Internal CIHR Project Grant Review Process
Deadlines for the Spring 2025 competition have been posted, the deadlines are below:
Spring 2025 Project Grant Submission Important Deadlines
- Notice of Decision for the Fall 2024 competition: January 29, 2025
- CIHR Registration deadline: February 5, 2025
- Deadline to submit in Researcher Home Page for RAS review: February 21, 2025 (4:30 pm Edmonton time)
- CIHR Application deadline: March 5, 2025
CIHR Spring 2025 Competition Internal Review Process
- Mandatory for researchers who have never received a CIHR Project Grant as principal applicant and who have received start-up funding from FoMD, Institute or Department in the last 5 years.
- Strongly recommended for all principal investigators even if they have a record of CIHR Project funding.
- The internal review process described below (2 stages for new submissions and debrief and 1 review for re-submissions) is required for eligibility for bridge funding from the FoMD. Note: Research institutes offering bridge funding have their own requirements for eligibility. Members should contact their institute(s) for more information.
- The process outlined below is for new applications and resubmissions from the Fall 2024 competition. The funding results for the Fall 2024 competition are expected to be available January 29, 2025.
- View the summarized process one-pager here.
- Spring 2025 CIHR Project Grant tipsheet
- Access the upcoming CIHR funding deadlines and details here and here.
Important Note: For a new submission it is expected that applicants had gone through concept discussion sessions with Co-PIs, collaborators, Institute/Group/Department members months before deciding to apply. The majority of successful CIHR project applications contain multi-disciplinary approaches and often involve (co)applicants from other institutions. As such the development of new CIHR project submissions takes significant planning and refining. The University of Alberta Internal Review Process dates are applicable.
New Submissions
| Activities | Dates |
|---|---|
| Pre-Internal Review | November 2024 - January 10, 2025 |
| 1st Internal Review | January 6 - 10, 2025 |
| Request support letters & organize 2nd internal review | January 6 - 31, 2025 |
| 2nd internal Review | January 13 - 24, 2025 |
| Finalize Application | January 31 - February 20, 2025 |
| CIHR Registration Deadline | February 5, 2025 |
| Deadline to submit in Researcher Home Page for RAS review | February 21, 2025 (4:30 pm Edmonton time) |
| CIHR Application Deadline | March 5, 2025 |
- Applicant informs department chair about intention to apply.
- Applicant to identify a minimum of 2 internal reviewers (if known) – at least 1 reviewer preferably holds CIHR funding from their targeted CIHR review committee and/or is a member of targeted CIHR review committee. Chairs, institute directors, centre/group directors may assist in identifying suitable reviewers. Reviewers do not have to be from the University of Alberta, but ideally at least one of them would not be associated with the project (arms-length expert).
- To assist in the identification of potential internal reviewers, the applicant will be able to identify suitable reviewers from a list of funded U of A CIHR projects and review committee members in the applicant’s research area. Once the applicant identifies suitable reviewers, he/she can either contact the reviewers directly or inform the FoMD Office of Research who would contact the individuals on behalf of applicant. It is preferable that the applicant contacts the potential reviewers.
December 2024 – January 10, 2025:
- Applicant secures reviewers (this is the applicant’s responsibility unless the Office of Research is asked for assistance).
- Applicant completes a draft of research proposal (the quality should be at an advanced level – analogous to a manuscript submitted to the journal for publication, i.e. complete, ready-for-prime time effort) and distributes it to reviewers by January 10, 2025.
- Applicant organizes meeting(s) with reviewers, with meetings held from December 2024 – January 10, 2025.
- Reviewers should provide written reports to the applicant on the strengths and weaknesses of the proposal as well as suggested improvements. This can be done by either using report template, which is based on CIHR reviewer assessments or by providing comments directly in the draft proposal (track changes, comments).
- Applicant notifies the department chair that the 1st internal review process has been completed. Reviewer forms/corrections may be required Follow up by the chair with the applicant by January 22, 2025 if notification is not received.
January 6 – 31, 2025:
- Applicants should consult research support facilities (cores, animal facilities) for fees and incorporate the appropriate amounts in the budget, taking into account that fees may increase over the 5-year period to be comparable with other Canadian U15 Institutions. If required, applicants may request Faculty support letters (core facilities, etc.) from the Office of Research (vdradmin@ualberta.ca).
- Applicant organizes 2nd internal review with reviewers and should submit the revised proposal to the reviewers (same as the 1st round) by January 31, 2025.
- Reviewers provide additional suggestions for improvement in writing (report template or directly in the proposal).
- Applicant notifies the department chair that the 2nd internal review process has been completed. Follow up by the chair with the applicant after January 24, 2025 if notification is not received.
- Completion of application.
- Submission of complete application to the RAS for administrative and compliance review. Log into the Researcher Home Page, complete a new proposal request and submit for online approvals before the Research Administration Services' (RAS) usual 5 - 7 business day internal deadline. Also check with your department and faculty for their deadlines.
- Administrative and compliance review cheat sheet.
- Final submission of application to CIHR.
