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Aboriginal Community-Based Research (Archived)

Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health (IAPH)

Summary

The purpose of this strategic initiative is to support innovative, community-based, multi-pillar, multi-disciplinary research programs in an area of aboriginal health. The research areas are not limited but should focus on areas that have potential to improve on the profound burden of ill health experienced by aboriginal Canadians. For example, proposals that examine health domains such as child and youth health, diabetes, fetal alcohol syndrome/fetal alcohol effect, HIV/AIDS, prevention of accidents and injuries, innovative projects (i.e. traditional medicine, spiritual health, etc.), health services utilization and health reform policy, or mental health including addictions and suicide are particularly encouraged. Another goal of this initiative is to develop and enhance the capacity of the scientific, research and aboriginal communities to undertake community-based research. The CIHR-IAPH will support research programs that are undertaken in partnership with the aboriginal community and meet international standards of scientific excellence.

Deadlines
April 1, 2004	Registration Deadline - Registration packages must be courier stamped by this date. (Please refer to "How to Apply" section of this document.)
June 1, 2004	Full proposals must be courier stamped by this date. (Please refer to "How to Apply" section of this document.)
January 2005	Anticipated notification of decision
February 15, 2005	Anticipated start date
Duration of projects	Up to 3 years
Funds available	Up to $300,000 per year. The maximum amount per grant is $75,000 per year including equipment.

Introduction
Background
Partners
Specific Objectives and Eligible Research Areas
Eligibility Criteria
Specific Eligibility Requirements
Mechanism of Support
Funds Available
Allowable Costs
How to Apply
Evaluation Process and Criteria For Peer Review
General CIHR Guidelines and Conditions of Funding
Performance Measurement and Evaluation
Address for Submitting Application and Contact Information

Introduction

The goal the Canadian Institutes of Health Research -Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health (CIHR-IAPH) is to lead a national advanced research agenda in the area of aboriginal health, and to promote innovative research in this field that improves the health of aboriginal peoples living in Canada. The CIHR-IAPH aspires to balance indigenous knowledge, values and community priorities, with international scientific excellence.

The purpose of this strategic initiative is to support community-based research that is multi-pillar (i.e. includes two or more of the following health research pillars: biomedical, clinical science, health systems and services, and the social, cultural, environmental and other aspects that affect the health of populations). Community-based research should involve the research community in a multi-disciplinary, team-based approach, collaborating with the aboriginal population to improve aboriginal health. Applications must demonstrate how information is to be generated and shared with communities, formulating research questions collaboratively and equitably to involve all participants, recognizing the unique opportunity to bring about social change to improved community health and eliminate health disparities.

Background

Many of the health issues facing the aboriginal community are multi-factoral and are therefore best addressed through multi-pillar, multi-disciplinary collaborations. The CIHR-IAPH would like to encourage researchers to undertake community-based health research projects with the aboriginal community in the spirit of participatory action research principles (i.e., participation, collaboration, empowerment, knowledge and change in health status), because it is not enough for aboriginal people to be merely informants and respondents, they should be full partners in research. The research process is reciprocal in which both parties educate each other and the focus is to assist the aboriginal community in assuming ownership of the research process and to use the results to improve their quality of life. The CIHR-IAPH will support research programs that demonstrate partnerships between health research organizations and the aboriginal community, and involve the community members in all stages of the research process including definition of the research question; in the carrying out of the research; in the analysis and interpretation of findings; and in the development and implementation of the dissemination strategy.

Partners

The partners supporting this initiative include:

Other CIHR Institutes may fund proposals depending on research areas.

Specific Objectives and Eligible Research Areas

It is the objective of the CIHR-IAPH to promote original, innovative coordinated and feasible research and to facilitate the rapid uptake of research results through appropriate communication, dissemination and transfer of knowledge strategies. The CIHR-IAPH would like to encourage scientific researchers to develop innovative research approaches for this initiative, and therefore does not want to be prescriptive. The CIHR-IAPH will accept community-based research proposals that are multi-pillar and multi-disciplinary. Suggested areas of research include: child and youth health, diabetes, fetal alcohol syndrome/fetal alcohol effect, HIV/AIDS, prevention of accidents and injuries, innovative projects (i.e. traditional medicine, spiritual health, etc.), health services utilization and health reform policy, and mental health including addictions and suicide.

