Important Dates

Table of Contents

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

Description

Through the Betty Havens Award for Knowledge Translation in Aging, the CIHR Institute of Aging will recognize individual(s), team(s) or organization(s) that have advanced the translation of research in aging at a local or regional level.

The achievements of the prize awardees will be celebrated at the Canadian Association on Gerontology Annual Scientific and Education Meeting (another relevant venue is possible). Recipients will also be highlighted in CIHR communication materials, including the CIHR website.

Background

Betty Havens was a leading gerontologist committed to improving the lives of senior citizens, with notable achievements in health services research on the aging process. She created one of the world's richest research infrastructures - the Aging in Manitoba Study (AIM) - which is used both across Canada and internationally. Betty Havens carried out her research while she was a full-time policy maker, acting as a research director, provincial gerontologist, and, ultimately, assistant deputy minister of community and long-term care in Manitoba. Her research continues to influence the creation of policy today.

Throughout her 30-year career Betty Havens made real achievements and accomplishments as a decision maker, researcher, communicator, supporter of students, and mentor of young scholars.

The CIHR IA Knowledge Translation Award in Aging in the name of the late Betty Havens honors her commendable life and career in health services research and the translation of that research to improve the quality of life of seniors. The CIHR Institute of Aging believes itself privileged to honor others who have strived and succeeded in advancing the translation of research in aging in Betty Havens' name.

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 maximum amount awarded for a single one-year award is $50,000 to recognize impact at the local or regional level in research on aging. More than one prize may be awarded, if warranted.

Objectives

The aim of the award is to recognize outstanding achievements and excellence in knowledge translation in aging at a local or regional level, and to provide financial support to further foster excellence and innovation in knowledge translation activities.

Eligible KT activities are those that are clearly related to healthy and successful aging, and/or improving the well-being and quality of life of current and future older Canadians. The underpinning research should have addressed issues of aging and/or the aged as essential elements of the objectives, hypotheses and analyses (e.g., dynamics of aging, age-relevant models and/or aged subjects; uniqueness of aging or aged population).

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: 2007-2008 (RCTs) will not be considered under this funding opportunity.

Specific Eligibility Requirements

Eligible candidates are nominated individuals, teams or organizations working in Canada in the health field, including: health planners, managers, policy makers and administrators; health practitioners; health researchers; not-for-profit organizations with a research or knowledge translation mandate including professional associations; those involved in public health or public policy; groups representing survivors of, or patients with, a specific health problem; and health research funding organizations. While CIHR funding is not a pre-requisite for eligibility, CIHR expects that the exemplary knowledge translation activities of eligible individuals, teams or organizations will normally have attracted external merit-based funding.

For-profit businesses and corporations, or departments and agencies of the federal government, may be nominated for an award, but cannot receive the monetary grant associated with the award.

The award can be received by an individual, team or organization only once. Applicants who have received the award in the past may apply as part of a different team or organization.

Candidates are eligible if they meet the following Regional/Local requirements:

1. The nominee has contributed significantly to moving research findings into practice or policy OR making significant advances in the science of KT/implementation and has facilitated the dissemination, uptake and application of knowledge locally or regionally.
2. The nominee's KT activities are specifically related/targeted to a community and/or region and are aimed at bridging the gap between knowledge and practice/policy and facilitating the dissemination, uptake and application of knowledge in this context.
3. The nominee is linking research/researchers with decision makers/knowledge users locally and/or regionally in order to improve the health of Canadians and/or health services/products and/or the Canadian health care system (policy or practice).
4. The nominee's KT efforts and strategies have been successful in influencing or changing local, regional or provincial policy or practice.
5. The nominee has formed strong partnerships with other local/regional organizations.

Guidelines

General CIHR Guidelines

This funding opportunity will follow the General Guidelines for Grant Programs. Applicants are encouraged to demonstrate the use of Gender and Sex-Based Analysis in applications. This encouraged approach does not contradict CIHR Institute of Aging's promotion and support of research that advances the health and quality of life of older adults (generally above the age of 65).

Allowable Costs

These grants are to be used by the awardees to advance knowledge translation activities in a way designated by the winner, consistent with CIHR's rules for eligible expenditures. Applicants 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

All conditions specified in CIHR General Grants and Awards Policies shall apply to applications funded through this Funding opportunity. Conditions cover areas such as Applicant and Institutional Responsibilities, Ethics, 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.

In addition to CIHR standard guidelines and requirements, the following special requirements 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.

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 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.

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.

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.

Review Process and Evaluation

Nominations for the Betty Havens Award for Knowledge Translation in Aging will be reviewed by the KT Award Committee, which includes members of the CIHR Governing Council Knowledge Translation Working Group and Canadian and international researchers with expertise in KT. Peer review committees follow 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 the Peer Review section of CIHR's website.

Prior to the KT Award Committee review, the CIHR Institute of Aging will be given access to anonymized summary descriptions for the purposes of its evaluation of alignment of nominees with the eligibility criteria described above. This Institute of Aging review is separate from and will have no impact on the KT Award Committee review process.

