Pre-announcement: Notice of upcoming COVID-19 research funding opportunities

CIHR would like to provide information to the research community on two upcoming funding opportunities, as part of Government of Canada's continued response to address the health challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. In early June 2021, we will launch two competitions that will focus on priority research areas. These include informing effective strategies to improve COVID-19 vaccine confidence and uptake in populations experiencing conditions of marginalization, and understanding and mitigating the impacts of the pandemic on children, youth and families in Canada.

CIHR recognizes the urgency to invest in these critical research areas in this current phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada and around the globe. We are providing preliminary information at this time to allow the research community to prepare and respond to an expedited process.

Funding opportunity 1: COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence

The purpose of this funding opportunity is to support research that will inform effective strategies to improve COVID-19 vaccine confidence and in turn, uptake, among populations experiencing systemic inequities, conditions of marginalization, Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, Métis and/or Urban Indigenous) communities and/or among populations who are historically under-vaccinated. This research initiative encourages the consideration of structural, contextual, intersectional and historical barriers influencing risk perceptions and health behaviours related to vaccination across multiple levels (e.g., individual, community, population). Collaborative partnerships with key stakeholders such as communities, knowledge users, healthcare providers, thought leaders and Indigenous Leaders, Elders and Knowledge Keepers to leverage existing resources and capacity within communities to improve vaccine confidence will be needed. Therefore, this funding opportunity is designed to support community-based research approaches, such as (but not limited to): participatory action research, Indigenous methodologies, empowerment evaluation approaches, community asset mapping, and citizen science.

Objectives

• Advance knowledge and strategies on how to increase vaccine confidence in populations experiencing conditions of marginalization, Indigenous Peoples and/or populations who have historically been under-vaccinated, including how to address structural, contextual, intersectional and historical barriers to vaccination; by
  1. Addressing knowledge gaps related to understanding the causes and contributing factors to lower vaccination confidence associated with COVID-19, and provide communities, healthcare providers, and public health and health system leaders with actionable evidence to improve vaccine confidence and uptake in clinical and/or community contexts; and
  2. Designing, implementing and/or evaluating promising interventions to increase vaccine confidence, including a focus on which approaches are most effective, in which populations and contexts, and why (implementation science approach).

Availability of funds

CIHR will provide a total amount of $1,400,000, enough to fund approximately 14 grants. The maximum amount per grant is $50,000 per year for up to two years.

Of this $1,400,000:

• A minimum of two applications relevant to Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Inuit, Métis and/or Urban Indigenous communities) will be funded.

The CIHR Institutes of Infection and Immunity (III), Health Services and Policy Research (IHSPR), Indigenous Peoples’ Health (IIPH), and Population and Public Health (IPPH) are sponsoring this upcoming funding opportunity.

Expected key dates

• Launch of funding opportunity: week of May 31, 2021
• Application deadline: week of August 9, 2021
• Anticipated notice of decision: week of October 25, 2021
• Funding start date: October 1, 2021

Preliminary application details

• The team must involve, at least one knowledge user (either a public health authority, health system decision-maker, health professional, policy-maker, Indigenous Elder or Knowledge Keeper, or community leader) as a Principal Knowledge User.
• For research involving Indigenous Peoples this funding opportunity seeks applicants who self-identify as Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit or Métis) or provide evidence of having meaningful and culturally safe involvement with Indigenous Peoples.
• Application requirements for the Full Application will be outlined in the Funding Opportunity details. Full applications include a proposal (up to 5-pages for English applications and 6-pages for French application) and are expected to outline how the application addresses the objectives.

Funding opportunity 2: Understanding and mitigating the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on children, youth and families in Canada

It is becoming clear that during this time of pandemic, both the co-occurring stressful and traumatic events, and the impacts of restrictions related to associated public health mitigation measures, may be as or even in some cases more impactful on the health and well-being of children, youth and families in Canada. In order for policy makers to be able to rapidly address these growing challenges, it is essential to enhance our understanding of the implications of these stressful and traumatic events, as well as closures and restrictions across Canada.

The funding opportunity is designed to support rapid mitigation, as well as to inform policy and the development of approaches to address both recovery and longer-term consequences. Researchers will be encouraged to leverage existing cohorts/samples/health administrative, educational, surveillance and other data sets, by using existing data and/or collecting additional measures as necessary.

Objectives

The specific objective of this funding opportunity is to improve our understanding of, response to, and recovery from the co-occurring stressful and traumatic events that stem from the current COVID-19 pandemic, and/or restricted conditions associated with public health measures in Canada in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with respect to children, youth and families in Canada by addressing one or more of the following through research that takes an integrated knowledge translation approach to:

1. Enhance understanding of the nature and breadth of the impacts of COVID-19 restrictions on children, youth and families, including factors that are protective or exacerbate these impacts;
2. Accelerate the availability and use of high-quality and real-time evidence regarding the identification and mobilization of practices that have supported the adaptation of existing programs and the development of new programs that support the health and well-being of children, youth and families in Canada;
3. Generate evidence related to diverse population(s), including for instance: equity considerations, health and well-being status (e.g., high risk populations, individuals with complex health needs and/or a disability etc.), sex and gender, and/or racialized or First Nations, Inuit, Métis and Urban Indigenous populations.
4. Identify populations at the highest and high risk for negative outcomes, factors that are associated with this increased greater risk, as well as any factors that have been found to be protective and/or enhance resilience.

