The I OM Foundation is dedicated to understanding the underlying science and clinical impact of orgasmic meditation (OM). To that end, we conduct and fund biomedical and social research ranging from survey studies to clinical trials. All research conducted as part of an I OM Foundation Research Program award involving human subjects must comply with appropriate federal, state, and local regulations pertaining to the use of human subjects in research, including all requirements of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. No part of the grant may be used to support any research involving human subjects that does not have the approval of the appropriate Institutional Review Boards (IRB). All research subjects must be at least 18 years old.

The following policies and guidelines apply to the I OM Foundation Research Program. Note that this information is provided for guidance only to current and potential grantees. It does not supplant the information or terms contained in I OM Foundation grant agreements. In the event of a conflict between these policies and guidelines and the I OM Foundation grant agreement, the provisions in the I OM Foundation grant agreement shall take precedence.

If you have questions regarding these policies, please contact us.

Restriction on Use of Animals

The I OM Foundation does not fund research that uses non-human animals or primary tissues derived from animals.

Use of Human Subjects

All research conducted as part of an I OM Foundation Research Program award involving human subjects must comply with appropriate federal, state, and local regulations pertaining to the use of human subjects in research, including all requirements of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. No part of the grant may be used to support any research involving human subjects that does not have the approval of the appropriate Institutional Review Boards (IRB).

Appropriate IRB approvals must be in place before research involving human subjects commences and must thereafter be maintained and in effect throughout the research project. All federal, state, and local regulations and policies governing the conduct of research must be followed without exception, including, but not limited to those relating to human subject protection, radiation and environmental health and safety.

The grantee institution is responsible for ensuring that the research conducted as part of an I OM Foundation grant is in compliance with all relevant federal, state and local policies and regulations. I OM Foundation must be notified immediately if there are any regulatory issues, protocol violations, or policy changes that impact the ability of the grantee to conduct the research supported by an I OM Foundation grant.

Clinical Trial Registration

All clinical trials supported in part or in full by I OM Foundation must be registered at ClinicalTrials.gov. I OM Foundation uses the NIH definition of a “clinical trial,” which is “A research study in which one or more human subjects are prospectively assigned to one or more interventions (which may include placebo or other control) to evaluate the effects of those interventions on health-related biomedical or behavioral outcomes.”

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Allowable Costs

The I OM Foundation supports both direct and indirect costs in our research grants. Direct costs are those expenses that are clearly identified with and charged to a specific project.

Direct Costs include
Salaries and fringe benefits of personnel in positions that directly support the research project. Fringe benefits typically cover charges such as FICA, retirement, and health insurance.

  • Consultant fees for consultants that directly support the project
  • Equipment. Restrictions may exist depending on the grant; please contact us for additional details.
  • Consumable research supplies
  • Travel (see section below titled Travel Guidelines)
  • Subcontracts
  • Publication fees. I OM Foundation may cover publisher fees to accommodate immediate public release. Publications from the grant may be subject to our public access policy, please see section on Public Access Publishing.
  • Data analysis and processing
  • Subject costs, such as expenses related to subject recruitment (such as participation incentives, subject remuneration, etc.) and clinical laboratory analyses of human subjects or their samples (such as clinical laboratory assays, imaging charges, study medications, etc.).

 

Indirect Costs: Indirect costs, sometimes referred to as facilities and administration costs or overhead, are costs incurred to conduct the standard business activities of an institution and are not readily identified with or attributable to a specific project. The activities of an institution that might fall under indirect costs include: research and grants administration, research committees (e.g., Institutional Review Boards, Biosafety Committees), and shared facilities

The I OM Foundation Research Program generally caps indirect costs at 10% of the total of all direct costs. However, there are certain direct costs that it excludes from the indirect cost calculation. These include testing services and core facility costs. The Foundation reserves the right to review direct costs and exclude other specific costs from the indirect cost calculation.

