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Seed Grant: Gender, Globalization and Health

(Pilot Project Grants)

Institute of Gender and Health
In partnership with
The National Institutes of Health'sFogarty International Centre (FIC)

Request for Applications

Important Dates
Opportunity Launched	May 2006
Content Last Updated	June 1, 2006 (Funds Available)
November 1, 2006	Registration Deadline - Registration packages must be courier stamped by this date.
January 15, 2007	Full applications must be courier stamped by this date.
June 30, 2007	Anticipated notification of decision.
July 1, 2007	Anticipated start date.
Funds Available
CIHR's contribution to the amount available for this initiative is subject to availability of funds voted annually to CIHR by parliamentary appropriations, and the conditions that may be attached to them. FIC's contribution is also subject to the availability of funds and limited to the period of time of existing FIC awards eg. The amount administratively awarded to FIC researchers linked to CIHR-funded projects is $25,000 US in direct costs subject to availability of funds and limited to the period of time remaining on the existing FIC award. The total amount available for this initiative is $ 300,000 (Updated: 2006-06-01). This amount may increase if additional funding partners decide to participate. The maximum amount awarded for a single grant is $50,000 per annum for up to 2 years. The equipment amount is awarded in year one. The amount awarded to FIC researchers linked to CIHR-funded projects is $25,000 US in direct costs
Summary
The purpose of this Request for Applications (RFA) is to provide investigators in Canada, in the U.S.A and in lower middle-income countries (LMICs) the opportunity to conduct research and build research capacity focused on priority issues pertinent to Gender, Globalization and Health. The Institute of Gender and Health (IGH) at the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), along with its partners at the National Institutes of Health in the U.S.A. invite applications for Pilot Project Grants for research that fosters the current research internationally in the area of Gender, Globalization and Health, and strengthens North-South collaboration in gender global health research, including the building of interdisciplinary teams for research and research training opportunities. The Fogarty International Center, the international component of the NIH, addresses global health challenges through innovative and collaborative research and training programs and supports and advances the NIH mission through international partnerships. Eligible research areas have been identified through national and international consultations and include food security and nutritional well-being, HIV/AIDS, tobacco and addictions, occupational health and safety, mental health, infectious diseases, violence, reproductive health public-private partnerships for health. Other cross-cutting research priorities include human rights and ethics, socioeconomic status and poverty, lifespan from early childhood through aging, and health (and health-related) systems.

Background
Partners
Objectives
Eligibility
Allowable Costs
Review Process and Evaluation Criteria
General CIHR Guidelines
Conditions of Funding
Communications Requirements
Monitoring, Performance Measurement and Evaluation
How to Apply
Contact Information
Description of Partners

Background

The term "globalization" has been described in numerous ways, but most definitions include references to the increased interconnection and interdependency of individuals, nations, multilateral institutions, and other actors, indications of which are evident in, inter alia, increasing economic integration, enhanced information communication technologies, and the rapid exchange of culture and ideas. The effects of globalization on poverty and national economies have been studied in some detail, however, only recently have the effects on health - and the differential impacts on the health of men and women in particular - have been the focus of attention.

In 2000, the United Nations General Assembly acknowledged in the Millennium Declaration that "at present, globalization's benefits are very unevenly shared, while its costs are unevenly distributed." As a mechanism for monitoring the progress of low and middle income countries, eight Millennium Development Goals were established with gender as the focus of Goal 3: "the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women". Several global health goals with strong gender components were also included, such as the eradication of poverty and hunger (Goal 1), reducing child mortality (Goal 4), improving maternal health (Goal 5), and combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases (Goal 6).

In April 2001, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Health Canada (HC), and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) embarked on the Global Health Research Initiative (GHRI), a cooperative arrangement to build upon and coordinate Canada's global health research activities

In 2002 and 2003, the CIHR Institute of Population and Public Health (IPPH) sponsored, in partnership with many CIHR institutes, RFAs to build global health research capacity in low and middle-income countries, as well as strengthen collaborations between researchers in rich and low and middle income nations.

The IGH participated in these RFAs and encouraged applications that address priority issues that emerged through international consultation engaging researchers and policy influencers from rich, low and middle income countries, through the IGH initiative "Gender and Health in the Global Context". These issues included gender perspectives on globalization, food security, HIV/AIDS, infectious disease, tobacco use, occupational health and safety, and mental health. The IGH also encouraged gender analysis in research. A gender analysis examines how gender roles and power relations are both influenced by and influence the relationships between globalizing processes, policy, and household dynamics. Initial studies have shown that globalizing processes, such as increased market liberalization and the privatization of social services, affect the health and well-being of women and men in different ways, from household to global levels.

