH’s Research Council, which includes representatives of patients and relatives as full members.

The applicants for the eight highest rated applications for establishing a new Frontline Centre at OUH will be invited to give a short presentation about their proposed Centre to the Research Council. Presentations will take place 26 June 2025, and invitations will be sent with short notice, approximately one week before the assessment meeting. 10 minutes allocated to each applicant to present their concept, followed by a 10-minute session for clarifying questions from the Council. We kindly ask you to reserve this date in your calendar if you should be invited to present your proposal.

Patients and relatives, as members of the Research Council, will contribute to the evaluation process. Their primary focus will be on the layman’s description and the description of patient involvement. These sections must therefore be written in clear, accessible language understandable to a non-specialist audience.

Please note:

• Strategic considerations may influence the final selection of applications that will receive funding from the programme.

Performance

For each of the established frontline centres, a centre management must be set up. The frontline centres will be evaluated annually based on individual objectives, which are outlined in a performance contract between the Executive Board and the applicant. This ensures that the progression of the centre is measured and aligned with its goals. The first evaluation meeting is expected to take place in the autumn of 2026.

Questions and contact information

Please forward questions to ouh.forskning@rsyd.dk. 

Assessment criteria for new Frontline Centres at OUH

Assessment criteria are currently being completed and will be added as soon as possible.