CIHR Delegate News

November 16, 2006

Pandemic Preparedness

Pandemic influenza has been identified as an emerging health threat with a potential for global impact on health. It is critical to expand influenza research capacity in Canada and link with international research endeavors and opportunities. The Institute of Infection and Immunity will support International Opportunities Program (IOP) Seed Grants to assist Canadian researchers to develop international pandemic preparedness research collaborations. The establishment of international collaborations will create important linkages and will assist researchers in preparing for future pandemic preparedness applications under the CIHR Pandemic Preparedness Research Initiative.

IOP Seed Grants assist Canadian researchers to explore, develop and establish new international collaborations with foreign researchers. These one-time grants support Canadian participation in the initial (pre-research) stages of international cooperation, and developmental activities (e.g. workshops, seminars, and planning meetings) designed to lead to new international collaborations.

Please visit the CIHR website, for more information on this initiative.

October 25, 2006

• Health Research: From Cancer Therapies to Frailty Among Seniors (DOC, 127 KB)
• CIHR News (DOC, 344 KB)

October 12, 2006

At the recent Research Planning and Priorities Committee of the scientific directors at each institutes, there was discussion about budget recommendations to the CIHR Governing Council. The budget that will be decided in November for the 2007/208 fiscal year will be affected by the current grants competition.

The growth in the CIHR budget has been slow, so that last year the Governing Council of CIHR approved a budget that was 106% of the actual budget but the actual increase was far less. The amount of funding available for 2006/2007 is now approximately $140M. The bad news is that next year's budget forecast leaves only $90M in the budget for dispersal. Budget options will be considered by the Governing Council in November.

There is also ongoing discussion at CIHR about infrastructure and the balance between the need for equipment and facilities compared to the need for operating funds. The primary need remains the operating grants and there is also discussion about moving to a single operating grants competition as a way of aligning CIHR budgets with the government budgeting process.  Please send feedback about the pros and cons of this suggestion from your viewpoint so that we can provide our collective opinion for CIHR.

At the recent meeting with the Panel Chairs and Scientific Officers, there was a general support of the triage system that will permit more discussion of grants close to be funding. This fall, the new triage system will be put in place for all the open operating grants competitions. CIHR will continue to monitor the system and will modify the system depending on the feedback. Even for those applications that are triaged, there will be written comments that go back to the applicant, and there must be agreement among the committee members before an application is not discussed.

Comments welcome on the following:

1. What do you think the pros and cons are, for CIHR, to administer two operating grant competitions a year?
2. What do you think the pros and cons would be for CIHR, to administer one operating grant competition a year?

Please send your response by email before November 1st, to andrew.mason@ualberta.ca or mdesjardins@cihr-irsc.gc.ca.

July 18, 2006

Issue 22

1) Funding Opportunity News

a) CIHR and the Canada Foundation for Innovation Announce the launch of the CIHR/CFI - Leaders Opportunity Fund

CIHR and the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) are pleased to announce the launch of the CIHR/CFI - Leaders Opportunity Fund (CIHR/CFI - LOF). This program falls under the third stream of the CFI's Leaders Opportunity Fund.

This program has been developed with consultation from researchers, research institutions and other stakeholders. CIHR is excited to be the first federal funding agency to tie this stream of the CFI's Leaders Opportunity Fund to their major operating grant program and provide researchers and universities an efficient option to secure operational and infrastructure research support.

In October 2005, CIHR was approached by CFI who wished to partner with them on a joint program under which applicants to CIHR's Operating Grants Program and their respective host institutions would be able to simultaneously apply to CFI for funding for required infrastructure support as part of the Leaders Opportunity Fund (LOF). The intent of both agencies was to develop a process that will allow researchers to receive timely decisions on research and infrastructure support while reducing both applicant and reviewer workload.

Researchers will apply to CIHR's Operating Grants Program according to CIHR's application guidelines, while universities will have the option of attaching an abbreviated CFI-LOF application to their researchers' CIHR Operating Grants proposals. The joint application will then be reviewed once, by CIHR's peer review committees. Funding decisions will be made independently by CIHR and the CFI based on the recommendations of CIHR's peer review committees.

