2.0 Financial Administration
2.1 Treasury Board Directives for Institute Support Grants
2.2 Institute Support Grants (ISGs)
2.2.1 Directives for ISGs and the Institute Agreement
2.2.1.1 Institute Agreements (CIHR, Institute, SD and Host Institution)
2.2.1.2 Role of Institute Advisory Boards
2.2.1.3 Role of CIHR under the Institute Agreements
2.2.1.4 Role of the Scientific Directors under the Institute Agreements
2.2.1.5 Role of the Institutes under the Institute Agreements
2.2.1.6 Role of the Host Institutions under the Institute Agreements
2.2.1.7 Appointment of Scientific Directors
2.2.1.8 Employment of Institute personnel
2.2.1.9 Awarding of Institute Support Grants (ISGs)
2.2.1.10 Budget planning, preparation and submission by Institutes
2.2.1.11 ISG Annual Financial Reporting
2.2.1.12 Expenses (and approval) incurred by Institutes
2.2.1.12.1 Salary of Scientific Director
2.2.1.12.2 Scientific Director' and Institute staff/representatives' travel expenses
2.2.1.12.3 Salaries and benefits of Institute-based personnel
2.2.1.12.4 Institute Office furniture and equipment
2.2.1.12.5 ISG sub-grants awarded by the Institutes
2.2.1.13 Maintenance of financial/expenditure records
2.2.1.14 Relocation of Institutes and/or Scientific Directors
2.2.1.15 Shared program costs and Inter-Institute funds transfers
2.2.1.16 CIHR periodic financial reviews
2.2.2 ISG directives which take precedence over Host Institution policies
2.2.2.1 Institute representatives and IAB members' travel per diem rates
2.2.3 Government and CIHR policies applicable to the Institutes
Annex A - ISG Annual Financial Report
Annex B - Common Template for Inter-Institute ISG Funds Transfer
Annex C - Treasury Board Terms and Condition for the CIHR ISG Program
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research "CIHR" was established by Act of Parliament in 2000 in order to coordinate, encourage and support health research. The link to the CIHR Act can be found under page 22 of this manual. In fiscal year 2004/2005 over $700 million was budgeted for CIHR, with in excess of 90% of these funds allocated for grants and awards. Approximately 70% of CIHR grants and awards are adjudicated through an open competition process, with the remaining 30% focusing on strategic initiatives.
In planning for the creation of CIHR, a number of options were explored in respect to the creation and management of CIHR Strategic Research initiatives and thus leading to the creation of the 13 CIHR Institutes.
The CIHR Institutes were based on an organizational model that would ensure that the Institutes could become operational rapidly and that administrative constraints would be kept to a minimum, while allowing for swift and creative community engagement. In addition, the ratio of administrative overhead to research funding needed to remain low, to avoid perceptions of excessive bureaucracy. The proposed organizational model, offering a flexible operational model that could adapt to different Institute environments was a first for a Canadian agency, hence CIHR had no organizational template to rely on. As a result, the notion of an Institute Support Grant (ISG) was conceived, whereby Institute Scientific Directors (SDs) would be provided with a grant, which would be used to establish and maintain their respective Institutes.
The Treasury Board of Canada was initially unreceptive to this concept, however the ideas put forward in respect to the uniqueness of the CIHR vision, that flexibility and effectiveness would significantly reduce infrastructure costs, and, the MRC history of sound controls and world class peer review convinced the Treasury Board that the model was feasible. As a result, the Treasury Board terms and conditions of the Institute Support Grant (ISG) Program were approved in the summer of 2000 and the 13 CIHR Institutes subsequently established.
Below are a few relevant quotes from the Treasury Board terms and conditions of The Institute Support Grant Program, in effect until October 2006. A copy of the Treasury Board ISG Program terms and conditions documents is included as Annex C of this manual.
"Institutes will not be bricks and mortar, nor will they have a single geographical location. Rather, each Institute will be a virtual network of researchers, funders and consumers of research from across the country. Researchers will continue to carry out their investigations in the institutions with which they are affiliated. The difference will be in how much better connected they are to their colleagues in other institutions, other parts of Canada, and other countries, to address Canadian health challenges."
