Notice of Upcoming Funding Opportunity for a Pan-Canadian Single Research Ethics Review Initiative
This funding opportunity is now available on ResearchNet.
Introduction
This is a notice of an upcoming funding opportunity that will replace the cancelled Pan-Canadian Single Research Ethics Review Initiative directed grant funding opportunity. After the launch of the directed grant opportunity in April 2026, CIHR received information that at least one other actor in the Canadian research ecosystem felt able to address all the objectives of the funding opportunity and therefore be competitive for the funding. As a result, the decision was taken to cancel the directed grant funding opportunity and re-issue the opportunity as an open competition in which the objectives and application requirements will, for the most part, remain unchanged.
Overview
This upcoming funding opportunity will provide support for one team to implement an efficient, high-quality, and sustainable research ethics review system for multi-site, multi-jurisdictional clinical trials in Canada. The initiative is expected to include as many jurisdictions as possible and work within the federated Canadian system, in order to reduce duplication, improve coordination, enable faster and more consistent trial activation across the country, and maintain Canada's competitiveness in clinical research.
The objective of this funding opportunity is to:
- Strengthen Canada's clinical trial ecosystem and infrastructure, and position Canada as a competitive destination for global clinical trials by fostering the implementation of an efficient, high-quality, and sustainable research ethics review system for multi-site, multi-jurisdictional clinical trials in Canada, regardless of sponsor and source of funding, that:
- Operates as a pan-Canadian system, accessible across all jurisdictions, subject to any local legislative or policy-related considerations; and
- Is designed to avoid duplication of ethics reviews that are not anticipated to provide additional protections for research participants in accordance with the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS); and
- Provides for alternative approaches, as needed, through collaborative engagement, to establish a federated model that will work with the constraints of jurisdictional processes and legislation where applicable.
Funds Available
The total amount available for this funding opportunity is anticipated to be $5,000,000 over up to 29 months, enough to fund approximately 1 grant.
Anticipated Timelines
These timelines are estimates and subject to change
Launch: Late July 2026
Application Deadline: Late August 2026
Funding Start Date: November 1, 2026
The official CIHR funding opportunity will be posted on ResearchNet in the coming weeks.
For a full list of CIHR funding opportunities, please visit ResearchNet.
Contact Information
CIHR Contact Centre at 613-954-1968 or support-soutien@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
Disclaimer: The information contained herein is anticipatory only and does not represent an official funding commitment by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Accordingly, the information, contained herein may differ from the official funding opportunity that will be published on ResearchNet.
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