Observer Program: participation from 2017 to 2020

Note: The Reviewer in Training (RiT) program replaced the Observer program. For more information on the RiT program and other capacity development programs, please visit the Reviewer Pathway.

Up until spring 2021, CIHR offered an Observer program for Early Career Researchers (ECRs) to participate as an observer in the peer review process of the Project Grant Program. This program represented an opportunity for ECRs to observe face-to-face peer review committee meetings and gain valuable insights on the review process. As you can see in the table below, the program has always been in high demand:

Application pressure by committee

Each applicant may select up to two Project Grant Program committees to participate on. Successful applicants are chosen by random lottery, which we believe is a fair approach given the high demand to the program.

It is important to note that as grant application pressure rises in Project Grant Program committees, they may split in two resulting in additional opportunities on these newly formed committees. The table below lists the application pressure and number of participants by committee of the three most recent Observer program competitions:

Date modified:

2021-08-27