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Institute: Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes
Scientific Director: Diane T. Finegood
Cat. No. MR1-15/2004E - HTML 0-662-38640-X
Message from the Scientific Director
Outstanding Research
Outstanding Researchers in Innovative Environments
Translating Health Research into Action
Effective Partnerships and Public Engagement
Organizational Excellence
Risks and Challenges
Financial Statements
In 2001, following an extensive environmental scan and stakeholder input [ PDF (509 KB) | Help ], the Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes (INMD) identified 'Obesity and Healthy Body Weight' as its focus for strategic research funding. Since this timely declaration, both national and international attention has turned increasingly toward the pandemic of overweight and obesity. The physical, psychological and economic costs of obesity are now well known to both health practitioners and the lay public. While the solution for the individual may seem as simple as decreasing energy intake and increasing energy output, the human condition is clearly far more complex.
To effectively reverse this epidemic, it is imperative that research generate new knowledge on the multiple and interacting causes of obesity, best practices for its prevention in both individuals and populations and cost-effective and ethical measures for treatment.
As part of its 2002 Strategic Plan [ PDF (206 KB) | Help ], INMD pledged to revisit and update its focus and strategies after two years of implementation. The Institute Advisory Board undertook a series of exercises over the course of 2003 to assess the original plan and refine its vision for the next three years of INMD strategic activity. Through this work, obesity was confirmed as a continuing priority within the strategic outcomes identified in the CIHR Blueprint [ PDF (259 KB) | Help ], including outstanding research, outstanding researchers in innovative environments and transforming health research into action. In addition, the Board determined that INMD should explore new avenues for support of other research areas within its mandate and engage stakeholders in a dialogue to discuss needs and future opportunities.
As Scientific Director of INMD, I am pleased to invite you to examine the Institute's Annual Report for 2003-04.
INMD activities within the 2003-04 fiscal year were focused on fulfilling outcomes defined within our strategic plan, published and distributed in May 2002 and posted on our web pages within the CIHR website .
In support of its strategic initiative, Excellence, Innovation and Advancement in the Study of Obesity and Healthy Body Weight, INMD funded seven New Emerging Teams, one Training Program, and twelve Pilot Projects. INMD also supported five highly ranked grant applications submitted to, but not funded in, the CIHR Operating Grant competitions.
New Emerging Team Grants
This funding opportunity received enthusiastic praise from Canada's research community for training and building capacity in new and developing areas of research, fostering multidisciplinary and cross-theme research and providing researchers with a support system for research funding in future years. The New Emerging Team (NET) grant is intended to promote the growth of small existing teams or the formation of new and previously non-existent research teams. These grants are valued up to $300,000 each per year, for up to five years.
The inaugural launch of the Obesity and Healthy Body Weights New Emerging Team Program generated 20 letters of intent. A subcommittee of INMD's Advisory Board determined the relevance of these letters to the Institute's strategic initiative on obesity and healthy body weight. Following this relevance review, 14 applicants were invited to submit a full application. Seven of these applications were approved for funding.
Pilot Project Grants
INMD challenged Canadian researchers to develop innovative, high-risk, pilot or feasibility research projects in the area of obesity and healthy body weight by way of the Pilot Project Grant. This opportunity allowed investigators with unique ideas and observations to conduct pilot studies and/or gather the evidence necessary to determine the viability of new research directions. Through two separate competitions, INMD received a total of 35 applications and, in collaborations with its partners, supported 12 Pilot Project Grants.
Operating Grants
An operating grant provides support for a research project by an individual or small group of investigators. In the fiscal year 2003-04, INMD participated in the CIHR Priority Announcement in order to support highly ranked applications submitted to the open CIHR operating grants competition that fell below the cut off of the open competition and were considered relevant to INMD's strategic initiative.
Five operating grants were funded from applications submitted to the September 2002 and March 2003 open competitions. Two of these were co-funded with the CIHR-Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health (IAPH).
Training Program Grants
To build capacity within Canada's health research community, INMD offered a Training Program Grant designed to foster the development of and provide ongoing support to the scientific careers of women and men in obesity/healthy body weight research.
Of the two letters of intent received, one was determined to be relevant to the strategic initiative in obesity and healthy body weight and invited to submit a full application. Following the peer review process, this Training Program Grant was approved for funding. Over the next five years, a total of $1,515,788 will be allocated to an "Obesity and Healthy Body Weight Research Training Program" at the University of Laval.
Research Teams' Meeting
Since its inception, INMD has collaborated with multiple partners including, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada (HSF), the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA), the Kidney Foundation of Canada, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the CIHR Institutes of: Cancer Research (ICR), Circulatory and Respiratory Health (ICRH); Gender and Health (IGH); Genetics (IG); Human Development, Child and Youth Health (IHDCYH); and Infection and Immunity (III) to support multi-disciplinary research teams. Through these collaborations, sixteen teams have received funding in the form of New Emerging Team Grants, two teams received funding through the Canadian Alliance for Health Research program and one team was funded through the CIHR Interdisciplinary Health Research Teams competition.
