Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis
In partnership with
Sport Canada
| Important Dates | |
| Opportunity Launched | June 2006 |
| Content Last Updated | July 7, 2006 (Funds Available) |
| 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. |
| March 31, 2007 | Anticipated notification of decision. |
| March 31, 2007 | Anticipated start date. |
| 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 | |
| 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. | |
Background
Partners
Objectives
Eligibility
Allowable Costs
Review Process and Evaluation Criteria
General CIHR Guidelines
Conditions of Funding
Communications Requirements
Monitoring, Performance Measurement and Evaluation
How to Apply
Contact Information
Description of Partners
Physical Activity and Sport are widely accepted as a powerful contributor to social and personal development. As a way of being physically active, participation in sport contributes to the adoption of healthy lifestyle and prevention of diseases and illness. Despite these benefits, participation in physical activity and sport has declined significantly in Canada during the last decade. Moreover, estimates suggest that illness due to physical inactivity, which includes sport participation, cost between $2 to $5 billion annually in direct health care costs in Canada. The Canadian Sport Policy (CSP, 2002) recognizes the importance of research and knowledge in addressing this decline in participation. Progress will require the systematic development and application of research and knowledge. In late 2004, Sport Canada organized a meeting around the design and development of a Canadian Research Council-based Sport Canada Policy Research Programme (SCPRP) with the objective of building Canada's capacity to conduct research related to physical activity and sport participation in priority areas. Three constituencies were represented: the sport research community, the policy/sport policy community and Canadian Research Council representatives.
Sport Canada's funding in this RFA will focus on health related priorities that will allow Sport Canada to function within the parameters of the Canadian Sport Policy and Bill C-12, and the Act to Promote Physical Activity and Sport (2003), to support the design and implementation of physical activity and sport policy by providing a valid and reliable research base for the development and support of policies and programs regarding participation in physical activity and sport in Canada.
The Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis(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 questions within IMHA's physical activity, mobility and health priority, as they relate to Sport Canada's research priorities, and require support to refine those questions as a team and to collect convincing data to justify their future funding. Support will enable researchers to meet, plan and execute pilot collaborative studies 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 Emerging Team grants program in sport and physical activity, likely to be launched in 2007.
The CIHR-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. The specific research foci and requirements for each partner are outlined in the section "Objectives".
The objectives of the Planning and Development Grants are:
The goals of the program are to fund health research dealing with the trends, barriers to participation, and issues related to participation in physical activity and sport in Canada; build Canada's capacity to conduct research related to physical activity and sport participation; and, encourage the formation of new research teams in this area. The research results are intended to support the design and implementation of physical activity and sport policy by providing a valid and reliable research base for the development and support of policies and programs regarding participation in physical activity and sport in Canada.
Sport Canada encourages researchers to develop research in the following priorities:
1) Identifying and Eliminating Barriers to Participation in Physical Activity and Sport
This priority is proposed as a potential long-term population health strategy for Canadians. It is clear that a certain number of Canadians already participate regularly in physical activity and sport while others do not. The fundamental barriers need to be examined and tested along with less obvious barriers. A careful analysis of the populations and individuals who do participate in physical activity and sport, compared with those who do not, will reveal some of the barriers to participation and potential strategies to eliminate barriers for Canadians at all ages.
Barriers may include, but are not limited to:
2) Determining the Health Benefits and Outcomes of Participation in Physical Activity and Sport.
Physical Activity and Sport are known to have an important impact in improving the health of participants. Understanding the circumstances and conditions under which positive health outcomes might result from physical activity and sport participation (quantitative, comparative, and longitudinal studies) are key to promoting physical activity and sport participation as a preventative approach to health care. This research should be aimed at understanding the role of physical activity and sport participation in improving the quality of life for Canadians of all ages. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:
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 research priority as they relate to Sport Canada's research priorities:
The CIHR-IMHA and Sport Canada (SC) will provide funding for applications that are relevant to (in alignment with) the objectives and research priority areas described above.
Prior to peer review, the CIHR-IMHA and SC will have access to anonymized project titles and summaries to conduct relevance review.
The following criteria will be used in conducting the relevance review .
Upon completion of peer review, the CIHR-IMHA and SC will receive the ranking list, merit scores (ratings) and recommendations on funding level and award term for the applications that fall in the fundable range and have been determined to be relevant to the specific research areas and objectives of the initiative. The list will be used for funding decision-making purposes and will remain anonymous.
The review of applications for relevance to the strategic initiative will have no impact on the peer review process.
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.
Specific Eligibility Requirements
Eligibility requirements specific to this Request for Applications include the following:
Applicants should review the Tri-Agency (CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC) financial administration guidelines Use of Grant Funds for a complete listing and description of allowable costs and activities.
The full application must provide a detailed justification of all costs.
In addition, the following expenditures will be considered eligible for funding received through this Request for Applications.
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 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.
Peer review will be conducted in accordance with The CIHR Peer Review Process: Policies and Responsibilities of Grants Committee Members, including the standard evaluation criteria described under "Factors for Assessment" (section 6.2).
In addition, the following evaluation criteria specific to this Request for Applications will apply. CIHR recognizes that applications will emphasize different approaches to research and to knowledge translation, therefore reviewers and committees are expected to weight criteria such as these differently from one application to another.
Knowledge Translation and Exchange (KTE) is an integral component of IMHA's strategic plan.
KTE is defined as the exchange, synthesis and ethically sound application of research findings within a complex set of interactions among researchers and knowledge users - to accelerate the capture of the benefits of research for Canadians through improved health, more effective services and products, and a strengthened health care system.
In order to encourage researchers to partake in KTE, IMHA is piloting a KTE module through which up to $25K of additional funds might be provided to those researchers who choose to apply for them. For further info, please refer to the KTE module.
This Request for Applications will follow the General Guidelines for Grant Programs. 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 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.
In addition to CIHR standard guidelines and requirements, the following special conditions shall apply:
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 Request for Applications 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 Request for Applications will be collected, used and disclosed in compliance with the PIPEDA.
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 Funding.
Select "Operating Grants" (Registration and Application) from the Grant Programs Application Packages.
Additional instructions must be followed for this RFA:
Send the completed registration and application packages by courier to:
RE: "Team Planning and Development Grants in Physical Activity and Sport Participation"
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:
Tamara Marshall
Program Delivery Officer
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Telephone: (613) 941-0861
Fax: (613) 954-1800
Email: tmarshall@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
For questions about this initiative and research objectives contact:
Sophia Tsouros
Project Manager / Analyst
CIHR Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis
Telephone: 613)954-3469
Fax: (613)954-1800
Email: stsouros@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
Note: Additional partners, including partners from industry and the private sector are expected to join this funding initiative over the coming year.
CIHR - Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis
The goal of the CIHR - Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis is to support research to sustain health and enhance quality of life by eradicating the pain, suffering and disability caused by arthritis, musculoskeletal, oral and skin conditions.
Partners
Sport Canada