Please note that to be eligible to the competition, applications must address the objective AND respond to one (1) or more research areas outlined below.

Research Areas

• The impacts of changes to and/or disruption of supports (such as family and peer interactions, including intergenerational interactions, as well as more formal supports), services and programming (both formal programming, including extra-curricular activities and nutrition programs, as well as more informal elements such as outdoor play and access to outdoor spaces) that impact mental and physical health, development, and well-being. This includes primary environments such as the home and community, healthcare delivery settings, childcare and schools, as well as external interventions (e.g., special education services, child abuse identification and reporting, mental health interventions, physical health and wellness programs, prenatal classes, cultural programming, school-based and extracurricular programming).
• The effects of changes in federal, provincial, territorial, municipal and local policies and guidelines regarding the delivery of services, supports and programming on physical health and development, mental health, social and emotional development, and cognitive development.
• The effects of introducing new and/or alternative services, supports and programming, and/or policies and guidelines on physical health and development, mental health, social and emotional development, and cognitive development.
• Changes in population health status resulting from decreased access to routine healthcare, including childhood vaccinations and routine childhood screening, as well as changes in physical health.
• Other factors that may be having impacts on the health and well-being of children, youth and families related to the co-occurring stressful and traumatic events that stem from the current COVID-19 pandemic (including the impact of decisions made regarding grandparents and other at-risk family members within multigenerational households), and/or the restrictions related to associated public health mitigation measures.

Applications must clearly communicate how Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and, where applicable, Indigenous Rights will be incorporated into the research proposed. Refer to the Best practices in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Research, the Tri-Agency EDI Action Plan and the Tri-Agency Strengthening Indigenous Research Capacity Strategic Plan for additional guidance. This includes incorporation of biological variables (e.g. sex, age, etc.) and/or sociocultural identity factors (e.g., gender, race, ethnicity, language, etc.) into the research proposed, where applicable.

Availability of funds

CIHR will provide a total amount of $3,200,000, enough to fund approximately 21 grants. CIHR will provide a maximum of $150,000 per grant for one year.

The CIHR Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health (IHDCYH), in collaboration with the CIHR Institutes of: Aging (IA); Gender and Health (IGH); Indigenous Peoples Health (IIPH); Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction (INMHA); Population and Public Health (IPPH); and the New Brunswick Health Research Foundation are sponsoring this upcoming funding opportunity.

Preliminary application details

• Given the importance of engaging with knowledge users to ensure that the most relevant evidence is generated and utilized in a manner designed to maximize impact, a knowledge user must be included as part of the applicant team.
• Application requirements for the Full Application will be outlined in the Funding Opportunity details. Full applications include a proposal (up to 5-pages for English applications and 6-page for French application) and are expected to outline how the application addresses the objective(s) and research area(s).
• Applications will need to include an integrated knowledge translation plan (supplemental to the application page limit) as part of their proposal.

Expected key dates

• Launch of funding opportunity: week of June 7, 2021
• Application deadline: week of July 26, 2021
• Anticipated notice of decision: week of October 11, 2021
• Funding start date: October 1, 2021

Please also note that:

• Given the urgency of this funding competition, there may be additional requirements outside of standard requirements for reporting or participation in activities, such as international coordination activities.
• All COVID-19 related publications must be open access, in alignment with the call from the Chief Science Advisors.
• Indigenous data generated through these funding opportunities must be managed in accordance with data management principles that address considerations of Indigenous data sovereignty and self-governance. The principles of Ownership, Control, Access and Possession (OCAP®) and the Global Indigenous Data Alliance (GIDA) CARE principles (Collective benefit, Authority to control, Responsibility and Ethics) are two such models for First Nations data governance, but these models do not necessarily respond to the needs and values of distinct First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities, collectives and organizations. Additionally, to the greatest extent possible and in line with considerations for Indigenous data sovereignty and self-governance, data produced as a result of this funding, including through the member networks, should be shared in line with the Joint statement on sharing research data and findings relevant to the novel coronavirus (nCoV) outbreak and the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) of research data management.
• Given the urgency of this funding competition, recruitment for peer reviewers will begin immediately. If you are interested and available to volunteer as a peer reviewer, please reach out to CIHR immediately at EHTRF-FRNMS@cihr-irsc.gc.ca. We thank applicants and peer reviewers in advance for their flexibility and understanding with respect to the need for this expedited process.

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.

Date modified:

2021-06-08