Institute of Infection and Immunity - HIV/AIDS Research Initiative
Priority Announcements fund highly rated research applications that are determined to be relevant to specific CIHR research priority areas and do not receive funding through CIHR's regular competitions.
| Important Dates | |
| Opportunity Launched | June 2006 |
| Content Last Updated | July 14, 2006 (Contact Information) |
| August 15, 2006 | Registration Deadline - Registration packages must be courier stamped by this date. |
| September 15, 2006 | Full applications must be courier stamped by this date. |
| February 15, 2007 | Anticipated notification of decision. |
| April 1, 2007 | Anticipated start date. |
| Additional Information | Applications are submitted through the September 2006 - Operating Grants competition |
| Funds Available | |
CIHR's contribution to the amount available for this initiative is subject to availability of funds voted annually to CIHR by parliamentary appropriations, and the conditions that may be attached to them.
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| Summary | |
| Part of CIHR's mandate is to promote research that addresses the HIV/AIDS epidemic both in Canada and globally. The purpose of this priority announcement is to further strengthen HIV/AIDS research in identified priority areas. It is expected that this targeted investment will lead to increased funding for meritorious HIV/AIDS research projects within the open grants competition. | |
The CIHR HIV/AIDS Research Initiative is supported by the Federal Initiative to Address HIV/AIDS in Canada. The Federal Initiative reaffirms the Government of Canada's commitment to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic both in Canada and globally.
The goals of the Federal Initiative are to:
CIHR is one of the four federal partners in this Initiative which also includes the Public Health Agency of Canada, Health Canada and Correctional Service Canada. The primary roles of CIHR under the Federal Initiative are to set priorities for and administer Federal Initiative funding for extramural HIV/AIDS research which supports research grants and research personnel awards across the entire spectrum of HIV/AIDS research. The goals of the HIV/AIDS Research Initiative are to develop knowledge that will help prevent new infections, to improve the quality of care and treatment for people living with HIV and, ultimately, to contribute to finding a cure for AIDS.
The objective of this priority announcement is to:
Relevant Research Areas
The CIHR Institute of Infection and Immunity - HIV/AIDS Research Initiative will provide funding for applications that are determined to be relevant to the priority areas described below. The CIHR HIV/AIDS Research Advisory Committee has developed this initial list of research priorities for extramural HIV/AIDS research in Canada. The priority areas represent fields which were deemed to require greater capacity, address urgent needs for particular Canadian populations and/or have the potential to make a particularly significant impact on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Canada or globally. The priorities are responsive to all aspects of HIV/AIDS from the population specific factors affecting access to care, testing and treatment (gender, age, ethnicity, etc.) and behavioural basis of risk and acquisition to the basic biomedical advances in understanding the virus and developing new therapies. More information on the research priorities of the HIV/AIDS Research Initiative can be found on the Institute of Infection and Immunity website.
The relevant research areas for this priority announcement are:
Applications for initiatives within the HIV/AIDS Research Initiative are sought in two distinct funding streams - Biomedical/Clinical Research and Health Services/Population Health Research. Although projects which display a multidisciplinary approach across all four research pillars are strongly encouraged and accepted, applicants must clearly indicate on their completed Relevance Form their preferred source of funding.
Relevance of the applications to the research priorities will be determined in the following manner.
Prior to peer review, the Institute of Infection and Immunity will review applications to determine the relevance, or alignment, of the research proposed to the research priority areas and/or mandates described above.
To conduct relevance review, these representatives will have access to the completed relevance form (see "How to Apply"), anonymized project titles and summaries, provided that applicants have indicated their consent on the "Applicant Consent Form for Use and Disclosure of Personal Information Provided to CIHR for Peer Review," which is included in the application forms.
The following criteria will be used in conducting the relevance review:
Upon completion of peer review, the Institute of Infection and Immunity will receive the ratings, rankings and peer review committee recommendations on funding level and grant or award term for those applications that 1) are found to be relevant to the specific objectives of the research initiative and the research priority areas described under "Relevant Research Areas"; and 2) are rated within the CIHR fundable range but are not funded through the regular CIHR competition to which they were submitted. These applications will be funded from the top down in order of ranking as far as budgets will allow. Applications that receive a ranking below 3.5 will not be funded.
The relevance review occurs apart from the peer review (scientific review) and has no relationship to the results of peer review. Peer review committees will not be informed of applications submitted for funding through this announcement.
Eligibility criteria for all CIHR research funding 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 not be considered under this RFA.
A CIHR peer review committee will evaluate the full applications. The peer review committee members are selected based on suggestions from many sources including the Institute(s) / portfolio(s) and partner(s), following CIHR's Policy on Confidentiality, Conflict of Interest and Privacy Issues in Peer and Relevance Review (CCIP). For information on CIHR's peer review process in general, see Peer Review.
This Priority Announcement will follow the CIHR General Grants and Awards Policies. 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 Priority Announcement. 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.
Access to Information Act and Privacy Act, and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)
All personal information collected by CIHR about applicants is used to review applications, to recruit reviewers, to administer and monitor grants and awards, to compile statistics, and to promote and support health research in Canada. Consistent with these purposes, applicants should also expect that information collected by CIHR may be shared as described in Use and Disclosure of Personal Information Provided to CIHR for Peer Review.
CIHR as a federal entity is subject to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, therefore the requirements of these two statutes will apply to all information located in CIHR's premises including, without limitation, cost-sharing agreements related to this priority announcement and all matters pertaining thereto.
While respecting the application of the Privacy Act to federal entities, all signing parties involved in a collaborative agreement will also be bound by the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). All personal information (as identified by the PIPEDA) collected, used or disclosed in the course of any commercial activity under collaborative agreements related to the priority announcement will be collected, used and disclosed in compliance with the PIPEDA.
Applicants are advised to review CIHR's grants and awards policies and guidelines outlined in the CIHR Grants and Awards Guide.
Applications are submitted through the September 2006 - Operating Grants competition by including a mandatory Relevance Form with your regular Operating Grants application. To select the appropriate application forms, follow the links beside Operating Grants from the list of Application Packages.
Additional Instructions for this Priority Announcement:
For questions about the objectives and relevant research areas:
Jennifer Gunning
Team Lead, HIV/AIDS and HCV Research Initiatives
Institute of Infection and Immunity
Telephone: (613) 941-4483
Fax: (613) 954-1800
Email: jgunning@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
For questions related to specific CIHR competitions and programs, including CIHR funding guidelines, how to apply, and the peer review process contact:
Nhung Tomkins (Updated: 2006-07-14)
HIV/AIDS Research Program Delivery Coordinator
Knowledge Creation Programs
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Telephone: (613)957-8842
Fax: (613) 954-1800
Email: ntomkins@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
