Recruit Peer Review Committee Members

CIHR invites members of the health research community to join specific Peer Review Committees (PRCs), based on their area(s) of expertise. For standing (recurring) PRCs, each member generally serves a 3-year term to ensure consistency and continuity in the review process.

Roles of PRC members include:

For more information on the roles of committee members:

Selecting Peer Review Committee Members

Peer Review Committee (PRC) members are selected based on their quality as reviewers, expertise and excellence as researchers. CIHR's Program Delivery staff have the final authority for selecting PRC members. Potential members are identified and prioritized in consultation with many sources, including:

  • CIHR Institute staff
  • The strategic lead(s) for the funding opportunity
  • The PRC Chair and Scientific Officer
  • Research institution administrators
  • Applicants

For standing Peer Review Committees, membership selection must take into account current PRC members who have completed their mandate as well as any expertise gaps on the committee.

CIHR extends invitations to individuals based on the priority-ranked list of proposed PRC members; pending refusals, further consultations may be required.

For more information, please see Procedure for Selection of Peer Review Committee Members.

Membership Criteria

Individual Peer Review Committee members should:

  • Demonstrate research excellence
  • Possess the qualities of a good referee
  • Demonstrate breadth of knowledge
  • Demonstrate maturity of judgment
  • Be able to make the time commitment required

Chairs and Scientific Officers should:

  • Have recognized stature within the Canadian health research community
  • Complement each other in terms of expertise and institutional affiliation
  • Be able to make the time commitment required
  • Demonstrate the characteristics of leadership and diligence
  • Demonstrate effective communications skills
  • Note: The committee Chair and/or Scientific Officer should be able to read both English and French

Membership of the Peer Review Committee as a whole should:

  • Cover the range of research areas and relevant methodologies that fall within the committee mandate
  • Represent the health research themes appropriate to the committee mandate
  • Provide the ability to review in both English and French
  • Minimize conflict of interest
  • Address the need for turnover of committee members on standing committees
  • Allow for adequate regional representation
  • Provide appropriate representation by gender

For more information, please see Criteria for Membership on Peer Review Committees.

Peer Review Committee Membership Lists

For a full list of PRC members, please see Peer Review Committee Membership Lists.