Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis
The purpose of this Request for Applications (RFA) is to provide opportunities for the support of planning and/or development activities of multidisciplinary and/or cross pillar research teams to address IMHA's three research themes: Physical Activity, Mobility and Health; Tissue Repair and Replacement; and Pain, Disability and Chronic Diseases.
| April 1, 2005 | Registration Deadline - Registration packages must be courier stamped by this date. |
| June 1, 2005 | Full applications must be courier stamped by this date. |
| November 2005 | Anticipated Notification of decision. |
| November 2005 | Anticipated start date. |
| Duration of projects | Up to 1 year |
| Funds Available | For this initiative: Funding from the IMHA is contingent upon availability of funds Per grant: $I00,000/year. |
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
Description of Partners
The IMHA will provide one year (one-time) grants of up to $100,000 to new research teams who have a clear and well-developed set of important research priorities within any one of IMHA 3 research priority themes and require support to refine those themes as a team and to collect some convincing data to justify their future funding. Support will enable researchers to meet, plan and execute pilot collaborative experiments for the purpose of generating preliminary data for the team to be successful in CIHR open competitions or in future strategic proposals within CIHR /IMHA . A major target for future applications of teams with this envelope of pilot projects is the New Emerging Team grants (NETS).
The IMHA 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. Applicants are invited to visit the Descriptions of Partners to find a list of partners and their respective mandates and/or strategic interests. This list will continue to evolve as new partners join in this initiative.
Eligible research areas include:
The Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis encourages researchers across disciplines within the Arthritis, Bone, Skin, Muscle, Oral Health and/or Rehabilitation Research communities, and across all four of CIHR research pillars to develop research in areas covered by IMHA's three research themes:
The objectives of the Planning and Development Grants are to facilitate the formation of multidisciplinary teams that will be:
The following criteria must be included:
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.
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 full application must provide a detailed justification of all costs.
Funds Available
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 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.
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:
The applicant's productivity, experience and training:
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.
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.
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.
Access to Information Act and Privacy Act, and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)
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 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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
Additional instructions must be followed for this RFA:
Send Application by Courier to:
RE: "IMHA - Team Planning and Development Grants"
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Room 97, 160 Elgin Street
Address locator: 4809A
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0W9
For questions on CIHR funding guidelines, how to apply, and the peer review process contact:
Marie-Lynne Boudreau
Program Delivery Officer
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Telephone: (613) 941-0861
Fax: (613) 954-1800
E-mail: mboudreau@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
For questions about this initiative and research objectives contact:
Institute Representative
Sophia Tsouros
Project Manager / Analyst
CIHR - Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis
Telephone: (613) 954-3469
Fax: (613) 954-1800
E-mail: stsouros@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
Although there are no partners currently engaged in this initiative, the IMHA is in the process of soliciting interest from partners. Furthermore, researchers are also strongly encouraged to seek out additional partners to support and disseminate research within the IMHA's three research themes.
