Project Grant: Spring 2022 results

405 grants funded, $325M total investment, 2 bridge grants

The Project Grants: Spring 2022 competition has approved 405 research grants, plus 2 bridge grants, for a total investment of approximately $325MFootnote 1.

In addition, 61 priority announcement grants were funded for a total amount of $10,779,207 and 16 supplemental prizes were awarded for a total of $1,060,000.

The 405 grants approved were awarded to 391 individual nominated principal investigators (14 NPIs were awarded two grants). Of the 405 grants, 113 were awarded to early career researchers, and 9 were awarded for Indigenous health research projects.

The average grant size/duration is approximately $802,319 over 4.43 years.

Streamlining

Only a portion of the Project Grant applications submitted to a competition will ultimately be funded. It is therefore important for peer review committee members to focus their discussions on the most competitive applications to ensure an accurate comparative evaluation. To help support this goal, a streamlining process is used to remove applications that will not be funded from the discussion process, thereby allowing committee members more time to judge and discriminate between potentially successful applications.

A total of 1051 applications, representing 50.2% of all submitted applications, were streamlined in this competition. Additional details are provided in the tables below.

Province Number of applications submitted Number of applications streamlined Percent of applications streamlined Change from historical (% streamlined) Number of applications discussed Percent of applications discussed Change from historical (% discussed)
British Columbia 251 114 45.4% +6.8pp 137 54.6% -6.8pp
Alberta 221 109 49.3% +7.9pp 112 50.7% -7.9pp
Saskatchewan 41 24 58.5% +1.5pp 17 41.5% -1.5pp
Manitoba 52 33 63.5% +13.5pp 19 36.5% -13.5pp
Ontario 905 442 48.8% +8.0pp 463 51.2% -8.0pp
Québec 568 295 51.9% +11.1pp 273 48.1% -11.1pp
New Brunswick 5 3 60.0% +6.9pp 2 40.0% -6.9pp
Nova Scotia 39 24 61.5% +16.7pp 15 38.5% -16.7pp
Newfoundland and Labrador 13 7 53.8% -2.5pp 6 46.2% +2.5pp
Total 2095 1051 50.2% +8.7pp 1044 49.8% -8.7pp
Application Breakdown Number of applications submitted Number of applications streamlined Percent of applications streamlined Change from historical (% streamlined) Number of applications discussed Percent of applications discussed Change from historical (% discussed)
Early career researchers (ECRs) 580 312 53.8% +8.6pp 268 46.2% -8.6pp
Mid-career researchers 729 383 52.5% +12.2pp 346 47.5% -12.2pp
Senior researchers 777 351 45.2% +5.1pp 426 54.8% -5.1pp
Knowledge Users 7 4 57.1% -0.6pp 3 42.9% +0.6pp
Unknown career stage 2 1 50.0% +7.1pp 1 50.0% -7.1pp
Integrated KT 417 223 53.5% +11.2pp 194 46.5% -11.2pp
Researchers who identify as female 774 402 51.9% +11.8pp 372 48.1% -11.8pp
Indigenous Health 21 3 14.3% +8.3pp 18 85.7% -8.3pp
Submitted in French 25 15 60.0% +18.8pp 10 40.0% -18.8pp
Biomedical 1216 607 49.9% +8.5pp 609 50.1% -8.5pp
Clinical 458 241 52.6% +10.7pp 217 47.4% -10.7pp
Health systems/services 203 112 55.2% +13.3pp 91 44.8% -13.3pp
Social/Cultural/Environmental/Population Health 212 89 42.0% +1.9pp 123 58.0% -1.9pp

