ResearchNet - RechercheNet

Table of Contents

• Description
• Objectives
• Eligibility
• Guidelines
• Performance Measurement
• Review Process and Evaluation
• How to Apply
• Contact Information
• Sponsor Description

Description

The CIHR HIV/AIDS Research Initiative is responsible for the research components of the two major Government of Canada initiatives in HIV/AIDS, namely the Federal Initiative to Address HIV/AIDS in Canada and the Canadian HIV Vaccine Initiative. CIHR recently released its 2015-2020 HIV/AIDS Research Initiative Strategic Plan which highlights “Enable discovery research’’ as one of three strategic directions. In support of this strategic direction, the goal of this funding opportunity is to foster a culture of innovation in Canada by supporting innovative or high-risk biomedical and clinical projects with potential for transformative advances in the area of HIV/AIDS. It will also support the next generation of researchers by funding grant proposals from promising new investigators.

A growing number of people in Canada are living with HIV, in part because new infections continue to occur and in part because AIDS-related deaths have declined, largely due to the widespread use of antiretroviral drugs. Overall, Canada’s HIV prevalence is relatively low, estimated at 0.2% in 2013, with some 71,000 people living with HIV infection or AIDS. However, HIV infection tends to be concentrated in key populations, including gay men and other men having sex with men, Aboriginal peoples, people from countries where HIV/AIDS is endemic and injection drug users. Within and across these key populations, the epidemic is driven by different risk factors and conditions; understanding these differences and developing solutions tailored to the different populations has been, and continues to be, an important element in the response to the epidemic in Canada.

Applications will include HIV and non-HIV experts from different research themes or disciplines in order to stimulate innovation and bring different expertise to bear on complex challenges. Collaborations are expected in the exploration of novel areas of investigation, research tools, and methodologies that demonstrate potential for high impact and transformative advances. Applicants are encouraged to include individuals outside of the research sector (e.g., people living with HIV, service providers, community leaders) as appropriate in order to maximize their potential for impact and relevance to individuals and communities living with or affected by HIV.

Funds Available

CIHR’s financial contributions for the Operating Grant: Innovative Biomedical and Clinical HIV/AIDS Research initiative are subject to availability of funds. Should CIHR or partner(s) funding levels not be available or are decreased due to unforeseen circumstances, CIHR and partner(s) reserve the right to reduce, defer or suspend financial contributions to grants received as a result of this funding opportunity.

• The total amount available for this funding opportunity is $2,500,000. The maximum amount awarded is $250,000 over 18 months.
• The number of grants expected to be funded for this competition is approximately 10 grants.
• Of this $2,500,000:
• $500,000 will be used to support projects led by New Investigators (researchers within 5 years of their first academic appointment).

Objectives

The Operating Grant: Innovative Biomedical and Clinical HIV/AIDS Research will support innovative or high-risk biomedical and clinical research directly relevant to the priority objectives of the CIHR HIV/AIDS Research Initiative.

The specific objectives of the funding opportunity are to: 

• Enable new and established investigators to undertake innovative research projects in new areas of investigation or take previous discoveries in new directions;
• Promote the development and testing of novel research tools and methodologies); and
• Support high-risk research projects with the potential for high impact, breakthrough and/or transformative advances.

Relevant Research Areas

• Biology of early HIV infection, pathogenesis and immunology relevant to the identification of new immunogens, correlates of protection and other aspects of HIV prevention.
• Host and viral factors influencing HIV persistence (including viral latency) and viral reservoirs; creating models (cellular and animal) of HIV latency and assays to measure persistent HIV infection; and other aspects of HIV cure strategies.
• Approaches to vaccine development including novel adjuvants and platforms for immunization.
• Virological and biological aspects of aging and co-morbid conditions (e.g., chronic diseases and co-infections) for people living with HIV.

Eligibility

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. Refer to the Individual Eligibility Requirements regarding the eligibility requirements for individuals and institutions.

Eligibility to Apply

For your application to be eligible:

1. The Nominated Principal Applicant must be an independent researcher at an eligible institution (See Institutional Eligibility Requirements);
2. To be eligible for funds under the New Investigator funding pool, the applicant must be within 5 years of their first independent academic appointment (in which they were actively engaged in research) at the time of application and the New Investigator must apply as the Nominated Principal Applicant; and
3. The engagement of one non-HIV researcher as a co- Principal applicant or co-Applicant with relevant expertise is required.

