New Investigator Salary Award
Please note that this opportunity is expected to be re-launched in 2007.
Request for Applications
| Important Dates |
| Opportunity Launched |
June 2006 |
| Content Last Updated |
July 31, 2006 (Eligibility) |
| August 15, 2006 |
Registration packages must be courier stamped by this date (Late or incomplete registrations will not be considered) |
| September 15, 2006 |
Full applications must be courier stamped by this date (Late or incomplete applications will not be considered) |
| April 15, 2007 |
Anticipated notification of decision |
| July 1, 2007 |
Earliest possible start date |
| Funds Available |
|
CIHR's contribution to the amount available for this program is subject to availability of funds voted annually to CIHR by parliamentary appropriations, and the conditions that may be attached to them.
Applications are invited in all areas of health research
For this competition, applications will be accepted in all areas of health research.
- It is anticipated that approximately $3.6 M per annum over five years will be available for this competition, enough for approximately 60 awards.
- Individual awards will be made at the level of $60,000 per annum for five years (including fringe benefits), non-renewable.
Additional opportunities in Institute-defined priority research areas
Additional funds are available for this competition to support New Investigator Award applications in the following priority research areas:
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Summary |
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The purpose of this funding opportunity is to provide New Investigators1 the opportunity to develop and demonstrate their independence in initiating and conducting health research through provision of a contribution to their salary. |
Table of Contents
Background
Objectives
Eligibility
Allowable Costs
Review Process and Evaluation Criteria
General CIHR Guidelines
Conditions of Funding
Communication Requirements
Monitoring, Performance Measurement and Evaluation
How to Apply
Contact Information
Appendix
Background
This program description is directed towards New Investigators. These guidelines apply to all New Investigator funding opportunities including Partnership, Industry-Partnered and other targeted New Investigator programs, unless otherwise stated in the specific funding opportunity descriptions. See Background to CIHR's Salary Support Programs.
Objectives
This program is designed to provide outstanding New Investigators the opportunity to develop and demonstrate their independence in initiating and conducting health research through provision of a contribution to their salary.
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.
Specific to CIHR salary awards, please refer to the General Guidelines for Salary Programs.
(Updated: 2006-07-31)
In order to increase capacity and allow as many researchers as possible to benefit from federal, peer-reviewed funding, individuals may not hold concurrently a CIHR salary award and another federally funded salary award, for example, a Canada Research Chair. Current Canada Research Chair holders are not eligible to apply for a CIHR New Investigator Award.
Individuals may only apply to one CIHR salary award competition in the same year (September 1 to August 31).
For this Request for Applications, candidates must:
- hold a health professional degree or a PhD degree;
- have shown promise of attaining competence as an independent investigator;
- not be registered for a higher degree during the tenure of the award;
- hold, or have a formal documented commitment to, an appointment as an independent investigator at the time of application;
- hold an appointment as an independent investigator at the time of taking up the award, and throughout the term of the award;
- have held a full time research appointment (e.g., faculty appointment providing eligibility to apply for grants and/or supervise trainees), for a period of 0 to 60 months as of the competition deadline (i.e. September 15). Time spent in research appointments in a non-academic setting (e.g., industry, government) count towards the 60-month limit if the candidate has been actively engaged in research, as demonstrated by the candidate's publication record, and the candidate was not considered to be in training (e.g., as a student or postdoctoral fellow).
- have a written commitment from the Institution, via letter from the Dean of Faculty or Research Director which accompanies the application, committing to:
- Institutional support of a pending appointment;
- A minimum of at least 75% protected research time for the duration of the award; and,
- Details of the appointment, including teaching load and start up funds.
