Funding, News and Announcements

Hi all,

Following are brief highlights from the March CIHR University Delegates teleconference:

2018 Federal Budget

University Delegates (UDs) were provided a summary of 2018 Federal budget implications as they relate to CIHR funding programs and to broader Tri-Agencies initiatives in which CIHR has a stake. The full presentation can be found here. As you are no doubt already aware, the news is generally quite positive, with more unrestricted money designated to flow into investigator-initiated (discovery-based) research that will hopefully improve upon historically low success rates. There will also be increased investments in the Canada Research Chair program, though the focus apparently is in creating more Chairs as opposed to increasing the individual values of these Chairs; it’s worth noting that there has been no increase in these values (to account for inflation, etc.) since the program’s inception in 2000. There are still many fine details to work out, including how the new “Tri-Agency Fund” to support international, interdisciplinary, and high-risk research will be implemented, but suffice to say that things are moving in a more positive direction.

Important changes are also coming to CIHR governance, with revisions being made to the CIHR Act. Of particular note is the plan to separate the functions of the President from those of the Chair of CIHR Governing Council, a “best practices in organizational governance” approach that was much overdue (NSERC and SSHRC had made these changes some 10 years ago).  

CIHR Updates

CIHR has launched the 2018 Institute Advisory Boards (IABs) membership renewal, with the deadline for applications April 9, 2018. More information is available on the CIHR website.

No word yet on who will be the next CIHR President, though CIHR is saying that this appointed is expected to be made by the end of the fiscal year (March 31).

CIHR has promised a document very soon describing in some detail how funding decisions are made. Stay tuned!

Project Grant Update

CIHR received 3144 registered applications, approximately 20% less than that in the Fall 2017 competition. Based on historical drop-offs, they are anticipating approximately 2900 full application submissions. With this in mind, CIHR is now looking at 57 Panels for this competition rather than the 64 initially considered; several panels that were split to handle application pressure in the last competition (eg., Immunology) will remain as single panels for the Spring 2018 competition. All of the Panel Chairs have been recruited, and there are now commitments from 104 Scientific Officers (SOs); CIHR will be looking to ensure that there are 2 SOs per Panel. Panel meetings are expected to take place from May 15^th to June 15^th. Webinars for reviewers will be commencing in March.

University Delegates sought clarification on the funding start date of October 1 for this Spring Competition, given that the previous Spring competition had a start date (July 1) that preceded the Notice of Decision. Indeed, CIHR will be adopting a regular funding cycle, with the Fall competition (August registration; September application) having an April 1 funding start date, and the Spring competition (February registration; March application) committing to an October funding start date. Currently, $225M is still being allocated for this competition, but we can likely expect to see an increase commensurate with 2018 Federal budget commitments.

Foundation Grant Update

Not much to report here. Of the 187 applicants invited to Stage 2, 163 applications were received. CIHR has completed draft assignments and are awaiting validation by the 20 Competition Chairs, who will be overseeing adjudication from early March to mid-April. Stage 2 notification status is expected at the end of April. There is still no word yet on any planned changes to the Foundation program resulting from working group discussions, though UDs are expecting to receive an update at the face-to-face UD meeting scheduled at the end of April.

Strategic Updates

CIHR provided a number of updates on several pending strategic program competitions, including initiatives involving Lyme disease, Child and Youth Health, and Indigenous Health. Please review the Funding Opportunities link under ResearchNet. CIHR also provided an overview of results from the most recent (January / February 2018) strategic competitions.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Regards,

Mark Filiaggi
CIHR University Delegate
Associate Vice-President Research
filiaggi@dal.ca
(902) 494-7102