"...Institutes will be primarily serviced by the corporate group in Ottawa. CIHR will not build decentralized infrastructure to support the direct cost of Institutes and their operation. Institutes will be virtual organizations; they can be created and terminated by CIHR's Governing Council as necessary; they can be "based" in any physical location, and; SDs themselves can move to other locations during their tenure if the need arises."
"...This approach... will create a flexible operating environment for the Institutes, while reducing the overhead costs associated with fully integrating the Institutes into the CIHR Corporate environment, staffing with public servants, and setting up and dismantling Institute operations and support."
The mandate of the CIHR Institutes is to lead CIHR Strategic Research initiatives, with each Institute focusing on specific health issues that concern the research community and Canadians at large and warrant immediate attention and support. In order to attract preeminent researchers and academics, the Institutes were established in a way that they could easily adapt to the research community and allow the incumbent Institute heads (Scientific Directors) to continue their own research, while promoting and facilitating Government supported research across Canada.
CIHR entered into tri-party agreements with each Institute, its Scientific Director and the Host Institution selected by the SD to receive and administer the Institute Support Grants (ISGs). As per the Terms and Conditions approved by the Treasury Board, the Institutes' ISG grant serves to pay the SD and Institute staff salaries, Institute operating expenditures, Institute development expenditures (such as ISG sub-grants relating to workshops & symposia) and related Institute expenses incurred to promote, encourage and support strategic research initiatives.
The Institutes are mandated to instigate strategic research and training initiatives (Requests for Applications - RFAs) pertinent to their fields of research, out of CIHR's Strategic Initiatives budgets. CIHR officers manage the peer review and post-award administration for strategic grants & awards. In addition, the Institutes are also expected to instigate research initiatives pertinent to their fields of research, such as workshop and symposia grants to be funded as sub-grants from their respective Institute Support Grants (ISGs).
The Institute Support Grant Manual
This Institute ISG Manual is not intended to replace existing CIHR and host Institutions' policies and procedures, instead it is intended to supplement the Institute Agreements, existing policies and procedures and provide guidelines and clarification where needed. It is intended to provide clarity, to remove administrative uncertainty and thereby facilitate Institute decision-making and improve Institute management efficiency and effectiveness. In addition, this guide will clarify certain aspects of financial control, authority and reporting in order to improve transparency and accountability.
This guide also includes extracts from, and makes reference to, existing CIHR and Institute policies and procedures. This first edition covers ISG Financial Administration and Institute Administration topics. Future editions will be expanded to cover other segments of Institute activities.
Together, CIHR and the 13 Institutes enjoyed considerable collective successes and hope this manual will assist all those who play an active Institute management role in the years ahead. As we near the 5th anniversary of our ISG terms and conditions with Treasury Board, CIHR must be prepared to enforce and re-negotiate these terms and conditions for October 2006, including the treatment and structure of CIHR's 13 Institutes, while also introducing improvements deemed necessary in light of events and experiences.
Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health (IAPH)
Dr. Jeff Reading, Scientific Director
University of Victoria, Victoria, BC
Institute of Aging (IA)
Dr. Anne Martin-Matthews, Scientific Director
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC
Institute of Cancer Research (ICR)
Dr. Philip Branton, Scientific Director
McGill University, Montreal, QC
Institute of Circulatory & Respiratory Health (ICRH)
Dr. Peter Liu, Scientific Director
University Health Network (UHN), Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, ON
Institute of Gender & Health (IGH)
Dr. Miriam Stewart, Scientific Director
University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB
Institute of Genetics (IG)
Dr. Roderick McInnes, Scientific Director
Sick Children's Hospital, Toronto, ON
Institute of Health Services & Policy Research (IHSPR)
Dr. Morris Barer, Scientific Director
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC
Institute of Human Development, Child & Youth Health (IHDCYH)
Dr. Michael Kramer, Scientific Director
RI MUHC (McGill University), Montreal, QC
Institute of Infection & Immunity (III)
Dr. Bhagirath Singh, Scientific Director
University of Western Ontario, London, ON
Institute of Musculoskeletal Health & Arthritis (IMHA)
Dr. Cyril Frank, Scientific Director
University of Calgary, Calgary, AB
Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health & Addiction (INMHA)
Dr. Rémi Quirion, Scientific Director
McGill U. at Douglas Hospital, Montreal, QC
Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism & Diabetes (INMD)
Dr. Diane Finegood, Scientific Director
Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC
Institute of Population & Public Health (IPPH)
Dr. John Frank, Scientific Director
University of Toronto, Toronto, ON
"Administrative Office" means the head office of an Institute, located at or near the premises of the host Institution, and including the Institute Staff and the office equipment used by the Institute.
