Operating Support Program – Management Action Plan

Management agrees with the recommendation and wishes to ensure understanding that the objective of building Canadian health research capacity is a joint responsibility beyond that of the PGP alone and is also embedded in the Training and Career Support action plan.

CIHR has developed a Management Action plan to address the recommendations in the Training and Career Support Evaluation (TCS MAP). The TCS MAP was approved in the Fall of 2022 and includes activities which will inform and support those within this OSP MAP. The Training and Career Support Framework and Action Plan is intended to address gaps in training and support across all career stages, transitions, and paths. The Framework will define and outline how CIHR will support the achievement of relevant objectives in the CIHR Act, including “the provision of sustained support for scientific careers in health research” across the full spectrum of training and career support mechanisms.

1.a.
Revise the current Project Grant objectives to ensure inclusion of capacity building efforts. The activities outlined in CIHR’s Strategic Plan 2021-2031 Action Plan will provide the evidence necessary to action Recommendation #1.

• To meet the objective in the CIHR act (section (j.), building the capacity of the Canadian health research community through the development of researchers and the provision of sustained support for scientific careers in health research, the revised PGP objectives will be designed to address gaps in training and support across all career stages, transitions and paths.
• Within Priority A of the CIHR strategic plan 2021-2031, CIHR will be developing, implementing, and championing a more inclusive concept of excellence throughout our programs, policies, and peer review.
• Through Priority B, CIHR will conduct a critical review and analysis of CIHR’s approach to funding through its existing suite of investigator-initiated programs.
• This work will also leverage that of the CIHR Training and Career Support Framework and Action Plan and work in concert to ensure coherence across programs, policy, and practice. Timelines have been considered across the two MAPs.

Key activities:

Accountable

• Vice-President, Research Programs, Operation
• Associate Vice-President, Research Programs, Operations

Responsible for action

• Director General, Program Design and Delivery
• Director General, Science Policy

1.a.i. Develop objective
Informed by the CIHR framework for research excellence, the Training and Career Support Framework and Action Plan and the critical review completed by PSC-B in 2022-23, evidence generated will inform the development of an objective outlining the role of capacity building within the Project Grant program.

1.a.ii. Align process
Based on the framework for research excellence, PDD will review existing processes, both internal and those outlining application and peer review specific activities, to ensure alignment of processes within the Project Grant competition to support a capacity building objective. In particular, the peer review criteria designed to evaluate the new objective will be defined.

Management agrees with the recommendation. Numerous improvements have been made on this front since the completion of the evaluation, as outlined below.

• Since Project Grant Fall 2016, equalization measures have been applied to funding decisions for Early career researchers (since Fall 2016), researchers who identify as female (added in Spring 2021) and applications submitted in French (added in Spring 2021).
• Funding decisions related to Indigenous Health Research have been in alignment with CIHR’s commitment to invest 4.6% of its total budget in Indigenous health research.
• CIHR has undertaken other measures (some permanent and others transient) in the program design and delivery to ensure that the diversities of health committees are recognized, acknowledged and accounted for throughout the peer review process. Specifically:
  • expanded eligibility to apply to Project Grant competition to include “individuals affiliated with Indigenous non-governmental organizations in Canada with a research or knowledge translation mandate as Nominated Principal Applicants” (Fall 2020)
  • an Applicant Profile CV (Fall 2020) introduced for non-academic, international, and organization applicants to provide their CVs in a more accessible format to reduce barriers for applicants from outside the academic setting
  • Eligibility to the Early Career Researcher category extended during the height of the COVID – 19 pandemic.
  • Improvements for applications submitted in French including extra 20% more pages for the research proposal (since Fall 2019)
  • COVID-19 impact statement describing effects of the pandemic on their research activities when submitting their applications (Fall 2020 competition)
  • Summary of progress was introduced in Spring 2021 to allow applicants to better contextualize their research achievements and challenges for consideration by reviewers
• Peer review practices have also been shaped by these efforts:
  • peer review committees are supported by two (rather than one) Scientific Officers following successful practice in the Indigenous Health Research Committee.
  • Iterative review of Indigenous Health Research applications
  • learning module developed to raise awareness about and provide strategies for combating possible bias in peer review
  • Reviewer in Training program expanded from the Observer program (Spring 2022)
  • San Francisco Declaration on research Assessment (DORA), considerations integrated into evaluation criteria of Expertise, Experience and Resources criterion
  • slate and mandates of peer review committees reviewed and updated (Spring 2022)
  • the Tri-Agency Interdisciplinary Peer Review Committee was introduced into Project as part of the tri-agency response to recommendations made in the Naylor Report (Fall 2021) with specific review process and according to specialized evaluation criteria
• Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Self-Identification Questionnaire introduced for applicants (Fall 2022), and reviewers (Fall 2022) to assist in understanding where systemic barriers exist, and how to design equitable and inclusive programs.

Accountable

• Vice-President, Research Programs, Operations
• Vice President, Research Programs, Learning Systems
• Associate Vice-President, Research Programs, Operations
• Associate Vice-President, Research – Strategy

Responsible for action

• Director General, Program Design and Delivery
• Director General, Equity Strategy
• Executive Director, College of Reviewers

CIHR needs to improve the monitoring and assessment of activities and investments in investigator-initiated research.

1. CIHR needs to enhance the way performance data is collected related to capacity building (e.g., indirect support of trainees), knowledge translation beyond academia (i.e., informing decision making), collaborations, health impacts, and broad socio-economic impacts to better understand the full impact of grant funding.
2. CIHR needs to revise the current end of grant reporting template and process in order to improve the availability, accuracy, and reliability of the data collected.
3. CIHR should consider additional ways to collect data beyond end of grant reports via interim reporting as well as longer term follow-up to assess impact.

Management agrees with the recommendation.

• In February 2018, the Presidents of the three federal funding agencies agreed to explore the development of a common grants management system. The Tri-Agency Grants Management Solution (TGMS) is envisioned to offer client-facing capabilities, grant Management capabilities and support capabilities. Importantly, submitting reports and amendments, along with evaluation and monitoring and data analytics are part of these integrated capabilities.
• In parallel to TGMS activities, other work has been conducted to find solutions that would support CIHR’s need to measure performance and impact. The Measuring Performance & Impact – External Data Solution (MPIEDS) project seeks to identify and procure a subscription-based, external database(s) to provide the organization with access to the data needed to measure our performance and improve our ability to monitor the impact of CIHR-funded research. The solutions considered to date could address the needs for the following data type: Publications, Policy documents, Patents, Citation scores, publication metrics, International investments, and clinical trials.
• To advance the integration of evidence into health decisions by advancing knowledge mobilization (KM), CIHR is developing a Knowledge Mobilization Framework and Action Plan that will guide CIHR’s future investments and activities in KM.

Accountable

• Associate Vice-President, Research Programs, Operations
• CFO, Finance

Responsible for action

• Director General, Program Design and Delivery
• TGMS Change Management Director, Business Architecture
• Director General, Operations Support
• Director General, Planning, Evaluation and Results