Furthermore, as the United Nations Division on the Advancement of Women encapsulates,

"Women are affected by many of the same health conditions as men, but women experience them differently. The prevalence among women of poverty and economic dependence, their experience of violence, negative attitudes towards women and girls, racial and other forms of discrimination, the limited power many women have over their sexual and reproductive lives and lack of influence in decision-making are social realities which have an adverse impact on their health. Lack of food and inequitable distribution of food for girls and women in the household, inadequate access to safe water, sanitation facilities and fuel supplies, particularly in rural and poor urban areas, and deficient housing conditions, all overburden women and their families and have a negative effect on their health". (Article 92)

In this context, the IGH, with the Institute of Population and Public Health and Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health, invited collaborators, including the Global Health Research Initiative (GHRI) and members of the Canadian Coalition on Global Health Research, and met with international collaborators from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Research on Women's Health, and the Fogarty International Center, to design and launch a series of consultationsto aid in the identification of priorities issues at the intersect of gender, sex, globalization and health, and create a more balanced global health research agenda.

The process included national and international symposia and consultations held in Canada, Thailand, at Yale University, in Latin America and in Africa, which were designed to seek input on research and research training priorities globally; to identify gaps in knowledge, and to clarify a Canadian niche. A variety of techniques were employed to consult with researchers and research-users to ensure maximum effectiveness of knowledge translation (KT) from research evidence to policy decision-making.

Forum on Exploring Potential Collaborations for Sex and Gender and Global Health Research
The Institute co-hosted a meeting of invited international partners entitled on April 2004 at the Lawton Chiles International ''Stone" House in collaboration with NIH-FIC and NIH-ORWH. Key research issues and priorities emerging from consultations in Bangkok, Yale University, Ottawa policy roundtable, South Africa and Latin America as well as IGH priorities were presented and the background issues paper pre-circulated. This highly successful forum attracted over 25 NIH Institutes and international foundations, organizations and participants. Directions for the future identified at this forum included: translate research to health policy, promote partnerships; address issues of access and equity, involve men, build research capacity, and investigate effects of globalization such as mental health, setback for women's' balance of work and family.

Partners

The CIHR Institute of Gender and Health, the NIH Fogarty International Centre are dedicated to identifying and developing collaborations with other CIHR institute(s), branch(es) or office(s), funding organizations and stakeholders to enhance the availability of funding for this strategic initiative, and to create, where appropriate, opportunities for knowledge exchange and translation related to the scope of this particular initiative. Applicants are invited to visit the Descriptions of Partners to find a list of partners and their respective mandates and/or strategic interests. This list will continue to evolve as new partners join in this initiative. The specific research foci and requirements for each partner are outlined in the section "Objectives."

FIC's support for this RFA will be through administrative supplements to FIC awardees working in common sites and involving scientists in low- and middle-income countries that are involved in awards funded by CIHR under this RFA. These supplements (up to $25,000 direct costs) could include training related research support for trainees under FIC programs linked to CIHR-funded projects under this RFA. Applicants are encouraged to review the FIC website to gain information on areas of specific to the Center. Examples could include support along the following lines:

Canadian investigators who competed successfully to work on AIDS in South Africa could link to FIC-supported programs in South Africa and would therefore be eligible for FIC supplements.
Canadian investigators who competed successfully to work on trauma and injury in Ghana could link to FIC-supported programs in Ghana and would therefore be eligible for FIC's supplements.

Objectives

The objectives of this Strategic Initiative, Gender, Globalization and Health, are to:

fund high quality research aimed at understanding the differential impacts of globalization on the health of women and men, and boys and girls, in order to formulate evidence-based programs and policies that address priority concerns and ultimately reduce health disparities,
foster the current research capacity in Canada and internationally, and strengthen North-South collaboration in global health research, including the building of interdisciplinary teams for research and research training opportunities,
recognize the importance of translating knowledge from evidence to decision-makers and to encourage applicants to include attention to policy collaborators in project development and capacity building, and
advance the use of a range of research methodologies as appropriate to the topics of investigation, including behavioural studies, program evaluation, participatory action research, population level analyses, etc.

