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Research Network Grants - Ethical, Legal and Social Issues in Health and Health Research (Archived)

Request for Applications

Ethics Office
In collaboration with
the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)

Summary

Part of the CIHR mandate is to promote research that addresses important ethical, legal and social (ELS) issues related to health and health research. The purpose of this Request for Applications (RFA) is to further strengthen research capacity in ELS fields by encouraging new and established investigators to develop multidisciplinary networks and work together to better understand and address high priority issues. Networks at different stages of development will have the opportunity to access Research Network Grants (RNG) for ELS research. It is expected that this targeted investment will lead to new training opportunities, innovative avenues of inquiry, more successful applications for operating grants in ELS research through CIHR's open competition and ultimately, new approaches for addressing ELS issues in health and health research.

Timeline

April 1, 2005	Registration Deadline - Registration packages must be courier stamped by this date.
August 1, 2005	Full proposals must be courier stamped by this date.
January, 2006	Anticipated notification of decision.
February, 2006	Anticipated start date.

Value and Duration

Duration of projects	Up to 3 years.
Funds Available	Per grant/award: $70,000/year maximum. Up to two grants will be awarded depending on the funds available

Summary
Background
Partners
Objectives and Eligible Research Areas
Funding Information
Eligibility
Evaluation Criteria and Process
General CIHR Guidelines and Conditions of Funding
Communications Requirements
Monitoring, Performance Measurement and Evaluation
How to Apply
Contact Information

Background

During the 1990s, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) ran a successful Strategic Program in Applied Ethics. Broadly speaking, the goal of this program was to promote fundamental reflection on the nature and role of ethics and its application in a democratic and pluralistic society. One type of support offered under this initiative was Strategic Research Network Grants (SRNs), intended to help create and sustain multi-disciplinary networks of researchers engaging in collaborative research activities. SRNs focussed on a specific problem or set of problems, and used the perspective of different disciplines to help achieve an interdisciplinary synthesis and more comprehensive understanding of these problems. SRNs led to new avenues of inquiry and applications for operating grants, as well as training opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.

CIHR, in collaboration with SSHRC, would now like to offer RNGs as an updated version of the former SRNs to support the creation of multi-disciplinary networks working on ELS issues related to health or health research.

Partners

The CIHR Ethics Office is pleased to be launching this RFA in collaboration with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

Ethics is a key part of the CIHR mandate, both in terms of promoting, assisting and undertaking health research that meets the highest standards of ethics, as well as encouraging inter-disciplinary, innovative and integrative research on ethical, legal and social (ELS) issues pertaining to health.

The Ethics Office is dedicated to identifying and developing collaborations with other CIHR institute(s), branch(es) or office(s), funding organizations and stakeholders to enhance the availability of funding for this strategic initiative, and to create, where appropriate, opportunities for knowledge exchange and translation related to the scope of this particular initiative.

SSHRC is the federal agency responsible for promoting and supporting research and research training in the social sciences and humanities in Canada. SSHRC supports research on the economic, political, social and cultural dimensions of human activity.

Objectives and Eligible Research Areas

The objective of this initiative is to accomplish some or all of the following:

To support multidisciplinary reflection, understanding and investigation of important ELS research questions and issues related to health and health research;
To support the training, mentoring and establishment of new investigators, or established investigators from other fields, in ELS research.
To create a team environment which favours the development of new fundable research projects;
To supply funds for the creation or development of competitive research networks, which show potential for successfully applying for funding in the future.

Eligibility of Randomized Controlled Trials Applications

Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) 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.

Funding Information

Mechanism of Support

This Request for Applications will follow the General Guidelines for All Research Grants.

Allowable Costs

Applicants should review Use of Grant Funds and Eligibility of Expenses, Employment under Grants within the General Guidelines for All Research Grants for a complete listing and description of allowable costs and activities.

The RNG is a non-renewable three-year grant. The grant can be used to support:

costs of networking activities, including collaboration, planning, and research exchange activities directly related to the Network's objectives, and travel funds required for members and trainees separated by a significant distance. It is anticipated that the Network will have one major meeting for a sustained period of time every year (e.g., a 3-4 day retreat) as this contributes greatly to developing strong research relationships, as well as two shorter (virtual) meetings per year, and frequent communication by other means (such as teleconferencing and e-mail communications);
expenses of an operational nature which support the above activities (e.g., part-time administrative assistance, document preparation, Web site creation and maintenance). These operational expenses should be kept to the minimum. Necessary operational expenses should be justified by the applicants in their proposals.

The RNG does not support:

salaries for technicians and other research personnel;
equipment purchase, and maintenance contracts;
salaries of research trainees;
establishment funds and salary of new investigators joining the network, or any network member.

