| Peer Review Committee |
Important Changes in the Competition Timelines
Effective July 1, 2006, the competition timelines have changed as detailed below. Please note that there will now be four competitions a year with two entry points for each funding tool.
CIHR 's Innovation and Industry Programs are designed to help the academic community interact with Canadian companies with an interest in health research and development. The programs promote a wide variety of peer-reviewed research and training projects jointly funded by Canadian companies and CIHR . The research undertaken at eligible institutions under the leadership of a principal applicant who is affiliated with the institution is based on research excellence focused on ultimately improving the quality of health of Canadians.
The two main arms to CIHR 's Innovation and Industry Programs include: the CIHR/Rx&D Collaborative Research Program and the CIHR/SME (Small and Medium Enterprise) Research Program .
All industry-partnered grants and awards are subject to all the guidelines governing CIHR programs. Any exceptions are noted within Section 4 of the Grants and Awards Guide. Please note that Proof of Principle Phase II can be industry-partnered as well. For more information, refer to the Proof of Principle program description.
The CIHR/Rx&D Collaborative Research Program is inspired by the longstanding successful collaboration between the pharmaceutical research industry and CIHR . Under this program, the eligible company partner is a member of Canada 's Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (Rx&D) [link: http://www.canadapharma.org/]. The Program promotes peer-reviewed research and enhances the training and development of health research personnel and opportunities in Canada . The Program is designed to enable scientists, clinicians and members of the full spectrum of health professionals, and Rx&D members to optimize their access to the unique opportunities and advantages offered by CIHR's translational research opportunities, including clinical research. The collaboration will better enable CIHR and Rx&D to maximize the impact of clinical and translational research in Canada in order to contribute to the health of Canadians, better delivery of health research and services as well as contribute to the economy of Canada and the world.
Under this program, the industrial partner is a small or medium enterprise (or company) that is not a member of the Canada Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (Rx&D). The Program encourages, stimulates and enables health research programs of start-ups, university spin-offs and SMEs. This program contributes to the establishment and strengthening of the SME research and industry environment, strengthens Intellectual Property (IP) portfolios and improves opportunities to better address health challenges through Canadian discovery and innovation processes and encourage company growth and development in Canada .
Prior to submitting a full application, applicants to Innovation and Industry Programs are required to submit a registration (unless otherwise stated in a Request for Application). Within CIHR , applications are reviewed through the University-Industry (UI) peer review committee. The UI committee is a multi-disciplinary committee that adjudicates both open and strategic opportunities. In addition, a variety of funding tools are available for the support of training awards, salary awards and grants.
In total, there are eight available timelines for submission depending on the type of grant or award. RCTs, four of the eight timelines, are detailed in the RCT links below. The remaining four competition timelines are as follows:
| Funding Tool | Registration Deadline | Application Deadline | Peer Review | Notification of Decision |
| Operating Grants; New Investigator Awards; Investigator Awards; Research Chairs; Clinician Scientist Awards. |
August 15 |
September 15 |
December |
late January |
| February 1 | March 1 | May | late June | |
| Master's Awards; Doctoral Research Awards; Fellowship Awards; Operating Fellowship Awards. |
January 1 |
February 1 |
April |
late May |
| September 1 (September 15 for Doctoral Research Awards) |
October 1 (October 15 for Doctoral Research Awards) |
February | late March |
Applicants applying for an Industry-Partnered Randomized Controlled Trial must submit a specialized Letter of Intent called the Randomized Controlled Trials (RCT) OUTLINE and must follow the RCT Competition Cycle. Instructions for submission for a full application are provided when applicants receive their results of the peer review of the RCT Outline. Regular CIHR application forms are used with the addition of the Industrial Partnership Module. RCT outlines and full applications are reviewed by CIHR 's Randomized Controlled Trials committee. For Industry-Partnered RCT s please refer to the RCT Competition Cycle.
Co-funding is done on a project-by-project basis. The ratios for matching the industry partner's minimum financial contribution (in cash and, if applicable, in-kind) expected from the industry partner will vary depending on the type of application (see Funding Ratio Table).
It should be noted that CIHR funding cannot be levered against contributions provided in the past and/or for support of research that has already started or been conducted.
| Program Type | Ratio (CIHR :Company) |
| Training Awards | 1:1 Based on CIHR stipend scales |
| Salary Awards | 1:1 Based on CIHR salary scales |
| Grants | 1:2 * |
| Randomized Controlled Trials | 1:2 * If SME partner 1:4 * If Rx&D partner |
* Including eligible in-kind contributions
Training Awards offered include: Master's Awards, Doctoral Research Awards, Fellowships, Operating Fellowships and Clinician-Scientists Phase 1. These awards provide stipend support for trainees undertaking Master's, PhD, post-degree studies or post-graduate research.
Salary Awards offered include: New Investigators, Mid-Career Awards (Investigators), Research Chairs and Clinician-Scientists Phase 2. These awards provide salary support for independent investigators at varying levels of experience.
Grants offered include: Operating and Strategic Training Initiative in Health Research Program Grants. These grants provide funds for the direct costs of research. Funding for research projects is available for operating costs (materials, supplies, technicians, research personnel, travel, and service fees) for equipment and the maintenance of equipment. Grant funds can only be used to cover the direct operating costs of the project. A grant may not be used to cover the cost of the researchers' salaries or for overhead.
Randomized Controlled Trials : A Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) is an experiment in which investigators randomly assign eligible subjects (or other units of study, e.g. classrooms, clinics, playgrounds) into groups to receive or not receive one or more interventions that are being compared. The results are analysed by comparing outcomes in the groups. Applications will be examined for the relevance of the question posed, and the appropriateness of the methodology and of gender representation in the study design and selection of research subjects.
Linda McKenzie
Deputy Director, Innovation and Industry Programs
Research Translation Programs Branch
Tel: (613) 954-6242
Fax: (613) 954-1800
E-mail: lmckenzie@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