Eligible Research Areas including Strategic Research Themes

FIC is interested in supporting projects relevant to its research missions, specifically, to support research and training on global health challenges. FIC research and training programs encompass a broad range of themes, including HIV/AIDS/TB/malaria; environmental health; maternal and child health; tobacco and trauma and injury. Applicants are encouraged to review the FIC website to gain information on areas of specific to the Center.

IGH and its partners, encourage applications that address the priority research issues identified through national and international consultations involving Lower and Middle Income Countries (LMIC), the research and the policy community. These consultations served to identify priority research issues at the intersect of gender (social-cultural experiences), sex (biological-genetic factors), globalization and health, and in the creation of a more balanced global health research agenda. The priorities include the following:

Food security and nutritional well-being,
HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases,
Chronic conditions and disabilities
Tobacco and addictions,
Occupational health and safety,
Mental health,
Violence,
Reproductive health
Lifespan from early childhood through aging

Several key cross-cutting themes were also identified and include:

socioeconomic status and poverty, and health (and health-related) systems
human rights and ethics

The theme descriptions and key issues identified below provide some examples of the types of research that may be funded under this initiative. Applicants are not restricted to the topics noted below.

Food Security and Nutritional Well-Being

Large portions of the population are exposed to untested genetically modified foods (GMF) in developing countries to meet increasing need for imported food while capacity to provide appropriate food safety surveillance is declining.
Reduction in women's ability to grow and produce their own food due to domestic violence and displacement.
Differential effects of the global obesity epidemic on men and women.

HIV/AIDS and other Infectious Diseases

Changing geographical patterns of infectious disease due to movement of people within and across borders, posing a significant challenge for public health measures designed to monitor and contain such outbreaks.
Limited access to anti-retrovirals under TRIPS as well as financial crisis and currency devaluation, including those used to prevent mother-to-infant transmission.
Civil society engagement at multiple levels on a variety of social issues including HIV/AIDS, facilitated by Information and Communication Technology and increased population mobility.

Chronic Conditions and Disabilities:

The experience, prevalence and meanings of chronic diseases and disabilities are influenced not only by age, culture, socioeconomic status and geographical location, but also by gender and sexual orientation.
Help-seeking behaviour, symptom expression, treatment options, and coping strategies are also influenced by gender. Women in developing countries, especially those facing income inequality and unemployment, are particularly vulnerable to developing chronic conditions and disability and face additional barriers to accessing care and treatment.
Autoimmunity, an underlying cause of more than 80 serious chronic conditions, is a priority issue that demonstrates gender/sex differences: women are affected 75% of the time. Conditions include autoimmune thyroid diseases, diabetes mellitus, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, scleroderma, endometriosis, and chronic active hepatitis.

Tobacco and Addictions

Need for gender-specific content in a WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) - an innovative move towards global health governance
The westernization of cultures across the globe is decreasing the social and cultural taboos against smoking for women in many parts of the developing world.
Worldwide, lung cancer currently accounts for over 10 per cent of cancer deaths in women. Studies suggest that women may be more susceptible to lung cancer than men.

Occupational Health and Safety

Worldwide, women's double workload (paid employment and work in the home) may be increasing in relation to reduced government expenditures and a shrinking public sector. Consequently, women's risk of work-related illness and injury may also increase.
Migration between regions, countries, and between rural and urban areas has increased dramatically during this wave of globalization. Although women migrate as much as men research suggests that patterns of migration and their relationship to health are gendered.
Advances in information communication technologies (ICT) have benefited workers from around the world to organize and lobby governments, the private sector, and other multinational bodies for better working conditions.

Mental Health

Rapid economic restructuring, unemployment, and income inequality have been shown to be related to high rates of depression and anxiety, female gender, low education, and poverty.
Studies suggest particular risk for immigrants and refugees fleeing violence, typically women, children and seniors, of mental health disorders.
Mental health effects of sexual trafficking on the girls and women involved in the sex trade is likely to include those identified through research on violence against women, and to parallel those experienced by victims of torture

Violence

Research suggests that violence against women and children rises in the face of economic instability (increased income insecurity, currency devaluation, reduced public expenditures, rise in poverty). Women are at increased risk of violence during times of civil unrest and in post conflict situations.
In regions of chronic male unemployment due to public or private sector job losses, field reports point to increased male alcoholism, domestic violence and other forms of violence. Traffic in women and girls for sexual exploitation represents a significant trend associated with the current wave of globalization.
Changing family dynamics and gender roles (women working, women postponing marriage or children, men being away from home for long periods due to work, male unemployment) placing strain on intra-household relations contribute to the abuse of women and children

Reproductive Health

There is a paucity of sex-disaggregated data on the links between population mobility, urbanization and the reproductive health of men and women.
The internet has become an important source of health related information that people worldwide increasingly turn to technological medical advances, such as telemedicine and new reproductive technologies, have improved the sexual and reproductive health of many men and women.

