Catalyst Grant: Digital Health (2024)

Eligibility

For an application to be eligible, all the requirements stated below must be met:

1. The Nominated Principal Applicant (NPA) must be:
   1. An independent researcher, or a knowledge user, affiliated with a Canadian postsecondary institution and/or its affiliated institutions (including hospitals, research institutes and other non-profit organizations with a mandate for health research and/or knowledge translation);
      OR
   2. An individual who is affiliated with an Indigenous non-governmental organization in Canada with a research and/or knowledge translation mandate;
      OR
   3. An Indigenous non-governmental organization in Canada with a research and/or knowledge translation mandate.
2. The NPA must have their substantive role in Canada for the duration of the requested grant term.
3. The Institution Paid must be authorized to administer CIHR funds by the funding start date.
4. Any research applications involving Indigenous Peoples (including all applications to the Indigenous Health Research Area) must include at least one Principal Applicant or Co-Applicant who self-identifies as Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit or Métis) and/or provides evidence of having meaningful and culturally safe involvement with Indigenous Peoples (see How to Apply section for more details).
5. For the Early to Mid-Career Research Area, the research must be co-led by an Early- or Mid-Career Researcher and a Patient Partner (individual at any career stage or organization), as follows:
   1. If the NPA is an Early or Mid-Career Researcher, each applicant team must also include at least one (1) Patient Partner of any career stage in the role of PKU or KU
   2. If the NPA is a Patient Partner, each applicant team must also include at least one (1) Early or Mid-Career Researcher in the role of Principal Applicant or Co-Applicant
6. The NPA must have completed at least one of the sex and gender-based analysis training modules available online through CIHR-IMHA and submit a Certificate of Completion for each (see How to Apply section).
7. The NPA must have completed all four modules for Patient Engagement available online through the CIHR-IMHA and have submitted their Certificates of Completions (see How to Apply section).

8. A NPA can submit a maximum of one (1) application under this funding opportunity. If the NPA submits more than one (1) application, CIHR will automatically withdraw the last application(s) submitted based on time-stamp of submission.

   Note: NPAs applying as an ECR or MCR can identify participants (Principal Applicants and/or Co-Applicants) at other levels of seniority (ECRs, MCRs, Senior Researchers).

Summary

This funding opportunity will catalyze discovery in digital health, advance pivotal research, and inform applications or interventions relevant to CIHR-IMHA’s broad mandate areas. This funding opportunity also seeks to benefit the continued integration of technology into healthcare in Canada. These grants are reserved for early and mid-career researchers, and Indigenous Health researchers at any career stage. Patient and/or community engagement as an essential evaluation criterion for these grants, and inclusion of a Knowledge User or Patient Partner as a Principal Applicant or Co-applicant aligns with the Knowledge to Action Framework.

Digital health research that pertains to the CIHR-IMHA mandate includes: SMART devices, wearables, internet of things, remote patient monitoring, clinical application of machine learning, virtual appointments, and addressing the health needs of those who live in remote and rural areas, including the northern regions, particularly given the known geographical health disparities in Canada. The development and scale-up of these tools and services has the potential to address well-established gaps in provision of care and can enhance access to, and efficiency of, healthcare services; strengthen patient-centered care including through greater health literacy relating to personal health data; and better mobilize knowledge between and among researchers, healthcare providers, patients and other knowledge users.

Overhead

n/a

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.

Submission Process:

Full application, plus approvals in RMS, will be required by RSO by noon on November 28, 2024. Please be sure to select "Submitted for approvals" (Under Save & Progress) in RMS in enough time to allow for approvals from your Department Head and/or ADR prior to the internal RSO deadline. Consult your department and faculty for more information on their approval processes and timelines.

Do not submit through ResearchNet until RSO's signature has been granted!! 

Once institutional signature has been obtained, a copy of the CIHR signature page will be available via the RMS record, under Documents. Upload the CIHR signature page and routing slip in the Print/Upload Signature Pages task in ResearchNet by 6:00PM Calgary time on December 1, 2024.

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 Erin.OToole@ucalgary.ca for more information. 

Support for Research Security: 

The Research Security Division is available to offer guidance and support on safeguarding research and ensuring that principles of research security are upheld while conducting leading edge research. Learn more on their webpage or contact researchsecurity@ucalgary.ca.  

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

RMS: Creating a Pre-Award Application