Subcontracts: Indirect costs are allowed within subcontracts that are part of an I OM Foundation-funded project. Indirect costs that are part of subcontracts will count towards the total indirect costs of 10% allowed for the grant.

Unallowable Costs

I OM Foundation Funds cannot be used for the following activities:

  • Acquisition, care, and use of experimental non-human animals or their primary tissues
  • Lobbying
  • Unallowable travel expenses listed below

 

Note that there may be other unallowable costs associated with specific grants. Please refer to the grant agreement. Contact us if you have any questions about expenses.

Travel Guidelines

I OM Foundation awarded funds may be used towards reasonable and necessary travel expenses related to the research supported by the grant. The following table of allowable and unallowable travel-related costs are given as a guideline; grantees should follow their own institutional policies when applicable. The list is not meant to be all-inclusive. Grantees seeking guidance about a particular expense should contact us for clarification

Allowable travel expenses

  • Coach or economy class airfare or trainfare
  • Single room accommodations in moderately priced hotels
  • Ground transportation, including taxis, public transportation, and services such as Uber
  • Mileage reimbursement for use of personal car
    Standard or economy car rental
  • Reasonable costs for meals (suggested amounts are $25 for breakfast, $35 for lunch and $65 for dinner per person including tax and tip)
  • Tips for hotel housekeeping, luggage assistance, and parking valets
  • Airline charges for checked baggage and business packages
  • Business office expenses at hotels (copy services, business postage, printing, etc.)
  • Internet access fees

 

Unallowable travel expenses

  • Activities primarily social in nature or for personal entertainment, even if business associates are included
  • Frequent traveler program fees; travel paid for with frequent flyer miles; airline club memberships and dues
  • Change/cancellation fees (airline, hotel, car service, etc.) unless due to a business necessity
  • Barbers, hairdressers, shoe shine, and spa services
  • Car washes
  • Expenses not associated with business travel for travelers extending their stay for personal reasons
  • Personally obtained flight and travel accident insurance
  • In-room videos/entertainment
  • Laundry and valet service for trips less than five nights in duration
  • Luggage damaged or lost in transit
  • Normal commuting expenses
  • Childcare expenses
  • Pet boarding fees
  • Traffic/parking fines or citations

Scientific and Budgetary Overlap

While I OM Foundation anticipates and encourages grant recipients to apply for research support from other funding sources, the foundation expects that the I OM Foundation grant be the exclusive source of support for budgeted items necessary to achieve the specific research aims described in a proposal and associated budget that is funded by I OM Foundation. The grantee and the associated institution agree to:

  • Adhere to the I OM Foundation policy with respect to other funding requests;
  • Work with I OM Foundation toward appropriate resolution of overlap if a project with similar aims or budget items is funded.

Progress/Financial Reporting

Generally, progress and financial reports are due on a semi-annual basis. Progress reports should detail the scientific progress made, as well as provide updated IRB approval status, budgetary, expense, and other support information. A separate financial report gives a detailed comparison of actual expenses to the approved line-item budget, as well as an explanation for any overages and/or unspent funds and a budget for the following year, when appropriate. The financial report should be signed by the appropriate financial officer of the grantee institution

Budget Approvals, Rollovers, and Allocation Changes

For multi-year grants, budgets beyond the first year of the grant are generally approved on an annual basis. I OM Foundation will authorize expenditure of funds based upon review of the annual progress and financial reports and proposed budget for the subsequent years. After receipt and review of a satisfactory report, I OM Foundation will provide written notification to the grantee and the grantee institution that I OM Foundation authorizes expenditure of funds, in accordance with the proposed budgets, for the upcoming year and the start of the following year. This allows spending to continue while the grantee awaits the next year’s budget approval.

Funds budgeted but not spent in one year of a multi-year grant may be rolled into the following year’s budget, with the approval of program staff. Budget revisions of 20% or more per expense category of the current year’s grant budget require I OM Foundation approval through a written request to the I OM Foundation.

