Table of Contents
Description
The Official Language Minority Communities initiative is aimed at understanding the health issues of French and English speaking Canadians who live in communities where they are in minority. The Official Languages minority communities (OLMC) are defined as being the Anglophones residing in the province of Quebec and the Francophones living in Canadian provinces outside of Quebec.
In 2001, a report revealed that more than half of the French-Speaking Minority Communities rarely, if ever, have access to health services in their language and hypothesized that there is a direct connection between language and population health. This problem has also been observed in the English-Speaking Minority Communities for whom regional access is often limited or non-existent in some locations. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that language barriers negatively affect access to health care services, access to preventive services, and therefore timely diagnosis and treatment. Access to health services in one's language of choice (French or English) is a critical health care issue, since the relationships between professional and patient have been shown to be an important determinant of quality of care. However, evidence for understanding the health issue of these linguistic communities regarding their state of health, determinants of health, and issues related to access to services is lacking. The purpose of this Catalyst Grant is to increase our knowledge of the impact access to, or absence of, health services in one's language of choice (French or English) has on the health of these two populations.
Background
The CIHR Catalyst Grant program provides seed money, on a short-term basis, to support health research activities which represent a first step towards the pursuit of more comprehensive funding opportunities (e.g. operating grants, team grants), such as:
- the planning and execution of pilot projects or feasibility studies aiming to generate preliminary data, observations, or knowledge;
- the planning and execution of novel projects which clearly demonstrate the potential for significant impact, but which are considered high risk in nature in that they may be unsupported by proof of concept / preliminary data;
- development and / or validation of new inventions, tools, methodologies, protocols, theoretical models or frameworks;
- planning and / or development activities of expert teams (multi-disciplinary, trans-disciplinary, etc...) coming together to address health research priorities.
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 funding opportunity is $100,000. This amount may increase if additional funding partners decide to participate.
- The maximum amount awarded for a single grant is $50,000 per annum for up to 1 year. The equipment amount, where applicable, is awarded in year one.
Top
Objectives
The primary objectives of the Catalyst Grant program are to:
- Generate preliminary observations, data or knowledge, or to facilitate team formation, as a first step towards the pursuit of more comprehensive funding opportunities (e.g., operating grants, team grants) by researchers or teams of researchers
- Support original, high quality projects which have the potential to generate high impact results and/or innovative research proposals, research tools, techniques, devices, inventions, or methodologies.
The Catalyst Grant program is further expected to contribute to:
- Providing new or established investigators with funding to pursue new areas of investigation
- Providing investigators the opportunity to pursue high risk health research questions with the potential for high impact
- Providing the opportunity for a unique combination (e.g. multi-disciplinary, trans-disciplinary, international) of individual researchers to develop as a team
- Development of a culture of invention and innovation in Canada
- Mobilization of research communities to develop research agendas and/or action plans to advance research in specific priority areas.
Within the framework of the overall objectives of the CIHR Catalyst Grant Program, the specific objectives of this funding opportunity are:
- To support research on the health issues experienced within official language minority communities.
- To increase our knowledge related to accessibility, or lack of, health services in one's language of choice (French or English) and its impact on the health status of these two linguistic communities.
Relevant Research Areas:
The CIHR research initiative on OLMC will fund applications that are determined to be relevant to the research priority areas described below.
- Access to health care services and its impact on health
- Access to preventive services and its impact on health
- Access to timely diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation and its impact on health
- Relationships between access in one's language of choice and quality of care
Top
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 Award regarding the eligibility requirements for individuals and institutions.
Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) will not be considered under this funding opportunity.
Top
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.
Allowable Costs
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.
The full application must provide a detailed justification of all costs.
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 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.
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.
Policy on Access to Research Outputs
CIHR believes that greater access to research publications and data will promote the ability of researchers and knowledge users in Canada and abroad to use and build on the knowledge needed to address significant health challenges. Open access will promote accessibility to CIHR-funded research and will serve to increase the international visibility of Canadian research. As of January 1, 2008, CIHR grant recipients are reminded to adhere with the responsibilities outlined in the Policy on Access to Research Outputs. Under this policy, grant recipients must make every effort to ensure that research papers and biomolecular data generated from CIHR funding are freely accessible online.
