Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health
In partnership with
Canadian Blood Services

Priority Announcement for the February 2006 Fellowship Competition

Priority Announcements fund highly rated research applications that are determined to be relevant to specific CIHR research priority areas and do not receive funding through CIHR's regular competitions. Applications are submitted through the regular competition noted above.

Table of Content

Partners
Relevant Research Areas
Peer Review Process
Conditions of Funding
How to Apply
Contact Information
Description of Partners

Partners

The Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health (ICRH) is 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 in their strategic research priority areas and to create, where appropriate, opportunities for knowledge exchange and translation related to the scope of these priority areas. Applicants are invited to visit the Descriptions of Partners to find a list of partners and their respective mandates and/or strategic interests. This list will continue to evolve as new partners join. The specific research foci and requirements for each partner are outlined in the section "Relevant Research Areas."

Relevant Research Areas

Canadian Blood Services will provide funding for applications that are determined to be relevant to the research priority area of transfusion science.

Relevance of the applications to the research priorities will be determined in the following manner.

Prior to peer review, the Canadian Blood Services and ICRH will review applications to determine the relevance, or alignment, of the research proposed to the research priority areas and/or mandates described above.

To conduct the relevance review, these representatives will have access to the completed relevance form (see "How to Apply" below), anonymized project titles and summaries, provided that applicants have indicated their consent on the "Applicant Consent Form for Use and Disclosure of Personal Information Provided to CIHR for Peer Review," which is included in the application forms.

Upon completion of peer review, Canadian Blood Services and ICRH will receive the ratings, rankings and peer review committee recommendations on funding level and grant or award term for those applications that 1) are found to be relevant to the specific objectives of the research initiative and the research priority areas described under "Relevant Research Areas"; and 2) are rated within the CIHR fundable range but are not funded through the regular CIHR competition to which they were submitted. 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.

The relevance review occurs apart from the peer review (scientific review) and has no relationship to the results of peer review. Peer review committees will not be informed of applications submitted for funding through this announcement.

Peer Review Process

A CIHR peer review committee will evaluate the full applications. The peer review 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.

Conditions of Funding

All conditions specified in CIHR General Grants and Awards Policies shall apply to applications funded through this Priority Announcement. 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.

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 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.

How to Apply

Applicants are advised to review CIHR's grants and awards policies and guidelines outlined in the CIHR Grants and Awards Guide.

Applications are submitted through the Fellowships - February 2006 competition and will be considered for funding through this priority announcement at the applicant's request.. To select the appropriate application forms, follow the links beside "Fellowships" from the list of Application Packages

Additional Instructions for this Priority Announcement:

• Within the Research Funding Program section of the application web form, select "Priority Announcement," then enter the relevant research area(s) that relate(s) to your application and the title of this Priority Announcement (Fellowships-Transfusion Science) in the spaces provided.
• Complete the Applicant Consent Form for Use and Disclosure of Personal Information Provided to CIHR for Peer Review, which is included in the application form.
• Complete one Relevance Form for each research area identified. Detailed instructions are provided on the Relevance Form [PDF (545 KB) | PDF (311 KB, fillable) | Help ]

Contact Information

For questions about the objectives and relevant research areas:
Elissa Hines Reimer
Assistant Director - Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Telephone: (613) 954-0544
Fax: (613) 954-1800
Email: ehinesreimer@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

For questions related to specific CIHR competitions and programs, including CIHR funding guidelines, how to apply, and the peer review process contact:

Nadia Martino
Program Delivery Coordinator
Research Capacity Development
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Telephone: (613) 946-0088
Fax: (613) 954-1800
Email: nmartino@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

Description of Partners: CIHR Institutes and Partner Organizations

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 Circulatory and Respiratory Health
ICRH supports research into the causes, mechanisms, prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, support systems, and palliation for a wide range of conditions associated with the heart, lung, brain (stroke), blood vessels, blood, [critical care, and sleep].. ICRH works towards international leadership by fostering an environment of extraordinary openness, excitement, energy, commitment and excellence in highly ethical, partnered initiatives focused on research, research training, and research translation for the circulatory and respiratory sciences and for the betterment of the health of Canadians.

Partners:

Canadian Blood Services
Canadian Blood Services is a not-for-profit, charitable organization whose sole mission is to manage the blood and blood products supply for Canadians. To this end, Canadian Blood Services:

1. Collects approximately 840,000 units of blood annually and processes it into the components and products that are administered to thousands of patients each year.
2. Manages the Unrelated Bone Marrow Donor Registry (UBMDR) whose mission is to secure, in an expeditious way, donors for Canadian bone marrow transplant patients and for patients abroad.
3. Screens every donor and tests each unit of blood or blood product collected for a variety of transmissible diseases.
4. Ensures that Canadian transfusion medicine research and development remains at the cutting edge.