Geographic breakdown

Province Number of applications submitted Percent of total applications submitted Change from historical (% applications) Number of applications funded Percent of applications funded Change from historical (% funded) Province-specific success rate* Average grant amount Median grant amount
British Columbia 251 12.0% +0.8pp 57 14.1% +2.0pp 22.7% $808,405 $822,375
Alberta 221 10.5% +0.0pp 47 11.6% +0.4pp 21.3% $742,913 $753,525
Saskatchewan 41 2.0% +0.4pp 6 1.5% +0.4pp 14.6% $902,700 $912,262
Manitoba 52 2.5% -0.4pp 5 1.2% -1.4pp 9.6% $1,376,847 $719,100
Ontario 905 43.2% +1.2pp 172 42.5% +1.5pp 19.0% $820,486 $797,512
Québec 568 27.1% -1.6pp 108 26.7% -2.6pp 19.0% $777,436 $830,025
New Brunswick 5 0.2% +0.0pp 0 0.0% -0.1pp 0.0% $0 $0
Nova Scotia 39 1.9% -0.2pp 7 1.7% -0.3pp 17.9% $690,686 $596,700
Newfoundland and Labrador 13 0.6% -0.1pp 3 0.7% +0.2pp 23.1% $573,750 $753,525
Total 2095 100.0% 0.0pp 405 100.0% 0.0pp 19.3% $802,319 $807,075
*The success rate does not include priority announcements or bridge grants.

Note: The applications that were approved conditionally will not appear in the detailed funding decisions database until the conditions have been resolved.

Additional details

Competition results by category
Category Number of applications submitted Percent of total applications submitted Change from historical (% application) Number of applications funded Percent of applications funded Change from historical (% funded) Category-specific success rate* Average grant amount Median grant amount
Early career researchers (ECRs) 580 27.7% +4.0pp 113 27.9% +0.4pp 19.5% $693,322 $665,550
Mid-career investigators 729 34.8% -6.3pp 117 28.9% -11.8pp 16.0% $752,365 $757,350
Senior investigators 777 37.1% +2.1pp 172 42.5% +7.3pp 22.1% $903,221 $902,700
Knowledge Users 7 0.3% +0.1pp 3 0.7% +0.6pp 42.9% $1,071,000 $1,013,625
Unknown career stage 2 0.1% +0.1pp 0 0.0% -0.1pp 0.0% $0 $0
Integrated KT 417 19.9% -0.3pp 78 19.3% -0.6pp 18.7% $773,124 $671,288
Investigators who identify as female 774 36.9% +1.5pp 150 37.0% -0.2pp 19.4% $757,972 $734,400
Indigenous Health 21 1.0% -0.1pp 9 2.2% -1.2pp 42.9% $1,186,418 $1,013,625
Submitted in French 25 1.2% -0.1pp 5 1.2% +0.2pp 20.0% $390,915 $401,625
Biomedical 1216 58.0% -2.6pp 242 59.8%

-1.3pp

 19.9% $865,363 $879,750
Clinical 458 21.9% +1.4pp 77 19.0% -0.1pp 16.8% $768,884 $577,575
Health systems/services 203 9.7% +0.6pp 38 9.4% +0.2pp 18.7% $555,089 $510,638
Social / Cultural / Environmental / Population Health 212 10.1% +0.6pp 47 11.6% +1.0pp 22.2% $736,748 $497,250
*The success rate does not include priority announcements or bridge grants.
Foundation grant holders

Foundation grant holders

This is the third Project competition that could be applied to by Foundation Grant holders, specifically grant holders from the 2014 and 2015 Foundation Grant competitions. There were 117 applications from current and former Foundation Grant holders coming from 89 unique applicants. There were 42 funded grants awarded to 39 unique Foundation Grant holders.

Panel Number of unique Foundation Grant holders awarded grants
BCA 1
BSB 1
BSC 1
C2 1
CA2 1
CBT 2
CIA 1
CID 1
CPT 4
CSA 2
CSB 1
DOL 2
G 3
GMX 3
IT 4
MID 1
MOV 1
MPI 1
NSA 1
NSB 1
PS 1
PT 1
RS 1
Total 40
Foundation grant holder application pressure