Lifespan from Early Childhood through Aging

Men and women experience different patterns of illness and different life spans which vary considerably between countries at different income levels.
From childhood through adolescence, females and males face changing and disparate threats to their health and well-being including injuries, vulnerability to physical and psychological health problems such as childhood malnutrition or obesity, and the adoption of risky behaviours.
Gender and sex differences in the context of social, biological and physical determinants of aging have ramifications for longevity, disability and impairment, treatment strategies, and the delivery of health services.

The CIHR Institute of Gender and Health, the Fogarty International Center and all other partners will provide funding for applications that are relevant to (in alignment with) the objectives and research priority areas described above.

Prior to peer review, the CIHR Institute of Gender and Health, the Fogarty International Center and all other partners will have access to anonymized project titles and summaries to review applications to determine the alignment of the research proposed to the specific objectives of the research initiative and the research areas described above.

Upon completion of peer review, the CIHR Institute of Gender and Health, the Fogarty International Center and all other partners will receive the ranking list, merit scores (ratings) and recommendations on funding level and award term for the applications that fall in the fundable range and have been determined to be relevant to the specific research areas and objectives of the initiative. The list will be used for funding decision-making purposes and will remain anonymous.

The review of applications for relevance to the strategic initiative will have no impact on the peer review process.

Gender/Sex-Based Analysis
The Institute of Gender and Health strongly encourages applicants to demonstrate the use of sex/gender-based or sex/gender-sensitive analysis (SGBA) in applications. SGBA is an approach to research and evaluation which systematically inquires about biological (sex-based) and sociocultural (gender-based) differences between women and men, boys and girls, without presuming that any such differences exist. The purpose of SGBA is to promote rigorous sex/gender-sensitive health research which expands understanding of health determination in both sexes, in order to provide knowledge which can result in improvements in health and health care.

Eligibility

Eligibility criteria for all CIHR research funding programs apply. The business office of the institution of an eligible Nominated Principal Applicant generally administers CIHR funds. Please refer to the Eligibility Requirements for CIHR Grants and Awards regarding the eligibility requirements for individuals and institutions.

Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) will not be considered under this RFA.

Specific Eligibility Requirements

Eligibility requirements specific to this Request for Applications include the following:

New and established investigators affiliated with Canadian post secondary institutions and their affiliated institutions including hospitals and research institutes may apply;
New and established investigators affiliated with non-governmental/not-for-profit organizations may apply.

A definition for non-governmental/not-for-profit organizations can be found in the Grants and Awards Guide.

Allowable Costs

Applicants should review the Tri-Agency (CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC) financial administration guidelines Use of Grant Funds for a complete listing and description of allowable costs and activities.

The full application must provide a detailed justification of all costs.

Review Process and Evaluation Criteria

A CIHR peer review committee will evaluate the full applications. The committee may be drawn from one of CIHR's pre-existing committees or may be created specifically for this Request for Applications. Committee members are selected based on suggestions from many sources including the institute(s) / portfolio(s) and partner(s), following Policy on Confidentiality, Conflict of Interest and Privacy Issues in Peer and Relevance Review (CCIP). For information on CIHR's peer review process in general, see Peer Review.

Peer review will be conducted in accordance with The CIHR Peer Review Process: Policies and Responsibilities of Grants Committee Members, including the standard evaluation criteria described under "Factors for Assessment" (section 6.2).

General CIHR Guidelines

This Request for Applications will follow the General Guidelines for Grant Programs. Applicants are encouraged to demonstrate the use of gender and sex-based analysis in applications.

Conditions of Funding

All conditions specified in CIHR General Grants and Awards Policies shall apply to applications funded through this Request for Applications. Conditions cover areas such as Applicant and Institutional Responsibilities, Ethics, Official language policy, Access to Information and Privacy Acts, and Acknowledgement of CIHR Support. Successful applicants will be informed of any special financial conditions prior to the release of funds or when they receive CIHR's Authorization for Funding (AFF) document.