For more information on the program or how to apply please contact:

Jonathan Faulkner
Program Officer
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Tel: 613.946.6568
Fax: 613.954.1800
jfaulkner@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

Mark Lagacé
Manager, Leaders Opportunity Fund
Canada Foundation for Innovation
Tel: 613.996.3107
Fax: 613.943.0923
mark.lagace@innovation.ca

b) Funding opportunities announced between July 6 and July 17, 2006 by CIHR and its partners

The following is a list of funding opportunity which CIHR and its partners announced between June 16 and July 17, 2006. Refer to CIHR's web site at for full details on these funding opportunities.

Please direct general inquiries to info@cihr-irsc.gc.ca, and specific inquiries on the funding opportunity to the contact person listed at the bottom of the funding opportunity.

• Chair: GlaxosmithKline Partnered (2006-2007)
• Chair: Industry Partnered (2006-2007)
• Fellowship: Industry Partnered (2006-2007)
• Fellowship - Operating Fellowship: Industry Partnered (2006-2007)
• Graduate Training Award - Doctoral: Industry Partnered (2006-2007)
• Graduate Training Award - Master's: Industry Partnered (2006-2007)
• New Investigator Salary Award: Industry Partnered (2006-2007)
• Operating Grant: Industry Partnered (2006-2007)
• Operating Grant Priority Announcement: Leaders Opportunity Fund
• Other Grant: Intellectual Property Mobilization
• Other Grant - Strategic Training: Industry Partnered
• Other Salary Award - Clinician Scientists: Industry Partnered (Phase 2) (2006-2007)
• Other Salary Award - Mid Career Award: Industry Partnered (2006-2007)
• Other Training Award - Clinician Scientists: Industry Partnered (Phase 1) (2006-2007)

2) Application and Funding Policy News

a) Change to Competition Deadline Schedule for Randomized Controlled Trials Program

In light of budget limitations and in recognition of the number of full applications expected for submission to the Randomized Controlled Trials program (RCT) during 2006-2007, CIHR has taken the operational decision to hold only two competitions for full applications to the RCT Program in 2006-2007. Full applications will only be accepted for the September 1, 2006 (registration deadline August 1, 2006) and February 15, 2007 (registration deadline January 15, 2007) competitions.

To ensure that high quality applications continue to be developed for funding as Full applications in future years, RCT Outline applications will continue to be accepted at the usual deadline dates of August 1, 2006; October 1, 2006; January 15, 2007 and March 1, 2007.

It is important to note that the 2006-2007 budget available for the Randomized Controlled Trials program has not been reduced. However, given current fiscal constraints, an increase to the RCT budget that would be required to support four separate competitions with reasonable success rates is not possible at this time.

Should you require assistance, please contact Irwin Schweitzer (ischweitzer@cihr-irsc.gc.ca; 613-941-0718) or Toni Gasparini (tgasparini@cihr-irsc.gc.ca; 613-941-4438) of the RCT unit.

3) Peer Review News

a) Updates to Peer Review Committee Mandates

CIHR wishes to inform applicants that many of the Peer Review Committee mandates are being revised. The revisions will be posted on the CIHR website ) no later than Friday, July 21, 2006. Please review the committee mandates before applying in order to correctly identify the best committees to review your application

June 26, 2006

Issue 19

Response to Budget 2006 - CIHR Budget Decisions

In the May 2nd federal budget, CIHR received $17 million in new funding, which represents a 2.4% increase. CIHR was also awarded $21.5 million over five years to fund research into pandemic preparedness. Since its inception six years ago, CIHR and the health research community in Canada have continued to benefit from budget increases. These increases have helped CIHR and its partners in the provinces, health charities and industry nourish the growth of a vibrant health research community. This community continues to demonstrate its potential for innovation and ground-breaking discoveries. Through knowledge translation activities, we are also helping ensure that these research findings will have an impact on the healthcare system.

