ResearchNet - RechercheNet

Table of Contents

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

Description

Fellowships provide support for highly qualified applicants in all areas of health research at the post-PhD degree or post-health professional degree stages to add to their experience by engaging in health research either in Canada or abroad.

Funds Available

CIHR and partner(s) financial contributions for this 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 awards consist of a stipend and a research allowance and are valued in Canadian dollars. It is anticipated that approximately $21 million over five years will be available through this competition, enough to fund approximately 170 awards.
• The maximum amount awarded for a single award is up to $60,000 per annum for up to 5 years. The value and duration of each award is determined by the degree(s) held, licensure (where applicable), location of tenure and experience of the applicant.

Stipend

The annual stipend level for:

• Trainees with a PhD degree is $40,000 per annum.
• Health Professionals who hold licensure (full or educational) in Canada and have less than 2 years of research or clinical training experience is $40,000 per annum. Upon completion of two years of postgraduate research training, the awardee may be eligible to receive a stipend increase to the higher level.
• Health Professionals who hold licensure (full or educational) in Canada and have two or more years of research or clinical training experience is $50,000 per annum.
• Health professionals who do not hold licensure in Canada is $21,000 per annum. Upon completion of two years of postgraduate research training, the stipend may increase to $40,000 per annum.

For awards physically held outside Canada, $5,000 is added to the annual stipend.

Research allowance: $5,000 per annum.

Duration of Support

The maximum duration of support, taking into account all federal funding held, will depend on the degree(s) held by the applicant. For holders of a:

• PhD degree, or PhD and health professional degrees, the maximum period of support is three years.
• Health professional degree who are not requesting support to pursue a graduate degree, the maximum period of support is four years.
• Health professional degree who are requesting support to pursue a graduate degree, the maximum period of support to complete the degree is five years.

Note that the award of Health Professionals receiving this funding to complete a graduate degree will end upon completion of the degree. Applicants need to re-apply to be considered for further funding through this funding opportunity.

Objectives

The specific objectives of this funding opportunity are:

• To provide recognition and funding to academic researchers;
• To provide a reliable supply of highly skilled and qualified researchers.

Relevant Research Areas

Additional funds are available through this competition to support Fellowship award applications in the following specific research areas:

• Fellowship: Fall 2016 Priority Announcements (Specific Research Areas)

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 the application to be eligible:

1. As the Nominated Principal Applicant, you must be a trainee and meet the minimum commitment of 75% of your time in the research fellowship role proposed in the application. Note: For the purpose of this funding opportunity, trainees must not hold a tenure-track or tenured faculty position, nor can they be on leave from such a position (generally “tenure or tenure-track” refers to an open-ended academic position in which the holder can form a research group, apply for externally funded research as a principal investigator, and also teach).
2. A primary supervisor must be identified on the application. An additional supervisor may also be identified.
3. At the time of application, they applicant must hold or be completing a PhD or a regulated health professional degree. The applicant must expect to complete all of the requirements of the degree by the latest possible date on which you can take up your award (see Conditions of Funding). To determine if a particular health professional degree is eligible, please consult the list of Eligible Health Professions.
4. The program is open to both Canadians and citizens of other countries.
5. These awards are normally held at Canadian institutions. However, Canadian citizens and permanent residents are eligible to hold their awards outside Canada. Applicants, who are neither Canadian citizens nor permanent residents of Canada, are eligible for awards to be held in Canada only.
6. A recipient of a Doctoral Award (DRA) with a health professional degree may apply to the Fellowship funding opportunity no earlier than during the last year of their award. If a recipient of a DRA with a health professional degree applies to the Fellowship funding opportunity for doctoral support before the last year of the DRA, funding for the currently-held DRA will be cancelled as of the first potential effective date of the Fellowship award, even if the application is not successful through the Fellowship funding opportunity.
7. Applicants may submit only one application per year (September 1 to August 31) for funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) or the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). However, individuals eligible to apply to the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships program or the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program may also submit an application to the CIHR Fellowship program (this is the only exception where an individual may submit two applications in the same year).

Guidelines

General CIHR Guidelines

This funding opportunity will comply fully with the policies and guidelines as outlined in CIHR's Funding Policies. CIHR policies reflect areas of importance such as (but not limited to): Gender and Sex-Based Analysis, Knowledge Translation, Open Access, Global Health Research and International Collaborations. Policies and guidelines also cover areas such as applicant responsibilities, Official Languages policy, Access to Information Act, Privacy Act, Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications and Communication Requirements. Information collected by CIHR may be shared as described in the Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality Policy of the Federal Research Funding Organizations.

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.

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 document.

In addition to CIHR standard guidelines and requirements, the following special requirements shall apply:

• The award must be accepted within 15 working days of the date of offer or the award will be cancelled and potentially offered to the next fundable applicant.
• Successful applicants must begin their award within 12 months of the earliest possible start date stated in this funding opportunity (payments can be made retroactively as of the earliest start date):
  • For post-PhD and health professional awardees not enrolled in a degree program: awards may commence on the first day of any month.
  • For awardees registered in a graduate program: awards must start either on January 1, May 1 or September 1.
• For individuals who do not hold a health professional degree, awards will only begin after proof that the recipient has completed all the requirements of the PhD program (including the oral examination) is provided.
• Applicants are required to obtain the research institution's signature.
• For individuals who are seeking support to pursue a graduate degree, award will only begin after the recipient has registered in a full-time graduate program and has provided official confirmation from the Registrar's office of their registration.
• For individuals who are seeking support to hold their award outside of Canada, award will only begin after the recipient has provided a proof of Canadian Citizenship or Canadian Permanent Residency.
• For foreign applicants coming to Canada, awards will only begin after proof of an entry visa into Canada from a Canadian embassy is provided.
• For Canadian applicants leaving Canada, awards will only begin after proof of a visa to enter a foreign country from the office of the foreign government is provided.
• If holding another award from federal source as a nominated principal applicant, the currently held award must be terminated prior to the start of this CIHR award as no overlap of federal funding is permitted. (Updated: 2016-12-07)

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 require 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

Review Committee

A CIHR 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 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 principles, see the Peer Review: Overview section of CIHR’s website.

Evaluation Criteria

Fellowship Awards are reviewed in accordance with the CIHR Reviewers’ Guide for Fellowship Awards.

Funding Decision

Upon completion of the peer review, CIHR will generate a ranking list of the applications that fall in the fundable range. The list will be used for funding decision-making purposes and will remain anonymous. Applications will be funded from the top down in order of ranking as far as the budget will allow.

How to Apply

To submit an application, please log into ResearchNet and create an application. You are required to follow the instructions in the Fellowship Awards - Application Instructions. Important: Please read all instructions to familiarize yourself with the application process before applying.

In order to ensure fairness in the evaluation of applications, equivalent time must be guaranteed for the assessment of each complete application. As a result, CIHR will not accept updates to applications after the application deadline.

Submission Requirements

This Funding Opportunity participates in the eApproval process. As such, once submitted the application will be electronically directed to the proposed Institution Paid for review and approval. The eApproval process allows Administrators at the Institution to review and electronically approve an application for which the applicant has identified their institution as the Institution Paid. Once the application is reviewed and approved by the Institution, it will be submitted electronically to CIHR on behalf of the applicant. When completing the application on ResearchNet, detailed instructions on the eApproval process are available in the "Electronic Approval tool - Applicant's Guide" under the “Enter Proposal Information” task, "Details" subtask.

FAQ

Consult the CIHR Fellowship - Frequently Asked Questions.

Contact Information

For all inquiries please contact:

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

Sponsor Description

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.