Changes to Research Plan

I OM Foundation grant funds may not be used for any other purpose or research project of the grantee institution without the prior written approval of I OM Foundation. The foundation must be consulted in advance if there are significant changes to the aims of the funded research project or in the event that any aspect of the research project is changed or redesigned.

Institutional Transfers

If you are a current I OM Foundation grantee planning a move to a new institution, please contact us as soon as possible, and preferably at least three months prior to the transfer. While most transfers will be approved, I OM Foundation must have confirmation that the new institution is eligible to receive I OM Foundation grants and that it will host the transferred project.

Program staff will work with you and your current and new institution to ensure a smooth transfer. Below is a summary of the general transfer process; other supporting documents may be necessary.

  1. The grantee requests I OM Foundation approval of a transfer with a letter detailing the last effective day at the current institution as well as the new position and start date at new institution.
  2. The grantee submits following document to I OM Foundation:
    • A brief progress report on project aims
  3. Documents to be prepared by the grantee’s current institution are submitted:
    • A final financial report
    • A refund check payable to I OM Foundation for funds remaining in the grant
  4. Documents to be prepared by grantee and institutional officials at the new institution are submitted:
    • Revised cover page for the research project proposal from the new institution, to include principal investigator and institution information, and signatures by grantee and authorized official at the new institution
    • A budget describing how the remaining grant funds will be spent at the new institution and clearly stating the start and end dates of the grant period.
    • IRB approval documentation
    • Official institutional letter confirming grantee’s new academic appointment and institutional resources available to the grantee
  5. I OM Foundation issues a new grant agreement to the new institution, including a schedule for payment of the remaining grant funds.

 

The transfer is considered complete once all the steps above have been executed and I OM Foundation has a signed new grant agreement with the new institution. Due to the time needed for the original institution to complete its financial reporting and to send any refund to I OM Foundation, it may take as long as three to six months to complete the transfer process.

No-Cost Extensions

Generally, if unspent funds are projected to remain at the conclusion of the funding period, I OM Foundation will allow a no-cost extension with prior written permission. The maximum time period for a no-cost extension depends on the grant. We recommend that you refer to the grant agreement to determine the maximum number of no-cost extension months allowed for your particular grant. During any approved no-cost extension period, indirect costs may be charged to the grant provided that total indirect costs charged over the entire grant period and extension do not exceed the total indirect cost allowance.

Funding Acknowledgement

All publications (as well as posters and/or abstracts at scientific meetings) reporting work funded by the grant should acknowledge that support in writing and specify the grant number. Acknowledgment for the grant should include use of the complete Foundation name, “I OM Foundation,” in any public documents pertaining to the grant. In their grant agreement, grantees will find specific language to acknowledge funding.

Please note that funding acknowledgement requirements are different from the publication access policy requirements below.

Public Access Publishing

I OM Foundation requires that any academic publication based on the Grant acknowledge I OM Foundation’s support, as outlined in the section, Funding Acknowledgement. In addition, for most of our grants, we also require that any academic publication be made freely available and downloadable online in a timely manner and with as few restrictions as possible, in order to ensure that I OM Foundation‐funded projects can be identified, accessed, read, and built upon.

We recommend checking the grant agreement to identify if a specific grant is subject to this public access policy.

Sharing of Grant Information

I OM Foundation reserves the right to include information relating to the grant (such as the grantee name and project title) in materials issued by or on behalf of I OM Foundation, including periodic reports, newsletters or news releases, the website, or in any other materials issued by or on behalf of I OM Foundation.

Intellectual Property and Copyright

If any idea conceived or reduced to practice as a result of a I OM Foundation grant results in material subject to patent or copyright, the disposition of any such rights and income derived therefrom shall be subject to the policies and procedures of the grantee institution, unless otherwise outlined in the grant agreement. In the event that the grantee institution has no such established policy, the foundation reserves the right to review and determine the disposition of any such rights and income.