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Description
The purpose of this Request for Applications (RFA) is to provide opportunities for the support of planning and/or development activities that normally precede complex, multi-stakeholder and/or team research program across the range of intrinsic and extrinsic challenges (from biological to environmental) associated with Strategic Initiative Announcement - Mobility in Aging.
Background
This Request for Applications (RFA) is announced under the Strategic Initiative Announcement - Mobility in Aging led by the CIHR Institute of Aging in partnership with the CIHR Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis and others.
Mobility in Aging
Mobility encompasses not only participation in society (e.g., ability to drive and having accessible public transportation) and physical activity, but also the performance of specific maneuvers such as walking or climbing stairs and the carrying out of instrumental activities of daily living.
Mobility is a challenge for a significant proportion of the older population. In addition to extrinsic barriers of mobility, such as inappropriate aids, transportation infrastructure and physical environments, older adults also cope with intrinsic barriers, such as fear of falling and mobility impairments. Currently of those 60 years of age or over, 13% have mobility impairments; the proportion climbing to 30% by 80 years of age.1 As baby boomers move through their senior years over the next 4 decades, the number of Canadians living with mobility impairments will grow exponentially. In fact, 54% of Canadians 55 and older already believe that they are less mobile than they were 10 years ago: more than one third have difficulty climbing several flights of stairs and one quarter have difficulty bending or stooping (28%) or walking a kilometre or more (24%).2
Mobility in older adults can significantly affect social and economic independence along with physical and mental health. Research addressing the range of intrinsic and extrinsic challenges (i.e., from biological to environmental) associated with Mobility in Aging has the potential to optimize the well-being of a large number of Canadians as well as significantly reduce the nation's health care costs.
This Planning and Development Request for Applications (RFA) is being offered to enable researchers to prepare substantively for CIHR open competitions (such as Operating Grants and Team Grants) or future strategic proposals in response to CIHR-IA and CIHR-IMHA Initiatives.
Funds Available
CIHR's contribution to the amount available for this initiative is subject to availability of funds voted annually to CIHR by parliamentary appropriations, and the conditions that may be attached to them.
- The total amount available for this initiative is $520,000. This amount may increase if additional funding partners decide to participate. (Updated: 2007-01-23)
- The value of a single grant will range from $80,000 - $100,000 per annum for up to one (1) year (non-renewable); the funding level depending on availability of funds and quality of the proposal. The equipment amount is awarded in year one. (Updated: 2006-12-20)
Partner/Collaborator Participation
The CIHR-IA and the CIHR-IMHA dedicated to identifying and developing collaborations with other CIHR institute(s), branch(es) or office(s), funding organizations and stakeholders to enhance the availability of funding for this strategic initiative, and to create, where appropriate, opportunities for knowledge exchange and translation related to the scope of this particular initiative. Applicants are invited to visit the Descriptions of Partners section to find a list of partners and their respective mandates and/or strategic interests. This list will continue to evolve as new partners join in this initiative. The specific research foci and requirements for each partner are outlined in the section "Objective".
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Objectives
The specific objectives of this initiative are:
- To promote and advance Canadian research in Mobility in Aging;
- To encourage innovative research questions and novel approaches and methods;
- To provide opportunities to strengthen research approaches;
- To better position individual researchers and/or teams of researchers for CIHR open competitions and Institute RFAs;
- To facilitate the integration of stakeholders for the purpose of refining research questions and/or knowledge translation and exchange.
Relevant Research Areas:
In the context of eligible and relevant preparatory and developmental areas, of which one or more might be included in the application, the following examples are provided. These examples are not intended to be exhaustive and there is no intent to imply that applications in these areas would be more successful than those in other areas.