"Annual budget" means annual appropriation and approved spending levels of CIHR "operating" funds, "grant" funds and "capital" funds for a fiscal year.
"CIHR" means the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, whose officers have overall administrative responsibility for the delivery of the Institutes' Programs.
"Collaborative Agreements" means agreements between CIHR and/or an Institute and external collaborators and on occasion referred to as "Partnership Agreements" or "Tripartite Agreements".
"Departmental Performance Report (DPR)" means an annual report submitted by CIHR to Treasury Board 6 months after fiscal year-end, which evaluates performance against plans and priorities set 18 months earlier in the Report on Plans & Priorities (RPP).
"Fiscal year" means the Government of Canada year commencing April 1 st and ending March 31 st .
"Governing Council" means the Governing Council of CIHR, which is chaired by the CIHR President and composed of up to 20 Canadians appointed for three year terms by Order in Council. The Deputy Minister of Health is an ex-officio and non voting member of the Governing Council.
"Grants" means funds awarded by CIHR corporate officers after peer review, with such awards subject to controls and accountability as defined by Treasury Board and as elaborated in the CIHR Grants & Awards Guide, in initiative Requests for Applications (RFAs) and in the Tri-agency Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the Roles and Responsibilities in the Management of Federal Grants and Awards.
"Host Institution" means an institution which agrees to host an Institute under an Institute Agreement.
"Institute" means a CIHR Institute, a constituent division of the CIHR system established by the Governing Council. At present there are 13 such Institutes.
"Institute Agreement" means the agreement between CIHR, the Scientific Director of the Institute and the host Institution.
"Institute Advisory Board (IAB)" means the advisory committee of the Institute, constituted and appointed by the Governing Council.
"Institute Development" means support of, and travel expenses to attend consensus conferences, a symposia and workshops to develop the strategic agenda or plan strategic initiatives, an annual Institute conference, communication initiatives, modest support to kick-start novel, high risk projects or training programs, networking, IAB meetings, etc.
"Institute Operations" means activities and expenditures related to operating the Institute, including salary and benefits of local staff, cost of office space, supplies, materials, services, travel, equipment, etc.
"Institute-based personnel" means the Institute staff employed within the Institutes' Administrative Offices. Under the CIHR Institutes' ISG grant model and the Institute Agreements, these individuals are employees of and are governed by the employment policies and collective agreements of their Institute's Host-Institution.
"Institute sub-grant" means a grant awarded by the Institute from the Institute's Institute Support Grant (ISG).
"Institute Support Grant (ISG)" means the funds provided to the Institutes on an annual basis and paid to the Institutes' Host Institutions under CIHR's Common Grant Account instalments, to cover the Institutes' Operating and Development expenditures, in accordance with the Institute Agreements and the Institute Support Grant Manual. Such ISG's are currently set at $1,000,000 annually for each Institute.
"Joint strategic grant" means a "Strategic grant" that is awarded to two or more recipients who join forces in order to conduct the research. A "lead recipient" will be identified and will be responsible for receiving the funds, coordinating the research funding activities and reporting to CIHR.
"Lead Institute" means the Institute that is responsible to maintain records and documents and provide reports for "shared funding" activities, projects or sub-grants that are shared by two or more Institutes.
"Lead recipient" means the lead researcher or Principle Investigator (PI) that leads a research or development activity that involves more than one researcher. The lead recipient is responsible for documenting, coordinating and reporting on the research or development activity in question.