The full application must provide a detailed justification of all costs.

Funds Available

The maximum amount awarded for a single grant is $ 70,000 per annum for up to 3 years.
Up to two grants will be awarded depending on the funds available. This number may increase if additional funding partners decide to participate.

Based on the total funds available for the initiative, applications will be funded from the top-ranked down as far as budgets will allow. Applications receiving a score of less than 3.5 will not be considered for funding.

Eligibility

Eligibility Criteria

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.

Specific Eligibility Requirements

Eligibility requirements specific to this Request for Applications include the following:

The RNG is designed to provide up to three years of support for the creation or development of collaborative networks of investigators from different disciplines to work together to better understand and address ethical, legal and/or social issues related to health or health research. These networks should consist of at least 5 core members from 3 different disciplines.

The program is intended to strengthen existing networks or promote the formation of new research networks. The network, as a whole, should not, at the time of submission, benefit from any infrastructure program of the CIHR (e.g. CAHR, IHRT or NET), or of any other federal or provincial agencies designed to facilitate group activities. Individual network members may be part of other research networks or groups, as long as there is minimal to no overlap in the research programs.

The members of the network may pursue other avenues of research in addition to their commitment to the network, however each individual investigator must contribute sufficient time to the network to ensure the achievement of its research objectives. Members of a network must be located in at least two institutions, representing a minimum of three disciplines, in faculties or institutions in Canada. International members can also be included.

The Network Leader must be a researcher with proven leadership capabilities.

Evaluation Criteria and Process

Evaluation Criteria

Each proposal must describe how the grant will address one of the important health issues described under "Objectives and Eligible Research Areas." General criteria for assessing applications are listed below. Because different applications will emphasize different approaches to research and to knowledge translation, it is understood that reviewers and committees will weigh questions such as these differently from one application to another.

The research proposed:

How important, novel and/or original are the hypotheses or the questions to be addressed, and how clearly are they formulated?
How important and original are the contributions expected from the research proposed? What is the potential for important new knowledge or impact in health or health research?
How well will the proposed experiments address the hypotheses or questions? How appropriate are the methods for the conduct of the experiment and analysis of data? How well have the applicants anticipated difficulties in their approach and considered alternatives?
How critically is the relevant literature appraised?

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.)

Taking into consideration "stage in career":

What research has been accomplished to date, including projects undertaken as a trainee?
How appropriate to the research proposed is the training or track record of the applicant(s)? Has the applicant demonstrated independence and originality?
Has the applicant demonstrated the potential to successfully lead the proposed project?
Has the applicant demonstrated the potential to become a leader in this field of research?

In addition to these general criteria, the peer review committee will consider the criteria below:

Relevance. Applicants should demonstrate that funding the Network would enhance the understanding of important ELS research questions/issues.
Innovation/Advancement. The project should address under-explored or unexplored areas in ELS issues, and should provide the opportunity for innovative, interdisciplinary approaches to better understanding these issues.
Approach. The application should demonstrate that there is added value in bringing together a Network of researchers (from different disciplines, institutions, or sectors, etc.) in a meaningful collaboration, as opposed to funding of individuals;
Network. The Network should consist of members who have been productive, creative and original in their approach to research, or have the potential to develop these attributes. Also, there should be a description of the reasons for selecting the various disciplines invited to be part of the Network, and the way in which it is anticipated that the collaboration will work.
Research Plan and Schedule. The application should outline the preliminary plan and schedule for the way in which the collaborative Network will function, and the type and timing of meetings. It should also provide an effective plan for dissemination and translation of the output of the Network through linkages with the appropriate user community
Potential for Training. Any plan for involving individual trainees (students and fellows) in the network activities should be described. The appropriateness of the Team as a training ground for trainees should also be mentioned.
Nominated Principal Applicant. This applicant should be appropriately trained and has demonstrated research excellence.

Evaluation Process

All personal information collected by CIHR about applicants is used to review applications, 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.

Prior to peer review, the appropriate CIHR institute, portfolio and partner representatives may first review proposals for relevance to their strategic interests. The relevance review will be based on the extent to which the proposed research relates to the mandates or strategic priorities of the Institutes, portfolios and partners. As such, representatives will have access to the anonymized project titles and summaries. This review will have no impact on the peer review process.

On completion of the review, the appropriate CIHR institute, portfolio and partner representatives will receive the ranking list, merit scores (ratings) and recommendations of the peer review committee with regards to funding level, for the submitted applications that fall in the fundable range.

