Finding a Place within CIHR: A

guide for social sciences and

humanities health researchers

May 25, 2011

Danika Goosney, PhD, Director, Program

Planning and Process, Research Portfolio, CIHR

Welcome to CIHR

CIHR welcomes all researchers and stakeholders involved in the

generation and/or application of health knowledge.

This presentation will focus on where social scientists andhumanists involved in health-focused research will find fundingopportunities at CIHR:

1. CIHR Institutes and Pillars

2. Open vs. Strategic Grants

3. Knowledge Translation (SSHRC: Knowledge Mobilization)

4. Examples of Research

And, how Peer Review is managed to ensure fair and appropriateadjudication of ALL applications, including those from the socialsciences and humanities

Perspectives on Health

If medicine is to fulfill her great task,

then she must enter the political and

social life. Do we not always find the

diseases of the populace traceable to

defects in society?Dr. Rudolf Virchow (1848)

Knowledge Translation is Part of our Mandate

CIHR Institutes

Aboriginal Peoples’ Health

Aging

Cancer Research

Circulatory and Respiratory Health

Gender and Health

Genetics

Health Services and Policy Research

Human Development, Child and Youth Health

Infection and Immunity

Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis

Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction

Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes

Population and Public HealthC

linic

al

Health S

erv

ices

Socia

l, C

ultura

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nviron

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ealth

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Institu

tes

Pillars

How CIHR Operates

CIHR Institutes*

Total Expenditures 2000-01

vs. 2009-10 ($M)

$27

$61$75

$8

$119

$11

$32

$93

$25

$78 $74

$7

$31

$122

$159 $160

$51

$241

$111$123

$258

$78

$211

$154

$88

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Institutes

Ex

pe

nd

itu

res

2000-01 2009-10

Open and Strategic Grants

70% of research funding is investigator-driven (open); 30% is reservedfor strategic initiatives

Open Competitions ~70%:

•Operating grants, salary awards, training awards, etc

•Researchers develop proposals in any area of health and submitapplications to the appropriate open competition

•Regular competition cycle

Strategic Initiatives ~30%:

•Target: major health challenges, strategic priorities

•Developed by Institutes/Branches/Initiatives

•Fluctuating competition cycle

Selecting the Appropriate Federal

Granting Agency

FIRST STEP:

Investigators whose proposal is health-related should consult CIHR’s mandate first to explore eligibility.

CIHR has policies and procedures in place to adjudicate the full range of social science and humanities research proposals.

Research eligible under the mandate of CIHR will not be considered by SSHRC.

For more details, see:

http://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/funding-financement/apply-demande/background-renseignements/selecting_agency-choisir_organisme_subventionnaire-eng.aspx

CIHR’s Programs for all Health-focussed

researchers (Visit our web site for a complete list of funding opportunities)

SSHRC CIHR CIHR Description

SRG / Insight

Grants

Open Operating Grant PA Operating funds for all areas of

health research.

New Investigator Salary Award PA Salary contribution for new

investigators holding a full time

research appointment.

PDG / PG Team Grant / Emerging Team

Grant

Support for research

established by new or emerging

teams

PDG / PG Partnerships for Health Systems

Improvement (PHSI)

PA Strengthen Canada’s

healthcare system via

collaborative, applied and

policy-relevant research.

PDG /

Outreach &

Tools

Knowledge Synthesis Grants PA Support teams of researchers

and knowledge users to

produce knowledge syntheses

and scoping reviews.

IDG / PDG Catalyst Grants Seed money towards future

grants

Workshops &

Conferences

Planning Grants and

Dissemination Events Grants

PA Meetings, planning and

dissemination activities

consistent with CIHR mandate.

Peer and Merit Review

CIHR Principles of Peer Review:

• Confidentiality

• Absence of conflict of interest

• Fairness

Merit review:

• Used to assess research projects that engage knowledge-users throughout the research process (e.g. PHSI applications)

• Equal representation of researchers and knowledge-users in review committee membership.

