Information for Researchers and Administrators
(Awards Guide Sections 2-5)

Mandate

The Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (est. 2003) is the provincial health research granting agency and carries on the work of the Saskatchewan Health Research Board (1979-1992) and the Health Services Utilization and Research Commission (1992-2003). SHRF is accountable to the Minister of Health and the Minister Responsible for Innovation and is governed by a Board of Directors.

SHRF’s vision is “Building a healthy Saskatchewan through health research.” The objectives of SHRF, as outlined in The Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation Act, 2002 are:

to seek and receive funding from governmental and non-governmental sources for the advancement of research;
to encourage and facilitate research into matters associated with the health sciences, the health-related social sciences, and other health-related fields of study;
to assist the Minister of Health to develop, implement and monitor a provincial strategy for health research;
to provide funding to persons and agencies who are conducting or proposing to conduct research projects that are consistent with the provincial strategy; and
to disseminate information to members of health-related professions and to the public respecting the objectives of SHRF, the research that SHRF supports, the results of that research and conclusions drawn from that research.

SHRF is committed to supporting excellent and ethical research and to managing public funds responsibly. SHRF takes many steps to report back to the public and to profile the work we are funding with public dollars, including constant updating of our website, annual reports, electronic newsletters, and promotional activities including Health Research Week and our annual SHRF Santé! Awards Evening.

Scope

All SHRF-funded research must have relevance for human health and is intended to support health research in Saskatchewan. SHRF defines human health research broadly as encompassing biomedical science, clinical research, health services and systems research, and research on the cultural, social, and environmental determinants of population health.

SHRF’s research funding programs are not intended to replace major funding from federal agencies such as the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Rather, they are aimed at stimulating and developing health research activity and capacity, thereby helping Saskatchewan researchers achieve success on the competitive national scene.

SHRF funds only the research and closely related components of projects; specifically SHRF does not pay for overhead or administration of research funding and does not fund any components that aim to develop or deliver health-care service programs. Equipment purchased with grant funds becomes the property of the host institution.

Provincial Health Research Priority Areas

SHRF’s funding programs continue to be aligned with the priority research areas outlined in the provincial Health Research Strategy (Saskatchewan Health, 2004). Accordingly, SHRF places increased emphasis on health research in the following areas:

Health needs of specific populations, with emphasis on Aboriginal people and seniors;
Health systems and policy research, with emphasis on: health human resources; quality improvement; health service delivery in primary care and mental health; and rural and remote health service delivery;
Determinants of health status, including early childhood development and the prevention and underlying causes of chronic and lifestyle-related disease (particularly diabetes, obesity and smoking);
Public health including infectious disease, water safety, and food safety; and
Synchrotron-based health research.

Funds in all SHRF programs are protected for research in priority areas (50% in some and 100% in others - see program descriptions for details).

Access to Information and Protection of Privacy

SHRF is subject to provincial legislation on privacy and access to information, specifically The Local Authority Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. SHRF is committed to openness and transparency and also to protecting the private information and intellectual property of our researchers. A copy of our operational policy in this area is available from our office.

Application Process and Requirements

Preparation

Formatting requirements are outlined in the application forms for each program, which are available on the SHRF website. Only current year application forms will be accepted. These can be found on our website and are updated each year in December to coincide with the release of this Awards Guide.

Determining Eligibility

SHRF determines eligibility of all applications. Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact SHRF with any questions about eligibility prior to submitting an application.

Pre- or Internal Review

Collegial review prior to submission improves the quality of proposals. SHRF requires internal review for all Establishment grants, and all Regional Partnership Program operating grants and new investigator salary awards. SHRF encourages applicants to all other programs to have their applications pre-reviewed prior to submission with special consideration of the feasibility and quality of the research plan and the general organization and readability of the application. Research Services at your institution may offer assistance in this regard.

Signatures

All application forms clearly indicate the required researcher and institutional signatures. The original application must have original (pen-to-paper) signatures since the application constitutes a formal commitment to carry out the research proposed, if funded.

