November 2006
In 2005-06, IHDCYH awarded three large multidisciplinary grants after the successful re-launch of our Healthy Pregnancy RFA. We also launched our most ambitious RFA to date: a pregnancy/birth cohort study to examine the role of indoor air quality, genes, and their interactions in the etiology of asthma and allergy in young children. This RFA involves a large and diverse group of funding and scientific partners within and outside CIHR; to our knowledge, it is the largest single investment thus far by CIHR in research on health and the environment. The Institute continued its operating grant support for new investigators through its partnership with the SickKids Foundation's program for early-career researchers and the funding of 10 start-up grant applications submitted in CIHR open competition. IHDCYH also held two joint (with the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NICHD) Summer Institutes: one in maternal-fetal pharmacology and one in reproductive and perinatal epidemiology. Both were resounding successes, providing skills development to research trainees and young faculty in these areas from Canada, the U.S., and abroad.
In addition, 2005-06 was marked by two important and overlapping activities: an external review and evaluation of all of CIHR (including all 13 Institutes) and an IHDCYH-specific strategic planning process to chart our course for the next 5 years. These two activities provided valuable reflections on IHDCYH's strengths and weaknesses over our first 5 years and helped us to revise our goals and strategic priorities for the future. The evaluation was based on data gathered in surveys and interviews and on the deliberations of a prestigious International Review Panel. The strategic planning process also benefited from an outside consultant, Jacques Larivière, who, in collaboration with Anne-Cécile Desfaits, carried out individual interviews and held focus groups across the country in the spring, summer, and fall 2005. This was followed by a strategic retreat with our Institute Advisory Board (IAB) and stakeholders in October, and our new 5-year strategic plan was released in March 2006. Despite an uncertain funding climate, we embark on these next 5 years with confidence and optimism for innovative and useful research that improves the health of mothers and children in Canada and throughout the world.
