Prize: Knowledge Translation (Archived)

(CIHR Knowledge Translation Award)

CIHR Knowledge Translation Branch

Request for Nominations

Important Dates
Opportunity Launched	December 2006
Content Last Updated	(No updates since launch)
May 1, 2007	Full nomination package must be courier stamped by this date
November 30, 2007	Anticipated notification of decision.
December 30, 2007	Anticipated start date.
Value
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. Impact at the national or international level: $100,000. Impact at the local or regional level: $20,000.
Summary
The CIHR Knowledge Translation Award honours and supports individuals, teams or organizations that make an outstanding contribution to the health of Canadians or to the health system through exemplary knowledge translation. Nominated individuals, teams or organizations will be assessed on innovative and significant achievements in knowledge translation activities relevant to any area of health research (e.g., biomedical, clinical, health services and policy, and population and public health). The achievements of the individual(s), team(s) or organization(s) that are recipients of the CIHR Knowledge Translation Award will be celebrated at the annual CIHR Awards Ceremony held in Ottawa each fall.

Table of Contents

Background
Objectives
Eligibility
Allowable Costs
Selection
General CIHR Guidelines
Conditions of Funding
Communications Requirements
Monitoring, Performance Measurement and Evaluation
Nomination Procedure
Contact Information

Background

CIHR invites nominations for Knowledge Translation Awards in several categories: (1) those with an impact at national or international level; (2) those with an impact at local or regional level.

The individual, team or organization that is the recipient of the award in the first category, where the knowledge translation activities have an impact at the national or international level, will receive public recognition and a grant of $100,000. The individual, team or organization that is the recipient of the award in the second category, for knowledge translation activities that have an impact at the local or regional level, will receive public recognition and a grant of $20,000.

Objectives

The aim of the award is to recognize outstanding achievements and excellence in knowledge translation, and to provide financial support to further foster excellence and innovation in knowledge translation activities.

Eligibility

CIHR welcomes nominations for 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.

Candidates may be nominated on more than one occasion provided that they still meet the eligibility requirements. 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. CIHR will not necessarily make an award in each category every year.

Candidates are eligible in one of the following categories if they meet the following requirements:
(Note: applications may not be submitted for consideration in both categories)

International/National:

• 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 nationally and/or internationally.
• The nominee can demonstrate that the KT efforts have been adopted at the national or international level or that the KT activities have resulted in changes and improvements in the health of Canadians and/or health services/products and/or the Canadian health care system (policy or practice) nationally and/or internationally.
• The nominee's KT activities, strategies and evaluation mechanisms have been shown to be, or have the potential to be, generalisable to other provinces across Canada and/or other countries internationally.
• The nominee has established strong partnerships with national/international teams and organizations.

Regional/Local:

• 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 regionally.
• 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.
• 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).
• The nominee's KT efforts and strategies have been successful in influencing or changing local, regional or provincial policy or practice.
• The nominee has formed strong partnerships with other local/regional organizations.

Allowable Costs

These grants are to be used by the KT 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 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.

Selection

Nominations for the CIHR Knowledge Translation Award 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.

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.

General CIHR Guidelines

Prizes awarded will follow the 6">CIHR Guidelines for Grant Programs. Applicants are encouraged to demonstrate the use of Gender and Sex-Based Analysis in applications.

Conditions of Funding

All conditions specified in CIHR General Grants and Awards Policies shall apply to applications funded through this Request for Nominations. 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 recipient 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.

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.

Communications Requirements

Prize 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.

Monitoring, Performance Measurement and Evaluation

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.

Nomination Procedure

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. Nomination form [ PDF (fillable, 104 KB) | PDF (68 KB) | Help ]. This form is to be completed by the person nominating the applicant.

2. Two letters of recommendation: 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 in each award category (national/international or local/regional) 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 2007 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
Email: ljurkovic@cihr-irsc.gc.ca