Upon completion of peer review, the Institute of Aging will receive the ranking list, merit scores (ratings) and recommendations on funding level and award 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. These applications will be funded from the top down in order of ranking as far as budgets will allow. Applications that receive a ranking below 3.5 will not be funded.

Evaluation Criteria

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 in the Assessment" (section 6.2).

The following evaluation criteria are specific to this funding opportunity. 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.

Nominations will be assessed against the following criteria:

• The importance of the area of focus to, and the significant improvement of, the health of Canadians and/or products/services and/or the health system.
• The quality of the relationship(s) with relevant partners (e.g., length of experience, nature of interaction, multi- or cross-discipline interaction). Co-governance by researchers and users or collaborative research initiatives are generally regarded as more effective approaches to knowledge translation than one-way post-research dissemination.
• The extent to which the nominee(s) use evidence-based and systematic approaches to guide knowledge translation activities and the extent to which these KT activities are helping to bridge the gap between knowledge and knowledge users and between research and practice/policy.
• The degree of innovation in the KT strategies employed by the nominee(s), with sound justification for their potential effectiveness.
• Contribution to KT/implementation science, advancing the KT knowledge base.
• The demonstrated impact of the nominees' knowledge translation activities on targeted programs, policies, practices or system changes. The rigour of the evaluation of impacts must be clearly demonstrated. Reviewers will also consider the methods used to measure impact.
• The potential generalisability of the nominees' knowledge translation research findings (where KT research has been a focus) to other health issues, research areas, or disciplines.
• The strength of the nominee's letters of support and the quality of the supporting documentation.

How to Apply

Anyone with direct knowledge of the contribution of the nominee(s) can nominate the individual, team or organization. Nominators can be colleagues, or any organizations or individuals who have benefited from the nominee's activities. Self-nominations will not be accepted.

The nomination package must include the following items. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

1. Knowledge Translation in Aging - Information Form (see List of Forms and Guidelines for Completion). This form is to be completed by the person nominating the applicant.
2. Two letters of support: One letter of support must be from the nominator of the applicant. In this letter, the nominator should provide rationale for the category in which the nominee is being considered. The second letter of support should be from an individual/organization that has direct knowledge of the nominees' contributions in knowledge translation.
3. A summary description (no more than three single-spaced, one-sided pages of text, Times New Roman 12 pt font) of the knowledge translation and exchange activities that are linking health researchers and the users of research knowledge. The summary must detail the nature of the activities (whether it is related to doing KT or studying KT) and the extent of the interaction, and explain how these activities have resulted in improvements to the health of Canadians, and other global communities, through changes in policies related to health, professional practice, and standards of health care; the organization, efficiency, and sustainability of the health care system, or the development of cost-effective innovations in health technologies and products. Be sure to describe the strength and extent of the evidence/research that is being translated into practice/policy. Applications must explicitly describe how the knowledge translation activities of the nominated team or organization work at, and have an impact at, the respective level. Please also detail how previous CIHR funding, if applicable, has contributed to the nominee's KT activities/research (include grant and/or award FRN numbers).
4. One page budget and/or description of how award funds will be spent to advance KT activities.
5. Short biographies of nominees (maximum 2 pages per biography, (Times New Roman 12pt font). For organizations that are nominated, no more than six team member biographies should be included. Please do not include any personal contact information in the biographies.
6. At least two and not more than five supporting documents that demonstrate or illustrate knowledge translation activities or impact (such as clippings, testimonials, workshop materials, posters, journal articles, reports, technical reports, policies).

Submit the original plus two copies of the complete nomination package, including both letters of support, to the following address:

KT Award Selection Committee
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Knowledge Translation Branch
Room 97, 160 Elgin Street
Address locator: 4809A
Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0W9
Attention: 2008 KT Award Committee

Contact Information

For more information about the KT Award, how to apply, and the KT Award Committee review process contact:

Leah Jurkovic
Knowledge Translation Sector Specialist
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Telephone: 613-941-0805
Fax: 613-954-1800
Email: ljurkovic@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

For questions about CIHR Institute of Aging and the Betty Havens Knowledge Translation Award in Aging, contact:

Susan Crawford
Assistant Director-Vancouver
Institute of Aging
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
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

Partner/Collaborator Description

Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
CIHR is Canada's major federal funding agency for health research. Its objective is to excel, according to internationally accepted standards of scientific excellence, in the creation of new knowledge and its translation into improved health for Canadians, more effective health services and products and a strengthened Canadian health care system.

CIHR - Institute of Aging (IA)
The 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 Knowledge Synthesis and Exchange Branch 
The role of the CIHR Knowledge Synthesis and Exchange Branch is to create, support, monitor and sustain an environment that allows CIHR to deliver on its knowledge translation (KT) mandate. Fulfilling its corporate KT function, the Branch provides a focal point for KT as CIHR leads broad KT strategic initiatives and provides support to multi or pan-Institute KT initiatives.