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.
Top
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.
Top
Review Process and Evaluation
Relevance Review
The CIHR Research Initiative on Official Language Minority Communities will provide funding for applications that are relevant to (in alignment with) the specific objectives and research priority areas described in the "Objectives" section.
Prior to peer review, CIHR's Research Initiative on Official Language Minority Communities will have access to anonymized project titles and summaries to conduct relevance review.
The following criteria will be used in conducting the relevance review:
- The target population will be official language minority communities as described in section 5D
- Includes access to (or lack of) health services, diagnostic, treatment and rehabilitation and impact it has on the health of the targeted populations.
Upon completion of peer review, CIHR's Research Initiative on Official Language Minority Communities 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.
Peer Review
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 funding opportunity. 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 the Peer Review section of CIHR's web site.
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 will apply to peer review of Catalyst Grant applications:
- How important and original are the hypotheses, questions, or issues to be addressed, and how clearly are they formulated?
- How important and novel are the outcomes expected from the proposed research activities? What is the potential for important new observations, tools/techniques, knowledge or impact in health research, or for the expected outcomes to build a foundation for the pursuit of more comprehensive funding opportunities?
- How well will the proposed approach address the hypotheses or questions? How well have the applicant(s) anticipated difficulties in their approach and considered alternatives? How critically is the relevant literature appraised and evaluated?
- How appropriate to the proposed research activities is the training or track record of the applicant(s)? Are the reviewers confident that the applicant(s) can accomplish the work proposed?
Notes:
- It will be recognized by reviewers that preliminary data or observations for novel ideas or totally new research directions will generally not be available, and therefore there will be a minor emphasis on preliminary data or observations.
- Researchers, regardless of career stage, would not be expected to have an extensive publication record in the new field, but rather to possess a set of transferable competencies that will enable them to accomplish the proposed objectives.
- For projects of a high risk nature, the potential for great scientific gain should offset the risk of failure.
- There should be minimal or no overlap with other funded work.
CIHR recognizes that applications will emphasize different approaches to research and to knowledge translation, therefore reviewers and committees are expected to weight evaluation criteria such as the above differently from one application to another.
Top
How to Apply
Note: This funding opportunity requires the use of CIHR Web Forms to apply for funding.
- A step-by-step overview of CIHR's application processes can be found under How to Apply for Funding.
- The application process for this funding opportunity is comprised of one step: Application. (Updated: 2008-07-29)
- To complete your Application, follow the instructions identified in the Catalyst Grants - Web Forms "Application" Phase Instructions. (Updated: 2008-07-29)
- Reminder to applicants: Please ensure that your application is complete (including all required signatures) and submitted on time to CIHR. Effective September 1, 2008, CIHR will assume no responsibility in following-up with applicants who submit an incomplete application. Incomplete or late applications will not be accepted into the competition.
Additional instructions that must be followed for this funding opportunity:
- In the Research Funding Program section of the Research Module, select "Strategic Initiative" and enter the title of this funding opportunity.
Send the completed registration and application packages by courier to:
RE: "Catalyst Grant - CIHR Research Initiative on Official Language Minority Communities"
Targeted Initiative Branch
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Room 97, 160 Elgin Street
Address locator: 4809A
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0W9
Top
Contact Information
For questions on CIHR funding guidelines, how to apply, and the peer review process contact:
Marilyn Desrosiers
Program Delivery Officer
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Telephone: 613-952-0707
Fax: 613-954-1800
Email: marilyn.desrosiers@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
For questions about this initiative and research objectives contact:
Johanne Lapointe
Team Lead, Strategic Research Initiatives
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Telephone: 613-954-2474
Fax: 613-954-1800
Email: johanne.lapointe@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
Top
|