Resubmissions
| Activities | Dates |
|---|---|
| Feedback Debrief | January - February 3, 2025 |
| Revision of Proposal | End of January - February, 2025 |
| CIHR Registration Deadline | February 5, 2025 |
| Internal Review | February 10 - 14, 2025 |
| Finalize Application | February 10 - 20, 2025 |
| Deadline to submit in Researcher Home Page for RAS review | February 21, 2025 (4:30 pm Edmonton time) |
| CIHR Application Deadline | March 5, 2025 |
Results of the FALL 2024 Competition
Notice of Recommendations: January 15, 2025
Notice of Decision: January 29, 2025
Fall 2024 applicants will receive communication from CIHR on January 15 as to whether their submission is likely to be funded, may be funded (but not certain, only about the top 15% of applications are funded) and most likely will not be funded. Those in the latter two categories should contact potential internal reviewers that can provide input and suggestions for revisions if the application is ultimately not funded and you plan to resubmit in September. Due to the tight timelines these meetings should be scheduled in advance of learning the decision of the submitted grant. Notice of decisions are expected to be released on January 29, 2025.
Applicants resubmitting a grant not awaiting decision (i.e. submitted prior to Fall 2024) are also encouraged to organize a one-stage review and follow the below process. The revised grant should be sent to internal reviewers a minimum of one week before the internal review meeting.
- The notice of recommendations are expected to be released January 15 and the notice of decisions released January 29.
End of January – February 3, 2025:
- Feedback debrief with internal reviewers of the Fall 2024 submission or new reviewers (reviewers should have been secured well ahead, since it is easier to cancel sessions than setting up sessions and the CIHR success rate is ~15-17%, so the majority of submissions will unfortunately not be successful).
- Provide internal reviewers with a copy of the reviewer comments received from CIHR in advance of the scheduled meeting.
- Applicant informs department chair about intention to re-apply.
End of January – February, 2025:
- Revision of the proposal.
- Applicant organizes internal review with reviewers and should submit the revised proposal to the reviewers by February 14, 2025.
Internal review process:
- Reviewers provide additional suggestions for improvement in writing (report template or directly in the proposal). It is recommended that the internal reviewers are the same as those involved in the feedback debrief.
- Applicant notifies the department chair that the internal review process has been completed. Follow up by the chair with the applicant after February 17, 2025 if notification is not received.
- Completion of application.
- Submission of complete application to the RAS for administrative and compliance review. Log into the Researcher Home Page, complete a new proposal request and submit for online approvals before the Research Administration Services' (RAS) usual 5 - 7 business day internal deadline. Also check with your department and faculty for their deadlines.
- Administrative and compliance review cheat sheet.
- Final submission of application CIHR.
Identifying Internal Reviewers
- Select 2 peer review committees (PRC) that the proposal will be submitted to.
- U of A Project Grant Peer Review Membership
- Select potential U of A reviewers that have participated in the desired PRC.
- Applicants can also identify potential reviewers from the list of Funded U of A Projects
Internal Review Feedback to Applicants
The FoMD Office of Research has developed a form based on the CIHR Project Grant Peer Review Manual to guide internal review and feedback to applicants.
Download the FoMD OoR CIHR Project Scheme Internal Reviewer Form.
Bridge Funding
In order to be eligible for FoMD-sponsored bridge funding, applications must undergo the FoMD internal review process. Only applications that have been documented as part of this process will qualify. Further eligibility criteria include ranking within the top 40% of the CIHR committee and demonstrating a clear need for bridge funding.
In addition to FoMD-sponsored funding, several FoMD institutes may offer their own bridge funding opportunities. These institutes may have distinct eligibility requirements, and applicants are encouraged to inquire directly with the relevant institute to understand these criteria, as they may differ from those of FoMD.
The Vice-President (Research and Innovation) Office also offers bridge funding for highly ranked but unsuccessful applications through the Strategic Research Initiatives Fund (SRIF).
Responsibilities
- Notifies department chair of intention to apply.
- Notifies Office of Research or institute directors if assistance with selection of reviewers is required.
- Organizes meetings with internal reviewers.
- Notifies department chair of review completion (new - both stages, resubmission - one stage). Please also include the names of your internal reviewers in your communication.
- Requests support letters from Office of Research (core research facilities, etc.).
- Submits all application components to RAS by the institutional deadline.
- Same or increased engagement as per reviewer from an actual CIHR peer review committee.
- Written reports (template) of strengths and weaknesses and additional constructive comments.
- Follow up with applicants about the progress of applications (if notification of internal reviews are not received).
- Provides additional support as required.
- Assist in selection of internal reviewers.
- Provide additional support as desired.
- Assists in selection of internal reviewers if requested.
- Provides support letters (i.e. core research facilities, etc.).
- Provides additional assistance as required.
Contact vdradmin@ualberta.ca if you require assistance.
- Completes the final review, approval, and submission to CIHR.
Contact Gareth Corry, Research Partner or rsoinfo@ualberta.ca if you require assistance.