CIHR Funding Opportunities for Trainees

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CIHR Funding Opportunities for Trainees
Visit to York University
Nancy MacLellan Head, Program Delivery
Division Research Capacity Development
Branch nmaclellan_at_cihr-irsc.gc.ca
September 14, 2006
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Today I will talk about

• Who I am and my role at CIHR
• CIHR Training Award Programs
• Highlighting any changes to the programs
• Additional Funding Opportunities for Trainees
• Application Process
• Including Tips for Award Applicants
• Peer Review Process for Awards
• Program Statistics
• Whats New at CIHR?

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CIHR Training Award Programs
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Health Professional Student Research Awards
(HPSRA)

• Eligibility
• Students are usually enrolled at a Canadian
  institution in an undergraduate health
  professional program leading to Canadian
  licensure.
• Students enrolled in a program requiring a
  graduate degree for Canadian licensure are also
  eligible.
• Candidates must be nominated by the Dean or
  Program Director.
• Stipend 4,251 - 5,961 for 13 weeks
• Term up to 13 weeks
• Application Deadline nominations must be
  received by February 15
• No. available for 2006-2007 423
• Letters were sent to Canadian universities in
  April.
• stipend for students in combined MD/MSc or
  MD/PhD programs

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Undergraduate Health Professional Clinical
Research Immersion Awards

• Health professional schools may combine four
  HPSRA vouchers in order to enable students to
  integrate one full year of health research
  training into the course of their studies toward
  a health professional degree.
• The school must designate a clinician-investigator
  committed to the supervision of the
  undergraduate throughout the training experience.
• The student will receive a stipend of 20,000.
• Tuition fees for the health professional degree
  program will not be charged during the period of
  research training.

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Canada Graduate Scholarships (CGS) Masters
Awards

• Eligibility
• Candidates must
• be in or have completed the last year of a
  bachelor degree, or
• have been enrolled for no more than 10 months as
  a full-time graduate student (Masters or
  direct-entry PhD) at a Canadian institution.
• Awards must be held at a Canadian institution.

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Canada Graduate Scholarships (CGS) Masters
Awards (continued)

• Stipend 17,500
• Term 1 Year
• CIHR Application Deadline February 1
• (AFTER UNIVERSITY PRESELECTION)
• Number offered from February 06 competition 192

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Doctoral Awards (CIHR and Canada Graduate
Scholarships)

• Candidates apply to the CIHR Doctoral Research
  Award program, those proposing to conduct
  research at a Canadian institution are
  automatically considered for a Canada Graduate
  Scholarship Doctoral Award.
• Open to Canadian citizens and permanent
  residents.
• Term up to 3 years
• Application Deadline October 15

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Doctoral Awards (CIHR and Canada Graduate
Scholarships)

• Common eligibility between the two programs
• At the time of application, candidates must
• have completed at least 12 months of graduate
  study at the Masters or PhD level, and
• have been registered as a full-time student in a
  PhD program for no more than
• 22 months for those who hold a Masters degree
  (or who have completed more than 12 months in a
  Masters program before transferring to a PhD
  program) or
• 30 months for those who have completed less than
  12 months in a Masters program before
  transferring to a PhD program or
• 34 months for those who transferred directly from
  a bachelors degree to a PhD program

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Doctoral Awards (CIHR and Canada Graduate
Scholarships)
Differences between the two programs
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Fellowship Awards

• Awards may be held inside or outside of Canada
  (Canadian citizens and permanent residents may
  apply for awards to be held outside Canada).
• Eligibility for candidates who hold, or are
  completing, a PhD degree
• At the time of application, must have less than
  three years of post-PhD research training
  experience.
• Only eligible for funding until the end of their
  fifth year of post-PhD research training.
• Must undertake post-PhD research training in a
  different research environment from which they
  received their PhD.
• Eligibility for candidates who hold, or are
  completing, a Health Professional degree
• may propose a program leading to a Master's or
  PhD, but is not required.

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Fellowship Awards (continued)

• Stipend per annum 40,000 (PhD)
• 40,000 - 50,000 (HP)
• Research Allowance per annum 5,000
• Term up to 3 years (PhD)
• up to 5 years (HP)
• Application Deadlines February 1 or October 1
• Training outside of Canada 5,000 stipend
  supplement
• Number offered from the October 2005 competition
  72
• Number offered from the February 2006
  competition 81
• dependant upon degrees held and years of post
  degree training
• dependant upon intended use of award

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• Other CIHR
• Funding Opportunities
• for Trainees

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Strategic Training Initiative in Health Research
(STIHR)

• A CIHR Training Program Grant is awarded to a
  group of excellent mentors/educators,
  accomplished in health research, who work
  collaboratively to offer a research training
  program of defined format and content to a group
  of trainees.
• Potential trainees apply directly to successful
  Training Programs for program admission and for
  stipend support. These competitive training
  opportunities are advertised nationally and
  internationally.
• To date, 87 Training Program Grants have been
  funded by CIHR and partners at up to 310,500 per
  year for six years, for a total of 160 million.
• www.stihr.ca