In November 2003, these teams were invited to take part in a multi-disciplinary team meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to facilitate the transfer of best practices and to create linkages and exchanges among research teams. With input from all teams, INMD prepared an agenda that included two sessions: 1) group discussions on best practices relating to management, leadership and communications within multi-disciplinary research teams; and 2) short presentations to allow for scientific exchanges among teams. A detailed summary of the meeting is available on our Website.
Feedback from participants was highly positive, with more than 90 per cent ranking the meeting as a success where meeting objectives were achieved. Many acknowledged the meeting created an opportunity for researchers to learn about teamwork best practices and to gain insights on various research projects that are currently underway across Canada. For some teams, this meeting was a first step to building new collaborative relationships. New Investigators saw the meeting as a great learning opportunity where they felt welcomed, supported and encouraged.
Canada on the Move: Step One - Research Platform
In December 2003, CIHR and INMD launched Canada on the Move: Step One, a unique web-based research project designed help measure the barriers to and supports for to increasing physical activity, including how Canadians use pedometers and the steps they take each day. All adult Canadians can participate by logging onto http://www.canadaonthemove.ca/.
The goals of this initiative are to mount a successful demonstration project of an innovative research environment; to exploit a natural experiment by exploring the role of pedometers in encouraging physical activity; and to develop a unique research platform that engages the public as well as traditional and non-traditional corporate partners in health research.
Childhood Obesity Evidence Report
INMD supported the development of an evidence report on childhood obesity, one deliverable in the contract between Canadian Association of Pediatric Health Centres (CAPHC) and INMD. The recommendations contained in this report were presented during a symposium at the CAPHC Annual Meeting, June 17, 2003 in Calgary. The report reviews evidence across a broad range of interventions and includes an environmental scan of current activity in Canada. Its emphasis is on recommendations for interventions and on research gaps relevant to practice guidelines for obesity treatment in children.
Obesity: Seeking Solutions TV Special
In a partnership with BTV Communications, INMD produced a prime-time television special focusing on obesity research that premiered nationally on November 22, 2003, across the Global Television Network. Obesity: Seeking Solutions addresses the complexity of the obesity epidemic and looks at solutions most likely to come from our research community. Interweaving candid interviews with Canada's leading researchers and nutritionists, this half-hour special was developed to help Canadians better understand what is required if we are to successfully stem the trend toward increasingly unhealthy body weight.
Workshop Support
Funding opportunities for research development and translation within INMD's broad mandate were offered through the workshop program. Stakeholders from across the mandate took advantage of this funding opportunity to host workshops and other invited meetings in 2003-2004.
Obesity in Canada: Identifying Policy Priorities
In June 2003, a collaborative project involving INMD and the Canadian Population Health Initiative (CPHI) of the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) sought to initiate a Canadian dialogue on the identification of key priorities for obesity-linked policies and for policy-relevant obesity research. An additional objective was to develop cross-sectoral linkages within the context of policy relevant to obesity and healthy body weight. Invited participants included policy- and decision-makers from a number of sectors, including education, transportation, health, agriculture and the food industry. Recommended actions were identified in six priority areas: surveillance; policy-related research - funding and design; evaluation of policy tools and interventions; school health; urban design and transportation; and social inequities and determinants of obesity.
Target Obesity Initiative
In 2003, INMD, HSF, CDA and the following CIHR Institutes: ICR; IGH; IHDCYH; and Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis (IMHA) came together to develop a new research training initiative. This initiative is intended to encourage more students, recent graduates and postgraduates, including health professionals such as physicians, nurses, dietitians and exercise physiologists to train in the area of obesity research. The initiative will support research in the areas of obesity and chronic disease across four health research themes: basic, clinical, health services and systems and population health. The Target Obesity Request For Applications (RFA) was launched in July 2003. The partners have committed a total of $500,000 towards this initiative. Results from this program will become available in the summer of 2004.
National Diabetes Surveillance System (NDSS): Scientific Working Group (SWG)
In the fall of 2003, INMD collaborated with the National Diabetes Surveillance System (NDSS) to host a one-day meeting of the NDSS Scientific Working Group. The meeting focused on diabetes surveillance research in Canada.
The National Diabetes Surveillance System (NDSS) is a multi-sectoral initiative of non-governmental agencies, Aboriginal groups, government and industry committed to reducing the incidence and complications of diabetes through leadership in the development, implementation and national coordination of provincial, territorial and Aboriginal diabetes surveillance systems.
The NDSS Scientific Working Group planning meeting brought together a cross section of experts working in areas related to diabetes surveillance, including economists, epidemiologists, population health and health services researchers. Over the course of the day, meeting participants reviewed existing NDSS data, discussed other potential information available through data-linkages or through new primary data collection and explored strategic directions for diabetes surveillance research in Canada.
Advancing Theories, Frameworks, Methods and Measurement In Health Services & Policy, Population and Public Health Research and Knowledge Translation
In 2003, INMD participated in the strategic initiative "Advancing Theories, Frameworks, Methods and Measurement In Health Services & Policy, Population and Public Health Research and Knowledge Translation" led by the Institute of Health Services and Policy Research (IHSPR) and the Institute of Population and Public Health (IPPH). The purpose of this strategic initiative was to support research likely to lead to new breakthroughs in advancing theory, conceptual frameworks, research methods or measurement approaches (qualitative or quantitative) that have broad application to health services (including public health), systems and policy research and population health research, or to understanding the translation of research into a strengthened Canadian health care system and improved health for Canadians.