Recently, CIHR announced the latest round of funding opportunities, RFAs that continue to support world-class research. Funding will be provided in numerous areas: open grants competitions; strategic research priorities; salary support; and training for the next generation of health researchers. These decisions reaffirm CIHR's ongoing commitment to supporting the very best health research.

Despite the budget increase, our uncommitted funds for 2006-07 are still lower than in recent years. As a result, CIHR has had to make some minor changes in its 2006-07 budget. These changes were made after extensive consultations with our Scientific Directors and members of Governing Council. As CIHR recognizes that one of the biggest challenges facing researchers is the need for stable funding, the budget decisions will not disrupt existing funding commitments, nor will they affect projects that are already in progress or funding allocated for projects that will result from the June RFAs. I would like to stress that, in making decisions about budget changes, there was unanimous agreement to protect the integrity of the operating grants program. This program is central to CIHR's commitment to health research and, as such, no cuts or revisions were made to the budget for this program.

CIHR's budget decisions will have an impact on a number of planned research opportunities. Specifically: there will be limited funding available to support priority funding announcements and development grants; the funding start dates for a select number of funding opportunities will be delayed; there will be reduced funding available to support the International Opportunities program; and, in the short term, there will be restricted funding for research infrastructure.

The 2006-2007 RRG competition will not entertain proposals for new grants and will focus on the renewal of currently-funded maintenance grants only. However, in June 2007 CIHR anticipates that it will launch a full scale Research Resource Grant competition to address infrastructure needs. CIHR will also continue to revisit funding of equipment requested through the open operating grant competition with a decision for each competition being made in light of available funds to support new grants.

CIHR remains committed to supporting excellence in health research through our open operating grants competitions and the strategic initiatives of our 13 Institutes. CIHR is also committed to working with Parliamentarians and decision makers to ensure that they recognize the exciting scientific opportunities that lie ahead and the dedication of Canada's health research community to exploit these opportunities for the benefit of all Canadians.

In the 21st century, health research is an essential element in the strategy to meet Canada's social, health and economic agendas.

Dr. Alan Bernstein, O.C., FRSC
President
CIHR

June 23, 2006

BioContact 2006/CIHR (DOC, 28 KB)

June 20, 2006

The CIHR Institute of Genetics is pleased to announce our current funding opportunities.

1. Fellowship Priority Announcement: Genetics (Ethics, Law and Society)
2. Graduate Training Award - Doctoral Priority Announcement: Genetics (Ethics, Law and Society)
3. Operating Grant Priority Announcement: Genetics
4. Operating Grant: Genetics (Ethics, Law and Society)
5. Prize: Genetics (New Principal Investigators)

June 16, 2006

Operating Grant: Pandemic Preparedness Research RFA

The purpose of this Request for Applications (RFA) is to further strengthen Canadian influenza research in preparation for a potential pandemic outbreak by funding two year pilot projects to conduct critical research on disease control, prevention measures and health system preparedness. It is expected that this targeted investment will lead to new diagnostic methodologies, evaluation of vaccines, new antivirals, mechanisms to control disease spread, outbreak modeling and design, assessment of optimal health system strategies and an understanding of ethical issues pertaining to a pandemic.

HIV/AIDS Research Initiative: Priority Announcement

Part of CIHR's mandate is to promote research that addresses the HIV/AIDS epidemic both in Canada and globally. The purpose of this priority announcement is to further strengthen HIV/AIDS research in identified priority areas. It is expected that this targeted investment will lead to increased funding for meritorious HIV/AIDS research projects within the open grants and awards competitions.

The priority announcement is relevant to the following four programs:

• Fellowship Award
• Graduate Training Award - Doctoral
• New Investigator Salary Award
• Operating Grant

HIV/AIDS Community-Based Research Program RFA

The HIV/AIDS Community-Based Research Program assists community-based organizations, non-governmental organizations and institutions in developing the knowledge necessary to carry out their HIV/AIDS work in the most effective manner, and in creating the expertise within these communities to conduct their own research.