Foundation grant holder application pressure

Figure A: Proportion of applications

Figure A: Long description
PRC Proportion of applications from Foundation grant holders (%) Number of Foundation grant holder applications
BMA 17.6 3
NSB 8.7 4
IT 8.5 4
CSB 8.3 2
NSA 8.3 5
CSA 8 2
VVP 6.8 3
C2 6.1 2
CPT 6.1 2
CT2 5.6 2
MCC 5.4 2
BMB 5.3 1
PS 4.8 2
GMX 4.5 2
CIB 4 1
PH2 3.8 2
BSC 2.7 1
CBT 2.6 1
CIA 2.5 1
PT 2.4 1
RC1 2.4 1
MPI 2.4 1
G 2.2 1
MID 2.2 1
BSB 2.2 1
BCA 2 1
BE2 0 0
BME 0 0
BS2 0 0
BSA 0 0
CA2 0 0
CB1 0 0
CB2 0 0
CBB 0 0
CBC 0 0
CHI 0 0
CIC 0 0
CID 0 0
CMZ 0 0
CSC 0 0
DEV 0 0
DOL 0 0
GSH 0 0
HDK 0 0
HLE 0 0
HPM 0 0
HS1 0 0
HS2 0 0
HS3 0 0
IHR 0 0
KTR 0 0
MOV 0 0
NUT 0 0
PB1 0 0
PH1 0 0
RC2 0 0
RS 0 0
SDA 0 0
TIR 0 0

Figure B: Proportion of fully funded grants

Figure B: Long description
PRC Proportion of fully funded grants awarded to Foundation grant holders (%) Number of fully funded Foundation grant holders
BMA 0 0
NSB 22.2 2
IT 33.3 3
CSB 25 1
NSA 20 2
CSA 25 1
VVP 0 0
C2 16.7 1
CPT 14.3 1
CT2 0 0
MCC 0 0
BMB 0 0
PS 12.5 1
GMX 11.1 1
CIB 0 0
PH2 0 0
BSC 16.7 1
CBT 14.3 1
CIA 0 0
PT 14.3 1
RC1 0 0
MPI 0 0
G 12.5 1
MID 11.1 1
BSB 11.1 1
BCA 0 0
BE2 0 0
BME 0 0
BS2 0 0
BSA 0 0
CA2 0 0
CB1 0 0
CB2 0 0
CBB 0 0
CBC 0 0
CHI 0 0
CIC 0 0
CID 0 0
CMZ 0 0
CSC 0 0
DEV 0 0
DOL 0 0
GSH 0 0
HDK 0 0
HLE 0 0
HPM 0 0
HS1 0 0
HS2 0 0
HS3 0 0
IHR 0 0
KTR 0 0
MOV 0 0
NUT 0 0
PB1 0 0
PH1 0 0
RC2 0 0
RS 0 0
SDA 0 0
TIR 0 0
Past Foundation grant holder application pressure

Past Foundation grant holder application pressure

Figure A: Proportion of applications

Figure A: Long description
PRC Proportion of applications from past Foundation grant holders (%) Number of past Foundation grant holder applications
BMA 0 0
NSB 8.7 4
IT 12.8 6
CSB 4.2 1
NSA 5 3
CSA 12 3
VVP 6.8 3
C2 0 0
CPT 15.2 5
CT2 2.8 1
MCC 0 0
BMB 0 0
PS 0 0
GMX 6.8 3
CIB 0 0
PH2 3.8 2
BSC 0 0
CBT 10.5 4
CIA 2.5 1
PT 2.4 1
RC1 0 0
MPI 2.4 1
G 11.1 5
MID 4.4 2
BSB 0 0
BCA 6 3
BE2 3.2 1
BME 0 0
BS2 2.6 1
BSA 0 0
CA2 3.3 1
CB1 3.6 1
CB2 0 0
CBB 0 0
CBC 0 0
CHI 0 0
CIC 0 0
CID 2.3 1
CMZ 4 1
CSC 10 3
DEV 0 0
DOL 13.8 4
GSH 0 0
HDK 3 1
HLE 0 0
HPM 0 0
HS1 0 0
HS2 0 0
HS3 0 0
IHR 0 0
KTR 0 0
MOV 2 1
NUT 0 0
PB1 0 0
PH1 1.6 1
RC2 2.1 1
RS 9.4 3
SDA 0 0
TIR 0 0

