Impacts of financial and organizational restructuring of public health webinar Q&A

From the webinar held on November 19, 2019

• My specific question is whether a project in which changes to the organization but NOT the funding of Public health Depart ment (at a regional health agency) could be considered?

  Yes, projects that examine the impact(s) of changes to the organization of public health department would be eligible. A description of types of eligible projects is available online as are the funding opportunity objectives.

• Are the proposals going to be evaluated based on if they meet all the objectives outlined, or is it possible to address a subset of those?

  Proposals are expected to respond to one or more of the funding opportunity objectives. We understand that fully meeting the objectives may not be feasible in a one-year term, nor may it be appropriate to address all the objectives for every project.  We encourage applicants to outline what will be accomplished in the timeline.

• Is it possible to get the PowerPoint presentation?

  For copies of the slides please contact support-soutien@cihr-irsc.gc.ca.

• Previous Catalyst Grant competitions have prioritized funding for those changing research direction or new investigators. Is that not the case with this funding opportunity?

  For this competition there is no prioritization or specific pool of funding available for those changing research directions or for New Investigators.

• Do applicants need to take a broad national or provincial approach, or can it be within one public health unit only?

  Applications that take a broad national or provincial scope and those that focus in on a single public health unit are eligible. A description of types of eligible projects is available online as are the funding opportunity objectives.

• Would exploration of a specific example within public health (e.g., vaccination) be of interest? Or are you looking for projects that span all of public health?

  It is not necessary for a proposed project to address all of public health. A project can focus on specific programs or components of public health.

• Does CIHR provide feedback on the application letter for December 3rd to help determine whether we should actually apply?

  The registration phase is simply administrative and will not be reviewed in order to provide feedback. Please remember that in order to be eligible to be considered in the full application stage you MUST register by December 3, 2019.

• Would examining value for money of a public health program be acceptable, even if there is no immediate concern about disinvestment?

  Yes. The initiative will fund projects that:

  • Examine the impacts of recent and ongoing changes to public health financing, governance and delivery on population-level physical and mental health risk factors, behaviours and outcomes, including the impacts of these changes for health equity and for populations experiencing conditions of marginalization;
  • Measure the impacts of recent and ongoing changes to public health financing, governance and delivery on the healthcare system, including health services access and use, demand on healthcare providers for public health services, utilization of primary and secondary healthcare, and healthcare expenditures;
  • Develop approaches, methodologies or tools to measure real-time population-level changes in health risk factors, behaviours, outcomes and health services use that may be impacted by changes to the financing, governance and delivery of the public health system;
  • Establish data systems and measures that allow for multi-jurisdictional tracking and comparison of public health expenditures over time; and
  • Develop economic data, models, or tools to evaluate the economic impact of changes to the financing, governance and delivery of the public health system.
• Do you welcome trainee funding requests?

  This opportunity is focused on funding research projects. Applications may include trainees, though that is not the focus of the funding opportunity. In addition, the Nominated Principal Applicant (NPA) must be an independent researcher appointed at an eligible institution (see Institutional Eligibility Requirements for eligibility process and associated timelines) at the time of application.

Date modified:

2019-12-12