Operating Grant: Summer Program in Aging – Planning Grant

Eligibility

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

1. The Nominated Principal Applicant must be an independent researcher, at the time of application, who is 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 mobilization).
2. The NPA must have their substantive role in Canada for the duration of the requested grant term.
3. The Institution Paid receives and administers the funds on behalf of the NPA and therefore must be authorized by CIHR before the funds can be released.
4. If the Institution Paid is not on the List of CIHR Eligible Institutions, they are encouraged to contact the Contact Centre, in advance, to enquire about the authorization process and timelines.
5. The applicant 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; or
   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*.
6. The Nominated Principal Applicant must have successfully completed one of the sex- and gender-based analysis training modules available online through the CIHR Institute of Gender and Health.
   1. Select and complete the training module most applicable to the program and submit the Certificate of Completion. See How to Apply for more details.
   2. Applicants are encouraged to review the "How to integrate sex and gender in research" section on the CIHR website.

Summary

The intent of this funding opportunity is to identify a host for the 2026 CIHR Institute of Aging Summer Program in Aging (SPA).

The SPA 2026 strategic topic area will be: Impact of climate change on the health of older persons as this has been identified by CIHR-IA as a growing area in need of capacity building and research.

The CIHR-IA Summer Program in Aging (SPA) is an intensive 5-day capacity-building program with the aim of providing graduate trainees with advanced training that crosses disciplines, offers networking opportunities, and disseminates best practices in research. SPA has been held yearly across Canada since 2006 with a different strategic theme each year.

The SPA curriculum offers an important training opportunity for approximately forty Canadian trainees in the area of aging to have exposure to learn from, and network with leaders in the field of research on aging. In addition, SPA is an important networking opportunity that encourages knowledge exchange with fellow trainees, speakers, mentors, and older persons. SPA hosts are especially encouraged to incorporate persons with lived and experience in the program.

SPA also represents an opportunity to advance international partnerships and to increase exposure of Canadian trainees to international networks of prospective collaboration. As in previous years, the SPA 2026 host will be encouraged to involve international partners, and/or speakers and mentors.

The SPA host will be responsible for coordination and management of all logistics related to the successful implementation of the SPA program.

This includes:

• hiring of planning staff
• production of all SPA training materials (either physical or digital)
• for mentors and speakers: transportation, accommodation, and all meals
• for trainees*: transportation to and from the nearest airport to the SPA venue, accommodation, all meals

*Transportation expenses for forty SPA 2026 trainees will be supported through a separate CIHR travel award

SPA 2026 will be the twentieth anniversary of the CIHR-IA Summer Program in Aging. As such, the 2026 program will include a symposium entitled ‘Impact of the CIHR-IA Summer Program in Aging and the evolution of research on aging in Canada.' Additional funds have been added to the SPA 2026 host grant for this purpose.

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 April 10, 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, 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 April 15, 2025.

RESOURCES

Reminder: The sooner the researcher engages with Research Services, the more help we can be! 

 
Contact the following Research Services units for support with: 

 Projects Involving Indigenous Research: 

Support with incorporating wise practices in Indigenous research, community engagement, and Indigenous data management 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. 

Knowledge Mobilization, Research Impact Assessment, DORA:  
Support for knowledge mobilization/engagement/translation, community partnerships, research impact, responsible research assessment (DORA), 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 and access to resource archives, please visit the KI team webpage. 

Research Data Management: 

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

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. 

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.  

Pre-Award Submissions: 

RMS: Creating a Pre-Award Application