Important Dates | |
Opportunity Launched | June 2006 |
Content Last Updated | August 24, 2006 (Contact Information) |
February 15, 2007 | Letter of Intent must be courier stamped by this date. |
May 28, 2007 | Anticipated notification of Letter of Intent decision |
September 1, 2007 | Full applications must be courier stamped by this date. |
March 1, 2008 | Notification of decision. |
April 1, 2008 | Anticipated funding start date. |
Additional Information | Questions and Answers |
Funds Available | |
CIHR's contribution to the amount available for this competition is subject to availability of funds voted annually to CIHR by parliamentary appropriations, and the conditions that may be attached to them.
Funds available in this competition for applications in all areas of research that address any important health problem or issue:
Funds Available for Research in Specific Areas
| |
Summary | |
The objective of the CIHR Team Grant program is to strengthen Canadian health research by supporting teams of talented and experienced researchers conducting high-quality research and providing superior research training and mentorship. The program emphasis is on the production of new knowledge, and the translation of research findings into improvements in the health of Canadians and the Canadian health care system. These results will be realized more rapidly and more efficiently through the CIHR Team Grant program than if the components were to be funded as a series of separate operating grants. Eligible teams will consist of at least three independent investigators, each of whom has an established research track record in areas related to the collaborative project(s) proposed. Collectively, team members will have an extensive record of success, be creative and original in their approach to research and its translation1 and have experience working in research teams. This competition is open to applications that address issues related to health and disease, health care and the health system. Through this flexible CIHR Team Grant program, it is the intent of CIHR to fund a variety of expert teams (uni-disciplinary teams, multi-disciplinary teams, trans-disciplinary teams, community-partnered teams2, academic-industry teams, etc.). Proposals that represent active and meaningful partnerships between community organizations and research teams based in institutions (including universities, colleges, hospitals, and affiliated research institutions) are encouraged. The unifying element underlying all successful CIHR Teams will be a commitment to excellence and the pursuit of a problem-based, collaborative approach to health research. The application process is comprised of two steps: 1. Letter of Intent (LOI) and 2. Full Application. CIHR Team Grant proposals will be evaluated as a single, integrated entity. While each research component included in the application must be meritorious, it is critical to demonstrate that the CIHR Team Grant brings added value, in terms of the approach to improving the health of Canadians or strengthening the Canadian health care system. |
CIHR's "Blueprint", its strategic direction through 2008 states that: "The complexity and scale of today's research challenges increasingly require that researchers and countries reach out beyond their own areas of expertise and that we experiment with new models to bring people and sectors together. This work will be enabled through the technological advances that support virtual networks. Partnerships and shared vision will underpin the most successful health research stories of the 21st century in ways unimaginable in the 20th century."
"Blueprint" commits CIHR to "Continue to catalyze and encourage the convergence of disciplines that underlie the most exciting and important discoveries in health research, and to resolve ever-more complex health problems."
Introduction of the CIHR Team Grant program puts this commitment into action. The purpose of this program is to strengthen the Canadian health research by supporting teams of talented and experienced researchers conducting high-quality research and providing superior training and mentorship. Its emphasis is on the production of new knowledge and the translation of research findings into improvements in the health of Canadians and the Canadian health care system that will be realized more rapidly and more efficiently than if the components were to be funded as a series of separate operating grants. It is expected that this investment will further the Canadian capacity for high-quality, problem-based research on relevant health, health care and health system issues.
CIHR collaborative programs are designed to facilitate and provide support for collaborative research. The programs are designed to provide sufficient flexibility to accommodate all area of health research. While the Research Resource grant (1st launch in June 2005) puts emphasis on support for research enabling environments, the Emerging Team grant and the CIHR Team grant focus on research teams and a problem-based research culture.
With the introduction of the flexible CIHR Team Grant program it is the intent of CIHR to fund a variety of expert teams (uni-disciplinary teams, multi-disciplinary teams, trans-disciplinary teams, community-partnered teams, academic-industry teams, etc.). The unifying element underlying all successful CIHR Teams will be a commitment to excellence and the pursuit of a problem-based, collaborative approach to health research.
To further the Canadian capacity for high-quality, problem-based research on relevant health and disease, health care and health system issues, the specific objectives of the CIHR Team Grant program are:
Proposals that represent active partnerships between community organizations and research teams based in institutions (including universities, colleges, hospitals, and affiliated research institutions) are encouraged.
For community-focused proposals, the guiding principle for participation is that community groups are active, influential and ongoing participants in the research, training, mentoring and knowledge translation activities, and that their roles have been formally agreed upon in the spirit of ensuring equity and mutual benefits from the partnership.
It is expected that the partners will contribute to:
Eligibility criteria for all CIHR research funding (grant) 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 be considered under this program. Applicants who are considering submitting a Randomized Controlled Trial application in response to this Request for Applications are required to consult the CIHR RCT staff listed in Contact Information are advised to familiarize themselves with the RCT specific guidelines and instructions, which are fully described in Randomized Control Trials.
Applicants should register their Randomized Controlled Trial application for August 1, 2007 and submit their full Randomized Controlled Trial application for September 1, 2007, in addition to their CIHR Team Grant application, which is also due on September 1, 2007.