"Manual" means Institute Support Gant Manual containing the Financial Administration & Administration Section, and other sections and changes thereto, as amended from time to time.
"Memorandum of Understanding" means the Tri-agency agreement (CIHR/NSERC/SSHRC MOU) on Roles and Responsibilities in the Management of Federal Grants and Awards with the researchers' Host Institutions.
"Operating funds" means CIHR funds used for CIHR operating expenses such as salaries, travel costs, office expenses as budgeted and approved annually by Governing Council.
"Ottawa Based Institute Staff (OBIS)" means those employees of the CIHR who work exclusively in support of one or more Institutes, report to one or more Scientific Director, are located at the Ottawa corporate office of CIHR, are paid by CIHR through the OBIS Operating Budget and no charge or allocation is made to an Institute.
"Report on Plans & Priorities (RPP)" means the annual report prepared by CIHR to the Treasury Board prior to commencement of the fiscal year that outlines plans and priorities for the upcoming year and that report on the extent to which CIHR has met the expectations set out in the DPR.
"Scientific Director (SD)" means the person selected and appointed by the Governing Council of CIHR to assume responsibility for the management of the Institute.
"Shared funding" means funding that is shared among two or more Institutes in order to achieve a common objective beneficial to all Institutes concerned.
"Stacking" means obtaining more than one government grant from different government sources for the same research project. Because of the nature of Institute Support Grants, the provisions of the stacking policy as stated in the Treasury Board policy on Transfer Payments cannot be applied as stated.
"Strategic grant" means a grant awarded consistent with strategic research initiatives and likely initiated by an Institute, but reviewed and approved through the CIHR adjudication process under the responsibility of corporate officers of CIHR.
"Symposia" means symposia that are held or sponsored by an Institute or CIHR to encourage or advance knowledge and/or research.
"Voted funds" are sums of money approved annually for the CIHR by Parliament and are "voted" for specific types or categories of expenditures such as "operating funds", "capital funds", "grants funds", etc. Voted funds must be used for their intended purposes and may not be transferred between the "vote" categories.
"Workshops" means workshops that are held or sponsored by an Institute or CIHR to encourage or advance knowledge and/or research.
This section of the manual is intended to assist the Institutes, the Host Institutions and CIHR in defining roles and responsibilities in the financial administration of the Institute Support Grant and Institute activities.
This and other sections of the manual are intended to provide information and assistance to CIHR and the Institutes in planning and reporting to the Treasury Board on Institute Support Grants and activities of the Institutes, while allowing the Institutes some degree of autonomy and independence to encourage innovative thinking towards their operational and research development mandate.
The following is a summary of statements and directives for Institute Support Grants, as set out by Treasury Board. A copy of the Treasury Board ISG Program Terms and Conditions document is included as Annex C of this manual.
Institute Support Grants (ISGs) are awarded by CIHR to the Institutes and managed by their Host Institutions to establish and sustain Institute activities. ISGs are awarded as "grant funds" and are not subject to Treasury Board "operating funds" policies, but rather must comply with the Treasury Board Terms and Conditions of the Institute Support Grant Program. In addition, the Institutes and their Host Institution are asked to manage the ISGs in accordance with their respective Institute Agreement, Host Institution policies and this ISG Manual.
Institute-based personnel carry-out certain functions on behalf of CIHR, but are employees of their Host Institution under the CIHR ISG Program. Consistent with the terms of the ISG Program and of the Institute Agreement, Institute-based personnel must abide by the HR policies and procedures set out by their Host Institution. Although Institute-based employees under the ISG Program are not Federal public servants, they may come under the same public scrutiny as Federal public servants under certain circumstances.
Therefore, issues of a sensitive nature should always be treated by Institute-based personnel with prudence, care and due diligence. Certain issues, regardless of their financial materiality, are very sensitive in nature and are often in the public eye. It is imperative that there be no impropriety or even a perception of impropriety, when such issues are concerned. As a result, it is appropriate and expected that all Institutes and their employees abide to relevant CIHR and Government of Canada rules, regulations, policies and procedures as stipulated in Section 2.2.3 of this manual.