- Consultation involving a cross section of stakeholders (which may include experts from key international centres and institutions) to address the needs, gaps and opportunities related to both Canadian research activity and research capacity;
- Engagement of stakeholders with researchers from a number of disciplines to develop a program of research on emerging issues in Canada;
- Validation of the application of existing, or development of new, methodologies, conceptual theories or frameworks (including a clinical or scientific controversy) to guide research and knowledge translation;
- Development of collaborations among researchers and potential stakeholders, including those who may not typically associate with CIHR (e.g., architects, engineers, transportation planners and analysts, construction industry, consumer groups);
- Analyses of existing population health and/or linked databases to assist in the development of new insights and theoretical models;
- Development and testing of novel research protocol(s);
- Pilot research on 'natural experiments' such as emerging policy, practice or social/environmental shifts;
- Adaptation and feasibility testing of programs successfully undertaken in other jurisdictions;
- Evaluation of current methods of knowledge translation to and uptake by various stakeholders, i.e., consumers, practitioners, public, policy, and private sector.
The CIHR Institute of Aging and the CIHR Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis will consider supporting planning and development activities leading to research projects related to aging and/or the aged in one or more of the following relevant research areas:
- biological and physiological factors
- behavioral and psychosocial factors
- biomedical, clinical and technological innovations
- prevention, rehabilitation and management
- environmental factors - social, economic, policy and physical
Within or across any of the above areas, eligible activities also include addressing ethical issues/impact of the research, research translation and research outcomes. Through various consultations, targeted research and knowledge translation gaps have been identified under these areas, towards which applicants are encouraged to direct their proposals.
There is potential overlap between the above areas, and restriction to solely one area is not expected. Similarly, addressing multiple areas is not an absolute requirement, although multi-disciplinary approaches are encouraged.
The relevance of proposals will be determined prior to peer review. For this process, senior Institute of Aging and Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis staff, in consultation with the Institute Advisory board members, as required, and other RFA Partners will have access to anonymized project titles and summaries to conduct relevance review. The review of applications for relevance to the strategic initiative will have no impact on the peer review process.
The following criteria will be used in conducting the relevance review.
- Alignment of the proposed program with the objectives of this Planning and Development RFA;
- Extent to which the proposal addresses the above relevant research areas;
- For the Institute of Aging, it is critical that proposals include aging and/or the aged as essential elements of the research objectives, hypotheses and analyses (e.g., dynamics of aging, age-relevant models and/or aged subjects);
- For the Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis, relevant activities are those that are consistent with CIHR-IMHA's research priority in Physical Activity, Mobility and Health. The CIHR-IMHA encourages researchers across disciplines within the Arthritis, Bone, Skin, Muscle, Oral Health and/or Rehabilitation Research communities, and across all four of CIHR research pillars to develop research in this priority;
- For the Regenerative Medicine and Nanomedicine - Strategic Initiative Announcement, applications must be relevant to its strategic focus in the area of rehabilitation sciences;
- For other Strategic Initiative Announcement - Mobility in Aging Partners, many will consider funding of Mobility in Aging proposals that are also relevant to their priority areas.
The review of applications for relevance to the strategic initiative will have no impact on the peer review process.
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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. Please refer to the Eligibility Requirements for CIHR Grants and Awards regarding the eligibility requirements for individuals and institutions.
Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) will NOT be considered under this RFA.
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Guidelines
This Request for Applications will follow the CIHR Guidelines for Grant Programs.
Allowable Costs
Applicants should review the Tri-Agency (CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC) financial administration guidelines Use of Grant Funds (Compensation-Related Expenses) (external site) for a complete listing and description of allowable costs and activities.
The full application must provide a detailed justification of all costs.
In the context of this RFA and the above financial administration guidelines, for Planning and Development Grants, the following allowable costs apply:
- Operating support for specific research-related activities undertaken by the researchers,
- Purchase and maintenance of equipment and other research tools, maintenance funding for common services and shared facilities (up to $5,000),
- Costs of data collection and maintenance of information holdings,
- Costs of regional, national (and, if necessary, international) networking activities, including stakeholder and community mobilization and consultation, collaborative planning, and knowledge exchange activities directly related to the research project,
- Systematic review(s) of relevant research literature,
- Salaries of a professional coordinator and/or research assistants (as appropriate),
- Salaries of excellent trainees (students or fellows) only if they are generating pilot data of relevance to the research, and if it is in the best interest of the attraction, retention and career development of that trainee,
- Costs involved in dissemination of the results of the work funded under this RFA to target audiences,
- Consulting fees (as appropriate).
