Health Research Group Grants

The Health Research Group Grant Program provides support for groups of talented productive researchers developing and carrying out plans for high-quality health research, knowledge translation, and capacity-building at a level of productivity that would not be possible from individual researchers working on their own. The program supports groups of researchers who comprise an appropriate range of talent, experience and perspectives for tackling complex health issues of importance to Saskatchewan.

This program combines elements from SHRF’s previous Research Group Development and Health Research Team Grant programs into a staged approach for facilitating the development, operation, and ongoing sustainability of highly productive and competitive health research groups in Saskatchewan.

SHRF’s goal is to support and sustain a select number of health research groups that demonstrate both ongoing excellence and relevance. The groups are a critical component of a vibrant health research enterprise in Saskatchewan, enhancing capacity to produce and share new knowledge that contributes to improved health and health-care.

The program has three phases that constitute a continuum of group development and maturation. Therefore, SHRF generally expects continuity in a group’s membership across the phases, recognizing that some shift is inevitable. While researchers will continue to contribute to various research partnerships and projects, SHRF expects researchers who are members of a SHRF Health Research Group to make it a major commitment, or primary affiliation, and allows researchers to be a member of only one SHRF Health Research Group at any given time. This is to ensure a strong core membership, committed to the group’s long-term vision and plans.

Phase One

Purpose

The purpose of Phase One is to support the formation and early development of health research groups that have the potential to evolve into highly productive and sustainable research groups capable of moving to Phase Two and securing major competitive funding.

Scope

Research supported must be in a field of human health research, defined broadly as encompassing biomedical science, clinical research, health services and systems research, and research on the cultural, social and environmental determinants of population health. Groups must be doing research in at least one of the provincial health research priority areas, as defined in the provincial Health Research Strategy.

Important Dates

Application Deadline:     4:30pm, October 1, 2012
Funding Decisions by:    December 15, 2012
Funding Start Date:       January 2013 – April 2013 (first of a month)

Funding

The program is offered annually, subject to availability of funding. The grant:

may be up to $30,000 total over up to 2 years (normally $15,000 in Year 1 and $15,000 in Year 2);
must be matched by financial commitments from the members’ home institution(s), where the SHRF portion comprises no more than 50% of the total support package; and
is non-renewable.

Allowable Expenses

Allowable expenses are those necessary to carry out the proposed plan and not provided through other means. They may include:

holding strategic planning or training sessions;
hiring technical and/or support staff;
supporting graduate students and other trainees; and
travel related to planning, training, and knowledge exchange.

Eligibility

To be eligible, the group must:

include up to eight to ten members, each employed in a faculty or senior research position at a university, health agency, or similar institution, and with a record of research productivity;
have at least 70% of its members in Saskatchewan;
exhibit strong leadership by a well-established researcher(s) with national funding, who will be responsible for the group’s plan and funding;
include members from more than one academic unit; and
be a new research group that has not received SHRF group, team or centre funding in the past.

Review

Applications are evaluated in a competitive, peer-review process that considers the following criteria:

strength and potential of the group, looking at: leadership, talent mix, and research experience;
clear description of each group member’s roles and responsibilities in relation to each group objective;
value added by the group’s approach to the research;
quality and feasibility of the proposed plan, looking at: long-term vision and goals, strategy for developing a sustainable group, research focus, fit with priority areas as defined in the provincial Health Research Strategy, and appropriateness of the budget;
suitability of the research facilities and environment;
support from the home institution(s); and
potential to build research capacity, looking at: probability of securing national grants, opportunities for employment and training, and ability to foster excellence.

Phase Two

Purpose

The purpose of Phase Two is to support high-quality research, knowledge translation, and capacity-building for groups that have held SHRF Phase One (or Research Group Development or Facilitation) funding, and that have demonstrated the potential to evolve into highly productive and sustainable research groups (Phase Three). Phase Two provides operating funding to support group members to collaboratively produce and share research knowledge that will strategically position them to compete for major funding at a national level.

Scope

Important Dates

Application Deadline:     4:30pm, October 1, 2012
Funding Decisions by:    December 15, 2012
Funding Start Date:       January 2013 – April 2013 (first of a month)

Funding

The program is offered annually, subject to funding availability. The grant:

may be up to $100,000 per year for up to 3 years; and
is non-renewable.

Allowable Expenses

Allowable expenses are those necessary to carry out the research and not provided through other means. They may include:

materials, supplies, and major equipment
hiring technical and/ or support staff;
supporting graduate students and other trainees;
field travel;
holding strategic planning or training sessions; and
costs of linkage and outreach to disseminate research findings, particularly with individuals and organizations committed to applying research for the improvement of health and health care.

