For projects that advance to the second review stage, the JOC works with investigators to draft full, comprehensive proposals for consideration for the collaboration, based on a template application developed by the JOC. This full proposal involves a more detailed description of the current research efforts, details of support data generated, planned future experiments, internal resources available for advancement, and the like. The JOC performs a thorough assessment of full proposals based on market opportunity, technical feasibility, regulatory and reimbursement factors, and intellectual property protection. A scientific advisory board (SAB) comprised of external scientific advisors and Vanderbilt subject matter experts is engaged to provide scientific and technical input, and the Deerfield Institute (experts at analyzing market data to understand emerging products and trends within the healthcare market) is engaged to provide market information and insight. Full proposal reviews typically take 2 months to complete.
Upon completion of full proposal reviews, the JOC provides a report to the VSC detailing its analysis and recommendations for funding. Upon agreement of all parties, selected proposals are brought into the collaboration. This will be a highly selective process and it is possible that the RFP process will yield no projects suitable for the collaboration. All full proposals not selected for the collaboration will receive substantial feedback from the JOC that can be used by the investigators to improve proposals for future consideration. Investigators of selected proposals work with the JOC to develop a Work Plan and Budget, as detailed in the next section below.