Complete Applications

Applicants must provide all requested information. Applications may be declared ineligible if they are incomplete. Missing signatures, incomplete sections, and missing information all constitute an incomplete application.

Timely Submission

Applications must be submitted by the deadline indicated in the relevant funding program description. Late applications will not be accepted.

Confidentiality

All applications are submitted to SHRF in confidence with personal and proprietary information used only for the purposes for which it is originally gathered, plus related activities necessary to fulfill SHRF’s mandate.

Funding Process

Screening

SHRF undertakes an initial screening to evaluate the applicant’s eligibility and the application’s completeness. Applications that do not meet requirements outlined in Section 3 of this guide may be declared ineligible.

Peer Review

Applications are assessed by panels of experts, who follow peer-review principles and SHRF-established criteria for identifying worthy applications. The panels or committees are constituted appropriately to suit the nature of applications under review and include active health researchers, health professionals and other experts. Each committee is chaired by a respected researcher from a relevant field. New Investigator Establishment Grants are also evaluated by external reviewers selected for their expertise in the proposed field of study. In programs where SHRF is matching or partnering with other funding agencies, peer review may be done by the other agency, so long as SHRF’s requirements are met.

SHRF Peer Review Committees

SHRF has developed Peer Review Committee Guidelines that committee members review and adhere to during review meetings. These Guidelines are available on the SHRF website. SHRF has four review committees:

Review Committee	Focus
Biomedical Establishment Grants	Establishment applications in the biomedical sciences
Biomedical Personnel Awards	Fellowship applications in the biomedical sciences
Socio-Health, Systems, and Clinical Grants and Awards	Establishment and Fellowship applications in socio-health, systems, and clinical areas
Collaborative Grants and Awards	Health Research Group and Saskatchewan Research Chair applications

Criteria

Peer reviewers use the following criteria for evaluating funding proposals:

importance and originality of the proposed research to its field;
quality and feasibility of the research design, according to standards relevant to the field of study;
suitability of the research environment;
potential of the applicant(s) to carry out the work;
general soundness of the overall research plan;
appropriateness of the budget;
adherence to principles of ethical research; and
fit with the purpose and requirements of the funding program.

Rating

SHRF is committed to excellence and will fund only proposals that achieve an overall committee rating of 3.5 or higher on the following 5-point scale:

4.5 – 4.9 Outstanding: highest funding priority
4.0 – 4.4 Excellent: very high funding priority
3.5 – 3.9 Very good: high priority; should be funded
3.0 – 3.4 Good: acceptable, but low priority
2.5 – 2.9 Fair: not acceptable for funding but shows promise
2.0 – 2.4 Poor: needs major revision
< 2.0 Seriously Flawed

Budget Reductions

SHRF review committees look closely at grant application budgets and may recommend a budget reduction based on the fit between a proposed budget and proposed activities.

Funding Recommendations

Postdoctoral Fellowship and Establishment Grant applications are assigned to committees for review based on whether they are in the biomedical sciences, or related to socio-health, health systems, and clinical research. Criteria to further allocate funding within each area are as follows:

Only applications rating 3.5 or higher will be eligible for funding;
50% of competition funds are reserved for research in priority areas;
Where SHRF partners with another agency to support a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship , relevant applications scoring 3.5 or higher will be funded;
Funding will be allocated by score from highest to lowest (only if above 3.5) until funds for the competition are exhausted; and
To ensure applicants have sufficient resources to complete their research as planned, SHRF will only fund whole grants as recommended by the review committee.

For Health Research Group grants, allocation criteria reward excellence while ensuring continuity across Phases of the program. Groups must address research in at least one provincial priority area. Criteria to allocate funding once applications have been rated are as follows:

Only applications rating 3.5 or higher will be eligible for funding;
The top rated application from each Phase will be funded (if 3.5 or higher), in the order of Phase 3, Phase 2, then Phase 1;
Allocation of remaining funds will proceed in the same manner with the second highest scoring application (if 3.5 or higher) from each phase (Phase 3, 2,1) and so on; and
To ensure groups have sufficient resources to support planned group activities, SHRF will only fund whole grants as recommended by the review committee.

