New features on ResearchNet starting in April 2007
1. Awardees will complete their Confirmation of Commencement
ResearchNet now provides the functionality for awardees to complete the Confirmation of Commencement (CFC) information online. Awardees are asked to complete and sign the Confirmation of Commencement form prior to release of funding. The CFC activity will now be available on ResearchNet once a response to an offer of award has been submitted by successful applicants from the Fall 2006 and Spring 2007 Training Programs two months prior to their requested start date. Awardees will be able to fill in their information electronically and print the form for their supervisor's signature. Once the CFC form is completed with signatures, it must be mailed to CIHR.
2. Complete Special Attentions
The purpose of this task in ResearchNet is to allow successful applicants to complete and submit additional information in response to their conditional funding. The Special Attention task provides the functionality to upload PDF files or enter specific information on-line, as requested by CIHR.
3. Posting Competition Results for Organizations
Since 2001, CIHR has been posting its March and September Operating Grant competition results on NSERC's secure site for use by organization officials such as the Research Administration offices. Commencing this June 2007, the March 2007 Operating Grant competition results will be posted on ResearchNet and will no longer be made available on NSERC's secure site.
ResearchNet is a secure internet portal which allows the research community to perform application and peer review activities, and eventually, all competition and funding activities. This tool is used by CIHR, and portions of its functionality have serviced multiple organizations. ResearchNet is still in its pilot phase and regularly introduces new functionality to increase the efficiency of the peer review and application processes. As part of this pilot project, CIHR will be providing organizations secure access to the decision results on ResearchNet. This data will be made available to only those universities previously established through the NSERC site and hard copies of the competition results will be sent through the mail in accordance with usual CIHR practice.
Results from the September 2007 Operating Grants competition are scheduled to be posted on ResearchNet in January 2008, at which time, it will include all organizations and their affiliates having a CIHR common account.
In the future, this pilot may expand to include other competition results.