CIHR understands that along with the advantages and benefits of the Institute ISG and Host Institution model as described above, a dilemma arises where Institute-based personnel from the various CIHR Institutes receive different levels of compensation or cost recovery for the same task or effort, as a result of their Host Institutions' HR policies, collective agreements and salary scales. The level of compensation may also differ as compared to CIHR's employees. This salary and employee benefits inequity amongst Institute personnel is considered as the major disadvantage of the CIHR ISG model.
Based on the above, this ISG Manual outlines issues and policies into three categories, as follows:
A Tri-party Institute Agreement between CIHR, the Scientific Director of the Institute and the Host Institution is developed to:
Institute Agreements must be signed before funding is made available under the Institute Support Grants. Such are multi-year agreements, but funding of the CIHR ISG grants will always be contingent upon annual appropriation by Parliament to the Governor in Council.
The CIHR Governing Council established an Institute Advisory Board (IAB) for each Institute. IABs provide advice and feedback on strategic research and funding issues but do not have authority to commit funds or approve grants. Such authority resides with CIHR's Governing Council, President and Institute Scientific Directors.
The CIHR has the overall responsibility for the Institutes' ISG Program.
As stated in the Treasury Board ISG Terms and Conditions, "Institutes will be primarily serviced by CIHR in Ottawa. CIHR will not build an extensive decentralized infrastructure to support the direct cost of Institutes and their operation. Institutes will be virtual organizations; they can be created and terminated by CIHR's Governing Council."
Institutes are primarily serviced by CIHR in Ottawa, through direction by the President and support from various units such as Institute Affairs, Research Portfolio, Financial Services and direct assistance by Ottawa based Institute support staff (OBIS). OBIS staff are CIHR employees dedicated exclusively to the support of one or more Institutes and who report to the Scientific Directors.
Each CIHR Institute is headed by a Scientific Director who has attained and is expected to maintain the highest level of research excellence. The Scientific Director leads the Institute, hires Institute personnel and instigates strategic research initiatives for review by CIHR which in turn, is responsible for the peer review and post-award administration of strategic grants. The Scientific Director also continues to conduct research at the Host Institution where he or she is affiliated.
As a condition of appointment, in keeping with the need to provide scientific leadership to the Institute and pursue research, the Scientific Director agrees that he/she:
Subject to the conditions upon which the Institute Support Grant is provided to the Institute, the Scientific Director is the chief executive authority of the Institute and manages the business and affairs of the Institute, with the following powers:
The federal government of Canada has chosen to establish a network of virtual health research Institutes to develop strategic research and collaborate with other health research organizations in doing so.
The Institutes' roles and activities include:
The Institutes (Scientific Director and the Institute personnel) are asked to comply with ISG management procedures and policies established by CIHR and the Treasury Board of Canada, in addition to complying with the procedures and policies of their Host Institution.
Under an Institute Agreement, the Institute's Host Institution agrees to provide to CIHR the services of the SD to act as Scientific Director of the Institute, it being understood that the duties of the Scientific Director are to manage the affairs and operations of the Institute and to conduct research. The Host Institution agrees to act as trustee for the funds received under the Institute Support Grants ISG (i.e., grant management) and its roles and responsibilities include:
Host Institutions provide infrastructure and other support and services to the Institutes, including:
Scientific Directors are appointed by the Governing Council, upon recommendation by the President of CIHR. The SDs are employees of the Host Institutions and are expected to continue as productive and active researchers at their Host Institutions.
The Scientific Director engages personnel necessary to support the administration and operation of the Institute. All employees hired within the Institute at the Host Institution (Institute-based personnel) are employees of the Host Institution. Salary levels and benefits are at the discretion of the Scientific Director, but to the extent that employees are hired by the Host Institution, it is expected that policies and procedures including salary and benefits are consistent with those of the Host Institution.
CIHR awards the ISGs to the Scientific Directors and the grants are currently set at $1,000,000 per year for each Institute.