Six different program tools are offered under this RFA:

• Graduate Training Award - Doctoral
• Graduate Training Award - Master's
• Operating Grant
• Research Technical Assistant Grant
• Seed Grant
• Workshop

HIV/AIDS Research Initiative - Emerging Team Grant RFA

This RFA is intended to fund the creation or development of research teams undertaking collaborative research relevant to HIV/AIDS. Eligible teams will consist of at least three independent investigators who will form an integrated and effective research team and who have not worked together on the same problem or issue for more than five years. It is expected that this grant will enable such teams to build capacity and add expertise, develop strategies for knowledge translation, provide superior training and mentoring environments and achieve research excellence, so that at the end of the funding period they are competitive for funding through other major funding competitions.

Novel Alternatives to Antibiotics Research Initiative RFA

The goal of this research initiative is to fund research that will promote the discovery and application of truly novel mechanisms and therapies to reduce our reliance on traditional antibiotics and provide replacement or adjunct therapies and interventions for the control of bacterial infections.

The objective is to promote capacity building in underserved areas such as probiotics and phage therapy and foster collaborations between immunologists and microbiologists and between researchers working in the agriculture, food and health sectors to take advantage of expertise and knowledge in different sectors that have a direct application to human health.

Areas of research that might be conducted under this Request for Applications include:

• Enhancing Immunity
• Novel Anti-bacterials
• Probiotics and Prebiotics
• Bacteriophage Therapy

This RFA includes five different program tools, each with its own application process and timeline. Applicants are advised to select the program tool(s) that best suit the needs of their proposed research.

The different program tools available are:

• Emerging Teams Grant
• Fellowship
• Randomized Control Trials
• Proof of Principle Program
• Seed Grant

Please visit the following link http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/13533.html for more information on these initiatives

June 16, 2006

Issue 18

1) News from the VP of Research

a) Update on CIHR's Policy in Development - Access to Outputs of Research

A little over two months ago, CIHR launched an important initiative to promote the dissemination of research products developed using CIHR funds (i.e., research materials, data and published results). By ensuring the widest possible access to research products and knowledge, we aim to maximize the impact of publicly funded research.

CIHR believes that timely access to research products will stimulate the development of new health products, policies and practices that will benefit the health of Canadians as well as the global population. We also desire to harmonize our research policies with those of other national and international research organizations. Take for example the sharing (e.g., research resources and data) and public access policies in place at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Several CIHR-funded researchers receive NIH funding directly or through collaborative CIHR-NIH research programs, and are therefore subject to NIH funding policies. The good practices that NIH requires should also apply to CIHR-funded research. We see the development of CIHR policy as emphasizing and encouraging the "culture of sharing" within the Canadian research community, that Dr. Arthur Carty, National Science Advisor, referred to in his November 2005 article "A global information system needs a culture of sharing".

Feedback from the research community and other stakeholders is essential if we are to develop and implement an effective policy. I would like to thank everyone who submitted comments through our online survey. I was pleased with the number of responses and the range of groups that provided feedback. We heard from not only from those directly involved, including researchers, administrators, libraries and journal editors, but also from stakeholders such as health charities, industry and other government agencies. There was overwhelming support for greater accessibility to the broad categories of research products that we identified. In addition, we received many valuable comments and suggestions from individuals who were willing to share their vast knowledge in this area. Below are some of the key themes that emerged from the survey.

• Increased accessibility is the goal and this can be achieved while protecting intellectual property;
• Make efforts to limit restrictions on sharing products of research;
• Strong support for sharing research data, particularly data that has been accepted by peer-reviewed publications; and
• Self-archiving of publications was encouraged.

CIHR will be posting a summary of the survey results in the next few weeks. In the meantime, the Access Policy Advisory Committee** will review the results of this consultation in greater detail and provide recommendations for CIHR as we move forward.

Over the coming months, CIHR will be working on the development of a draft policy. We anticipate having a draft completed by the summer, at which time it will be posted on our web site for consultation. If you have any questions, please contact Geoff Hynes, Research Officer to the President at ghynes@cihr-irsc.gc.ca or (613) 952-8965.

