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Randomized Controlled Trials: Mentoring

CIHR-Randomized Controlled Trials Program

Request for Applications

Important Dates
Opportunity Launched	July 2006
Content Last Updated	August 28, 2006 (Funds Available)
January 15, 2007	Registration Deadline - Registration packages must be courier stamped by this date.
February 15, 2007	Full applications must be courier stamped by this date.
June 30, 2007	Anticipated notification of decision.
September 1, 2007	Earliest 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. The maximum amount awarded for a single award is $ 160,000 for 2 years: Research / travel allowance: $ 10,000 per annum. Mentee stipend: $ 70,000 per annum. This award is non-renewable. Up to 5 awards will be funded (Updated: 2006-08-28)
Summary
The objective of this initiative is to develop future leaders in trials research who can direct the conception, design and implementation of randomized controlled trials. The goals will be realized by a mentoring program in which investigators will learn how to initiate and conduct high quality randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from experienced mentors in highly active trial centres. The immediate aim of this mentoring program is to enable the mentee to independently develop and submit to CIHR a randomized contolled trials OUTLINE or full application at the end of the mentoring program.

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

Objectives

The objective of this initiative is to develop future leaders in trials research by enabling promising individuals to be mentored by prominent researchers.

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for this award, the candidates (a mentor and a mentee) must have developed the program jointly. The mentor and mentee need not originate from the same institution. They must also meet the following requirements:

a) Mentor

Must have a proven 'track record' as a principal investigator in RCTs;
is employed by a Canadian institution;
must have a proven record of training postgraduate students;
can provide the mentee with a fertile environment that is conducive to training in RCTs.

b) Mentee

must be a graduate of a recognized health professional discipline, be able to practice in Canada and hold Canadian licensure (if applicable);
has received (graduate) academic training in epidemiology, or more specifically in RCT methodology or equivalent;
International candidates may apply but this program must be undertaken in Canada .

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.

Please note that candidates to the RCT Mentoring Program are not allowed to apply to any other CIHR award/training or salary program within the same year i.e. September through August.

Funding Information

Awardees will receive an annual stipend of $70,000, in addition a yearly travel/research allowance of $10,000 will be provided. The stipend will be administered through the business office of the mentee's institution and the research allowance through mentor's institution. It is anticipated that up to five awards will be funded in this competition.

Mentees are expected to devote at least 75% of their time to research related activities. They may engage in teaching and consultation to a limited extent.

Peer Review Process and Evaluation Criteria

The CIHR's RCT peer review committee will evaluate the full applications. Committee members are selected based on suggestions from many sources following CIHR's policy on Conflict of Interest, Confidentiality and Privacy Issues in Peer Review. For information on CIHR's peer review process in general, see Peer Review.

Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

excellence and suitability of the training environment;
quality of the mentoring plan;
suitability of the mentor and appropriateness of the mentee for the award and training plan presented.

General CIHR Guidelines

This Request for Applications will follow the CIHR General Grants and Awards Policies and the General Guidelines for Salary and Training Programs.

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.

In addition to CIHR standard guidelines and requirements, the following special conditions shall apply:

A mid-term progress report to be submitted jointly by the mentee and mentor.
A final report to be submitted to CIHR by the mentee and another by the mentor describing the mentoring experience within 6 months following the completion of the training period.
The mentee is to participate in the CIHR RCT peer review process in a developmental capacity.
The development and submission to CIHR of a Randomized Controlled Trial OUTLINE or full application by the mentee is also required on or before the end of the mentoring period.
The mentee is strongly encouraged to participate in one Cochrane working group and submit one systematic review.

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

Award 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:

Adhere to CIHR's reporting requirements and provide required information in a timely fashion. A mid-term and a final progress report will be required as outlined above.
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: Registration and Full Application.

A request for the RCT Mentoring Program must be submitted to CIHR's RCT Unit.

The mentor and mentee must apply together as a pair, and each mentor and mentee may submit only one application per year to CIHR.

Applicants (both mentor and mentee) must obtain a Personal Identification Number (PIN) from the CIHR Website prior to submitting their applications.

The following are the application guidelines for the RCT mentoring program:

Registration will consist of the following:

Registration Form
Signature page
Acknowledgement Form
Summary of the mentoring plan
Pages 1 and 2 of the CIHR CV module for the mentee and mentor
Applicant Consent form

One original plus two copies of the registration package are required.
Send the complete registration package by courier to the following address:

"Randomized Controlled Trial Mentoring Program"
Randomized Controlled Trials Unit
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Room 97, 160 Elgin Street
Address locator: 4809A
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0W9

A full application will consist of:

Nomination Form
Signatures Page;
Acknowledgement Page;
Detailed mentoring plan and description of the training environment;
Summary of the mentoring plan;
Three (3) letters of support for the mentee from sponsor's each accompanied by an assessment form;
Copy of health professional degree and graduate research training of the mentee;
Proof of professional licensure of the mentee;
Copy of permanent resident document (if applicable) of the mentee;
Letters of support from the mentee's University/Institute (if different from the mentor's institution);
Letter of commitment from the mentee;
Letters of support from the mentor's University/Institute;
Letter of commitment from the mentor;
CIHR CV modules for the mentee and the mentor.

One original plus five copies of the full application package are required. Send the complete application package by courier to the following address:

"Randomized Controlled Trial Mentoring Program"
Randomized Controlled Trials Unit
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Room 97, 160 Elgin Street
Address locator: 4809A
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0W9

Contact Information

For questions contact:

Randomized Controlled Trials Unit
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Room 97, 160 Elgin Street
Address locator: 4809A
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0W9

Iranga Odette Chikuru
Telephone: (613) 957-6137
Fax: (613) 954-1800
Email: ichikuru@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

Toni Gasparini
Telephone: (613) 941-4438
Fax: (613) 954-1800
Email: tgasparini@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

Irwin Schweitzer
Telephone: (613) 941-0718
Fax: (613) 954-1800
Email: ischweitzer@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

Ginette Vallée
Telephone: (613) 957-8668
Fax: (613) 954-1800
Email: gvallee@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

Created: 2006-07-04
Modified: 2006-08-28
Reviewed: 2006-07-04
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