Conditions of Funding
All conditions specified in CIHR General Grants and Awards Policies shall apply to applications funded through this Request for Applications. Conditions cover areas such as Applicant and Institutional Responsibilities, Ethics, Official language policy, Access to Information and Privacy Acts, and Acknowledgement of CIHR Support. Successful applicants will be informed of any special financial conditions prior to the release of funds or when they receive CIHR's Authorization for Funding (AFF) document.
In addition to CIHR standard guidelines and requirements, the following special conditions shall apply:
- Within six months after the end of the grant's term, the Nominated Principal Applicant is required to submit a final performance report, summarizing the results and describing how the grant funds were used. A standard form will be provided by CIHR.
- Proceedings of any workshop or consultative event must be submitted electronically to the CIHR Institute of Aging and/or the CIHR-IMHA within 3 months of the event. A standard format will be provided by the CIHR Institute of Aging and/or the CIHR-IMHA. CIHR may decide to post such proceedings on its website or other public 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 Use and Disclosure of Personal Information Provided to CIHR for Peer Review.
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 Request for Applications 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 Request for Applications will be collected, used and disclosed in compliance with the PIPEDA.
Communication Requirements
Grant recipients are required to acknowledge CIHR, its institutes and partners in any communication or publication related to the project. See CIHR General Grants and Awards Policies, Public Communication and Acknowledgement of CIHR's Support for details on CIHR's communication requirements. The contributing institutes / partners will be identified on the Authorization for Funding and decision letter.
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Performance Measurement
CIHR is committed to demonstrating results to Canadians for the money invested in health research. Therefore, processes for monitoring progress and appropriate use of funds, as well as for performance measurement and program evaluation are in place. As a result, funding recipients must:
- 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;
- encourage their associates, trainees and administration to participate in the monitoring, review and evaluation of CIHR's programs, policies and processes as required.
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Review Process and Evaluation
A CIHR peer 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 Request for Applications. Committee members are selected based on suggestions from many sources including the institute(s) / portfolio(s) and partner(s), following CIHR's Policy on Confidentiality, Conflict of Interest and Privacy Issues in Peer and Relevance Review (CCIP). For information on CIHR's peer review process in general, see Peer Review.
Peer review will be conducted in accordance with The CIHR Peer Review Process - Policies and Responsibilities of Grants Committee Members, including the standard evaluation criteria described under "Factors for Assessment" (section 6.2).
In addition, the following evaluation criteria specific to this Request for Applications will apply. CIHR recognizes that applications will emphasize different approaches to research and to knowledge translation, therefore reviewers and committees are expected to weight criteria such as these differently from one application to another.
- Outcome Potential. Applications will be evaluated on the potential of the proposed planning and developmental work to lay the foundation for a meritorious and valuable long-term research project in the selected theme;
- Innovation / Advancement. The project should challenge current research thinking and paradigms and/or address new areas demonstrating potential for significant advance in understanding important, emerging issues associated with Mobility in Aging in Canada and internationally (as relevant);
- Breadth. The proposed work should involve the necessary perspectives, expertise and disciplines relevant to the issues being studied;
- Approach. Where relevant, the application should describe the conceptual framework, methods, hypotheses, design and analyses for projects to be funded by the planning and development grant.
The following questions will guide the peer review committee:
- How important and original are the contributions expected from the work proposed in the planning and development stages? What is the potential for important new observations or knowledge to be gained from both the planning phase and the proposed future larger project?
- How comprehensive and suitable are the planned activities towards successful development of a larger project?
- Does any proposed team (researcher(s) and stakeholders) bring together the necessary expertise and collaboration to accomplish the work proposed?
- How well have the applicants anticipated difficulties in their approach and considered alternatives?
- How critically is the relevant literature appraised and evaluated?
- How appropriate to the proposed area of inquiry is the training or track record of the applicant(s)? How important and original is the recent productivity of the applicant(s)? Does the applicant(s) hold the capacity, both in skill and available time, to do the work proposed?
- Are any relevant current (or future) funding or intellectual or knowledge translation partners identified?
Upon completion of peer review, the CIHR-IA, the CIHR-IMHA and partners will receive the ranking list, merit scores (ratings) and recommendations of the peer review committee with regards to funding level and award term, for the submitted applications that fall in the fundable range and have been determined to be relevant to the specific eligible areas of inquiry and objectives of the RFA. The list will be used for funding decision-making purposes and will remain anonymous.
