Innovator Awards

Eligibility

Researchers

• Researchers from any scientific discipline worldwide are eligible for funding.
• Typically, the researchers we fund hold advanced degrees (MD, PhD or the equivalent) and academic positions at universities, medical centers or research institutions.
• Innovator Awards may only have one Principal Investigator, and funding is awarded to their home institution. Additional investigators may be included as Co-Investigators, and the lead institution can create subawards.
• Postdocs are not eligible to apply as a Principal Investigator.
• The Foundation welcomes proposals from Investigators from any scientific discipline who want to apply their work to Inflammatory Bowel Disease. If an applicant has not previously received funding for IBD-related research, it is strongly advised to include collaborators with expertise in IBD.
• All formerly and currently funded Rainin Foundation grantees are eligible to apply for an Innovator Award.
• Investigators may only submit one LOI as a PI, but may be Co-Investigators on multiple proposals.

Institutions

• All nonprofit institutions must be classified as ¿not a private foundation¿ under Section 509(a)(3).
• If a proposal from a nonprofit institution outside of the United States is ultimately recommended for funding, the institution will be required to undergo an Equivalency Determination process. The Rainin Foundation contracts with NGOsource to manage this process. Institutions outside of the United States do not need to provide any documentation during the two-stage application process.
• For-profit institutions must demonstrate that their proposed project furthers the Foundation¿s charitable mission of advancing biomedical research.
• The Foundation may upon occasion make grants to government and public agencies, as well as to independent projects that have a qualified tax-exempt fiscal sponsor.
• Institutions can submit more than one proposal at a time for the same or different Principal Investigator.

Summary

Innovator Awards support individual research projects with grants of up to $150,000 and collaborative projects involving multiple investigators with grants of up to $300,000. Grantees who demonstrate significant progress are eligible for up to two years of additional support.

The Rainin Foundation encourages applications for high-impact basic and translational research projects that use artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), big data analytics and various model systems to deepen our understanding of the mechanisms in IBD and accelerate therapeutic discovery in the field. Collaborative applications between scientists and clinicians in a variety of fields and expertise are highly encouraged, including immunologists, microbiologists, gastroenterologists, molecular biologists and computational biologists.

Overhead

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.

RESOURCES

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

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 LOI
RMS: Creating a Pre-Award Application