2) Funding Opportunity News

a) CIHR and its partners announce the June 2006 Requests for Applications and the Priority Announcements

Refer to CIHR's web site for full details on these funding opportunities.

3) Application and Funding Policy News

a) Updates to CIHR's Online Forms

CIHR has made updates to its online forms for the June 2006 release. The following is a summary list of updates, categorized by form.

Updates to the CIHR Research Module:

• New checkbox for the CIHR Emerging Team Grant Program;
• New instructions informing applicants of the consequences of not identifying a randomized controlled trial;
• Abstract now mandatory at registration step;
• Modified instructions regarding letters of collaboration and support;
• New instructions on what to include in a research proposal;
• Various other text updates.

Updates to the CIHR Training Module:

• Sponsor's forms removed from Training Module printed report;
• Abstract now mandatory at registration step (for all except Master's Award candidates);
• New design for the "Training Expectations" and "Proposed Training Program" sections;
• "Text to be attached" section removed;
• New functionality that obliges applicants to either enter a degree in progress, or indicate that they do not have a degree in progress;
• Various other text updates.

Updates to the CIHR Operating Budget Module:

• Modified instructions on what to include in the budget attachments.
• Updates to the Common CV (for CIHR):
  • Launch of Common CV (for CIHR) moved from November to June;
  • Minor revisions to attachments instructions;
  • Various other text updates.

Updates were also made to the Research Module, Training Module, and Operating Budget Module Guidelines for Completion, reflecting the above-noted changes.

If you have any questions on these updates, you can contact the Information Officers by phone toll free at 1.888.603.4178 (option 1), or by email at info@cihr-irsc.gc.ca.

b) What's New on ResearchNet

The Pilot Project: CIHR continues to broaden the uses for and improve ResearchNet by introducing new committees and programs to its various tasks and by collecting valuable user feedback to direct future enhancements.  ResearchNet is an innovative web portal that provides a virtual meeting place for the research community to apply for funding, to obtain funding-related information, and to actively share, collaborate on, and complete administrative tasks. ResearchNet is still in its pilot phase and regularly introduces new functionality to increase the efficiency of the peer review and application processes.

What's New In This Release

Along with the 5 existing committees; Neurosciences (NSA and NSB) and Behavioural Sciences (BSA, BSB and BSC), 8 additional committees will require electronic submission of registration and full application using ResearchNet. Applicants to the following committees for CIHR's operating grants competitions will now have access to a range of enhancements that will assist them in completing their registrations and applications online:

• Cardiovascular System (CSA, CSB and CSC)
• Nutrition, Food and Health (NUT)
• Respiratory System (RS)
• Metabolism (M)
• Endocrinology (E)
• Experimental Medicine (EM)

This release will enable applicants to enter data on ResearchNet that was previously collected with the Research Module and Operating Budget Module. This will reduce the number of websites that applicants have to use to complete their application and streamline the application process in general.

For more information, or to register for ResearchNet, please visit www.researchnet-recherchenet.ca.

Researchers please note, the current e-Submission pilot is available only for researchers whose applications will be reviewed by the committees mentioned above (BSA, BSB, BSC, NSA, NSB, CSA, CSB, CSC, NUT, RS, M, E, EM).

4) Links to Institute and Portfolio News

The following is a list of Institute and Portfolio news items.

a) Institute of Infection and Immunity (III)

1. Proceedings of the Influenza Research Priorities Workshop
2. Institute of Health Services and Policy Research (IHSPR) Research Spotlight on Mental Health
3. Institute of Health Services and Policy Research (IHSPR) IHSPR Newsletter - June 2006
4. Institute of Health Services and Policy Research (IHSPR) IHSPR Annual report 2004-2005
5. Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis (IMHA) CHIR's Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis Rewards Two Canada-Wide Science Fair Winners with Summer Research Jobs
6. Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes (INMD) INMD Newsletter - May 2006

June 2, 2006

Issue 16

Updates to Funding Opportunities Webpages

Effective June 1, 2006, the presentation of funding opportunities on CIHR's web site has been changed.

