MSI Foundation Research Grant 2025

Eligibility

Principal Investigator (PI):

• Must be a novice or emerging Alberta investigator with no more than five years research experience.
• PIs who do not hold a regular university appointment should normally have a co-applicant with such an appointment.
• Preference will be given to PIs who do not already hold external salary awards for research or major research grants.
• Post-doctoral fellows and graduate students are not eligible.

Projects:

• Must focus on health services or population health research in Alberta. The description of these two research areas outlined by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) will be used. Please see the links from CIHR http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/13787.html and http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/13948.html. Studies that involve health investigators and populations beyond the cities of Edmonton and Calgary, including rural Alberta, are encouraged.
• Must involve a user of research as a co-applicant (e.g. health service or population health manager or decision maker, practitioner group).
• PIs are strongly encouraged to include people with lived experience on the research team.

Summary

The MSI Foundation is a research granting charitable organization which has supported more than 300 investigators over the past 50 years, many of whom have made significant contributions to health research in the province of Alberta. For the 2025 year, the Board of Trustees will continue to support novice or emerging investigators in the field of health services and population health research (similar to CIHR pillar 3 or 4). Projects also require a co-applicant who is a user of research. The Foundation is committing $300,000 to $350,000 per year to this initiative. The value of an award is up to $50,000.00 per year for a maximum of two years.

Program Resources

• Call for Letters of Intent (LOIs)
• LOI Guidelines
• LOI Form

Submission Process

There is a two-stage process consisting of a Letter of Intent (LOI) and Full Application, which is by invitation only. Both stages of this competition will be part of the Research Management System (RMS), and approvals will be obtained electronically. Research Funding Application Approvals (RFAA) forms are not required as approvals are collected electronically in RMS.

1. Letter of Intent (LOI)

The LOI, plus approval in the Research Management System (RMS) using a Pre-Award/Letter of Intent record, must be submitted to RSO by October 28, 2024 at 12:00 pm. Please be sure to select 'Submitted for approval' (under Save & Progress) in RMS in good time to allow for approvals from your Department Head and/or ADR prior to the RSO internal deadline. Consult your department and faculty for more information on their approval processes and timelines.

Once you have received RSO approval, you must submit the LOI by October 31, 2024.

2. Full Application (by invitation only)

The Full Application, plus approval in the Research Management System (RMS) using a Pre-Award/Application record,* must be submitted to RSO by February 25, 2025 at 12:00 pm. Please be sure to select 'Submitted for approval' (under Save & Progress) in RMS in good time to allow for approvals from your Department Head and/or ADR prior to the RSO internal deadline. Consult your department and faculty for more information on their approval processes and timelines.

*Creation of a new Pre-Award/Application record in RMS is not necessary. You can automatically generate an Application record from the existing LOI record by changing the status of the LOI record to 'Invited to full application' (under Save & Progress).

Do not submit to the agency until RSO's approval has been granted in RMS. Once this institutional approval has been obtained, the Principal Investigator will receive an automated message from RMS to their @ucalgary email address. You can then proceed with submitting your application via by February 28, 2025.

Overhead

Not applicable. The MSI Foundation does not permit overhead.

Pre-application deadlines

RSO internal deadline

Pre-application program deadline

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 to Impact Team. Applicants can reach out by email to the KI team at knowledge.impact@ucalgary.ca. For more information, please visit the KI 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! 

RMS: 

Creating a Pre-Award LOI

Creating a Pre-Award Application (do not create a new Application record if you have an existing LOI record for the same competition)