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STIHR Objectives

• Increase capacity
• Recruitment/retention from Canada and abroad
• Innovative, transdisciplinary programs
• Engage new mentors and educators
• Encourage programs that
• Embrace diverse research disciplines and
  methodologies
• Integrate ethical issues
• Develop professional skills, e.g., communication,
  teamwork, leadership
• Translate knowledge into practice

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Examples of Training Program Grants in Ontario
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Requests for Applications and Priority
Announcements

• Additional funding opportunities for both
  trainees and independent investigators are
  available through Requests for Applications
  (RFAs) and Priority Announcements (PAs).
• Most RFAs and PAs are run through the regular
  CIHR award competitions candidates are provided
  with instructions within the RFA or PA on how to
  flag their application for consideration for
  these funding opportunities.
• RFAs and PAs are launched twice per year June
  and Decembercheck the CIHR website for a list of
  current opportunities.

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Small Health Organizations Partnership Program
(SHOPP)

• The Small Health Organizations Partnership
  Program (SHOPP) replaced the Health Research
  Partnership Fund.
• The mandate of SHOPP is to foster partnership
  opportunities with small health charities and
  not-for-profit organizations with modest health
  research funding capacity.
• For the Fall 2006 competition cycle there will be
  funding opportunities through SHOPP for
  candidates applying to the regular CIHR Doctoral
  Research Awards and Fellowships programscheck
  the Funding Opportunities section of the CIHR
  Website.

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• The Application Process

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CIHR Application Modules

• Training Module
• CV Module (Common CV)
• Sponsors Assessment Forms

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CIHR Training Module

• The Training Module is used for CIHR training
  award programs that have an open competition.
• Access via the CIHR Web forms log-in page.
• When printed, the data entered into the CIHR Web
  forms will be automatically formatted to the
  appropriate font and into the correct sections of
  the form.

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CIHR CV Module (Common CV)

• The CV Module is used for all CIHR award
  programs, except the Health Professional Student
  Research Awards and the MD/PhD Program Grants.
• Access via the CIHR Web forms log-in or via the
  Common CV Website (www.ccv-cvc.ca).
• When printed, the data entered into the Common CV
  Website will be automatically formatted to fit
  into the CIHR version of the CV Module when you
  choose CIHR as the agency to which you are
  applying.

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CIHR Sponsors Assessments

• CIHR Sponsors Assessment forms vary depending on
  the program to which the applicant is applying
• Sponsors Report on a Candidate for a CGS
  Masters Award
• Sponsors Assessment of a Candidate for a DRA
• Sponsors Assessment of a Candidate for a
  Fellowship or Clinician Scientist Phase 1 Award
• These forms are accessible via the List of Forms
  and Guidelines for Completion section of the CIHR
  Website.
• Candidates should send the link for the
  applicable Sponsors Assessment form to the
  potential sponsor as they are PDF form fillable.

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Tips for CIHR Award Applicants

• follow instructions exactly
• adhere to format guidelines (e.g., font, page
  limits)
• applications must be completed using the CIHR Web
  forms, handwritten applications will not be
  accepted
• use the full page allowances
• start at least two months before the deadline

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Tips for CIHR Award Applicants (continued)

• Applicants are encouraged to
• work on the research proposal in collaboration
  with their supervisor/mentor
• proofread their application
• show the complete application to their
  supervisor/mentor, peers and other researchers
  for feedback
• make sure their application is completeincomplete
  or late applications will not be accepted

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Tips for CIHR Award Applicants (continued)

• Common issues with Award Applications
• Missing CV modules remember that most training
  award applications require the CIHR CV Module for
  the candidate and the proposed supervisor(s)
• Official transcripts are requiredcertified
  copies will not be accepted
• Completed Sponsors Assessments should be
  enclosed with the application
• Ensure text to be attached is included with the
  application, e.g. pages 5 and 7 of the Training
  Module

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• Peer Review for Award Programs

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Peer Review for Award Programs

• Each CIHR award program has a set of peer review
  committees that are created specifically to
  review applications for that program
• 2 Masters Awards committees
• 2 Doctoral Research Award (DRA) committees
• 4 Fellowships committees
• Each set of peer review committees is grouped
  into committees that review specific themes
  generally themes 1 and 2 or 3 and 4, however,
  there are a few committees that review
  applications from all themes, i.e., 1 through 4.
• Committees for the Masters Awards, Doctoral
  Research Awards and Fellowships do not meet
  face-to-face, instead, individual reviews are
  done off-site and submitted to CIHR.

