Notice of upcoming funding opportunity: CIHR Pan-Canadian Network for HIV/AIDS and STBBI Clinical Trials Research – Phase 2

Introduction

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is pleased to announce the upcoming launch of the CIHR Pan-Canadian Network for HIV/AIDS and STBBI Clinical Trials Research – Phase 2: Training & Mentoring Platforms. This funding opportunity is led by the HIV/AIDS and STBBI Research Initiative with strategic leadership from the CIHR Institute of Infection and Immunity (III).

This directed grant funding opportunity is the second phase of the CIHR Pan-Canadian Network for HIV/AIDS and STBBI Clinical Trials Research program and is only open to the Interdisciplinary Regional Research Leadership team members funded in Phase 1. There can only be 1 training and mentoring platform per Interdisciplinary Regional Research Team.

Overview

This funding opportunity, will support training and mentoring platforms that advance inclusive training and mentoring opportunities for trainees, as well as early- and mid-career researchers as appropriate, that are aligned with the HIV/AIDS and STBBI Clinical Trials Research Network Phase 1 funding opportunity and regional priority areas. See the schema for the inter-relation between Phase 1 and Phase 2.

The coordinated efforts of the network and platforms, as well as the cross-collaboration amongst the platforms, will support researchers and communities across the country to conduct the full spectrum of clinical trials including the development and testing of new drugs, treatments, and public health and health system interventions to prevent, detect, treat, or manage various diseases or medical conditions related to HIV/AIDS and STBBI. To strengthen regional capacity across the clinical trials landscape, each platform will be led by one of the regional teams and will provide specialized training in a regional training priority area.

Examples of regional training priority areas may include, but are not limited to, development of programs focused on strengthening capacity to:

  • conduct adaptive platform trials,
  • develop master protocols for evaluating next-generation interventions,
  • incorporate artificial intelligence and/or other digital technologies in decentralized and/or pragmatic trial design,
  • advance the evaluation of new models of care for key populations,
  • integrate community-based researchers, community members and people with lived experience in clinical trials in meaningful ways,
  • further principles of EDI in clinical trials,
  • enhance knowledge mobilization to improve engagement in clinical trials and uptake and dissemination of results, and
  • conduct global health research with a spirit of decolonization.

Where feasible and appropriate, platforms must leverage and connect with other existing training and mentoring initiatives and other existing/emerging networks, resources and/or platforms.

The specific objectives of this funding opportunity are to:

  • Develop structured, sustainable, diverse and inclusive training and mentoring platforms integrated with the Network that strengthen regional capacity for the design, delivery and analysis of equitable clinical trials in HIV/AIDS and STBBI with a focus on key populations by:
    • supporting the engagement of trainees, researchers, healthcare professionals, clinical research professionals as well as knowledge mobilization specialists, people with living and lived experience (PWLLE), and community members, as appropriate, in collaborative clinical trial training and mentoring opportunities;
    • incorporating diverse training approaches, including experiential training opportunities;
    • including diverse and inclusive approaches to training and mentoring (e.g., Indigenous Ways of Knowing) in a meaningful and culturally-safe manner; and
    • implementing recruitment, training, and mentoring strategies to attract trainees and mentees, by embedding and applying Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) best practices.
  • Support the development of skills for the future by integrating training into the Network. Training should include:
    • inter- and transdisciplinary approaches and skills necessary to address persistent and emerging needs of clinical trials for HIV/AIDS and STBBI and related conditions;
    • professional development skills (including transferrable skills, such as communication, analytical thinking, problem solving, project management, leadership, etc.);
    • best practices in knowledge mobilization and implementation science;
    • diverse career options and opportunities available across the different sectors (academia, private/for profit, public and not-for-profit); and
    • approaches to advance rigorous and responsible research (e.g., product development from discovery to commercialization; best practices in clinical trial design, recruitment, conduct and reporting; sex- and gender-based analysis plus [SGBA+]; research data management, research involving key populations including Indigenous Peoples, ethics, unconscious bias, life cycle/life stage approaches to clinical trials).
  • Support, contribute to and collaborate on research, knowledge mobilization and other activities of the Network regional teams and training and mentoring platforms.

Funds Available

The total amount available for this funding opportunity is anticipated to be $4,000,000, enough to fund approximately 5 grants.
The maximum amount per grant is anticipated to be $200,000 per year for up to 4 years, for a total of $800,000 per grant.

Anticipated Timelines*

These timelines are estimates and subject to change

  • Launch: November 2024
  • Application Deadline: April 2025
  • Funding Start Date: October 1, 2025

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

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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