Chair awards, criteria to allocate funding once nominations have been rated are as follows:

Nominations must score 3.5 or higher to be funded.

Approvals

The SHRF Board reviews the committee's recommendations and, after ensuring that due process has been followed, approves funding for as many grants/awards as possible given available resources.

Notification

All applicants are notified in writing of the outcome, along with feedback (anonymous) from the peer-reviewers. SHRF does not provide competition results over the telephone. Successful applicants receive an Award Letter that outlines any outstanding terms and conditions of funding.

Acceptance

Once an offer has been made, successful applicants must accept the grant or award in writing using the Notice of Acceptance form provided by SHRF, constituting an acceptance of the terms and conditions for funding. SHRF funds are not released until SHRF receives written acceptance and confirmation that all terms and conditions have been met.

Start dates may be postponed due to illness or parental leave. Applicants should contact the Funding Programs Manager as soon as the need for a postponement to the start date is known.

Orientation

New grant and award holders will be invited to an orientation session in fall of each year, where SHRF staff present information about SHRF, managing research funds, and general expectations. Recipients will also have an opportunity to ask questions of SHRF staff.

Promotion

Once the grant or award is accepted, photographs and project summaries (prepared with the recipient) are posted to SHRF’s website and often used in other promotional materials. In addition, grant and award recipients are showcased at SHRF’s annual Santé Awards Evening, celebrating health research success in Saskatchewan.

Grant and Award Length

SHRF grantees may use a "grace period" of up to nine months following the originally approved grant term to complete their research if:

the grant is eligible for a grace period (see table below);
there are funds remaining in the research account; and
the grant's terms and conditions continue to be met.

Requests to extend some grants beyond the grace period will be considered if:

the grant is eligible for an extension (see table below);
the request is provided in writing at least two (2) months before funds are due to expire (counting the grace period); and
the request describes the reason for, and length of, the extension requested.

SHRF will consider requests for extensions due to professional or personal delays, including, but not exclusive to, unanticipated delays in data collection or purchasing of necessary equipment, parental responsibility, family responsibility or illness; these requests should be made in writing as early as possible after the need is known.

Program	Term	Grace Period	Extension
Establishment Grant	3 years	Yes	Yes
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship-Stipend	2 years	No	No
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship-Allowance	2 years	6 months*	No
Health Research Group Grant–Phase I	Up to 2 years	Yes	Yes
Health Research Group Grant–Phase II	3 years	Yes	Yes
Health Research Group Grant–Phase III	3 years	Yes	Yes
Saskatchewan Research Chair Award–Salary portion	5 years	No	No
Saskatchewan Research Chair Award–Operating portion	5 years	Yes	Yes
Research Connections Grant *see section 6.2 - Allowable Expenses	varies	No	No

Accountability

Compliance

SHRF expects researchers to carry out their research responsibly and to make sound decisions on resource allocation. Researchers must operate in compliance with local, national, and international ethical and legal standards and all applicable policies of their host institution that govern:

management and conduct of research, including safety;
the financial management of research; and
the management of research personnel and students involved in research.

Research undertaken for SHRF grants or awards is also subject to all policies laid out in the SHRF Awards Guide. Where there is neither an existing SHRF policy nor an existing host-institutional policy, researchers are to seek, through their institution’s research administration, appropriate advice and/or a ruling from SHRF.

Releasing Funds

Specific terms and conditions of SHRF funding are outlined in Award Letters to researchers and agreed upon by researchers in their Notice of Acceptance to SHRF. All conditions must be fulfilled before funds are released. Researchers agree via the Notice of Acceptance to allow their employing institution to share with SHRF information related to ethics or safety approvals related to research funded by their grant/award.

Once any outstanding terms and conditions have been met, SHRF sends an Authorization for Funding Form (AFF) to the host institution where the funds will be held and managed in a separate research fund, according to accepted accounting practices for research funds. SHRF pays most research funds to the host institution on a monthly basis, except for Regional Partnership Program grants/awards and Partnerships for Health System Improvement (PHSI) grants, which are paid quarterly.

