What We Do
As the major federal agency responsible for funding health research in Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (
CIHR) supports more than 10,000 researchers and staff each year. Together they are challenging the frontiers of science in order to increase our knowledge and understanding of health sciences and ultimately, to improve the health of Canadians.
As of December 2003, CIHR's investments of $580 million (in 2003-2004) in health research and researchers are as follows:
- 1720 training awards to individuals in order to provide the next generation of health researchers
- CIHR's innovative Strategic Training Initiative in Health Research Training Grants Program, which funds 86 multidisciplinary Training Grants. In addition, the Aboriginal Capacity And Developmental Research Environments (ACADRE) program supports 8 centres across Canada designed to increase the participation of aboriginal people in health research.
- 724 researchers who receive full or partial career awards, enabling them to focus their attention on their research programs. The emphasis is on support at the early stages of a research career.
- collaborative research, fostered through several grants programs, which collectively support 125 projects, including:
- the Community Alliances in Health Research, and the Interdisciplinary Health Research Teams, which support 31 large, collaborative projects
- the Group and Genomics Special Projects Programs which contribute core support to over 50 groups of investigators working together in the same area of research
- Interdisciplinary Capacity Enhancement (ICE) Teams, and New Emerging Team (NET) programs which support the development of excellent research teams in priority areas selected by the Institutes.
- the Operating Grants Program provides the CIHR research base, and supports over 2900 research projects in all themes of health research;
- investment in 114 clinical trials allows evaluation of innovative therapies and technologies with direct consequences for improved health care, including large international trials co-funded with other national agencies;
- investment in the tools required to do research, including equipment and its maintenance, and the stimulation of new research ideas through Institute development funds, and support for workshops and scientific exchanges;
- over 80 partnership agreements with federal and provincial government agencies, voluntary health organizations and industry, with investments exceeding $75 million. Partnerships are directed toward specific strategic goals, including important health issues (for example, breast cancer, palliative and end-of-life care, stroke, food and water safety, tobacco abuse and addiction, AIDS, and hepatitis C) or economic development through partnerships with industry;
- over 100 Institute-sponsored strategic initiatives, in areas ranging from global health to obesity, from health policy challenges of new genetic technologies to genetic and environmental interactions in circulatory diseases. In general, these initiatives aim to stimulate research and to build future research capacity in important areas where the current research effort is inadequate;
- dedicated funding for research in the areas of Knowledge Translation and Ethics;
- establishment Grants to help any institution recruit or repatriate star researchers;
- a Regional Partnership Program which joins with the provinces to stimulate research in the smaller provinces;
- a University-Industry Partnership Program which encourages academic researchers to pursue research ideas of potential interest to Canadian industry;
- new programs launched by certain Institutes to support development of new health-related technologies, and a "Proof of Principle Program" which accelerates the development of intellectual property with commercial potential, and helps ensure that it is commercialized to the benefit of Canada;
- support grants of $1M to each of the Institutes to sustain Institute operations and to support networking and research priority-setting activities;
- CIHR's investments are enhanced by participation in other federal programs, particularly:
- the Networks of Centers of Excellence (NCE) Program which funds 9 health-related networks, for an annual investment of $23 million;
- the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), which is responsible for about $3.5 billion of federal funds for the renewal and development of research infrastructure in Canada's postsecondary education system and hospitals. Over 50% of CFI funding has been directed towards health research. CFI contributes only 40% of project costs, with the remaining 60% coming primarily from provincial funding. Thus the total investment in health research infrastructure leveraged by CFI is in the order of $5B over 10 years.
- the Canada Research Chairs Program, which currently supports 327 chairs in health research, rising to 700 at full strength, representing a further federal investment in health research of $105M a year.
- the Canada Graduate Scholarships Program, which at full strength will provide CIHR with $10.5M a year for support of 200 PhD and 200 MSc students.
