Operating Grant: Pandemic Research Platforms Interim Funding

Eligibility

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 knowledge translation) at the time of funding.

      • If the Nominated Principal Applicant is a knowledge user, there must be at least one Principal Applicant who is an independent researcher.

      OR

   2. an individual affiliated with an Indigenous non-governmental organization in Canada with a research and knowledge translation mandate.

      OR

   3. an Indigenous non-governmental organization in Canada with a research and 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. For applications that include or involve First Nations, Inuit, and/or Métis communities, the research team must include:
   1. At least one Principal Applicant (may be the NPA) who self-identifies as First Nations, Inuit or Métis and/or provides evidence of having meaningful and culturally safe involvement with Indigenous Peoples. These applicant(s) are required to complete the Indigenous Health Research Cultural Safety form. See the How to Apply section for more details; and
   2. An Indigenous Elder and/or an Indigenous Knowledge Keeper, an Indigenous patient or person with lived/living experience, or an Indigenous service provider identified on the application in any role*.
5. The NPA must have successfully completed one of the sex- and gender-based analysis training modules available online through the CIHR Institute of Gender and Health and submit a Certificate of Completion. Select and complete the training module most applicable to your project. Applicants are encouraged to review the “How to integrate sex and gender in research” section on the CIHR website. See How to Apply section for more details.

* Note: Elders and/or Indigenous Knowledge Keepers may participate on an application in a Collaborator role without the need to secure a CIHR PIN. Follow the instructions in the How to Apply section that pertain to Collaborators and indicate their role in the participant table. Elders and/or Indigenous Knowledge Keepers' contributions to the proposed activities and their meaningful engagement must also be captured in the research proposal to address the points outlined in the evaluation criteria. Please note that names of Collaborators do not appear in CIHR funding decision databases and documents.

Summary

The Centre for Research on Pandemic Preparedness and Health Emergencies (CRPPHE) is housed at CIHR with a mandate to grow Canada's research leadership in preparedness, prevention, response, and recovery from pandemics and other public health emergencies, including by building and supporting Canadian research capacity in the field.

This funding opportunity serves as the first commitment under the Investment Plan Strategy #1: “Maintain readiness by supporting major investments” and aims to prevent the loss of key pandemic and public health emergency infrastructure by supporting existing research platforms and enabling rapid activation of said platforms in emergency scenarios, such that critical research evidence for Canada’s ongoing pandemic response needs will continue to be available.

Scope

• For the purpose of this funding opportunity:
  • Research platform is defined as a group or network of researchers undertaking and promoting interdisciplinary, collaborative research; and building a centralized core of expertise and resources (e.g., cohort, biobanks, databanks, tools, methodologies); and undertaking knowledge generation and mobilization in a thematic area extending beyond a single, time-limited project.
  • Extramural is defined as outside of federal, provincial, or territorial government departments and agencies and refers to the primary appointment/affiliation of the Nominated Principal Applicant and Principal Applicants, and their host institutions.
• Research platforms applying to this opportunity must already exist and:
  • Have primary functions of both knowledge generation and knowledge mobilization;
  • Have extramural leadership with pre-existing relationships with decision-makers and other knowledge users;
  • Demonstrate capacity to engage researchers, decision-makers and other knowledge users (including community-based groups as appropriate) from multiple jurisdictions – both domestic and international; and
  • Have research platform objectives and functions that play a relevant role in preparing for, or responding to, pandemics or other health emergencies.
• Research platforms with funding that extends into/throughout the duration of funding available through this opportunity must demonstrate the need for additional support. See the How to Apply section for more information.
• While they are required to have an extramural Nominated Principal Investigator, research platforms that support intramural-extramural collaboration are encouraged for this funding opportunity.

Overhead

N/A

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.

Submission Process:

The LOI package, plus approval in RMS will be required by RSO by noon on December 2, 2024. Please be sure to select "Submitted for approvals" (Under Save & Progress) in RMS in good time to allow for approvals from your Department Head and/or ADR prior to the Research Services 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, the NPA will receive an automated message from RMS to their ucalgary email address. The CIHR signature page can then be accessed in RMS. Upload the CIHR signature page including the routing slip in the Print/Upload Signature Pages task in ResearchNet by 6:00PM Calgary time on December 5, 2024. 

Full application, plus approvals in RMS, will be required by RSO by noon on January 30, 2025. 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, the NPA will receive an automated message from RMS to their ucalgary email address. 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 February 4, 2025.

Webinar

CIHR hosted the following webinar to support participants with the requirements of this funding opportunity and to answer questions on how to apply.

When: Delivered on November 8, 2024

Slides will be added soon!

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 Mobilization, Research Impact Assessment, DORA: 

Support for knowledge mobilization/engagement/translation, community partnerships, research impact, responsible research assessment (DORA),  writing a Most Significant Contributions statement for the CV and open science, 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 edi.rso@ucalgary.ca for more information. 

Support for Research Security: 

The Research Security Division is available to ensure researchers adhere to research security guidelines and policies, including the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships (NSGRP) and the 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

RMS: Creating a Pre-Award Application