Continued authorization of funding for SHRF grants and awards and Saskatchewan Research Chairs is based on researchers’ annual reports to SHRF and annual financial reports from host institutions, ensuring that terms and conditions continue to be met. Depending on the nature of the program, funds may be authorized yearly or at the beginning of the grant/award. These monitoring and authorization procedures apply to all existing and new SHRF grants and awards.

Fund Management

Research and financial offices at host institutions are responsible for managing the disbursement of research funds, ensuring timely flow of funds to researchers, and ensuring that expenditures from grants and awards stay within approved budgets and SHRF guidelines for the program.

Researchers are responsible for providing documentation to Financial Services at their institution so that annual and final statements may be prepared for SHRF on a timely basis.

Expenditures

SHRF grants and awards may be used only for expenses incurred during the term of the grant or award. In particular:

i. researchers are to limit spending to authorized amounts, as outlined in the Award Letter;
ii. funds may not be spent or encumbered prior to the commencement of the grant or award, reflected in the start date identified on SHRF’s AFF; and
iii. funds not spent or encumbered by a project’s conclusion will automatically revert to SHRF.

Budget Changes

Research funds are to be spent according to budgets approved during the review and decision process (see individual program descriptions for eligible expenses). It may be necessary to reallocate grant funds between approved categories if the needs or circumstances of the research project have changed. Grantees should contact SHRF if they anticipate significant changes to their objectives that may result in significant changes to their budget.

Researchers should also contact SHRF if they anticipate substantial under-spending and/or inactivity. For SHRF grants of $100,000/year or more, SHRF will take action if 25% of a yearly budget is carried over to the next grant year. This includes contacting the grant or award holder to explore the matter and, if warranted, taking appropriate financial action.

Reporting to SHRF

Researchers are to provide annual and final reports to SHRF (reminders are sent to researchers one month prior to the anniversary of their funding start date). Continued funding depends on submission of satisfactory annual reports. A satisfactory annual report is one that:

i. is provided by the anniversary of a grant or award’s start date;
ii. confirms the terms and conditions of funding continue to be met; and
iii. confirms research is being carried out as described in the application and budget approved for funding by SHRF; or
iv. describes any changes in timelines or objectives for the next year, indicating whether the following grant-year will proceed as outlined in the application, and explaining any changes that would materially affect the research plan set out in the application.

Financial reports (Statements of Account) are prepared by the host institution’s Financial Services on an annual basis, and when the research has been completed. Researchers must review and sign their Statements of Account before they are forwarded to SHRF.

Non-Compliance

SHRF reserves the right to stop funding or research activity at anytime if it determines that researchers are in breach of terms and conditions of funding, as outlined in the Notice of Acceptance signed by the grant/award holder. Examples of a breach include, but are not limited to:

changes in eligibility to hold funds or conduct research; and/or
failure to provide satisfactory annual reports.

Changing or Stopping Funding

Financial actions that may be taken if a grant or award holder is determined by SHRF to be significantly under spent or inactive, or in breach of terms and conditions include: stopping payments temporarily or permanently; stopping access to the research fund; asking the employing institution to stop all research activity; and/or rescinding all or part of the grant or award.

If at any time it is determined that any representation or warranty made by the grantee/supervisor/award holder in the grant application is not true or accurate, or is materially misleading, SHRF may at its discretion terminate the grant.

For SHRF funding programs, continued funding depends on whether, in the fiscal year in which an anniversary date of a grant/award falls, the provincial government shall have provided sufficient funding for SHRF to cover all its budgeted operating expenditures and grant and similar commitments for such fiscal year. Where the funding provided to SHRF is not sufficient to cover such amounts, it is within the discretion of SHRF to determine what funds it might allocate to grants and awards.

Acknowledgement of SHRF funding

Researchers should acknowledge SHRF support in all resulting publications, abstracts, posters, presentations, other dissemination avenues, and applications of their research.