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How to Apply
The application process is comprised of two steps: Registration and Full Application.
Review the application instructions provided in How to Apply for Funding.
Select "Operating Grants" (Registration and Application) from the Grant Programs - Application Packages.
Additional instructions must be followed for this RFA:
- In the Research Funding Program section of the Research Module, select "Strategic Initiative/RFA" and enter the title of this RFA. RFA (Planning and Development Grants - Mobility in Aging).
- Research Proposal section of the Research Module is limited to 8 pages, laid out as follows:
- In order to give sufficient emphasis to the work being planned, confine your Background discussion to issues that are directly pertinent to the topic of your application, rather than generalities of mobility, such as descriptions of its epidemiology. Provide an overview of research in the specific area nationally and internationally. Limit this discussion and review of the literature to two pages.
- In no more than two pages of text, describe the larger project being planned and/or developed through the work proposed in this application.
- Use the remaining four pages to outline the planning and development activities themselves, including anticipated outcomes and their timelines, justification of how they are important to the larger project, and the names and roles of key individuals and organizations involved.
Send Application by Courier to:
RE: "Planning and Development Grants - Mobility in Aging"
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Room 97, 160 Elgin Street
Address locator: 4809A
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0W9
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Contact Information
For questions on CIHR funding guidelines, how to apply, and the peer review process, contact:
(Updated: 2007-05-28)
Marie-France Roy
Coordinator, Program Delivery
Knowledge Creation Programs Branch, Research Portfolio
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Telephone: 613-941-3420
Fax: 613-954-1800
Email: maroy@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
For questions about this initiative and research objectives under the Strategic Initiative Announcement - Mobility in Aging, contact:
Susan Crawford
Assistant Director-Vancouver
The University of British Columbia
2080 West Mall, Room 038
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2
Telephone: 604-822-9075
Fax: 604-822-9304
Email: susanmc@interchange.ubc.ca
For questions about this initiative and the Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis, contact:
Sophia Tsouros
Project Manager / Analyst
CIHR - Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis
Telephone: 613-954-3469
Fax: 613-954-1800
Email: stsouros@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
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Partner/Collaborator Description
Note: Additional partners, including partners from industry and the private sector are expected to join this funding initiative.
The CIHR-IA and CIHR-IMHA are currently soliciting interest in co-funding this initiative from external partners. Researchers are also strongly encouraged to seek out additional partners to support and disseminate research in Mobility in Aging; and Physical Activity, Mobility and Health.
Also visit the current list of partners to the Strategic Initiative Announcement - Mobility in Aging. Many of these will consider funding applications in Mobility in Aging that are also relevant to their priority areas.
CIHR - Institute of Aging
The CIHR Institute of Aging (IA) supports research to promote healthy aging and to address causes, prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, support systems, and palliation for a wide range of conditions associated with aging. IA has identified five priority areas for research on aging and health (in no particular order): healthy and successful aging, biological mechanisms of aging, cognitive impairment in aging, aging and maintenance of functional autonomy, and health services and policy relating to older people.
CIHR - Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis
The goal of the CIHR - Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis (IMHA) is to support research to sustain health and enhance quality of life by eradicating the pain, suffering and disability caused by arthritis, musculoskeletal, oral and skin conditions. To achieve its vision, IMHA will focus on three research priorities:
- Physical Activity, Mobility and Health
- Tissue Injury, Repair and Replacement
- Pain, Disability and Chronic Diseases
Regenerative Medicine and Nanomedicine Initiative
The Regenerative Medicine and Nanomedicine Initiative, one of the Large Strategic Initiatives of CIHR, will consider funding Mobility in Aging Planning and Development Grants for proposals deemed relevant to its strategic focus in the area of Rehabilitation sciences. Please see the latest initiative for more information on eligible research activities and additional funding opportunities through the Regenerative Medicine and Nanomedicine - Strategic Initiative Announcement.
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Additional Information
- Hébert et al. American J Epidemiology, 1997; 145: 935-944.
- Canadian Physiotherapy Association/Ipsos-Reid poll (April 2002) .
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