Canadian Blood Services 2024 Blood Efficiency Accelerator Program

Eligibility

Primary Applicant: The Primary Applicant must be affiliated with a Canadian academic institution as a faculty member or with Canadian Blood Services. The Primary Applicant is responsible for submitting the application, delivering the project as approved, and reporting on project progress to CBS.
Team composition: All project teams require at least one CBS employee. All project team members must have a defined role in the project, and their expertise must be clearly required to adequately address project goals.
 

Summary

The objective of CBS's Blood Efficiency Accelerator Program is to improve the efficient and appropriate utilization of blood products, while maintaining the safety of the blood system. To achieve this objective, the competitive Program will support innovative research projects that seek new knowledge or accelerate the application of existing knowledge. In the context of this competition, blood products are defined as therapeutic products derived from the donation of blood or blood components and includes red blood cell and platelet concentrates, plasma and plasma derivatives (including plasma protein products), and hematopoietic stem cells (including those derived from cord blood). Improvements can be made at any point from vein to vein, i.e., from the point of blood collection, through the processing, distribution, and blood banking processes, to clinical utilization. Projects with a defined knowledge translation strategy to accelerate the uptake of the study findings or of existing knowledge by the knowledge user group will also be prioritized.

Submission Instructions

1. Complete application as instructed by the agency. Application form available here.
2. To initiate internal approvals, complete the Pre-Award/Application record in RMS (https://research.ucalgary.ca/conduct-research/additional-resources/resea...), attach your completed Application, and submit for 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 12:00pm on July 26, 2024
3. Once these approvals are obtained, RMS will automatically forward the Application record to Research Services for institutional review and approval.
4. Research Services will review, provide feedback (by email) if necessary, and will provide the institutional approval. RSO will provide the capping institutional signature (if required) and will advise when ready (all other required signatures should be in place when submitting to RSO).
5. Full Applications, including any supplementary documentation, should be submitted to the agency via email by 11:59PM Mountain time July 31, 2024.

Overhead

Not applicable

Application deadlines

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.

RESOURCES 

Support for projects involving Indigenous Research: 

Support with the development of your grant application is available through the Indigenous Research Support Team (IRST). Applicants can reach out by email to IRST at IRST@ucalgary.ca in advance of the RSO internal deadline. For more information about IRST, please visit the IRST webpage. 

Support for Knowledge Engagement: 

Support for knowledge mobilization/engagement/translation, community partnerships, and responsible research assessment (DORA) is available through the Knowledge Engagement Team. Applicants can reach out by email to the KE team at knowledge.engagement@ucalgary.ca. For more information, please visit the KE team webpage. 

Support for Research Data Management: 

For information on research data management plans, processes, or best practices for your research program, please contact research.data@ucalgary.ca OR research.data@ucalgary.libanswers.com. 

Support for EDI in Research: 

RSO can provide resources and support to research teams on the integration of equitable and inclusive practices in research design and research practice. Contact Jaya.Dixit@ucalgary.ca for more information. 

Support for Research Security: 

The Research Security Division is available to assist researchers adhere to research security guidelines and policies, including the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships (NSGRP) and the new policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC). Visit the Research Security website to learn more or contact researchsecurity@ucalgary.ca.  

Reminder: The sooner the researcher engages with RSO units, the more help we can be!