Sharing Health Research

Ensuring that research leads to benefits for health, the health system, and society is important. SHRF strongly encourages researchers to share their work with relevant communities of interest, to publish in high quality journals and to present their findings at conferences. This will ensure that their research is in the public domain, available and accessible for addressing challenging health issues. SHRF encourages all funding recipients to make their research findings publicly available, including publishing in open access forums and other public scholarly venues.

Sharing with Partnering Agencies

Grant and award recipients who receive funding from partnering agencies agree via the Notice of Acceptance to let SHRF share annual and final reports with the Partnering Agency, and to allow the partnering agency to contact the recipient directly for the purposes of knowledge exchange and promotion.

Tips

Grant application writing is both an art and a science. It requires expertise in your area of knowledge and interest, and attention to the content and substance of the proposal. It also has a great deal to do with presentation.

Content tips

Read the Awards Guide carefully. This Guide contains valuable information about each program and contains important information about eligibility and process

Follow the application guidelines and form exactly. Complete all questions and provide all requested materials. Refer to the application checklist to ensure your application is complete and falls within the maximum page limits. Double-check the requirements. Caution: Unanswered questions or incomplete sections may result in delays, or even an ineligible application.

Consult with SHRF staff. If in doubt about eligibility or application requirements, we’d like to hear from you! This may save you a lot of worry and work and could result in a stronger application.

Start preparing early. Nurture your idea. Partner as appropriate. Read the program guidelines and the application form so you are aware of all the requirements and can plan your proposal development accordingly.

Describe the relevance of your work. Explain how the project is important to its field of study and how it will contribute to knowledge development. Reviewers look for evidence that the work is either truly original or, if not, then a necessary replication. Convince the reviewers that your project is worthy of attention and tight resources.

Be clear about the intent of the project. Clearly define the research question(s) and the priorities of the project.

Provide state-of-the-art evidence in the field. Provide a critical, comprehensive and balanced review of the current literature/knowledge base, as well as the relationship of the proposed work to other studies. Be sure to include complete citations. Caution: Be aware that reviewers may look up cited works.

Provide enough details about your research design. Reviewers need to see that you have adequate knowledge of methods and techniques appropriate to your research question. Include sample size calculations, where appropriate. State the statistical tests to be used and explain why they are appropriate. Explain how data are to be analyzed and interpreted. Caution: Avoid generalizations like "appropriate statistical tests will be performed."

Address ethical concerns. Identify any ethical concerns and detail how they will be handled. Those proposing to conduct research with community members, particularly with Aboriginal people, should contact Research Services at your host institution for ethics guidance to ensure studies appropriately address cultural considerations.

Be budget conscious. Reviewers carefully scrutinize budgets. Prepare a budget that is realistic for your project and reflects project needs. Provide an itemized list of the costs according to the expenditure categories allowed. Include a written explanation or justification of why the items listed are needed for the successful completion of the project. Caution: Avoid submitting budgets that are too high or too low!

Highlight anticipated benefits. Consider benefits for human health status, health service delivery, health policy, research capacity and/or charting a path for future research. Describe how research findings will be shared, and with whom, and how resulting new knowledge may be applied or used for future benefit.

Provide an easy-to-read summary. This summary is a crucial component of most SHRF applications. It conveys the intent, method, and potential outcome of your proposed work in a concise, logical manner and is useful in SHRF’s review and promotional activities.

Obtain all the necessary signatures. Know the deadlines of your host institution for providing signatures. Caution: This may take considerable time. Do not leave signatures to the last day before the submission deadline!

Aim for perfection. Proof read carefully for both content and presentation. Have someone else proof read the entire application.

Presentation tips

Avoid unnecessary jargon.
Explain all abbreviations and acronyms.
Use simple, clear terms.
Avoid overly long, complex sentences.
Use headings to break up the text and to guide the reader.
Use visual aids, such as graphs, flow charts and tables, as appropriate.
Use an appropriate font and size (as suggested in the application form).

Information for Researchers and Administrators(Awards Guide Sections 2-5)