The specific objectives of this request are:

Other CIHR Institutes may fund proposals depending on research areas.
To foster partnerships between the aboriginal community and health research organizations
To begin to address health issues from a multi-pillar, multi-disciplinary and holistic perspective
To promote participatory research for long term sustainability and cultural appropriateness
To promote and build research skills
To transfer knowledge from and to the aboriginal community

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility criteria for all CIHR research funding (grant) programs apply. The business office of the institution of an eligible Nominated Principal Applicant generally administers CIHR funds. Please refer to the General Guidelines for All CIHR Programs; under CIHR's Grants and Awards Guides on the CIHR website, regarding the eligibility requirements for individuals and institutions.

Randomized Controlled Trials (RCT) will not be considered under this RFA. RCTs are defined as any study involving humans where at least two interventions are compared using random allocation, statistical methodologies and blinding techniques for the purpose of determining whether an innovative intervention leads to improved health.

Specific Eligibility Requirements

Teams will consist of three or more independent researchers who will pool their expertise, different perspectives, and resources to address an aboriginal health issue such as child and youth health, diabetes, fetal alcohol syndrome/fetal alcohol effect, HIV/AIDS, prevention of accidents and injuries, innovative projects (i.e. traditional medicine, spiritual health, etc.) health services utilization and health reform policy, and mental health including addictions and suicide.
The research plans of the team will require an ongoing, active and substantive working relationships among researchers who would normally be associated with two or more of CIHR's health research themes:
1. biomedical
2. clinical
3. health systems and health services
4. societal, cultural and environmental influences on health and the health of populations
This RFA supports the development of new knowledge and the translation of research findings into the improvements of the health of aboriginal Canadians. It encourages partnerships from public, private sector, voluntary, international and not-for-profit organizations both as funders and as active members of the research team.
At least 2 members of the team must be fully qualified independent researcher(s) employed at a Canadian not-for-profit institution. In addition the team leader must be a researcher who holds his/her major academic appointment, whether full-or part-time, at a Canadian university or affiliated institution. The university or institution must have agreed to allow the team leader responsibility for directing research projects and supervising students.
The team leader is the person who will act as research program director and will assume administrative responsibility for the grant. No persons listed as a member of the team may receive a salary from the grant.
Proposals with researchers working in at least two different institutions are encouraged.
Proposals must be based on an active partnership between a community organization(s) and research team(s) whose members are affiliated with local universities, hospitals or other not-for-profit institutions capable of conducting health research. The partner may also contribute funding or in-kind support to the research project (such as office space or staff time), according to its ability to do so.
Community partners include tribal councils, aboriginal organizations, school boards, health-oriented service clubs, community foundations and organizations, local, provincial and national health charities, hospital and research institute foundations, municipal and regional health authorities, district health councils, and provincial government agencies. The guiding principle is that teams from the community be active and ongoing participants in research, training and dissemination activities, and that their roles have been agreed upon in a spirit of equity and mutual benefit.
Proposals must document how issues of [Informed Consent] will be addressed including free and informed consent without manipulation, undue influence or coercion, full disclosure of information relevant for meaningful exercise of free and informed consent and immediate full debriefing of subjects. ¹

Mechanism of Support

This RFA is funded as a strategic initiative and is designed to solicit project grant applications with the duration of up to 3 years.

Funds Available

The maximum amount awarded for a single grant is $ 75 000 per year for up to 3 years, including equipment. All equipment must be requested in the first year.
The total amount available for this initiative is $ 300 000 per year for 3 years.

Allowable costs

Applicants should review the "Eligibility of Expenses, Employment under Grants" section of the General Guidelines for all Research Funding Programs ;for a complete listing and description of allowable costs and activities.

The full application must provide a detailed justification of all costs.
Grants should not be used:

As bridging or emergency funding
To support ongoing studies

Funds should be aimed at methodological or intellectual content innovations as opposed to personnel or training innovations (the latter being supported by CIHR elsewhere).

How to Apply

To access CIHR application forms, including CVs, all applicants and co-applicants must acquire Personal Identification Numbers (PIN). There will be a delay of approximately one working day to receive confirmation of a PIN. More than one working day may be required in peak periods - late January and early August.
Applicants are advised to refer to the "Guidelines for Completion" specific to each application module, and the instructions on 'How to Apply', including the applicable Grants and Awards Guides. Note that the proposals must address the criteria described under the "Evaluation Process and Criteria for Peer Review" section in the text of the RFA.
The following special instructions apply to this RFA:

To ensure that your registration and application are forwarded to the appropriate CIHR staff, the words "Community-based Research, Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health" must be inserted under the heading "Name of Industrial Partner(s) OR Partnership Program OR Special Program (if applicable)" in the General Information section of the Research Module (page 7 of the PDF form).