Specific Eligibility Requirements
Each eligible CIHR Team Grant application will include:
In addition, the following special conditions apply:
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.
Funding can be used to support:
With the exception of co-applicants who are trainees or research associates, co-applicants may not receive a salary, stipend, or honorarium from CIHR grants on which they are a co-applicant (as described in Participant Applicant Categories for CIHR Grants). The only exception is the release time stipends for the team leader and employees of community partners as described.
The full application must provide a detailed justification of all costs.
Eligible Letter of intents (LOI's) and applications will be evaluated by a specifically-constituted, multidisciplinary peer review committee(s) designed specifically for the review of CIHR Team Grants. The committee may include individuals from partner communities. The expert committee may make suggestions to the applicants on how to strengthen their detailed proposal. It could, for example, suggest the grouping of complementary applications, and propose additional partnerships or funding sources.
When the review of LOI's will be completed, selected applicants will be invited to submit a full application by the deadline date. The names of teams that will be invited to apply and the topic of their research will be published on the CIHR website.
CIHR Team Grant applications will be evaluated as a single, integrated entity. While each research component included in the application must be meritorious, it is critical to demonstrate that the CIHR Team Grant brings added value, in terms of the approach to the health and disease, health care or health system issue, and the speed and efficiency with which new knowledge will be generated, or translated into improvements in health or the health care system, when compared with funding the proposed work as a series of separate operating grants.
For Teams submitting Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) as part of their Team Grant proposal
The CIHR RCT peer review committee will evaluate the RCT component(s) of the CIHR Team Grant applications for scientific merit and appropriate methodology and will make a funding recommendation to the CIHR Team Grant peer review committee for the RCT component only.
General criteria for assessing applications are listed below. Because different applicant teams will emphasize different approaches to research and to knowledge translation, it is understood that reviewers and committees will weight questions such as these differently from one application to another.
Address an important health and disease, health care or health system problem or issue:
Research proposed:
Applicants' productivity, experience and training:
Appropriateness of the Team:
Value added of funding through a collaborative program:
Propose a coherent, integrated and feasible research plan:
Provide superior training opportunities:
Propose an innovative problem-based approach to research:
For those engaged with partners:
Based on the total funds available for the competition, applications will be funded from the top-ranked down as far as budget will allow. Applications receiving a score less than 3.5 on the CIHR 0 to 4.9 rating scale will not be considered for funding. The CIHR rating scale is described in Policies and Responsibilities of Grants Committee Members.
CIHR's General Guidelines for Grant Programs will be followed. Applicants are encouraged to demonstrate the use of gender and sex-based analysis in applications.
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.
In addition to following the policies relating to the Acknowledgment of CIHR's Support, team grant recipients will also be required to adhere to special branding requirements as a condition of receiving a CIHR Team Grant. The official Team name is "CIHR Team 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) Team in." The Team name must be used in all communication and promotion relating to the CIHR Team Grant. A team name must be proposed as part of the application for a CIHR Team Grant. Successful applicants and their host institutions will be required to agree in writing to proper use of the Team 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.
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, grant recipients must:
The application process is comprised of two steps: 1. Letter of Intent (LOI) and 2. Full Application.
1. Letter of Intent (LOI):
In the first stage of the application process, the nominated principal applicant is required to submit a Letter of Intent (LOI). [PDF (297 KB)| Help]. One original, plus five copies, of the LOI must be sent to CIHR. Applicants must follow the instructions on the Acceptable Application Module Formats page, which outlines formatting requirements for the letter and attachments.
The LOI must include:
a) The Registration pages of the CIHR Research Module:
To generate the Registration pages, you must access the CIHR Web forms. Under Research funding program select "CIHR Team Grant" and complete the following six sections of the Research Module Web form:
b) A cover page of maximum one page (free form; standard form is not available for cover page) indicating:
c) In a table format, a list of all team members with their affiliations and their expertise (the list need not be final at the letter of intent stage).
d) Proposal:
In a maximum of five pages (not including references), the proposal must clearly outline each of the elements below:
If the team involves partners:
e) Attachment:
f) Reference: A short bibliography (one page maximum) of any references cited in the Letter of Intent.
Any additional material will be discarded and not sent to the review committee; this includes letters of support, figures not included in the proposal, updates on publications, updates on other support received, letters confirming academic appointment, reprints, etc.
Results of the LOI will be posted on the CIHR web site.
Send the original Letter of Intent and five copies by Courier to:
RE: CIHR Team Grant Program
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Room 97, 160 Elgin Street
Address locator: 4809A
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0W9
2. Full Application
Selected applicants will be invited to submit a full application. Details of the application procedure will be provided to those invited to apply. Information required will include a description of the individual components making up the Team's research program, as well as the justification for supporting the synergistic aspects of the entire proposal. The review process may involve external reviews and/or a meeting of the leader and team members with sub-sets of the review committee, as appropriate.
For further information on the CIHR Team Grant Program please contact:
Matt Cyr (Updated: 2006-08-24)
Program coordinator, Knowledge Creation Programs
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Telephone: (613) 948-5999
Fax: (613) 954-1800
Email: mcyr@cihr-irsc.gc.ca