Eligibility

To be eligible, the group must:

include up to eight to ten members, each employed in a faculty or senior research position at a university, health agency, or similar institution, and with a record of research productivity;
have at least 70% of its members in Saskatchewan;
exhibit strong leadership by a well-established researcher(s) with national funding, who will be responsible for the group’s plan and funding;
include members from more than one academic unit; and
have achieved a Phase One grant, a Research Group Development grant (New or Renewal), or a Research Group Facilitation grant (New or Renewal).

Review

Applications are evaluated in a competitive, peer-review process that considers the following criteria:

strength and potential of the group, looking at: leadership, talent mix, and research experience;
clear description of each group member’s roles and responsibilities in relation to each group objective;
clinicians have sufficient time to participate meaningfully in group activities;
value added by the group’s approach to the research;
importance and originality of the proposed research to its field;
quality and feasibility of the proposed plan, looking at: clarity of goals, research focus and themes; appropriateness of proposed approach and research methods; and appropriateness of the budget;
potential for knowledge translation;
potential to build research capacity, looking at: potential to secure national grants; opportunities for employment, mentoring and training and ability to foster excellence;
suitability of the research facilities and environment;
support from the home institution(s); and
completion of Phase One or SHRF Group Development grant (New or Renewal) goals.

Forms

Although SHRF does its best to ensure the most accurate and up-to-date information is available throughout our website, in the event that you experience difficulty obtaining a form contact Tanya at tskorobohach@shrf.ca

Phase Three

Purpose

The purpose of Phase Three is to provide major support for groups of talented and experienced researchers doing high-quality health research, contributing to knowledge translation, and building research capacity at a level of productivity and excellence that would not be possible from individual researchers working on their own.

Scope

Research supported must be in a field of human health research, defined broadly as encompassing biomedical science, clinical research, research on health services and systems, or research on cultural, social and environmental determinants of population health. Groups must be doing research in at least one of the provincial health research priority areas, as defined in the provincial Health Research Strategy.

Important Dates

Application Deadline:     4:30pm, October 1, 2012
Funding Decisions by:    December 15, 2012
Funding Start Date:       January 2013 – April 2013 (first of a month)

Funding

The program is offered annually, subject to funding availability. The grant:

may be up to $250,000 per year for up to 3 years (Note: the maximum amount per year will only be awarded in exceptional circumstances to groups with a strong justification for this amount of funding. Groups are strongly advised to ensure their budgets are realistic and essential for their proposed plans); and
is renewable (see Review, below).

Allowable Expenses

Allowable expenses are those necessary to carry out the research and not provided through other means. They may include:

operational research expenditures:
-  salaries for project co-ordinator/manager (recommended), research technicians and assistants;
-  stipends for graduate students and other trainees;
-  faculty salaries that provide “bridging” opportunities but NOT longer-term ongoing support;
-  some teaching release for team members to increase research time;
-  limited release-time payments to enable employees of community partners to participate in the research program;
-  materials, supplies and services;
-  group meeting costs;
-  field travel; and
- costs of linkage and outreach to disseminate research findings, particularly with individuals and organizations committed to applying research for the improvement of health and health care.
infrastructure expenditures (these costs cannot exceed 30% of annual budget in any grant year):
- group leader’s stipend;
- essential major equipment.

Eligibility

To be eligible, the group must:

include up to eight to ten members, each employed in a faculty or senior research position at a university, health agency, or similar institution, and with a record of research productivity;
have at least 70% of its members in Saskatchewan;
exhibit strong leadership by a well-established researcher(s) with national funding, who will be responsible for the group’s plan and funding;
include members from more than one academic unit;
have institutional support from the researchers’ home institution(s), outlined in a letter from the Vice-President Research, or designate, that addresses: infrastructural support (including space, furniture, and office equipment); fit with the research environment; and additional institutional resources supporting the team; and
have had a Phase Two grant, a SHRF Health Research Team grant, or SHRF research centre funding.

Health Research Group Grants

Phase One

Purpose

Scope

Important Dates

Funding

Allowable Expenses

Eligibility

Review

Phase Two

Purpose

Scope

Important Dates

Funding

Allowable Expenses

Eligibility

Review

RELATED LINKS

Canadian Common CV (CCV)

What are SHRF’s processes for submitting grant and award applications?

What are SHRF’s processes and policies, including peer review, approvals and extensions?

What do you need to know about managing your SHRF grant or award?

What are some tips for submitting a strong application?

Forms

Phase Three

Purpose

Scope

Important Dates

Funding

Allowable Expenses

Eligibility

Review