3. What is the official launch date / effective date of the new Guide?
November 15, 2019.
4. Why is the CIHR Grants and Awards Guide being replaced?
CIHR has taken the opportunity to redesign the Guide, in order to:
improve clarity and consistency with CIHR’s current funding practices and policies;
improve usability by streamlining and simplifying the layout and,
reduce the need for making revisions and exceptions, by replacing overly prescriptive, program specific rules with more general requirements that can be applied more flexibly across CIHR funding programs.
5. Does the new Guide contain any policy changes or new requirements/restrictions?
No, the new Guide does not impose any new requirements or restrictions.
We anticipate a smooth transition to the new Guide, with no disruptions or negative impact on the research community.
The new Guide aims to improve clarity and usability with a more streamlined and simplified layout.
6. What are the important differences between the CIHR Grants and Awards Guide and the new Application Administration Guide?
Scope: The contents of the new Guide comprise the general requirements and guidelines that pertain to applying to CIHR funding opportunities. Requirements related to the post-award management of CIHR grants and awards are not found in the new Guide, as they are now centralized in harmonized Tri-agency Guides, i.e. the Tri-agency Financial Administration Guide and the Tri-Agency Research Training Award Holder’s Guide.
Requirements: Overly prescriptive rules have been replaced by requirements and responsibilities that are higher-level, to ensure broad applicability across funding programs. Funding opportunities can further restrict the general requirements in the new Guide. As such, the funding opportunity remains the key resource when applying for funding – stating program specific information related to applicant eligibility, funding conditions and how to apply.
Layout: The new Guide aims to improve clarity and usability with a more streamlined and simplified layout. Mandatory requirements are separated from guidelines, which are used to provide additional information and context, to support common understanding of CIHR’s requirements and practices.
Summary of Changes: An overview of each section in the new Guide, as well as a description of changes, as compared to the Grants and Awards Guide, can be found at the following link: Summary of Changes – CIHR Application Administration Guide.
7. Where can I view the summary of changes?
The Summary of Changes is found at the following link: Summary of Changes – CIHR Application Administration Guide. It provides an overview of each section in the new Guide, as well as a description of the changes, as compared to the Grants and Awards Guide.
8. Will any current policies be archived, when the new Guide is launched?
Yes, the following policies will be archived when the new Guide is launched, as they are now reflected into the new Guide:
9. Will the Grants and Awards Guide still be available on the CIHR Website, after the new Guide takes effect?
Once launched, the new Guide will supersede the Grants and Awards Guide. However, the archived pages of the Grants and Awards Guide will still be available on the CIHR website, for a few months after the launch of the new Guide, as a reference document, until all the necessary links have been updated. The archived pages will include a notice about the new Guide and redirect the reader, accordingly.
10. Was the research community consulted on the new Guide?
Yes, the new Guide was developed with input from an external focus group comprised of members of the Canadian Association of Research Administrators (CARA). In addition, CIHR internal and external stakeholders, Scientific Directors, University Delegates and CARA have been informed throughout the renewal project. Most recently in April 2019, a subset of administrators from the institutions piloting the new Principle-based Tri-agency Financial Administration Guide, previewed the new Guide and provided very positive comments about the new layout and higher-level requirements.
11. Meaning of Signatures
The detailed Meaning of Signature bullets in the Grants and Awards Guide are not found in the new Guide. Why were they removed? Do they no longer apply?
The Meaning of Signatures stated in the Grants and Awards Guide were deemed too prescriptive for the new Guide or redundant with the existing consent and submit requirements stated on ResearchNet. Consequently, to align with the new higher-level format of the new Guide, the meaning of signatures bullets have been incorporated into general requirements and responsibilities that can be applied more flexibly. More specific requirements and responsibilities may be specified at the funding opportunity level, to ensure specific program objectives are met.
12. Institution Paid / Administering Institution
The Grants and Awards Guide lists the institution types that are eligible to be the “institution paid” on CIHR funding applications. This list does not appear in the new Guide. Why was this list removed? Does this list no longer apply?
The list of institution types eligible to be the “institution paid” on CIHR funding applications, as stated in the Grants and Awards Guide section 1-D2 Institutional Eligibility Requirements, was deemed too prescriptive. The equivalent section in the new Guide – Part 4 Administration of CIHR Grants and Awards Funds, was redesigned with general eligibility criteria to administer CIHR funds that better reflects CIHR’s current financial practices.
The new Guide refers to “administering institutions”. Is this equivalent to the term “the Institution Paid” that is referenced in the Grants and Awards Guide?
Yes, in the context of a funding application, an administering institution is equivalent to the institution paid. The term administering institution was deemed more appropriate for the new Guide, as it is a more accurate reflection of the role. However, the term institution paid will continue to be used in an operational context, in the application form and in decision documents.
13. Post-award Administration Information
The sections in the Grants and Awards Guide pertaining to the post-award management of grants and awards are not found in the new Guide. Where can this information be found?
Information pertaining to post-award administration instructions for CIHR Salary Awards (i.e. parental leaves, sabbaticals and relocation), can be found on the post-award instructions checklist webpage.
14. Pending Grants and Awards
The Grants and Awards Guide provides information on pending grants and awards. Is there an equivalent section in the new Guide?
Note that the deadline to resolve pending issues is not stipulated explicitly in the new Guide, to align with the higher-level format. In the new Guide, the deadline to resolve pending issues is to be determined on a case-by-case basis and stated in the conditional letter of offer.
15. Applicant Partner Information /Eligible Partner contributions
The sections in the Grants and Awards Guide pertaining to applicant partner eligibility / in-kind/cash contributions, are not found in the new Guide.Where can this information be found?
Refer to the relevant funding opportunity, for applicant partner requirements, conditions and guidelines.
16. Information on Clinical Trials
The section in the Grants and Awards Guide pertaining to clinical trials is not found in the new Guide. Where can this information be found?
17. Science Policy related Information pertaining to international collaborations, gender, sex and health research, knowledge translation
The Collaborations section in the Grants and Awards Guide, which outlines CIHR’s research-based/science policies, i.e. international collaborations, gender, sex and health research, knowledge translation, are not found in the new Guide. Where can this information be found?
The information contained in the Grants and Awards Guide Sections 1- A1 to A4 under Collaborations, i.e. international collaborations, gender, sex and health research, knowledge translation, is available on the CIHR website under the section Collaborations. The new Guide contains a reference to this link in Part 1 About this Guide, Section 1.3 Scope and Applicability.
18. Information on CIHR Themes
The section in the Grants and Awards Guide, which outlines CIHR themes, is not found in the new Guide. Where can this information be found?
The themes (biomedical; clinical; health services; social, cultural, environmental and population health) are also defined in the Glossary of Funding-related Terms.
19. Peer Review Grievances
How can applicants submit a grievance or a complaint about the peer review results of their application?
Applicants should email their review concerns and grievances to support-soutien@cihr-irsc.gc.ca. Any follow-up or further actions on the part of CIHR will be determined on a case-by-case-basis, in accordance with the requirements and conditions stated in Part 7 Peer Review Grievances.