Canada Postdoctoral Research Award (CPRA) program - Application instructions

Identify, at a minimum, a Nominated Principal Applicant (NPA) and a Primary Supervisor. You must identify this individual in the role of "Primary Supervisor" under this task, or else, the task will remain "Incomplete".

• An additional supervisor (if applicable) may be identified in the role of "Supervisor". Consult the funding opportunity and the CIHR Application Administration Guide for more information.

Note: For the purpose of this funding opportunity, the Nominated Principal Applicant must not hold an open-ended academic position as an independent researcher (in which the holder can form a research group, apply for externally funded research as a principal investigator, and teach).

Applicants should refer their selected sponsors to the Information for Sponsors web page for useful tips. A sample of the "Sponsor's Assessment of a candidate for a Fellowships" form can be found in the Index of Funding Related Forms and is available for information purposes only.

This section collects information on the two sponsors who will provide an assessment of the applicant. These assessments should come from people under whom the applicant has trained and/or who have had a good opportunity to assess their potential for research. It is at the discretion of applicants to choose people they would like to seek an assessment from, keeping in mind that there is no opportunity within the application to provide a justification for their choices.

• Applicants must enter the sponsors' names and contact information within their application, update the Assessment Required Deadline Date (if applicable) and press on "Save and Send Sponsor Request". Sponsors will then receive two emails:
  • The first email is to notify them of a request to complete a sponsor assessment.
  • The second email provides the link that the sponsors need to access in order to complete and submit the electronic form. The deadline for submission is indicated within the form.

Important: Applicants are responsible for managing the deadline by which sponsors must submit their assessments. By default, the Sponsor Assessment Required deadline in ResearchNet is set for two days before the application deadline. However, applicants can adjust this to any date prior to the application deadline.

• The assessment form must be completed and submitted online prior to the Assessment Required Deadline Date and be written in English or French. Once an assessment is submitted, it will automatically be attached to the application.
• It is the applicant's responsibility to follow up with sponsors to ensure the assessments are submitted prior to the deadline date and therefore ensure the application completeness. Only after all sponsors have submitted their assessments will this task be marked as complete in your ResearchNet Application Task List. Applicants do not have access to the content of the assessment submitted by sponsors. However, applicants may follow the status of the assessment directly under this section and are encouraged to follow up with the sponsors if the task is not completed shortly before the deadline.
• If one (or both) of the sponsor assessments are not attached to the application, the application will be deemed incomplete and cannot be submitted. Only once all sections of the application have been completed (including the submission of both sponsors) will the submit button be available. Incomplete applications will not be accepted.

These assessments are considered confidential and are governed by the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, and the content of the assessment submitted by the sponsors cannot be seen by applicants during the competition. Upon request, the applicant will have a right of access to the content of the sponsor's assessment following publication of the results.

Note: Any documents exceeding page limits will be removed prior to peer review with no notice to the applicant (this includes additional unrequested documents or information). Documents listed below must each be uploaded as separate PDF documents (unprotected) not exceeding 30 MB.

Other

Label documents below as indicated in bold when uploading into ResearchNet.

1. "CPRA - Status and Confirmation of Scientific Area" - Mandatory (Maximum 1 page)

   • Applicants must download and complete the CPRA - Status and Confirmation of Scientific Area [ PDF (188 KB) ] form, and attach it as part of their application.
   • The form must be signed by the proposed Primary Supervisor or Co-Supervisor (if applicable). Detailed instructions are indicated on the form.

2. "CPRA - Fulfillment of degree requirements" - Mandatory (Maximum 1 page)

   • Applicants must download the CPRA - Fulfillment of Degree Requirements [ PDF (70 KB) ] form. and attach as part of their application once completed by the institution that issued or will issue the doctorate or health professional degree. Detailed instructions are indicated on the form.

3. "SGBA+ Certificate" - Mandatory (Maximum 1 page)

   • Applicants must complete one of the Sex- and Gender-Based Analysis (SGBA) training modules available online throught the CIHR Institute of Gender and Health that applies to the research project and attach the Certificate of completion to the application.
   • The certificate is issued as a protected document; however, in order to attach the document to the application, you must download an unprotected PDF copy, either by a screenshot or by scanning the document.