Access to Information Act and Privacy Act, and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)

All personal information collected by CIHR about applicants is used to review applications, to recruit reviewers, to administer and monitor grants and awards, to compile statistics, and to promote and support health research in Canada. Consistent with these purposes, applicants should also expect that information collected by CIHR may be shared as described in Use and Disclosure of Personal Information Provided to CIHR for Peer Review.

CIHR as a federal entity is subject to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, therefore the requirements of these two statutes will apply to all information located in CIHR's premises including, without limitation, cost-sharing agreements related to this Request for Applications and all matters pertaining thereto.

While respecting the application of the Privacy Act to federal entities, all signing parties involved in a collaborative agreement will also be bound by the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). All personal information (as identified by the PIPEDA) collected, used or disclosed in the course of any commercial activity under collaborative agreements related to the Request for Applications will be collected, used and disclosed in compliance with the PIPEDA.

Communications Requirements

Grant recipients are required to acknowledge CIHR, its institutes and partners in any communication or publication related to the project. See CIHR General Grants and Awards Policies, Acknowledgement of CIHR's Support for details on CIHR's communication requirements. The contributing institutes / partners will be identified on the Authorization for Funding and decision letter.

Monitoring, Performance Measurement and Evaluation

CIHR is committed to demonstrating results to Canadians for the money invested in health research. Therefore, processes for monitoring progress and appropriate use of funds, as well as for performance measurement and program evaluation are in place. As a result, funding recipients must:

contribute to the monitoring, review and evaluation of CIHR's programs, policies and processes by participating in evaluation studies, surveys, workshops, audits and providing data or reports as required for the purpose of collecting information to assess progress and results;
encourage their associates, trainees and administration to participate in the monitoring, review and evaluation of CIHR's programs, policies and processes as required.

The following table is intended to further clarify objectives by linking them to expected outcomes and measures which will be included in CIHR's Management Resources and Results Structure (MRRS) required by Treasury Board.

Objective	Outcome	Measure / Indicator
To generate new knowledge relevant to the Institute of Gender and Health Research Priorities	New Knowledge	Reports, presentations, proposals, and or publications by participants in strategic area following the completion of the project
To build research capacity in gender and health research	Increased capacity in gender and health research	Increase in number of identified members of the gender and health research community Increase in applications submitted to strategic and open competitions in gender and health research
To increase evidence of knowledge translation in research	Increase in knowledge translation in gender and health research	Increase in linkages of funded researchers with stakeholders in practice, programs, and policy

How to Apply

The application process is comprised of two steps: Registration and Full Application.

Review the application instructions provided in How to Apply for Funding.

Select "Operating Grants" (Registration and Application) from the Grant Programs Application Packages.

Additional instructions must be followed for this RFA:

In the Research Funding Program section of the Research Module, select "Strategic Initiative/RFA" and enter the title of this RFA.

Send the completed registration and application packages by courier to:

RE: "Pilot Projects - Gender, Globalization and Health"
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Room 97, 160 Elgin Street
Address locator: 4809A
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0W9

Contact Information

For questions on CIHR funding guidelines, how to apply, and the peer review process contact:

Christine Charette
Program Officer
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Telephone: (613) 941-0848
Fax: (613) 954-1800
Email: ccharette@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

For questions about this initiative and research objectives contact:

Louise Robert PhD
Assistant Director
CIHR -Institute of Gender and Health
Telephone: (613) 954-0616
Fax: (613) 954-1800
Email: lrobert@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

Description of Partners: CIHR Institutes and Partner Organizations

Note: Additional partners, including partners from industry and the private sector are expected to join this funding initiative over the coming year.

Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
CIHR is Canada's major federal funding agency for health research. Its objective is to excel, according to internationally accepted standards of scientific excellence, in the creation of new knowledge and its translation into improved health for Canadians, more effective health services and products and a strengthened Canadian health care system.

Partners

National Institutes of Health - Fogarty International Centre (FIC)
The Fogarty International Center, the international component of the NIH, addresses global health challenges through innovative and collaborative research and training programs and supports and advances the NIH mission through international partnerships.

Created: 2006-05-04
Modified: 2006-06-01
Reviewed: 2006-05-04
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