Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Institute of Health Services and Policy Research
Institute of Cancer Research
Application Deadlines
Letters of Registration - August 31, 2001
Full proposals - October 12, 2001
Notification to successful applicants - January, 2002
Available Funds
Maximum funding to be committed to this Request For Applications( RFA): $2.7 million over three years plus any funding from partners ( complementary funding for this theme of as much as $1.5 million will be committed by the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation (www.chsrf.ca),and an additional $1.5 million from other partners over the next 3 years, to a program or programs of research administered through CHSRF on which IHSPR may partner in future years)
Backround
From January to March 2001, five national organizations, including the Institute of Health Services and Policy Research (IHSPR), partnered on a consultation to identify priority health services and policy research themes. The main objective of Listening for Direction: A national consultation on health services and policy issues was to develop research themes reflecting the needs of policy makers and managers in the health system over the next two to five years, and to identify opportunities for partnership among the five partners. These themes will inform strategic initiatives launched by each of the five partner organizations. They are one of several sources of input that will influence the partners' short- and long-term strategic directions.
In addition, the IHSPR invited suggestions from the research, policy and management communities, through an "Open Call for Suggestions". Fifteen priority themes emerged from these canvassing activities. Descriptions of these themes can be found on the Institute's web site, in the Listening for Direction. From the fifteen themes, three were identified as immediate priorities by the IHSPR. This Request for Applications represents an invitation to develop innovative new approaches to addressing two of those short-term priorities, combined here in a "Financing Health Care in the Face of Changing Public Expectations" theme. In recognition of the importance of this theme, one of our partners, the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation, will be complementing our commitment to this area through its own support of a program of research focusing on one aspect - defining the overall basket of publicly funded health care services (see below).
This theme reflects the fact that Canadians' confidence in and satisfaction with their health care system (though not their own health care providers) has declined precipitously over the past 5 years. This has led to vigorous discussion and debate about the financing of that system, in terms both of total funding and its sources (public/private). What difference does source make, in terms of accessibility, appropriate use, costs and quality? It also raises questions about the relationship between the public's views of the performance and accessibility of the system and the reality, and about the influence of those public views on that debate. What are the key influences on the public's opinions about health care financing, and how closely do their sources of information match whatever research evidence might be available? The purpose of this Request for Applications is to support new cross-disciplinary research that will shed important new light on these and related questions.
Objectives
The specific objectives of this Request for Applications (RFA) are to support innovative projects that will help inform policy and management decisions relating to the specific areas of concern identified during the priorities canvassing processes described above. Broadly conceived, these areas include implications of decisions regarding the extent and reach of public funding for health care, on accessibility, use, cost and quality; the role of public values and expectations in determining what is publicly funded; and the effects of changes in public financing on the largely hidden burden borne by families and other informal care-givers.
Eligible Research Areas
Any area of research that addresses the key issues described above will be considered.
Preference will be given to projects that embrace objectives intended to provide new empirical evidence based on natural experiments, evaluations of new interventions, or comparisons of alternative approaches already in place. Syntheses of existing evidence are not a priority, and will receive consideration only if they are likely to shed significant new light on related questions.
Projects may include the development or application of new methods/tools, particularly those from disciplines where health applications have not previously been common. However, preference will be given to research teams that demonstrate the potential to bring such new approaches, measurement tools, methods, or disciplines to bear on the applied questions of interest (see below for examples), and that involve the participation of investigators or partners representing the target audience(s)/ groups for the research.
Successful projects will demonstrate a clear and effective strategy for "knowledge transfer" to relevant policy, management, and/or clinical decision-maker communities.
Preference will also be given to projects involving research groups or collaborators from more than one institution.
Examples of questions or topics that would fall within this competition include (but are not restricted to):
What processes most effectively combine public values on the one hand, and technical information on the other, particularly in decisions focusing on new technologies, or more macro decisions regarding what health care services should be financed publicly? [The partnership with the CHSRF on this theme will involve the CHSRF issuing a call - as part of its Open Grants Competition - in September 2001 inviting proposals for a program of research focusing on the latter, that is the processes that would most effectively combine public values and technical information in defining the overall basket of publicly funded healthcare services]
Information for applicants preparing 'Programmatic Operating Grant Applications' in CIHR Themes 3 and 4 (Health Services, Population Health, Societal and Cultural Dimensions of Health, and Environmental Influences on Health).
What are the implications for overall costs, distribution of costs (including indirect and voluntary), access, equity, quality and patient outcomes of different mixes of public and private financing for rapidly expanding sectors such as pharmaceuticals and long-term care (including home care) where financing is currently mixed?
How are public attitudes, expectations and values related to health care services shaped and influenced? What are the (relative) roles of media, public, professional groups, culture and research evidence?
How have recent changes in organization, levels of public funding, and methods of purchasing health care services, affected the distribution of the burden of care between public delivery and informal and voluntary care-giving?
Empirical evaluations of different approaches to coordinating and integrating informal and voluntary care with the formal care system, including considerations of cost, quality, access, continuity, public expectations and satisfaction.
Mechanisms of Support
This RFA is designed to solicit project grant applications, with duration of up to three years, potentially renewable only if the theme is one of the priorities being funded in the year of renewal. As noted above, the CHSRF will be supporting a program of research focusing on one aspect of this theme, "Defining the overall basket of publicly funded health care services".
Allowable Costs
operating support for specific research activities undertaken by the members of the team
purchase and maintenance of equipment and other research tools, maintenance grants for common services and shared facilities
costs of data collection and maintenance of information holdings
costs of regional, national and international networking activities, including collaboration, planning, and research exchange activities directly related to the research program or project
the salary of a professional coordinator and/or administrative assistant
the salary(ies) of research assistants as appropriate
costs involved in dissemination of research findings to the practitioner and policy communities;
The full application must provide a detailed justification of all costs.
Evaluation Criteria for Peer Review
Applications will be evaluated on their scientific excellence which includes the appropriateness and adequacy of the experimental approach and methodology proposed to carry out the study; the qualifications and research experience of the investigators and , the availability of resources and facilities to perform the research.
Responsiveness to the strategic research theme
Potential to illuminate broader processes/principles (generalizability)
Potential to improve the effectiveness, efficiency and equity of the health care system
Degree of meaningful collaboration among researchers from different disciplines, institutions and sectors
Original, innovative, coordinated and feasible research plan which will generate valid, reliable and useful information
Innovativeness of knowledge transfer plans/activities and degree to which they are integrated into the research project
Plan for interim milestones and 'deliverables', such as critical appraisals of relevant literature, workshop reports, summaries of research approach, bibliographies, preliminary results, and so on, that are clearly tied to a knowledge transfer strategy.
Approach to treatment of ethical dimensions or issues
How to Apply
Who can apply? Any investigator eligible for CIHR funding.
How do I apply? There are no separate application forms. You apply to CIHR on the usual forms following the regular guidelines for application. Please refer to the CIHR website at : How to Apply for a Grant or Award.
Chose the peer review committee which is most related to the area of study of the application. *Indicate in the program area that this application is for the IHSPR Finance Initiative.
Contact for Further Information
For further information about applying for this initiative, please contact:
Jane Hutchison, Institute Liaison Officer
Email: jhutchison@cihr-irsc.gc.caTel: (613) 941-4598
Fax: (613) 941-1040
For questions concerning application process please contact:
Danielle Arsenault - Program Coordinator
Email : darsenault@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
Tel : (613) 957-8842
Fax : (613) 954-1800