Once an Institute Agreement is signed, the Director, Institute Affairs initiates a CIHR Authority for Funding (AFF) for the ISG, which is then issued to the Scientific Director with a copy sent to the Host Institution's Business Officer. This AFF authorizes the Host Institution to open a trust account for the ISG and the ISG annual budget is then immediately made available by the Host Institution to the Institute. Funds for the ISG are then paid by CIHR to the Host Institution in bi-monthly installments, as part of the Institution's CIHR Common Grant Account installments.
Grant funds are paid to the Host Institutions, which control and manage the funds (as trustee) on behalf and at the direction of the Institutes, conditional upon:
Any ISG funds not spent by an Institute in a fiscal year are carried over to the following year, to meet operating and development requirements of the Institute.
Prior to February 1st of each year, Institutes will prepare and submit budgets to CIHR Finance for their ISG Grant and their respective Institute/CIHR Strategic Initiatives, using CIHR planning and budgeting templates based on instructions received from CIHR Finance - Planning and Advisory Services Unit. Budget submissions will include the details necessary for CIHR Finance to consolidate financial information from the Institutes with all CIHR financial data, for submission to Treasury Board.
Institutes with the assistance of their Host Institutions will complete and submit an annual ISG fiscal year financial report to CIHR Finance, using the CIHR format or template (Annex A). Submission of the financial report is to be made no later than June 30th after each fiscal year-end, outlining expenditures up to March 31st and will include the detail necessary for CIHR to consolidate the ISG financial data and information with all CIHR financial data. In addition to the financial report, the Scientific Director will submit an annual activity report for the preceding year to CIHR's President and an assessment of the Institute's performance in relation to the strategic plan.
ISG funds serve to cover Institute Development and Operating expenses and, in the first year at a new Host Institution site, start-up costs.
CIHR will not be held responsible for the funding of ISG expenditures or commitments by the Scientific Director that exceeds the ISG credit at the Host Institution for the current and prior fiscal periods.
The definition of Institute Development and Institute Operating expenditures are found below.
Eligible Expenditures under the Institute Support Grant
Institute Development includes the following expenses:
Institute Operations includes the following expenses:
N.B. To maximize availability of funds for Institute development activities, Institute operating expenses should be kept at a minimum.
Only the Scientific Director (as the CIHR grant Nominated Principal Investigator) or his/her delegated authority may approve Institute expenses. The Scientific Director's personal expenses (such as travel, conference attendance, etc) must be signed by the "one-up" signature (Department Head, Dean or designate) as described in the Institute Agreement, in order to confirm the relevance of the ISG expenditure to the Institutes' affairs.
Only the Scientific Director may counter-sign the annual ISG annual financial report on behalf of the Institute.
The Scientific Director's base salary and other compensation (paid from the ISG and processed through the Host Institution), in addition to adjustments of such, is determined by CIHR's President and is outlined in the Institute Agreement. Adjustments when approved will be confirmed through Agreement amendment letters issued by CIHR's President.
As the Scientific Director is expected to continue to be an active researcher within his/her Host Institution in addition to leading the CIHR Institute, it is expected that he/she will be undertaking travel for reasons other than Institute business. When such travel occurs where the SD plays multiple roles (that of Institute SD, researcher, Host Institution representative, scientific association representative, etc.), a clear delineation of these roles should be outlined on the travel claim and travel expenses charged to the Institute's ISG should be prorated accordingly.
IMPORTANT: For approved CIHR Institute travel per diem rates, please refer to section 2.2.2.1 of this ISG Manual, which takes precedence over the Host Institutions' travel per diem rates.
The following directives apply to all ISG travel expenses:
A travel claim charged to the ISG must include the following information:
All travel claims charged to the ISG must have the SD's or delegate's signature. The signatures certify that:
Note: If Scientific Directors are attending a CIHR Governing Council related meeting, the CIHR Governance Unit will pick-up their travel expenses (via the CIHR Corporate budget) and will coordinate the booking of their hotel and flight/train just like they do for Governing Council members. Travel expenses for Scientific Directors and Institute personnel attending any other CIHR or Institute related meetings must be charged to their ISG.
As mentioned earlier in this ISG Manual, Institute-based personnel are employees of the Host Institutions and must abide by the HR policies and procedures set out by their Host Institutions.