Note: Applicants are highly encouraged to include individuals outside of the research sector (e.g., people living with HIV, service providers, community leaders) as well as experts from across different research themes/disciplines as appropriate. 

Guidelines

General CIHR Guidelines

This funding opportunity will comply fully with the policies and guidelines as outlined in the CIHR Grants and Awards Guide. Applicants are encouraged to demonstrate the use of Gender and Sex-Based Analysis in applications. CIHR also recognizes the importance of engaging citizens in its funding opportunities. CIHR encourages researchers to involve citizens where appropriate, and to provide in their research proposal a brief description of how they intend to involve them when applicable. Please see CIHR’s Citizen Engagement Framework for more information.

CIHR’s mandate states that our commitment to excellence applies equally to research and knowledge translation, with the ultimate goal of ensuring that the results of research are transformed into policies, practices, procedures, products and services. For more information about incorporating knowledge translation in your proposal, please see Guide to Knowledge Translation Planning at CIHR: Integrated and End-of-Grant Approaches.

Official Languages

CIHR is committed to promotion of and compliance to the applicable parts of the Official Languages Act. As such, CIHR encourages applicants to submit proposals in the Official Language of their choice and commits to ensuring high quality review of applications submitted in either Official Language. In addition, applicants are encouraged to consider the inclusion of Official Languages and Official Language Minority Communities in their research where appropriate. Please see Official Languages at CIHR for more information.

Allowable Costs

Recipients should review the Use of Grant Funds section of the Tri-Agency (CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC) Financial Administration Guide for a complete listing and description of allowable costs and activities.

CIHR policy on Release Time Allowance

Release time allowance may be requested to facilitate the participation of a knowledge user in the proposed research program.  The eligible cost is limited to $25,000 per annum per individual per grant.  Persons receiving release time allowances are not considered CIHR employees.  Funds for research time allowance(s) must be requested and justified in the budget section of the grant application.

The following conditions must be met for an individual to receive release time allowance, with documentation provided to the institution administering the grant:

• The individual for whom the release time allowance is provided must:
• be a knowledge-user on the grant whose primary responsibilities  do not include an expectation to engage in research (i.e., as part of their regular employment); and
• have their organization’s approval for the research time on the project that would justify the allowance; and
• have their organization certify that they are engaged in the activities for which funds are being disbursed.
• Release time allowance requests will not be considered for the following:
• Individuals with salaried academic research appointments.
• The cost of teaching time to allow the individual to engage in research.
• Supplementing or replacing part of the salary of a researcher on sabbatical from their main appointment.

Global Health Research and International Collaborations

As outlined in the CIHR Grants and Awards Guide Global Health Research Section and the International Collaborations Section, applicants who are eligible for CIHR funding may apply to CIHR’s funding opportunities for funds to support research to be carried out in, or in direct collaboration with researchers and/or knowledge users based in, other countries. CIHR contributes to, and supports international research projects and international collaborations to address a range of research areas, including but not limited to established priorities in global health research and contributes to the development of health-research capacity both internationally and at home.

Conditions of Funding

Successful applicants funded through this funding opportunity and any other persons working on the project must comply fully with the CIHR Funding Policies. Policies and guidelines cover areas such as Applicant Responsibilities, Official Languages policy, Access to Information and Privacy Acts, and Acknowledgement of CIHR's Support. Successful applicants will be informed of any special financial requirements prior to the release of funds or when they receive CIHR's Authorization for Funding (AFF) document.

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 the Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality Policy of the Federal Research Funding Organizations.

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 funding opportunity 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 Funding opportunity will be collected, used and disclosed in compliance with the PIPEDA.

Tri-Council Guidelines for Health Research Involving Aboriginal People

Applicants, whose proposed research will involve Aboriginal People, please consult Ethics of Health Research Involving First Nations, Inuit and Métis People.

Communication Requirements

Funding recipients are required to acknowledge CIHR, its institutes and partners in any communication or publication related to the project. See Communication of Competition Results for details on CIHR’s communication requirements. The contributing internal collaborators/partners will be identified on the Authorization for Funding (AFF) and decision letter.

