Project Grant: Spring 2025

Eligibility

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

1. The Nominated Principal Applicant (NPA) must be one of the following:

   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) at the time of funding.

      • if the NPA 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/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 before the funding can be released.
4. Principal Applicants must be independent researchers or knowledge users (inclusion of one or more Principal Applicants is optional). Individuals in the principal applicant role may not be a trainee or be in a subordinate position (i.e. directed or supervised by another), with respect to the subject matter of the proposed research/activities.
5. Co-Applicants can be one of the following (inclusion of one or more is optional):
   1. independent researchers;
   2. knowledge users;
   3. trainees;
   4. other.
6. 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 (see How to Apply). You must select and complete the training module most applicable to your research project. For additional information on sex, gender and health research, applicants are encouraged to review the "How to integrate sex and gender in research" section on the CIHR website.
7. An individual or an organization cannot submit more than two Project Grant applications per competition as a Nominated Principal Applicant. If the Nominated Principal Applicant submits more than two applications, CIHR will automatically withdraw the last application(s) submitted based on time-stamp of submission.
8. Applicants must comply with CIHR's Policy on Identical / Essentially Identical Applications.
9. Individuals who hold a Foundation Grant in the role of Program Leader are eligible to apply to the Project Grant competition in the role of Nominated Principal Applicant or Principal Applicant only 18 months prior to their grant expiry date. Please contact CIHR if you have questions about your eligibility.

Note: Inclusion within the ECR cohort is based on the ECR eligibility status of the Nominated Principal Applicant, at the application deadline.

Summary

The Project Grant program is designed to capture ideas with the greatest potential for important advances in fundamental or applied health-related knowledge, health care, health systems, and/or health outcomes by supporting projects of research proposed and conducted by individual researchers or groups of researchers in all areas of health. The best ideas may stem from new, incremental, innovative, and/or high-risk lines of inquiry or knowledge translation approaches.

Research Areas

The Project Grant program is open to applicants in all areas of health research that are aligned with the CIHR mandate: "To excel, according to internationally accepted standards of scientific excellence, in the creation of new knowledge and its translation into improved health for Canadians, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened Canadian health care system".

The Project Grant program is expected to:

• Support a diverse portfolio of health-related research and knowledge translation proposals at any stage, from discovery to application, including commercialization;
• Promote relevant collaborations across disciplines, professions, and sectors; and
• Contribute to the creation and use of health-related knowledge.

Overhead

N/A

Pre-application deadlines

RSO internal deadline

Pre-application program deadline

Application deadlines

RSO detailed review deadline

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.

Priority Announcements (PAs) offer additional sources of funding for highly rated applications that are relevant to specific research areas. Frequently Asked Questions provide additional information on the PA program. (PAs for Spring 2025 TBD)

CIHR will be hosting webinars to support participants with the requirements of this funding opportunity and to answer questions on how to apply.

Webinar sessions TBD.

Submission Process:

**New Mandatory Research Security Requirements for CIHR Project Grants** 

CIHR has implemented mandatory research security requirements for the Project Grant Competition. These requirements must be completed prior to submission of your application.

To ensure requirements are met, all nominated principal applicants MUST complete the following questionnaire prior to 5:00pm February 10, 2025. The questionnaire will take approximately 5 minutes to complete.

Applicants from ALL FACULTIES: Complete Questionnaire (pending)

Registration

Complete Registration through ResearchNet by 6:00pm (Calgary time) February 5, 2025. Once the registration has been submitted, applicants will have the ability to complete the full application. No submission through RMS is required at registration stage. 

Full Application

1. Complete your application in the CIHR ResearchNet portal. Once the application is complete (including required attachments and your CCV), verify each section, and then press "Submit"; your application will be sent to the Research Services Office. Please ensure your application is final and complete; Research Services will not review drafts, and, once received, your application may be submitted to CIHR without further notice. The final internal deadline for submission is 9:00am on Monday, March 3, 2025.
2. Complete the Pre-Award/Application record in RMS and attach the complete PDF Preview of your RNet application. Select “Submit for academic approvals” (Under Save & Progress) in enough 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. Ensure you receive all required approvals in advance of 9:00am on Monday, March 3, 2025. 
3. Research Services Office submits the application through ResearchNet by the agency deadline of 6:00pm (Calgary time) on March 5, 2025. 

• Your application will not be considered submitted and will not be reviewed until both the application is submitted in the ResearchNet and the RMS Approvals have been received.
• The final deadline of 9:00 am on March 3 is a hard deadline. This deadline ensures that RSO is able to complete a basic review of the application and secure institutional signature in a timely fashion.

As an optional service, if you would like a detailed review, RSO must receive your complete RMS approvals record and CIHR ResearchNet application by 4:00pm on February 19, 2025.

• The detailed review includes checking for eligibility and UofC commitments and risk, compliance with program guidelines, completeness of application, and the opportunity for feedback to improve the application.
• The basic administrative review involves a minimal check of the application for eligibility and any UofC commitment or risk.

RESOURCES

Checklists to be added once competition is formally launched on ResearchNet.

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 Application