Salaries for Institute-based personnel are processed through the Host Institutions. Salaries, benefits and annual adjustments to Institute-based personnel are determined by the Scientific Director in accordance with Host Institution policies.
Institute office furniture and equipment (including computers and laptops) purchased out of the ISG are considered the property of the CIHR Institutes. In instances where an Institute relocates to a new Host Institution, laptop computers and other small equipment/devises (such as Palms, cell phones, Blackberry's, etc.) are to follow Institute personnel to the new Institute's Host Institution.
In certain circumstances, it may be more efficient and cost effective not to move large equipment and office furniture to a new Host Institution site. In those instances, the SD will have the authority of negotiating their sale to the Host Institution or other interested parties should the Host Institution not wish to exercise this purchasing option. Proceeds from the sale of the office furniture and equipment will be credited to the ISG account.
An ISG sub-grant is defined as a development grant awarded to an individual or an organization by an Institute, with payment made from the Institute's Institute Support Grant (ISG).
One of the primary purposes of ISG funds is to encourage and support Institute development activities, such as ISG sub-grants for workshops and symposia. Institutes establish the criteria for deciding the extent and methodology of sub-grant support and follow-up activities. It is further expected that ISG funds will be directed towards other types of nominal development grants in addition to supporting workshops & symposia.
To the extent that ISG funds are awarded by an Institute for Institute development activities, in addition to the Host Institutions' "Sub-Granting" policies (if such exist), the following guidelines should be followed:
The Host Institutions maintain all Institute financial/expenditure records and documentation consistent with their policies of record maintenance.
The location of an Institute and selection of a Host Institution is determined upon the appointment of a Scientific Director, the approval from CIHR's President and is governed by an Institute Agreement.
In situations where either i) a Scientific Director chooses to relocate; ii) a new Scientific Director is appointed to replace an SD before the end of his/her term; or iii) a new Scientific Director is appointed at the end of the Scientific Director's term, all parties have a specific role to play in order to ensure a smooth SD/Institute transition and Host Institution relocation.
CIHR has set up a number of working groups to establish guidelines, processes and "best practices" to facilitate future Institute transitions and relocations. An Institute Affairs Unit was created at CIHR in January 2005 and Institute transitions and relocations are to occur under the auspices of this unit, with the support of a cross-functional Institute Transition Team (ITT).
The deliverables from the Institute transition workgroups will be used by the Director, Institute Affairs and the Institute Transition Team (ITT) in the development of Institute transition strategies and detailed transition/relocation guidelines. These guideline documents, which are aimed at assisting Institute, CIHR and Host Institution personnel prior to, during and following an Institute transition, will be introduced in the Fall of 2005.
Institutes often enter into arrangements whereby expenditures for support to development activities are shared amongst more than one CIHR Institute. The results of this funding must still be evaluated by each Institute on its own merits. To avoid duplication of effort a "Lead Institute" is identified and held accountable to track and monitor costs and results.
If joint funding of an activity is justified, the "Lead Institute" must coordinate the documentation process and ensure that each Institute cooperates and completes the necessary documentation. The lead Institute's Host Institution retains backup documents for transactions associated with these Inter-Institute transfers of funds agreements.
In order to ensure that costs are correctly allocated and not double-counted, only the Lead Institute will fund the development activity and the other participating Institutes transfer their share from their ISG funds using the CIHR template agreement entitled "Inter-Institute Funds Transfer" from the ISG included as Annex B.
In addition, the annual ISG financial report (Annex A) has been adapted for the Institutes to identify in their Sources of Funds section: a) Funds transferred to other CIHR Institute(s) and b) Funds transferred from other CIHR Institute(s).
CIHR conducts periodic financial reviews of the Institutes in order to ensure that public funds are allocated and spent in an appropriate manner and further, that spending is in accordance with the rules of CIHR and the Host Institutions. Such reviews may take place during cyclical Tri-agency Monitoring Visits undertaken at the Institutes' Host Institutions or during special reviews when an Institute is preparing to relocate to a new Host Institution site. Institutes and their Host Institution are normally notified at least 2 months in advance of cyclical Tri-agency and/or special reviews and are asked to cooperate fully with the CIHR Monitoring Team, in order to ensure an efficient and timely review.
