Team Grant: Pan-Canadian Network: Emerging LHS in Perinatal Mental Health

Eligibility

For an application to be eligible, all the requirements stated below must be met and be clearly identified as such in the Participant Table (See How to Apply section):

1. The Nominated Principal Applicant (NPA) must be an independent researcher affiliated with a Canadian post-secondary 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 to administer CIHR funds before the funds can be released.
4. While there is no limit on team size, including the NPA, a maximum of 15 individuals can be identified as key participants. Applicants are strongly encouraged to develop a diverse and equitable team. Note that an individual can fulfill multiple key participant roles as indicated.

Key participants must include:

1. Two additional independent researchers in the role of Principal Applicant (PA). The PAs and NPA must all conduct research in different provinces/territories to ensure national representation in the field of PMH.
2. At least one Early Career Researcher (ECR) must be identified as a PA or NPA. This individual may also fulfill the role of the criteria above or of a Champion (see Eligibility criteria).
3. Four separate PWLLE and caregiver/family perspectives* who have lived and/or living experience relevant to PMH, as Knowledge Users (KUs) to represent PWLLE and caregiver/family perspectives. These individuals may also fulfill the role of a service provider.
   1. two PWLLE and
   2. two Caregiver/Family members.
4. Three service providers* from three different provinces/territories listed as Principal Knowledge Users (PKUs) or KUs, in the context of PMH. Examples of service providers may include, but are not limited to: physicians, midwives, doulas, nurses, occupational therapists, social workers, physiotherapists, psychologists, peer or family support workers, care navigators, and/or Traditional Counsellors, or other health professionals/providers. These team members may also serve as PWLLE and caregiver/family member (see Eligibility criteria) or as a Champion (see Eligibility criteria) according to their participant type (KUs or PKUs)
5. Five separate champions for each of the roles below listed as PAs or PKUs. These team members are expected to coordinate their work with the NPA / Data to Knowledge Champion.
   1. The NPA must also be identified as the Data to Knowledge Champion, given their overall coordinating role in ensuring that data is used to answer questions and generate new and useful knowledge.
   2. A Practice to Data Champion with expertise in clinical data management and/or data science.
   3. A Knowledge to Practice Champion who has experience developing and implementing integrated knowledge mobilization plans, and who has expertise in knowledge mobilization and implementation science.
   4. An Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Champion with expertise in sound EDI practices and principles, including experience in sex and gender-based analysis (SGBA) or gender diversity. See Additional Information for wise practices on including an EDI Champion and defining their potential roles in the network.
   5. An Indigenous Research Champion* 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) in order to:
      1. Prioritize First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples and communities, in leading their research agendas;
      2. Promote cultural safety of Indigenous Peoples and appropriate engagements by researchers working with Indigenous Peoples in meaningful ways to ensure that respectful relations are established;
      3. Add value to the research through the use of Indigenous culturally relevant theoretical and conceptual frameworks, and Indigenous culturally relevant research protocols, including Indigenous methodologies; and
      4. Promote equity and development of trainees, researchers and knowledge users who are of Indigenous ancestry.
6. The NPA and the EDI Champion must have completed one of the sex- and gender-based analysis training modules available online through the CIHR Institute of Gender and Health and have submitted a Certificate of Completion (see How to Apply).
7. A NPA can submit a maximum of 1 application under this funding opportunity. If the NPA submits more than 1 application, CIHR will automatically withdraw any subsequent application(s) based on time-stamp of submission.

Summary

This funding opportunity will support the development of a learning health system (LHS) network in perinatal mental health. The LHS approach integrates research, data, and knowledge for continuous improvement in care to help ensure that the most effective treatments are consistently updated and implemented equitably across Canada. This approach would also enable the rapid translation of research findings into clinical and care practice, providing a mechanism for evaluating program impacts and improving equitable service delivery. Furthermore, this approach would ensure continuous improvement in efficiency and effectiveness of the processes of the LHS. The network is expected to develop an LHS by: (i) collecting and synthesizing data from real-world practice ('practice to data'), (ii) using that data to answer questions and generate new and useful knowledge ('data to knowledge'), and (iii) applying that knowledge to improve care to equitably meet the needs of people with lived/living experience (PWLLE), caregivers/families and communities served ('knowledge to practice'), which includes knowledge mobilization and implementation science.

The specific objectives of this funding opportunity are to:

• Develop a pan-Canadian LHS network for PMH that integrates research, practice, and care to strengthen the implementation of evidence-based practices.
• Enhance equitable and timely access to specialized mental health services for PMH to improve the quality of life for affected individuals and to better reach underserved populations.
• Facilitate multi-site, multidisciplinary research and knowledge mobilization collaborations to generate and disseminate evidence for new treatment options and early intervention/prevention strategies, while also refining and improving existing treatments and models of care for PMH.
• Develop and implement quality indicators for service delivery, access, and outcomes of care for continuous improvement in the field of PMH.
• Support the uptake of common data approaches and open science practices within and across provinces and territories to strengthen the pan-Canadian LHS.
• Create a focal point for collaboration across Canada toward the implementation and evaluation of measurement-based streamlined pathways of “stepped care” by taking an LHS approach to the integration of local community providers with existing specialized PMH programs.

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 September 26, 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 October 1, 2025.

NOTE: This funding opportunity uses the tri-agency CV. This narrative-style CV is more flexible and allows applicants to best highlight their wide range of outputs and expertise. The tri-agency CV allows applicants to capture relevant information, describe their career trajectories in more detail, provide indicators of quality and impact, and provide context to their contributions in a narrative format to help peer reviewers assess their track record. More information on the new CV is available on the tri-agency CV – frequently asked questions page.

RESOURCES

Contact the following Research Service 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