SSHRC-PHAC Joint Partnership Engage Grant: Advancing Socio-Economic Research for Evidence-Informed Public Health Decision-Making

Eligibility

Applicants

Applications can be submitted by an individual researcher or a team of researchers (consisting of 1 applicant and 1 or more co-applicants and/or collaborators).

Applicants must be affiliated with a Canadian postsecondary institution that holds institutional eligibility at the time of application. Researchers who maintain an affiliation with a Canadian postsecondary institution, but whose primary affiliation is with a non-Canadian postsecondary institution, are not eligible for applicant status.

Applicants who have received a SSHRC grant of any type but have failed to submit an achievement report by the deadline specified in their Notice of Award are not eligible to apply for another SSHRC grant until they have submitted the report.

Postdoctoral researchers are eligible to be applicants if they have formally established an affiliation with an eligible institution at the time of application and maintain such an affiliation for the duration of the grant period.

Before applying, postdoctoral researchers must confirm with their institution’s research grants officer that the institution can administer the funding if awarded.

Because this is a special call, individuals who hold a regular PEG are eligible to apply to this grant during the tenure of their current PEG.

Summary

This joint initiative is a partnership between the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) to support research opportunities entitled “Advancing Socio-Economic Research for Evidence-Informed Public Health Decision-Making" The overall goal of this joint initiative is to identify and advance socio-economic research for evidence-informed public health decision-making on selected public health priority topics in Canada. The objectives of the joint initiative include:

• Supporting evidence-informed public health policy making
• Addressing horizontal public health policy needs
• Broadening the understanding of socio-economic impacts of public health interventions
• Examining issues related to data sources, gaps and potential remedial strategies

The joint initiative provides short-term and timely support for partnered research activities that will inform public health decision-making and are grouped under 6 broad categories with specific research themes in each category. Applicants are required to apply to 1 of the 12 specific themes:

Costs and benefits of public health policies/interventions

1. Advance the state of evidence on the return on investment of public health interventions and policies in Canada. This would encompass a holistic public health approach that would not be limited to specific diseases, conditions and/or populations.
2. Explore the association of health and social spending in Canadian jurisdictions with targeted population health outcomes (for example, avoidable mortality, life expectancy at birth, health-adjusted life year, disability-adjusted life year, etc.).

Economic and social impacts of health inequalities

3. Identify the health and social impacts of health inequalities in Canada and explore how have these impacts changed through the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Data gaps and methodologies

4. Explore indirect costs and direct costs of illness and methodologies to overcome data gaps for certain vulnerable populations in Canada, such as Indigenous communities (for example, pre-pandemic, during and post-pandemic).
5. Calculate how hospitalization and physician health care costs have evolved over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic (for example, pre-pandemic, during and post-pandemic).

Applying One Health approaches to examining the social and economic impacts of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)

6. Explore the impacts of investing in AMR initiatives that improve the lives of Canadians.
7. Identify and explore the costs of AMR to the Canadian healthcare system (especially projected savings of preventative measures in healthcare and/or community settings).

Social and economic impacts of climate change on public health

8. Exploring how public health and climate change interventions can be improved by taking a multi-sectoral approach to address the root drivers of climate change or health impacts – Explore upstream factors (for example, market conditions, food security, transportation access, public policy, burden of infectious and chronic illnesses, international regulations, access to health care and services, inequities) that can affect health vulnerability and adaptation, particularly in rural, northern, remote, coastal, or isolated regions.
9. Investigating the influence of climate stressors on increasing the dual and often simultaneous burden of chronic and infectious disease in vulnerable populations, focusing on exploring the socioeconomic determinants of health and adaptation capacity.
10. Integrating social and economic analyses and modeling into climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts: Innovate, improve and/or evaluate approaches that incorporate health and equity considerations into socioeconomic analyses, modeling and forecasting of climate change adaptation and mitigation measures, as well as the costs of inaction and co-benefits of action.

Examining the socio-economic benefits of a One Health approach

11. Explore the return on investment associated with taking a One Health approach to prevent public health risks emerging in humans, animals and their shared environment.
12. Identify synergies and co-benefits between health, animal and environmental actions including activities that innovate, improve and/or better incorporate diverse types of knowledge to prevent or reduce risks emerging at the human, animal, environment interface

In addressing PHAC’s short-term needs for robust evidence in selected public health priority areas, the Joint Initiative will allow PHAC, SSHRC and participant researchers to access each other’s unique knowledge, expertise and capabilities on these topics.

Overhead

Not applicable

Application deadlines

RSO detailed review deadline

RSO final internal review deadline

Program application deadline

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Postdocs, students, and trainees: For fellowships and externally-sponsored research training awards or opportunities, you must complete the Research Funding Application Approval (RFAA) Trainee PDF form, and submit it, along with a complete copy of the application, to Research Services at rsotrainee@ucalgary.ca. Trainees should not use RMS at this time.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via either RMS or the RFAA Trainee form, in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.

Submission Process:

1. Complete your application in the SSHRC online system.  When it is complete, verify and submit so that it advances to the Research Services Office. ***PLEASE NOTE: The SSHRC portal redirects the application to the University of Calgary Research Services; pressing "submit" does not submit the application to SSHRC.
2. To initiate internal approvals, complete the pre-award/application record in RMS (https://research.ucalgary.ca/conduct-research/additional-resources/research-management-system-rms), and attach a download of your complete and final application from the SSHRC online portal.  Please do not attach drafts, Word documents, etc.  Also attach any other relevant documents, including letters confirming financial or in-kind support if applicable.
3. Once complete, click "Save and set status", then select "submitted for approvals", and then select "Save and progress" in order to obtain approvals from your department head and/or faculty Associate Dean (Research). 

   Important: when submitting in RMS, please ensure that you allow time for academic approvals prior to the Research Services review deadline of December 12, 2023 at 12:00pm.       

4. Once these approvals are obtained, RMS will automatically forward the application record to Research Services for institutional review and approval.
5. Research Services will review and provide feedback (by email and via RMS), as necessary. 
6.  Once the application has undergone review and is in its final state, Research Services will obtain Institutional Approval and submit for adjudication by SSHRC through the SSHRC online system.
7. As an optional service, Research Services will perform a full detailed administrative review for any applications received by December 1, 2023 at 4:00pm.  The application must be received by RSO on both RMS and the SSHRC portal to initiate review.

Postdocs: must complete the Research Funding Application Approval (RFAA) Trainee PDF form, and submit it to rsogrants@ucalgary.ca. Also ensure that your application is submitted on the SSHRC portal.