CIHR Ethics Performance Measurement Report March 2018

Introduction and Executive Summary

This is the third Ethics Performance Measurement (PM) Report prepared by CIHR. This report is framed by the CIHR Ethics Action Plan, and it details the results of the performance indicators set out in the Ethics PM Strategy as endorsed by the CIHR Standing Committee on Ethics (SCE).

Why is CIHR measuring its performance in ethics?

CIHR has a legislated mandate to:

CIHR developed an Ethics Action Plan which CIHR’s SCE finalized and approved in January 2015.

An Ethics PM Strategy was subsequently developed with the advice and endorsement of the CIHR SCE to measure progress in meeting CIHR’s commitments under the Action Plan.

The Ethics PM Strategy was refreshed and streamlined in 2018 to align with CIHR’s Departmental Results Framework and Treasury Board Secretariat policies.

CIHR’s Ethics Action Plan has six priorities:

What applications and publications do we track?

Relevance to ethics

  • Long description
    • Ethics
    • Socio-cultural factors related to ethics
    • Law

What are some key results?

Relating to Ethics Action Plan commitments to:

Performance:

In 2017-2018:

Relating to the Ethics Action Plan commitment to:

Performance:

Expenditure amounts since 2015 are shown in the table below.

Fiscal year
(April
to
March)
Primary Focus
Ethics Law Socio-cultural factors related to ethics
$ in millions % of CIHR total $ in millions % of CIHR total $ in millions % of CIHR total
2017-2018 2.35 .23 .69 .07 13.30 1.28
2016-2017 2.64 .26 .69 .07 16.02 1.56
2015-2016 3.59 .37 .56 .06 16.17 1.66

Examples of funded research exploring ethical, legal, or socio-cultural aspects of health and health research:

  • The Role of Metis Women Kinship Systems in Achieving Family, Community and Land Wellness. Janice Cindy Gaudet. University of Alberta.
  • Ethics, Efficiency and Patient Burden in Drug Development. Jonathan Kimmelman, McGill University
  • Filling the Void: Public engagement around a new model for access to research resources. Kimberlyn McGrail, University of British Columbia.
  • Legalization of Recreational Cannabis Use in Canada: A knowledge synthesis. Mark Eisenberg, Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research (Montreal).

Relating to the Ethics Action Plan commitment to:

Performance:

Summary

CIHR is committed to supporting and promoting health research that meets the highest international standards of excellence and ethics. The agency continues to monitor ethics and related content within its governance and advisory structures; its leadership activities at the national level; and its investments in ethics-related grants and awards. At present, ethics representation within the agency is a demonstrable strength. Ethics research is a small part of CIHR’s overall investments, but still has influence in academic, decision-making and policy-setting spheres.

For a copy of the full report, please direct all inquiries to the CIHR Contact Centre. Officers are available Monday to Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET.

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