The changes are as follows:

• All funding opportunities now have a short title to help researchers quickly identify opportunities of interest. This short title shows the type of funding being offered (identified by the program tool such as Operating Grants or Fellowships) followed by the area of research the funding is targeted to (such as Genetics or Cancer Research).
• On the Master List of all Current Funding Opportunities, sub-headings have been introduced to allow researchers to easily identify opportunities for a particular program tool.
• Both the Registration/LOI and Application Deadline Dates for current competitions are now shown in the funding opportunity index tables to allow for easier reference.
• The deadline date for the subsequent competition (where applicable) is also shown to allow researchers to plan accordingly for future competitions.
• Graphic icons have been streamlined to highlight only "New" and "Modified" funding opportunities for quick visual identification.

May 26, 2006

CIHR received and increased to its annual base budget of $17M, bringing it to $723.6M annually (2.4% increase). In addition, within the Avian Flu and Pandemic Influenza Strategy $1B (over five years), CIHR received $21.5M to fund a national influenza research agenda. Budget 2006 marked the 6th consecutive year for an increase in CIHR funding -- with annual increases of: $110M (01-02); $75M (02-03); $55M (03-04); $39M (04-05); and $32M (05-06).

Budget 2006 also announced $52M per year to fund a Cancer Control Strategy (to improve screening, prevention and research activities, and enhance coordination among the federal government, cancer advocacy groups, and the provinces and territories).

The Minister of Human Resources and Social Development will initiate discussions this spring with provinces and territories on the overall objectives for post-secondary education and training, appropriate roles, and on developing a framework for ensuring measurable results and accountability in respect of funding support.

The Minister of Health will discuss with provinces and territories how federal support for health care can best be used to support implementation of the 10-year Plan to Strengthen Health Care, including improved reporting and the Patient Wait Times Guarantee.

This is good news however, considering that the budget increase is less than last year, the senior staff at CIHR came up with high level options to present at a special Governing Council (GC) Teleconference and a special Research Priority and Planning Committee (RPPC) teleconference. There will be no cancelling of programs and no impact for now, for the Operating Grant Competitions but this may require a delay or postponement on start date of grants or salary awards to be able to deal with a shortfall of $16M. The Governing Council will provide a final decision at their June meeting.

A. McColgan also mentioned that this budget provided $100 million per year as follows:

• $40 million per year for the Indirect Costs of Research program;
• $20 million per year for the Leaders Opportunity Fund of the Canada Foundation for Innovation;
• $17 million per year for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research;
• $17 million per year for the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada; and
• $6 million per year for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

In addition, the Budget noted that over the coming year, the Minister of Industry will be developing a science and technology strategy, in collaboration with the Minister of Finance that will encompass the broad range of government support for research, including knowledge infrastructure. The Government will also undertake a review of the accountability and value for money of the granting councils activities.

Overview of CIHR: discussion with powerpoint presentation.

Important changes to the Operating Grants Program for the March 2006 and subsequent competitions (2005-12-15) There is no longer a limit of one new application from each Principal Applicant (whether a Nominated Principal Applicant or a Co-principal Applicant) in each Operating Grants competition. This limit was introduced in July 2003 in an effort to reduce the application pressure to the Operating Grants competitions. However, over the past two years during which this limit has been in place, the application pressure for these competitions has not decreased, and the administration relating to enforcing this limit has been burdensome both for CIHR and for research administrators at various institutions. For these reasons, and to remove any perception of unfairness with regards to limiting access to the Operating Grants competitions, CIHR is rescinding this limit starting with the March 2006 Operating Grants competition.

CIHR Delegate Contact Information:

Andrew L Mason MBBS MRCPI
Associate Professor, Department of Medicine
University of Alberta Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research Scholar
Director of Research, Division of Gastroenterology, Director of Liver Transplant Research
Zeidler Ledcor Centre
130 University Campus
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2X8

Tel: 780.492.8172
Fax: 780.492.1655
andrew.mason@ualberta.ca