A CIHR peer review committee will evaluate the full applications. The committee may be drawn from one of CIHR's pre-existing committees or may be created specifically for this Request for Applications. Committee members are selected based on suggestions from many sources including the institute(s) / portfolio(s) and partner(s), following CIHR's policy on Conflict of Interest, Confidentiality and Privacy Issues in Peer Review. For information on CIHR's peer review process, see Peer Review.

Access to Information Act and Privacy Act, and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)

CIHR has 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 Request for Applications and all matters pertaining thereto.

The Parties, while respecting the application of the Privacy Act to federal entities, will also be bound by the PIPEDA. All personal information (as identified by the PIPEDA) collected, used or disclosed in the course of any commercial activity under cost-sharing agreements related to the Request for Applications will be collected, used and disclosed in compliance with the PIPEDA.

General CIHR Guidelines and Conditions of Funding

All conditions specified in CIHR General Grants and Awards Policies shall apply to applications funded through this Request for Applications. 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.

Communications Requirements

Grant recipients are required to acknowledge CIHR, its institutes and partners in any communication or publication related to the project. See CIHR General Grants and Awards Policies, Acknowledgement of CIHR's Support for details on CIHR's communication requirements. The contributing institutes / partners will be identified on the Authorization for Funding and decision letter.

Monitoring, Performance Measurement and Evaluation

CIHR is committed to demonstrating results to Canadians for the money invested in health research. Therefore, processes for monitoring progress and appropriate use of funds, as well as for performance measurement and program evaluation are in place. As a result, funding recipients must:

contribute to the monitoring, review and evaluation of CIHR's programs, policies and processes by participating in evaluation studies, surveys, workshops, audits and providing data or reports as required for the purpose of collecting information to assess progress and results;
encourage their associates, trainees and administration to participate in the monitoring, review and evaluation of CIHR's programs, policies and processes as required.

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: (1) a report indicating how the grant funds were used, and (2) a report of activities and outcomes. Both reports should describe how the objectives of this RFA outlined in the following table were met. A standard form will be provided by CIHR.

The following table is intended to further clarify objectives by linking them to expected outcomes and measures which will be included in CIHR's Management Resources and Results Structure (MRRS) required by Treasury Board. All funded applicants will be expected to participate in the evaluation strategy, contributing advice, data and reports as required for assessment purposes.

Objective	Outcome	Measure / Indicator
1. To support multidisciplinary reflection, understanding and investigation of important ELS research questions and issues related to health and health research	Academic output such as publications, presentations and/or research proposals. Multidisciplinary and cross-theme research questions generated to further address relevant ethical, legal and/or social issues	Amount/quality of academic output produced. Multidisciplinary and cross-theme nature of subsequent operating grant applications and publications
		Network participant satisfaction regarding effectiveness of the program to foster multidisciplinary and cross-theme research
2. To support the training, mentoring and establishment of new investigators, or established investigators from other fields, in ELS research.	Increased number of trainees in the field of ethical, legal and/or social issues	Number of trainees within the network
	Establishment of new investigators in the field of ethical, legal and/or social issues	New investigators who are integrated in the network. Satisfaction of new trainees and/or investigators with the Network experience and enhanced future opportunities to work in the field of ELS research
3. To create a team environment which favours the development of new fundable research projects	Increased quality and productivity of award recipients in area of ethical, legal and/or social issues	Applications to operating grants and success rate
		Established mechanisms for knowledge dissemination activities (publications, colloquia, etc.)
4. To supply funds for the creation of new or development of existing research networks, which show potential for successfully applying for funding in the future	Increased number of competitive networks	Number of networks
	Increased networking and collaboration between diverse researchers at different stages in their careers	Number of researchers in networks
	Growth and sustainability of network	Successful applications for funding following the RNG

How to Apply

The application process is comprised of two steps: Registration and Full Application.

Review the application instructions provided in How to Apply for a Grant or Award.

Select Operating Grants (Registration and Application) from the Research Funding Programs Application Packages.

In the Research Funding Program section of the Research Module (page 7 of the web form printed report), select "Strategic Initiative/RFA" and enter the title of this RFA.

Send Application by Courier to:

RE: "Ethical, Legal and Social Issues in Health and Health Research - Research Network Grants"
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Room 97, 160 Elgin Street
Address locator: 4809A
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0W9

Contact Information

For questions on CIHR funding guidelines, how to apply, and the peer review process contact:

Krista Mclean
Program Coordinator
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Telephone: (613) 954-7870,
E-mail: kmclean@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

For questions about this initiative and research objectives contact:

Ethics Office
Tel: (613) 946-4773
Fax: (613) 946-0885
E-mail: ethics-ethique@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

Created: 2004-12-01
Modified: 2005-05-26
Reviewed: 2004-12-01
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