Figure B: Proportion of fully funded grants

Figure B: Long description
PRC Proportion of fully funded grants awarded to past Foundation grant holders (%) Number of fully funded past Foundation grant holders
BMA 0 0
NSB 11.1 1
IT 33.3 3
CSB 0 0
NSA 0 0
CSA 25 1
VVP 0 0
C2 0 0
CPT 42.9 3
CT2 0 0
MCC 0 0
BMB 0 0
PS 0 0
GMX 22.2 2
CIB 0 0
PH2 0 0
BSC 0 0
CBT 14.3 1
CIA 14.3 1
PT 14.3 1
RC1 0 0
MPI 12.5 1
G 25 2
MID 0 0
BSB 0 0
BCA 11.1 1
BE2 0 0
BME 0 0
BS2 0 0
BSA 0 0
CA2 16.7 1
CB1 0 0
CB2 0 0
CBB 0 0
CBC 0 0
CHI 0 0
CIC 0 0
CID 12.5 1
CMZ 0 0
CSC 0 0
DEV 0 0
DOL 33.3 2
GSH 0 0
HDK 0 0
HLE 0 0
HPM 0 0
HS1 0 0
HS2 0 0
HS3 0 0
IHR 0 0
KTR 0 0
MOV 10 1
NUT 0 0
PB1 0 0
PH1 0 0
RC2 0 0
RS 16.7 1
SDA 0 0
TIR 0 0

Large grants awarded

Large grants are defined as being in the top 2% of total requested grant value within a competition. In this competition, the cutoff for large grants was $2,555,000. A total of 42 applications fell into this category. A budget of $16.25M was available to fund those applications that are not from the Indigenous Health Research (IHR) panel. Large grants from the IHR panel are funded by IHR funds.

Large grants awarded
Category Number of applications submitted Percent of total applications submitted Number of applications funded Percent of applications funded Success rate* Average grant amount Maximum grant amount
All large grants 42 2.0% 7 1.7% 16.7% $2,749,047 $4,475,250
Non-IHR large grants 39 1.9% 5 1.3% 12.8% $2,973,833 $4,475,250
*The success rate does not include priority announcements or bridge grants.

Equalization

In order to ensure equal representation of certain demographics in the funded projects, we equalize the success rates for these groups. That means that the proportion of funded grants awarded to these groups is at least equal to the proportion of applications from these groups.

Early Career Researchers

The success rate for early career researchers (ECRs) is equalized. This means that the proportion of ECRs funded will not be less than the proportion of ECR applicants to the competition. This equalization is for the competition as a whole, not by committee.

The total number of fully funded projects for applicants in this career stage went from 92 (before equalization) to 113 (after equalization).

Indigenous Health Research

Based on the recommendation of the review committee, 9 Indigenous health research projects were awarded funding. CIHR is proud to support these projects as part of its commitment to invest 4.6% of its annual budget in Indigenous health research.

French applications

The success rate for applications submitted in French is equalized. This means that the proportion of French applications funded will not be less than the proportion of French applications to the competition. This equalization is for the competition as a whole, not by committee.

The total number of fully funded projects for applications in French went from 4 (before equalization) to 5 (after equalization).

Female applicants

The success rate for female applicants is equalized. This means that the proportion of female applicants funded will not be less than the proportion of female applicants to the competition. This equalization is for the competition as a whole, not by committee.

The total number of fully funded projects from female applicants went from 128 (before equalization) to 150 (after equalization).

Bridge Grants and Priority Announcements

In addition to the 405 fully funded grants there were also 2 Bridge Grants totaling $200,000. There were 61 Priority Announcement grants funded for a total of $10,779,207 as well as 16 supplemental prizes for a total of $1,060,000.

Budget Size and Project Length

Category Average total budget Change from historical (total budget) Average duration (years) Change from historical (duration) Average annual amount Change from historical (annual amount)
All Requests $1,012,301 +$78,471 4.30 +0.03 $231,921 +$17,881
Funded applications (requested) $1,074,222 +$75,029 4.44 +0.04 $236,923 +$14,056
Funded applications (awarded) $802,319 +$58,624 4.43 +0.04 $177,365 +$10,798

Peer Review

Details about the Project Grant: Spring 2022 peer review participants are available separately.

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