Performance Measurement

CIHR is committed to collecting and disseminating information on the outputs and impacts of the research it funds. This information is an important part of CIHR accountability within the Federal Government and to Canadians. If successful within this funding opportunity:

• The Nominated Principal Applicant will be required to submit an electronic Final Report to CIHR. This online report will be made available to the Nominated Principal Applicant on ResearchNet at the beginning of the grant funding period and can be filled in as the research progresses.
• The Nominated Principal Applicant will be required to 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.
• The Nominated Principal Applicant will be required to encourage their associates, trainees and administration to participate in the monitoring, review and evaluation of CIHR’s programs, policies and processes as required.

Review Process and Evaluation

Relevance Review Process

The CIHR HIV/AIDS Research Initiative and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will provide funding for applications that are relevant to (in alignment with) the objectives and research priority areas described in the Objectives  section.

Prior to peer review, CIHR HIV/AIDS Research Initiative and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will have access to full applications and nominative information to conduct relevance review. The applicant must consent to the sharing of nominative information at the time of application to be eligible for funding.

Applications that are not deemed to be relevant will be withdrawn from the competition.

Review Committee

A CIHR review committee will evaluate the full applications. The committee will be created specifically for this funding opportunity. Committee members are selected based on suggestions from many sources including the institute(s)/ branch(es) and partner(s), following the Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality Policy of the Federal Research Funding Organizations.

For information on CIHR’s peer review process in general, see the Understand Peer Review section of CIHR’s website.

Evaluation Criteria

Peer review will be conducted in accordance with CIHR Peer Review Manual for Grant Applications.

To support the strategic objectives of this funding opportunity, reviewers will exclusively use the following four evaluation criteria for their assessments.  The criteria are elaborated and defined by specific factors to consider under each criterion.

Criterion #1: Research Approach

• Clarity of the research question.
• Clarity of rationale for the research approach and methodology.
• Appropriateness of the research design and methods.
• Anticipation of difficulties that may be encountered in the research and plans for management, given the innovative and potentially high-risk nature of the proposal.

Criterion #2: Relevance of the Research

• Alignment of the project with the relevant research areas described in the objectives section.
• Potential for the research to lead to innovative research projects in new areas of investigation or take previous discoveries in new directions in the area of HIV/AIDS.
• Potential for high impact, breakthrough and/or transformative advances.
• Originality of the proposed research, in terms of the hypotheses/research questions addressed, novel high-risk technology/methodology, and/or novel applications of current technology/methodology.

Criterion #3: Applicant(s)

• Qualifications of the applicant(s), including training, experience and independence (relative to career stage).
• Experience of the applicant(s) in the proposed area of research and with the proposed methodology.
• Extent of engagement of researchers from multiple sectors, pillars or disciplines.
• Extent of engagement of non-HIV researcher(s) with relevant expertise, as well as individuals outside of the research sector (e.g., people living with HIV, service providers, community leaders) where appropriate.

Criterion #4: Environment for the Research

• Availability and accessibility of personnel, facilities and infrastructure required to conduct the research.
• Suitability of the environment to conduct the proposed research.
  

Criterion #5: Budget

• Feasibility of what is being proposed and the appropriateness of the budget.

Funding Decision

Upon completion of peer review, the CIHR HIV/AIDS Research Initiative and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will receive the ranking list, ratings and recommendations on funding level and grant 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 unless applicants have provided written consent to share nominative information.

The New Investigator funding pool will have its own, separate budget as described in the Description  section under Funds Available. Those applications will be funded top down, in order of ranking, as far its budget will allow. Applications remaining in this funding pool will then be reallocated in rank order amongst all other fundable applications which will be funded from the top down in order of ranking as far as the budget will allow.

Applications that receive a rating below 3.5 will not be funded.

How to Apply

Important: Please read all instructions to familiarize yourself with the application process before applying. For new applicants or for those wanting a reminder of the main application procedures, an overview of CIHR's application processes can be found under Application Process. Note that these are general instructions only as the specific application instructions for this funding opportunity are located below.

• The application process for this funding opportunity is comprised of one step: Application.
• To complete your Application, follow the instructions in the Grants - ResearchNet "Application" Phase Instructions Checklist along with any additional instructions found below under “Specific Instructions”.
• Reminder to applicants: Please ensure that your application is complete (includes all required signatures) and is submitted on time to CIHR.

Submission Requirements

• Your Application must be submitted using ResearchNet. Scan and upload the signed signature pages including the routing slip in the Print/Upload Signature Pages task in ResearchNet prior to submitting your application.