Peer and Merit Review

Potential reviewers are identified and prioritized in consultation with many sources, including:

• CIHR Institute staff

• The strategic lead(s) for the funding opportunity

• The Peer Review Committee Chair and Scientific Officer

• Research institution administrators

• Applicants (dedicated section in applications)

Applications are assigned to committee members based on required expertise

Committee meets face-to-face or by teleconference

Peer and Merit Review

Reviewers will use the following set of criteria for the evaluation

of most CIHR grant applications:

Research Approach

Originality of the Proposal

Applicant(s)

Environment for the Research

Impact of the Research

The criteria are consistent for CIHR open programs

Strategic programs or programs using merit review, may adapt the

criteria to fit the objectives of the Funding Opportunity

Example: CIHR Open Operating Grant

Program

Examples of Open Operating Grant Peer Review

Committees:

Aboriginal Peoples’ Health

Gender, Sex & Health

Health Policy & Systems Management Research

Health Services Evaluation & Interventions Research Humanities,

Law, Ethics & Society in Health

Palliative & End of Life Care

Public, Community & Population Health

Social Dimensions in Aging

Example of CIHR-funded Social Research

proposals

• An ethnographic study of adolescents’ conceptualization of cancer andcancer prevention (Operating Grant, $328,342)

• Young men’s responses to the accidental death of a friend (OperatingGrant, $ 97,141)

• The role of housing in promoting and maintaining the health of victims ofdomestic violence (Operating Grant, $168,408)

• Patient Narratives (History of Medicine) (Operating Grant, $ ---)

• Marginalized Youth in Contemporary Educational Contexts (Meetings,Planning and Dissemination Grant, $15,000)

• The Culture and Context of Adolescent Marijuana Use (Operating Grant,$366,011)

Example: social sciences and

humanities health research initiative

Strategic Initiative on Official Language Minority Communities (OLMC)

Mandate: to promote the study of health determinants and specific needs on these two communities, increase the number of researchers interested in these issues and to ensure that newly created knowledge is transmitted to researchers and clinicians with the view of improving health of Canadian populations.

Nationwide role in strengthening OLMC research capacity and developing partnerships between the Institutes and health research organizations focused on an interdisciplinary, inter-institutional and context-based approach.

This approach aims to promote collaborative research projects, train new researchers, increase knowledge dissemination and application and promote the official language minority communities.

OLMC – strategic plan: http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/39495.html

Example: Evidence on Tap

Objective

To produce high-quality, timely, and accessible

evidence that is of immediate interest and use

to provincial/territorial and federal decision

makers

1. Expedited

Knowledge

Synthesis

2. Best Brains

Exchange

Rationale

• There is demand from federal,

provincial/territorial and regional health

officials for accessible and timely “user-

friendly” evidence to help inform their

decision making

• Decision makers need evidence faster

than traditional funding approaches allow

• The CIHR Act requires CIHR to work with

provinces/territories on research needs

and to inform policy making

Expedited Knowledge Synthesis

• This program generates syntheses that respond to decision-maker identified priorities in a 6-9 month timeframe

• Two stages of application and peer review

• Final workshops will be held where the researchers debrief the decision makers on key findings and potential policy implications

Best Brains Exchange

What is a Best Brains Exchange?

A one-day meeting that brings together the “best brains” of research and

decision-making on a ministry-identified, high-priority issue for a closed-door

“brain dump”.

• In-camera discussions

(Chatham House Rule)

• Researchers

summarize the relevant

evidence and suggest

what it implies about

possible policy

directions

• Researchers and

decision makers

discuss the

implications of the

research

CIHR and SSHRC Partnership in

Transition

CIHR and SSHRC are monitoring the transition:

Communication on program material and

eligibility guidelines.

Consultation on potential committee members

from the SSH.

Monitoring eligibility problems.

Exchange of info on rules and practices at staff

level.

Thank you

Please contact me if you have any questions:

Danika.Goosney@cihr-irsc.gc.ca