4. "Proof of Citizenship" – Mandatory (Maximum 1 page)

   • Applicants must attach valid proof of Citizenship (must be valid as of the application deadline).
   • Use the naming convention based on your citizenship's status (as identified under Identify Participant task) "Canadian Citizen Confirmation", "Permanent Resident Confirmation", "Protected Person Confirmation" or "International Confirmation"
   • The following forms of documentation are acceptable:
     • Certificate of Canadian Citizenship;
     • Birth certificate/ copy of an act issued by the proper provincial government authority;
     • Valid passport;
     • Permanent Resident Card;
     • Form IMM 1000;
     • Form IMM 5292;
     • Form IMM 5688;
     • Letter received indicating a positive decision from the Immigration and Refugee Board;
     • Verification of Status (VOS) document with positive Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) decision from IRCC;
     • Temporary Resident Permit if you are a Protected Temporary Resident.
     • For International applicants only: An equivalent valid document indicating your citizenship will be accepted such as passport, birth certificate, study visa or work permit (must be valid as of the application deadline).

CPRA – Indigenous Attestation Form – Optional (Maximum 1 page)

First Nation, Inuk (Inuit), or Métis (Indigenous) applicants whose nations or communities are located in Canada are eligible to be considered for designated funding to support Indigenous researchers. If you are Indigenous and would like to be considered for this funding, complete the fillable PDF form available on ResearchNet under this task. Once you have completed the fillable PDF form, you must save it and upload it onto ResearchNet.

Priority Announcements/Funding Pools offer additional sources of funding for highly rated and competitive applications that are relevant to priority areas or mandates of specific CIHR Institutes, Initiatives and/or Partners.

For requirements on individual Priority Announcements/Funding Pools, please refer to the "Research Area" and "How to Apply" section of the Priority Announcements Funding Opportunity.

• Applicants may apply to up to three Priority Announcements, if relevant to their research proposal.
• For each selected Priority Announcement, a text box will appear in which applicants are to provide a justification (in one half-page) describing how the proposed project meets the requirements.
• The information must be self-contained.
• The justification will be used to determine relevance for each Priority Announcement selected.
• Only selected Priority Announcement(s) at time of submission will be considered by CIHR.

The signature page must be downloaded only after, at a minimum, the following information has been entered in the application:

• Name of Applicant
• Name of Primary Supervisor and/or co-supervisor (if applicable)
• Project Title
• Institution Paid
• Primary location where research to be conducted (Research Institution)

Once the information above has been entered, download the signature page, as one PDF (Unprotected and not exceeding 30 MB), in the "Print/Upload Signature Pages" which is found on ResearchNet under this task, and follow the instructions below, knowing that printed names should always accompany signatures:

• Only supervisor(s) signatures are required
• No institutional signatures are required on the pages at the time of application.
• The Research Office at the institution will electronically approve and forward the application to CIHR (applicable only if proposed research is in Canada).

Scan and upload the signed signature pages in the Print/Upload Signature Pages task in ResearchNet prior to submitting the application.

Applicants must review all components of the application. If a section is incomplete, the missing information must be provided to successfully submit the application.

The applicant is responsible for ensuring that the information provided is complete and that it conforms to the application requirements. ResearchNet does not validate the content of uploaded documents.

Note: Applicants cannot preview their CCV information through ResearchNet. They must verify the information directly on the CCV portal.

Applicants must agree to the general conditions and consent to disclosure of personal information terms, presented on ResearchNet, before submitting the application to CIHR.

Once every task is complete, including consent section, the applicants must review the terms listed and respond to the questions regarding consent in order to submit their application.

Applicants must click Submit to send the application. The application will be sent to the Institution Paid, if following the e-approval process, or directly to CIHR if not.

It is highly recommended that applicants submit their application well ahead of the CIHR deadline or the institution internal deadline, whichever comes first. Many institutions have internal deadlines for receipt of applications ahead of the CIHR deadline, and applicants are to confirm with their institution what the internal deadline is.

Application Submission Confirmation Email

If the applicant has performed this task correctly, they will receive the following confirmation email(s):

With e-approval

If the institution where the award is to be held participates in the e-approval process (i.e., all Canadian Institutions), the applicant will receive two confirmation emails:

• The first when the Institution Paid (participating in the e-approval process) receives the application, and
• A second once the application has been submitted by the Institution Paid to CIHR.

Without e-approval (Direct Submission)

If the institution where the award is to be held does not participate in the e-approval process (i.e., institutions outside Canada), the applicant will receive one confirmation email once the application has been submitted to CIHR.

Note: This confirmation email does not validate that the applicant used the correct channel of application submission (direct to CIHR or to a Canadian institution).