Submission of Letters of Intent (LOIs):
An LOI should be a succinct (five pages or less) description of your program, and should address the questions listed below.
The Pool Trust will accept LOIs at any time.
The Pool Trustees may act on any LOI at any Trust meeting. Typically, however, they will make decisions regarding LOIs during 2 cycles:

• Spring - (Apr. - May) - for LOIs submitted on or before March 1.
• Fall - (Sept. - Oct.) - for LOIs submitted on or before August 1.

Development/Approval of Proposals:
LOIs that are of interest to the Trustees will be invited for a full proposal. Proposals will provide greater detail of the questions addressed in the LOI.
The joint (Pool Trust/applicant) effort at proposal development (including outside review for major proposals) will be completed as soon as possible.
Decisions will be made on proposals at any Trust meeting when a proposal is ready for action. (For relatively small grants, the Trust's decision may be made on the basis of a well-developed LOI.)
LOIs/Proposals should fit into one of the Pool Trust/Lehigh Valley Hospital agreed-upon priority areas:

• Recruitment and Retention
• Clinical Innovation
• Access to Care
• Medical Education
• Community Health
• Health Studies

All LOIs/Proposals should answer the following questions:

Purpose - What is the specific idea or purpose behind the request?

• Provide a brief (less than one page) summary of the purpose of the request, including an itemized list of concrete measurable goals or expected outcomes.
• Describe how the idea matches with one of the above identified priority areas.

Method - How will you achieve your purpose?

• Describe the specific outcome indicators or measurable deliverables that will be a direct result from this proposed program.
• Provide a work plan, including a time schedule and who will be responsible for accomplishing the objectives.

Leadership - Who is the individual that will lead this initiative? Who will work on the program?

• List the qualifications, credentials or experience of each responsible person relative to each objective.

Measurement - How will you know if you are on target to meet/have met your goals?

• Describe the method of evaluating progress and effectiveness.

Budget - How much will this cost?

• Attach a fully defined budget that includes total project costs.
• Include a list detailing all (committed and projected) sources of financial support.

Sustainability - If this is not a contained study, how will the program activity be continued after Pool Trust funding ceases?

Lehigh Valley Hospital has an internal review process for all LVH staff interested in submitting an LOI.