CIHR is asking that the following standard CIHR Institute travel per diem rates be adopted by all of the Institutes' Host Institutions for Institute-based employee, Institute representative and IAB member's business travel expenses.
CIHR Institute travel per diem rates:
Breakfast: $10.00
Lunch: $12.00
Dinner: $32.00
Incidentals: $16.00
Total daily per diem rate of $70.00
Where the CIHR Institute travel per diem rates exceed the rates established by the Host Institutions, the Host Institutions are requested to accept the higher rates as an exception to their internal procedures. This directive applies ONLY to CIHR Institute-based employee, Institute representative and IAB member business travel paid from the Institutes' ISG accounts, NOT to any other CIHR grants.
In order to alleviate any administrative burden placed upon Host Institutions' Research Accounting personnel, CIHR has prepared a standard approval document, signed by the CIHR Director, Institute Affairs confirming the applicability of the CIHR Institute ISG travel per diem rates which must be attached to any travel advances or travel claims submitted by an Institute to the Host Institutions' Research Accounting Departments.
Note: Travel per diem rates are not governed by Host Institutions' collective agreements (as is the case of the Institute-based compensation issue) and following consultations with all of the Institutes and receiving approval from the respective Host Institutions, CIHR proceeded to establish this new standardized CIHR Institute travel per diem rate for Institute business travel, which was reviewed and approved by the CIHR Executive Committee (EMC) on May 9, 2005.
These per diem rates will be reviewed on a periodic basis. Any changes will be reflected in future versions of this Manual and communicated to the Institutes and their Host Institutions.
The Institutes must comply with Government and CIHR policies and guidelines that apply to the activities of the Institutes, including but not limited to the following:
Treasury Board CIHR ISG Grant Program Terms and Conditions
The management of Institute activities is governed by the respective Institute Agreements and this ISG Manual, which in turn are driven by terms and conditions approved by the Treasury Board of Canada. For information purposes, the complete TB CIHR ISG Program T/Cs document is attached as Annex C.
Treasury Board CIHR Grants Program Terms and Conditions
CIHR's Strategic Initiatives which are led by the Institutes and managed by CIHR are in turn governed by terms and conditions approved by the Treasury Board of Canada. For information purposes, the complete TB CIHR Grants Program T/Cs document is attached as Annex D.
Treasury Board Transfer Payment Policy (TPP)
ISG payments and all other CIHR grants & awards payments (including payments for CIHR's Strategic Initiatives) are in turn also governed by the Treasury Board Transfer Payment Policy - TPP. For information purposes, the complete TB TPP can be found on the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat web site.
The following text from the TPP is of note:
"[Departments must establish policies and procedures to ensure that:...] Verification of the continuing eligibility, entitlement and qualification of a recipient of a grant is performed, normally prior to making any payment, including an installment payment; however, the fact that a grant is not subject to audit does not preclude such verification being undertaken after payment has been made. Where warranted, access to or provision of information necessary for such verification should be requested from the recipient as a condition of the grant."
"Transfer payments should not be paid to recipients in advance of need; payments should be timed to correspond as closely as practicable to recipients' cash flow requirements."
"Since most grants are intended to provide financial support over time or require the recipient to continue to meet eligibility requirements, grants should be paid in installments, based on the cash flow requirements of the recipient."
Based on the above, the ISGs are issued by CIHR under the same scheduled Common Grant Account installment payments as for any other CIHR grants, which are broken down into six installments paid bi-monthly to the Host Institutions.
In addition, the following Federal Government policies also apply to the Institutes:
For information purposes, consult the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Act, which established CIHR.
Common Template for Inter-Institute ISG Funds Transfer
Treasury Board Terms and Condition for the CIHR ISG Program
This Manual together with the Appendices forms part of the policies, procedures and guidelines of CIHR. This Manual will continue to expand, evolve and be amended as rules, policies and situations change.
For further clarification or interpretations of this Manual, the Institutes and Host-Institutions should contact their respective Institute Financial Advisor or the Director, Institute Affairs.