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Research Capacity DevelopmentPeer Review
Committees
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Review Criteria for Award Programs

• The following criteria are used for evaluating
  applications for Masters Awards, Doctoral
  Research Awards, and Fellowships
• Achievements and Activities of the Candidate
• Characteristics and Abilities of the Candidate
• Research Training Environment

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• Program Statistics

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Masters AwardsOpen and Strategic Competitions
Number of Applications
Success Rate
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Doctoral AwardsOpen and Strategic Competitions
STIHR began
CGS began
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Fellowship AwardsOpen and Strategic Competitions
STIHR began
Estimates
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Success Rates for the 2005-2006 Training Award
Competitions
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CIHR Investment in Training Awards Programs by
Fiscal Year (in millions of dollars)
Millions
CGS began
STIHR began
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CIHR Building Research Capacity Number of
Research Personnel Awards in 2005-2006
Plus at least 700 Fellows, 2,300 Graduate
Students and 1,700 Undergraduates supported by
research grants
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• Whats New at CIHR?

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ResearchNetThe Vision

• ResearchNet will be a virtual meeting place
  bringing together communities for collaboration
  and administrative support.
• CIHR eServices Strategy 2002
• Offers a one stop shop for the research community
  
• consolidates administrative functions for CIHR
• simplifies processes for application and peer
  review
• allows CIHR to innovate and try new ways of
  conducting business

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ResearchNetThe Benefits

• Improved service to the research community
• Review information available 10 days earlier
• Results available to applicants 3 days earlier
• More secure sharing of information
• More efficient for CIHR program staff
• Processing for registration is complete 5 days
  earlier
• Processing for full applications is complete 5
  days earlier
• Better data
• Better for the environment
• Lower distribution costs

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ResearchNetCurrent Status

• Where are we now?
• From the Awards perspective, the Masters and
  Doctoral Awards programs use ResearchNet for the
  review process and to post decisions
• Response to an Offer of Award captured on-line
  for the Masters and Doctoral Awards programs

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ResearchNetUpcoming

• Whats Upcoming?
• Fellowships program to complete reviews on-line
  starting with the Fall 2006 competition
• On-line Confirmation of Commencement response for
  Masters Awards, Doctoral Awards and Fellowships
  starting with the Fall 2006 competitions
• eSubmission for Doctoral Award applications for
  the October 2007 competition
• eSubmission for Masters Award applications for
  the February 2008 competition
• eSubmission for Fellowship applications for the
  October 2008 competition

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• If you have questions or comments, please
  contact
• ResearchNet Support
• support_at_researchnet-recherchenet.ca
• [phone]

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International Review of CIHRBackground

• The CIHR Act specifies that, every five years,
  CIHR requires a comprehensive review of its
  mandate and performance.
• To carry out the first-ever External Review, CIHR
  assembled a 27-member International Review Panel
  made up of some of the world's pre-eminent
  researchers.
• In early 2006, Panel members met with
  researchers, university and government leaders,
  partners in industry, the health charities and
  the provinces, and CIHR management and staff.
• The Panels report provides to CIHRs GC, senior
  management, Institutes and peer review committees
  independent and international perspectives
  through which to evaluate issues.

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International Review of CIHRObservations

• The Panel
• applauded CIHR for what has been accomplished to
  date, such as
• a more unified model of health research funding
• an enhanced capacity to fund health researchers
  across all disciplines
• new strategic initiatives have strengthened
  multidisciplinary research and training
• outlined that governance and accountability will
  be crucial in the next phase of CIHRs evolution
• noted that it was too early to comment on the
  effectiveness and impact of individual
  Institutes, as the data is not yet available
• noted that there are opportunities for knowledge
  translation in CanadaKT will play an
  increasingly important role in the next phase of
  CIHRs evolution.
• commented on CIHRs ethics mandateCIHR is
  committed to supporting research in ethics and
  will continue to augment its leadership role in
  this area

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International Review of CIHRNext Steps

• Discussions began at the recent CIHR Governing
  Council retreat.
• CIHR is anxious to receive input from the
  research community, our partners and other
  stakeholders.
• CIHR will solicit the views of our peer review
  committees on the suggestions of the Reportthis
  group of individuals will represent over 2,000
  members of Canadas research community.

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CIHR Launches Synapse, the Youth Engagement
Program

• The objective of Synapse is to foster an interest
  in young Canadians which will create a lifelong
  passion for investigation and discovery.
• It is envisioned as a series of programs which
  will be accessible to young Canadians from coast
  to coast to coast. Opportunities to participate
  in health research programs will be created for
  elementary, middle and high school students.
• Will allow young people to interact with real
  scientists in the places where health research
  happens university labs, teaching hospitals and
  pharmaceutical companies. For example, through
  the CIHR STIHR Youth Mentorship Initiative,
  efforts are being made to engage more CIHR funded
  researchers and experts in youth activities.
• Partners in the private and non-governmental
  sectors are essential to the success of the
  program.

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• Contact the
• Research Capacity Development Branch
• with your questions

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Research Capacity Development Contacts