- hold peer-reviewed operating funds as a principal investigator as of the earliest possible start date for the New Investigator award (i.e., the July 1 following the September application deadline). If the applicant does not meet this condition, it is mandatory to seek grant support in one of the following ways:
- by submitting an operating grant application to the CIHR September 15 Operating Grant competition. The research project must be the same in both the new investigator application and the operating grant application;
- by submitting an application in response to a CIHR Request for Applications (RFA ) (see Note 1 below) for which the application is similar in nature to an operating grant application and which has an application deadline in the period July 1 to October 1 of the year of application to the New Investigator Award and with peer review completed by January 31; or,
- by submitting a Randomized Controlled Trials (RCT ) Outline (see Note 1 below) with peer review completed by January 31.
Notes:
- In the event that you are responding to an RFA or submitting an RCT Outline, you must inform the CIHR staff responsible for the New Investigator Program before the September New Investigator application deadline. Applicants considering submitting an RCT Outline are required to consult CIHR RCT staff and to familiarize themselves with the RCT specific guidelines and instructions, which are fully described in Randomized Controlled Trials.
- This requirement of applying for a grant is not applicable to candidates applying through the Industry-Partnered Programs. Applicants to Industry-Partnered Programs should refer to the General Guidelines for Industry Partnered Programs.
Allowable Costs
- CIHR 's contribution to the investigator's salary is $60,000 per annum (including fringe benefits), for a maximum of five years. The New Investigator awards are not renewable.
- Research Allowance; If an applicant is successful through the New Investigator Award competition but is not successful in obtaining $50,000 in peer-reviewed operating grant funding, the awardee is eligible to apply for a research allowance that would bring their total level of operating support, from all peer reviewed sources, to $50,000 per annum for up to five years, subject to annual review. Candidates must apply to CIHR to be considered for this research allowance. In order to be considered eligible for this research allowance, the awardee must submit an application for operating support, as a principal investigator, to a funding agency with an external peer-review process, within the 12 months preceding the July 1 deadline of the request for a research allowance.
- If you are a successful New Investigator awardee and would like to be considered for top-up funding please contact the Research Capacity Development Branch (contact info below) for detailed application information. The annual deadline for receipt of top-up funding requests is July 1st.
- This top-up funding is not applicable to Industry-Partnered Program awards and may not be applicable to awards funded through Request for Applications (RFAs) and Priority Announcements. Please see the relevant program descriptions for details.
- For the research allowance, awardees should review the Tri-Agency (CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC) financial administration guidelines, Use of Grant Funds section for a complete listing and description of allowable costs and activities.
Review Process and Evaluation Criteria
A CIHR peer review committee will evaluate the applications. Committee members are selected based on suggestions from many sources following CIHR's Policy on Confidentiality, Conflict of Interest and Privacy Issues in Peer and Relevance Review. 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 Awards Committee Members.
The following standard criteria for evaluating applications will apply:
- Applicant Track Record
- Research Proposal
- Environment and Support
If the applicant does not hold current operating funds, internal and external reviews as well as the summary of discussion from the applicant's submission for a CIHR operating grant (or equivalent), submitted as part of the New Investigator application package, will be used to assist in the evaluation of the New Investigator award application. If the candidate holds a related CIHR grant that was reviewed at any time in the year prior to the New Investigator competition, the reviews completed for that application will be used in the review process for the New Investigator competition.
General CIHR Guidelines
This Request for Applications will follow the CIHR General Grants and Awards Policies. 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 competition. 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.
Awardees are expected to:
- devote at least 75% of their time to research. They may engage in teaching and consultation to a limited extent, and there is no restriction on the time they spend in the supervision of research trainees. Consultations in a clinical field should be related to the awardee's research and be undertaken with the agreement of the Head of the Department and the Dean of Faculty or Research Director.
- have read and agree to the communication requirements in section 8.
- accept the award within 2 months of the date of offer, and may commence on the first day of any month between the July 1 following the date of offer and March 1 of the following year.