There are two steps to applying for this RFA. Applicants are encouraged to use the Webforms.

Register your intent to apply, using the CIHR Operating Grants registration package, which consists of pages from the CIHR Research Module, in addition to pages one and two of the Common CV for each applicant and co-applicant participating in the research project. If you are using the Webforms, after entering your PIN and password, create a new application, and then complete the "Operating" section under the Research Funding Programs heading. Once you have completed this section, Save and Exit, then choose the print option for "Registration Pages Only." Send the original plus one copy of both the registration pages and the CV pages to CIHR by courier by the registration deadline indicated in this RFA document, which may be different from the Operating Grants registration deadline.
Complete the full application using the CIHR Operating Grants application package, which consists of the CIHR Research Module, the CIHR Operating Budget Module and a Common CV for each applicant and co-applicant participating in the research project. When completing the CIHR Operating Budget Module provide a detailed justification of all project costs. Costs to be covered by CIHR's funding partners should be listed in the "Other Funding Sources" column on Page 1 of the Budget Module. Courier the original, plus eight copies of the full application by the application deadline indicated in the text of this RFA document.

Evaluation Process and Criteria for Peer Review

Each proposal must describe how the grant will address one of the important health issues described under "Specific Objectives and Eligible Research Areas" above. The appropriate Institute and/or Partner representatives may evaluate proposals for relevance/responsiveness to the RFA.

The Peer Review committee may be drawn from one of CIHR's pre-existing committees or may be created specifically for this Initiative. Committee members are selected based on suggestions from many sources including the Institute(s) and partner(s). Names of committee members are published on the CIHR website. The committee will follow the CIHR Peer Review Process.

General criteria for assessing applications are listed below. It is understood that referees and committees will weigh questions such as these differently from one application to another.

The Research Proposed

How will the proposed research try to improve the burden of ill health of aboriginal peoples? How is the research project action oriented? How does the proposed research aim to have transformative effects on aboriginal health? How will the results be disseminated to the community in a manner that will improve health?
How does the proposed research balance the pursuit of scientific excellence with direct involvement of the aboriginal community in the research process? Does the research environment provide a superior and effective experience for graduate students and postdoctoral trainees?
How important and/or original are the research questions to be addressed, and how clearly are they formulated?
How important and/or original are the contributions expected from the research proposed? What is the potential for important new observations or knowledge?
How well do the proposed experiments address the research questions?
How appropriate are the methodologies and the proposed analyses of data?
How relevant are the new methodologies proposed? How are they introduced and/or explored? How well have the applicants anticipated difficulties in their approach and considered alternatives?
Is the relevant literature appraised and evaluated critically?
How feasible and appropriate is the knowledge translation plan?
What are the extent and the nature of community involvement in the identification of the research problem, development and implementation of project strategies (i.e. working relationship with Aboriginal communities and organizations? Required information on community partnerships include:
- Identified partnership(s) with community organizations, and a brief description of how they operate or will operate with regard to governance, mutual accountability and interaction during the research; and
- The contribution and support for the project provided by the institution(s) and community organization(s). Their contribution may be in staff time, in kind, and/or cash, where feasible.
How is the research community-based? Did the impetus for the research come from the community? Is attention given to barriers to participation, with consideration of those who have been underrepresented in the past? Can the research facilitate collaboration between community participants and resources external to the community? Is there attention to or an explicit agreement between researchers and community participants with respect to ownership and dissemination of the research findings?
Is the ability to bring together, in a meaningful collaboration with communities, researchers from different disciplines, CIHR research themes, institutions, and regions demonstrated? Is the collaboration documented with detailed attention to ethics (i.e. coercion, informed consent, dissemination and use of findings) for all stages of research?

The Applicant's Productivity, Experience and Training

How appropriate to the research proposed is the training or track record of the applicant(s)? How important and original is the recent productivity of the applicant(s)? How much confidence do you have that the applicant can do the work proposed? (The proposed time commitment to the research may influence this judgment.) Do all participating partners demonstrate a true desire to collaborate? Are power differentials acknowledged and addressed?