A subcommittee of INMD's Advisory Board reviewed applications submitted to this program. The Advisory Board determined the relevance of these applications to INMD's strategic research focus and gave priority to applications related to our focus on obesity and healthy body weight. Although three applications were rated as relevant to INMD research focus, only one of those was eligible for funding. INMD supported this application for three years.
Revision of the INMD Strategic Plan
On completing the development of the inaugural INMD strategic plan, the Institute Advisory Board committed to renewing the plan after two years. Throughout its 2003 meetings, the INMD Board undertook a systematic review of the inaugural plan, updating and adapting it to meet new challenges and opportunities.
INMD Staff Retreat
The rapid pace and complexity of work at the Institute requires a commitment to teamwork and sound leadership. In the spring and summer of 2003, the INMD staff participated in a two-part retreat designed to build stronger communication among team members.
Evaluation
In preparation for the upcoming evaluation of Institutes and programs, INMD and its Board members began the process of identifying indicators of excellence in the five CIHR Strategic Outcomes areas against which it will be measured. This preliminary list will be refined in 2004 for the start of the evaluation period in the fall of that year.
Obesity as a multi-agency, multi-sectoral research and knowledge exchange issue
Obesity/healthy body weight research is highly relevant to the mandates of most of the CIHR Institutes and reaches well into the jurisdictions of other agencies, such as HSF, CDA, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), CPHI, Statistics Canada and Health Canada. A challenge for INMD has been to engage each of these organizations and the stakeholders they represent in a strategic and coordinated approach to obesity investigation, funding, and knowledge exchange.
Engaging non-traditional researchers
Solutions to the obesity epidemic will require evidence from outside the traditional health research arena. A significant challenge for INMD has been to assist researchers from non-health disciplines such as economics, anthropology, marketing and engineering to see how their work relates to obesity and healthy body weight. Attracting these investigators to INMD's funding opportunities and building their capacity to become successful applicants in CIHR competitions are important elements of this challenge.
Financial Performance: Contributions through Grants and Awards
| Program | # | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006 and beyond | Total |
| Advancing Theories, Framework | 1 |
13,312 |
57,529 |
70,885 |
54,297 |
196,023 |
| Excellence, Innovation and Advancement in the Study of Obesity and Healthy Body Weight | 32 |
2,937,191 |
2,488,316 |
2,445,343 |
4,396,751 |
12,267,601 |
| Diabetes Surveillance System Grants | 2 |
72,126 |
48,725 |
- |
- |
120,851 |
| Knowledge Translations Applications | 5 |
49,822 |
45,833 |
- |
- |
95,655 |
| New Emerging Team | 8 |
1,053,382 |
1,071,884 |
1,495,764 |
1,517,424 |
5,138,454 |
| Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health Strategic Initiative | 1 |
36,789 |
18,448 |
- |
- |
55,237 |
| CDA-INMD Doctoral Awards |
6 |
61,500 |
- |
- |
- |
61,500 |
| CIHR Training Program Grants | 6 |
687,429 |
795,377 |
795,376 |
1,205,984 |
3,484,166 |
| Environmental Approaches to Physical Activity, Healthy Eating & Healthy Body Weight | 7 |
385,640 |
- |
- |
- |
385,640 |
| Total | 68 |
$5,297,191 |
$4,526,112 |
$4,807,368 |
$7,174,456 |
$21,805,127 |
Note: Grants and awards in respect to these programs are approved for 1 to 6 years. Figures displayed represent CIHR financial commitments for these programs in 2003-04 and subsequent years. Availability of these funds in future years is subject to funding appropriations by Parliament. For some initiatives, partners also contributed to the funding of the grants and awards. | ||||||
Institute Support Grant - Annual Financial Report 2003-2004
For the year ended March 31, 2004
| Available Funds | A |
$ 1,688,748 | ||
| Expenses | ||||
| Institute Development | ||||
| Conference, symposia and workshops |
389,076 |
|||
| Institute Advisory Board expenditures |
78,381 |
|||
| Professional Services |
117,348 |
|||
| Travel Expenditures |
73,655 |
|||
| Other Costs |
33,202 |
|||
|
$691,662 | ||||
| Institute Operations | ||||
| Salaries and benefits |
422,778 |
|||
| Telephone and Communication services |
10,697 |
|||
| Supplies, material and other services |
14,819 |
|||
| Office furniture and fixtures |
8,446 |
|||
| Computer Equipment and IT support |
57,662 |
|||
| Professional Services |
17,061 |
|||
| Travel Expenditures |
45,590 |
|||
| Other |
408 |
|||
|
$577, 461 | ||||
| Total Expenses | B |
$1,269,123 | ||
| Unspent Balance* | A-B |
$419,625 | ||
*Note: The unspent balance as at March 31, 2004 is carried forward to the subsequent fiscal year.