Communication Requirements
In addition to following the policies relating to the Acknowledgement of CIHR's Support, award recipients will also be required to adhere to special branding requirements as a condition of receiving a CIHR Salary Support Award. The official Award name is "CIHR New Investigator Award in (area of research)." In cases where there is another major funding partner a shared title should be considered. The format of a shared title is "CIHR/(partner name) New Investigator Award in". The Award name must be used in all communication and promotion relating to CIHR Salary Support Awards. An award name must be proposed as part of the application for a CIHR New Investigator Award. Successful applicants and their host institutions will be required to agree in writing to proper use of the award name as well as the CIHR (and applicable partners) logo(s) on appropriate communications materials such as brochures, letterhead, publications and media materials. Recognition guidelines, including instructions on logo use, will be provided to successful applicants as part of the approval package.
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.
How to Apply
The application process is comprised of two steps:
1. Registration
2. Full application
Registration is required for each competition even if the application is a resubmission. Full applications received from candidates that have not registered will not be considered.
Review the application instructions provided in How to Apply for Funding. Select "New Investigators - Registration/Application" from the Salary Programs Application Packages.
Send registration and application by courier to:
RE: Salary Support - New Investigator Award
Research Capacity Development Branch
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Room 97, 160 Elgin Street
Address locator: 4809A
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0W9
Contact Information
For questions related to this specific CIHR funding opportunity contact:
Program Delivery Coordinator
Research Capacity Development
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Telephone: (613) 954-1960
Fax: (613) 954-1800
Email: newinvestigators@cihr.gc.ca
Appendix: Background to CIHR's Salary Support Program
Background
Related Materials
Background
- Personnel awards are an important element of CIHR's overall funding strategy, with the full spectrum of personnel awards comprising research training awards as well as salary/career awards to independent investigators.
- At its June 2003 meeting, Governing Council (GC) determined that it was not possible to invest more funding in mid- and senior-career support programs without having a negative impact on other priority programs and agreed to suspend the competitions.
- In June 2004, GC recommended the continued suspension of the mid-senior salary/career award programs however recommended the establishment of a National Task Force to provide GC with advice on CIHR's future role in providing salary/career awards to health researchers at all stages of their research careers.
- In November 2004, considering the final recommendations of the Task Force on Career Support, GC decided to continue the suspension of the mid-senior salary/career award programs pending both clarification of CIHR's future budget scenario and the design of a new "portfolio" of salary awards following a broader consultation with Institute Advisory Boards and selected Canadian research organizations to help guide decisions. Long-term sustainability of any newly introduced salary/career award programs was considered to be of paramount importance.
- In March 2006, incorporating feedback from both the Task Force and subsequent consultations, CIHR's Research Priorities and Planning Committee reviewed CIHR's commitment to a sustainable program of salary/career awards and reached the following conclusions:
- Decisions surrounding CIHR's overall financial commitment to salary support will continue to be made annually over the coming years in light of strategic considerations and budgetary constraints.
- CIHR will formally announce its salary/career award opportunities each June. While program continuity and predictability remain important objectives, a formal annual announcement will allow for modifications to programming on a year by year basis in light of strategic priorities and budget constraints.
- CIHR remains committed to the new investigator awards program. To ensure a measure of predictability with respect to CIHR's salary support for new investigators, CIHR plans to maintain a commitment to the program at least at the following level:
- 60 new awards per year for each of the next 5 year
- awards valued at $60 000 per year for five years
- ongoing total program investment annually of $18 million (300 ongoing awards at $60 000 each)
- At this time, no new program types will be introduced.
- In acknowledgement of the importance of mid-career investigator salary support outlined by respondents during the consultation, CIHR Institutes intend to work together in future years to pool strategic funds and to engage partners in order to offer a sustainable small-scale competition for mid-career investigator awards. The feasibility of such an option will be examined annually. Again, the long-term sustainability of any newly introduced salary/career award program will be a key factor in decision making.
Related Materials
Messages from the President:
Task Force on Career Support:
Consultation with IABs and other research organizations
1 A New Investigator is defined as a researcher who has held a full time research appointment (e.g., faculty appointment providing eligibility to apply for grants and/or supervise trainees), for a period of 0 to 60 months as of the competition deadline (i.e. September 15).