Applications will also be evaluated on the following specific criteria:

Relevance. Applicants should describe the alignment of the proposed program with the objectives of the strategic initiative Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health: Aboriginal Community-based Research .
Responsiveness. Applicants may emphasize the ways in which a project constitutes a unique, original investigation and/or represents an innovative advance in the field of Aboriginal Health: Aboriginal Community-based Research.
Innovation/Advancement. The project should challenge current research thinking and paradigms and/or address unexplored areas. The potential of great scientific gain should offset the risk of failure.
Approach. Conceptual framework, methods, hypotheses, design and analyses are adequately developed. It is anticipated that preliminary data may not be available in most cases.
Nominated Principal Applicant. This applicant is appropriately trained and has demonstrated research excellence.

On completion of the review, the Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health and its partners will receive the ranking lists, merit scores (ratings) and recommendation of the Committee, with regards to term and funding level, for the submitted applications. Based on the total funds available for the initiative, applications will be funded from the top-ranked down as far as the budget allows. Applications receiving a score less than 3.5 will not be considered for funding.

General CIHR Guidelines and Conditions of Funding

All conditions, as specified in CIHR's General Guidelines for All CIHR Programs; and the Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health: Community-based Research, shall apply to grants funded through this initiative. 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.

In addition to CIHR standard guidelines and requirements, the following special conditions shall apply:

Within six months after the end of the grant's term, the nominated principal applicant is required to submit a final performance report, summarizing the results and describing how the grant funds were used. The Report should be sent to the Institute of Aboriginal Peoples's Health.

Applicants who receive funding must acknowledge the CIHR-Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health and its partners in any communication or publication related to the grant.

Communication Requirement

Recipients who receive funding are required to acknowledge the CIHR Institute(s)/partner(s) in any communication or publication related to the grant as follows: CIHR-IAPH.

Performance Measurement and Evaluation

The CIHR Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health has made plans to assess performance of this initiative through ongoing monitoring and periodic evaluation. We are committed to informing Canadians about the performance of our initiatives and the results that they deliver.

The following table is intended to further clarify objectives by linking them to expected outcomes and measures. All funded applicants will be expected to participate in the evaluation strategy, contributing advice, data and reports as required for assessment purposes.

Objectives	Outcome	Measures/Indicator
To foster partnerships between the aboriginal community and health research organizations	Increased linkages, networking and collaboration between researchers and the Aboriginal community	Type and frequency of consultations between researchers and the Aboriginal community
To begin to address health issues from a multi-pillar, multi-disciplinary and holistic perspective	Greater understanding of aboriginal health from a broader research paradigm	Disciplinary and geographic diversity in strategic research teams Evidence of transformative interaction among researchers with different perspectives Community structures or problem-solving mechanisms in place
To promote participatory research for long term sustainability and cultural appropriateness	Increased research capacity among Aboriginal community	Satisfaction of Aboriginal community with respect to involvement in research planning and conduct Evidence of community ownership
To promote and build research skills	Long term sustainability of research practices	Number of new Aboriginal leaders in research including graduate students and post-doctoral trainees Increased adoption of research process to strengthen community-based outcomes
To transfer knowledge from and to the aboriginal community.	Increased evidence of the transformative nature of research to benefit the community	Collaborative relationships with partners that project community-based principles to maintain Aboriginal involvement and promote culturally-sensitive outcomes Increased trust in Aboriginal communities for research

Address for Submitting Application and Contact Information

Send Application by Courier to:

RE: "Aboriginal Community-based Research"
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Research Portfolio
410 Laurier Avenue W., 9th Floor
Address Locator 4209A
Ottawa, ON K1A 0W9

Contacts for Further Information:

For questions on CIHR funding guidelines or how to apply contact:

Alex Lamontagne
Program Coordinator
Knowledge Creation Programs Branch
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
410 Laurier Avenue West, 9th floor, Address Locator 4209A,
Ottawa, ON K1A 0W9
Telephone: (613) 954-6054
Fax: (613) 954-1800
Email: alamontagne@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

For questions about this initiative and research objectives contact:

Institute Representative
Earl Nowgesic BScN RN MHSc
Assistant Director
Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health
University of Toronto
100 College Street
Toronto Ontario M5G 1L5
Telephone: (416) 946-8056
Fax: (416) 946-8055
Email: earl.nowgesic@utoronto.ca

¹ Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans 1998

Created: 2003-11-26
Modified: 2004-01-12
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