2008-2009 Tibotec Therapeutics STEP Initiative:
Strengthening Treatment Education for People Living with HIV/AIDS

General Information

Tibotec Therapeutics recognizes and understands the current demographics of HIV/AIDS in the United States and the critical unmet need for local, community-based treatment education for underserved populations living with HIV/AIDS.

Tibotec Therapeutics is focused on supporting educational initiatives that fundamentally improve patient care and outcomes, and is pleased to announce the availability of funds through the first annual Tibotec Therapeutics STEP Initiative. Proposals are now being accepted for programs to be implemented in early 2009.

The goal of the Tibotec Therapeutics STEP Initiative is to improve treatment education for people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States and Puerto Rico. Tibotec Therapeutics will consider all proposals related to treatment education, with a particular focus on those programs reaching populations that are and have been traditionally underserved in the community. Proposals may request support for existing programs, however, our focus is on the development and implementation of new and innovative treatment education models that will reach underserved populations with a critical unmet need for treatment education.

The Tibotec Therapeutics STEP Initiative will be managed by a program committee that is composed of two HIV community members - both of whom have a wealth of experience in treatment education - in conjunction with Tibotec Therapeutics.

We are pleased to announce the 2008-2009 request for proposals and are now accepting applications.

To access a copy of the 2008-2009 Tibotec Therapeutics STEP Initiative request for proposal, CLICK HERE.

Program Guidelines

Tibotec Therapeutics cannot support programs commenced prior to the receipt of funding. Awards will be paid out in late December 2008.

The requested funding amount should not exceed $50,000. Co-support of the proposed program from other sources is allowed.

Funding requests should focus on one of the following approaches to treatment education for people living with HIV/AIDS:

1. Programs that use or adapt validated evidence-based approaches to treatment education for a local underserved population that has not been targeted previously with such an approach (eg, expansion of existing programs and/or proven models to previously unreached populations).
2. Development of novel and innovative treatment education models directed at underserved populations living with HIV/AIDS, with the potential goal of establishing new evidence-based models.

^* Evidence may include published reports, previous program evaluations/outcomes, or other sources. You will be asked to describe the existing evidence base for the proposed program in your proposal.

Eligibility

Tibotec Therapeutics recognizes that successful treatment education programs require both cultural familiarity with the intended patient audience and experience developing and implementing HIV/AIDS treatment education. Therefore, organizations apply for funding through the Tibotec Therapeutics STEP Initiative must demonstrate:

• Existing expertise or an established track record with providing treatment education
• Cultural competence relative to the targeted population

Organizations that are not fully competent in both of these areas are encouraged to partner with another experienced organization in the design and implementation of the proposed program.

Strong consideration will be given to applications from small to mid-sized community-based organizations. Organizations that have received $25,000 or more in grant and/or contribution funding from Tibotec Therapeutics in 2008 are not eligible for funding through this program.

Areas out of scope include:

• Programs with healthcare professionals as the primary audience (including continuing medical education)
• HIV testing programs
• HIV prevention programs
• Programs for people living with HIV/AIDS outside of the United States and Puerto Rico
• Programs with staff trainers or peer educators as the sole/primary target audience for education (The primary audience for proposed programs should be people living with HIV/AIDS in the local community. Training and education of the requesting organization's staff as a minor component of a larger community-based program is permissible.)
• Incremental improvements to established, ongoing treatment education programs (expansion or application of existing program to a new, underserved population is permissible)
• Programs with content that is not fair balanced and/or programs that focus on any one company's antiretroviral products (commercially available and/or investigational)
• Programs that discuss uses of Tibotec Therapeutics products outside of the approved US labeling (CLICK HERE for PREZISTA^™ full prescribing information) (CLICK HERE for INTELENCE^™ full prescribing information)

Application Process

CLICK HERE to download the Tibotec Therapeutics STEP Initiative application template. All applications must be complete and only applications submitted on the required template will be considered. No additional information is necessary; if additional information is provided it will not be used in the review process. If you have questions about the application process, you may email your question to ttstep@its.jnj.com or call and leave a message at 1 908-541-4922.

The deadline for all applications is October 31, 2008. Applications received after this date will not be considered. Completed applications can be emailed to ttstep@its.jnj.com or faxed to 908-541-4736.

Award Notification

Organizations selected to receive funding will be notified by December 1, 2008. A description of all award recipients will be posted on this website.

Do you have questions? To see a list of answers to some "Frequently Asked Questions", CLICK HERE.

For general inquiries or additional information, please send an email to ttstep@its.jnj.com.