Specific Instructions

Step 1 - Application:

Task: Identify Participants

• List all participants in this task
• For each participant (except collaborators), enter the confirmation number for the CIHR Academic CV or the Knowledge User CV, as appropriate, validated for CIHR provided by the Canadian Common CV.

Task: Enter Proposal Information

• Research Proposal (7 pages, not including references). The Research Proposal should clearly outline each of the elements below (please also refer to the evaluation criteria):
1. Research Approach:
• Description of the research question
• Description of the rationale for the research approach and methodology.
• Description of the research design and methods
• Description of the anticipation of difficulties that may be encountered in the research and plans for management, given the innovative and potentially high-risk nature of the proposal.
2. Relevance of the Research:
• Description of the alignment of the project with the relevant research areas described in the objectives section.
• Description of how the research could to lead to innovative research projects in new areas of investigation or take previous discoveries in new directions in the area of HIV/AIDS.
• Description of the impact, breakthrough and/or transformative advances.
• Description of the proposed research, in terms of the hypotheses/research questions to be addressed, novel high-risk technology/methodology, and/or novel applications of current technology/methodology.
3. Applicant(s):
• Description of the qualifications of the applicant(s), including training, experience and independence (relative to career stage).
• Description of the applicant(s) and their experience in the proposed area of research and with the proposed methodology.
• Description of the engagement of researchers from multiple sectors, pillars or disciplines.
• Description of the engagement of non-HIV researcher(s) with relevant expertise, as well as individuals outside of the research sector (e.g., people living with HIV, service providers, community leaders) as appropriate.
4. Environment for the Research:
• Description of the personnel, facilities and infrastructure required to conduct the research
• Description of the environment to conduct the proposed research
• References (references, tables, charts, figures, photographs, questionnaires, etc.) can be uploaded under "Attachments – Research Proposal Appendix".

Task: Complete Summary of Research Proposal

• Summarize your research proposal. Note that your summary cannot not exceed one page.

Task: Enter Budget Information

• Complete the budget information and clearly justify all budget items
• For release time requests, you must include a letter from the recipient’s organization certifying that requirements stated under the section “Allowable Costs” are met.

Task: Attach Other Application Materials

• Upload these documents as "Other":
• Applicant Table: In table format, list all applicants (including collaborators) with their affiliations, role and 5-10 expertise keywords.  This table must clearly identify the co-applicant who is the non-HIV researcher (as per the Eligibility Criteria)
• Letters of Collaboration:
• Signed letters of Collaboration are required from all collaborator(s) listed as Collaborators on the application.
• Letters of Support:
• Signed letters of Support are required from all organization(s) listed as partners on the application.
• Publications (optional):
• A maximum of 5 publications from the past five years relevant to this proposal can be appended.

Task: Apply to Priority Announcements/Funding Pools (optional)

• If you are applying to the New Investigators funding pool, under the "Priority Announcement/Funding Pool Title", please select “New Investigators” from the drop down list.

Task: Print, Scan and Upload Signature Pages

• Required signatures:
• Signatures must be included for all applicants (except Collaborators), and individual(s) with signing authority from the Institution Paid.
• Original signatures are not required. The scanned signed signature pages and the Routing Slip must be uploaded in the Print/Upload Signature Pages task in ResearchNet prior to submitting your application.

Contact Information

For all inquiries please contact:  

Telephone: 613-954-1968 
Toll Free: 1-888-603-4178
Email: support@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

Sponsor Description

Partners

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and fighting hunger and poverty. In the United States, it seeks to significantly improve education so that all young people have the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Internal Collaborators

Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)is the Government of Canada’s health research investment agency. CIHR’s mission is to create new scientific knowledge and to enable its translation into improved health, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened health care system for Canadians. Composed of 13 Institutes, CIHR provides leadership and support to more than 13,000 health researchers and trainees across Canada.

CIHR – HIV/AIDS Research Initiative
Under the leadership of the CIHR Institute of Infection and Immunity, the CIHR HIV/AIDS Research Initiative is responsible for the management and oversight of the research components of two major Government of Canada initiatives in HIV/AIDS, namely the: Federal Initiative to Address HIV/AIDS in Canada and the Canadian HIV Vaccine Initiative. This Initiative promotes Canadian research and builds research capacity in order to increase our understanding of the virus, the epidemic and effective responses.