Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis (IMHA)

*Note: The January 15 deadline for travel awards starts as of 2011 and does not apply in the case of the 2010 competitions.

Table of Contents

Description and Objective
Eligibility
Allowable Costs
Review Process and Evaluation Criteria
General CIHR Guidelines
Conditions of Funding
Communications Requirements
Monitoring, Performance Measurement and Evaluation
How to Apply
Contact Information

Description and Objective

The Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis (IMHA) supports research to enhance active living, mobility and movement, and oral health; and addresses causes, prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, support systems, and palliation for a wide range of conditions related to bones, joints, muscles, connective tissue, skin and teeth.

IMHA travel awards are for research trainees (undergraduate and graduate students, and Postdoctoral Fellows) to present their own research at annual, or other regular interval meetings including international conferences, related to the Institute's mandate. The specific objective of this program is to enhance capacity for research that falls under IMHA's mandate.

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Eligibility

Eligibility criteria for all CIHR research funding programs apply. The business office of the institution of an eligible Nominated Principal Applicant generally administers CIHR funds. Please refer to the Eligibility Requirements for CIHR Grants and Awards regarding the eligibility requirements for individuals and institutions.

Specific Eligibility Requirements

Eligibility requirements specific to this opportunity include the following:

• All annual conferences (including international meetings) related to the Institute's mandate are eligible under this program.
• Only one (1) travel award will be given to a student or Postdoctoral Fellow in any fiscal year.
• Only one (1) application per student or Postdoctoral Fellow per competition is permitted.
• Applications must be for events taking place at least six (6) weeks after the specified deadline date.
• Applicants must be registered in an undergraduate, Master's or Doctoral program or be a Postdoctoral Fellow and must not hold a CIHR award.
• The student or Postdoctoral Fellow must be the first author and presenter of the oral communication or poster.

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Allowable Costs

The full application must provide a detailed justification of all costs.

The maximum amount for any individual award will be $1,000. Expenses eligible for support include:

• Travel costs - all travel will be by the lowest economy fare;
• Accommodation expenses - accommodations will be at or less than Conference, Federal Government or University rate;
• Per diem for meal - meal charges are not to exceed a set per diem: breakfast $10.00, lunch $12.00, dinner $32.00;
• Conference registration fees.

Applicants should review the Tri-Agency (CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC) financial administration guidelines Use of Grant Funds for a complete listing and description of allowable costs and activities.

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Review Process and Evaluation Criteria

Requests for travel awards from the Institute Community Support (ICS) Program will be processed in the following manner:

• Once a written request is received that includes all of the required information described below, it will be submitted to the committee of Institute representatives for discussion and recommendation to the Scientific Director.
• Approval of an ICS award request rests with the Scientific Director.
• All decisions will be provided to the applicant in writing by CIHR, normally within six weeks of receiving the request.

Applications for an IMHA travel award will be assessed by the committee of Institute representatives based on strength of the application relative to some or all of the following criteria:

• Potential relevance of the trainee's research project to the mandate of IMHA;
• Impact of the presentation on the career of the trainee;
• Potential relevance of the conference to the mandate of IMHA;
• Priority will be given to first-time applicants;
• Non-overlap with other applications submitted to the same competition (i.e. to promote a variety of topics, research themes,*and meetings).

* The four themes of research include "biomedical research; clinical research; research respecting health systems and health services; the health of populations, social and cultural dimensions of health and environmental influences on health."

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General CIHR Guidelines

This Opportunity will follow the General Guidelines for Grant Programs. Applicants are encouraged to demonstrate the use of Gender and Sex-Based Analysis in applications.

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Conditions of Funding

All conditions specified in CIHR General Grants and Awards Policies shall apply to applications funded through this Request for Applications. Conditions cover areas such as Applicant and Institutional Responsibilities, Ethics, Official language policy, Access to Information and Privacy Acts, and Acknowledgement of CIHR Support. Successful applicants will be informed of any special financial conditions prior to the release of funds or when they receive CIHR's Authorization for Funding (AFF) document.

Access to Information Act and Privacy Act, and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)

All personal information collected by CIHR about applicants is used to review applications, to recruit reviewers, to administer and monitor grants and awards, to compile statistics, and to promote and support health research in Canada. Consistent with these purposes, applicants should also expect that information collected by CIHR may be shared as described in Use and Disclosure of Personal Information Provided to CIHR for Peer Review.

CIHR as a federal entity is subject to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, therefore the requirements of these two statutes will apply to all information located in CIHR's premises including, without limitation, cost-sharing agreements related to this Opportunity and all matters pertaining thereto.

While respecting the application of the Privacy Act to federal entities, all signing parties involved in a collaborative agreement will also be bound by the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). All personal information (as identified by the PIPEDA) collected, used or disclosed in the course of any commercial activity under collaborative agreements related to the Opportunity will be collected, used and disclosed in compliance with the PIPEDA.

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Communications Requirements

Recipients are required to acknowledge CIHR, its institutes and partners in any communication or publication related to the project. See CIHR General Grants and Awards Policies, Acknowledgement of CIHR's Support for details on CIHR's communication requirements. The contributing institutes / partners will be identified on the Authorization for Funding and decision letter.

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Monitoring, Performance Measurement and Evaluation

CIHR is committed to demonstrating results to Canadians for the money invested in health research. Therefore, processes for monitoring progress and appropriate use of funds, as well as for performance measurement and program evaluation are in place. As a result, funding recipients must:

• contribute to the monitoring, review and evaluation of CIHR's programs, policies and processes by participating in evaluation studies, surveys, workshops, audits and providing data or reports as required for the purpose of collecting information to assess progress and results;

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How to Apply

To be considered for funding, an application MUST include the following documents:

The Institute Community Support (ICS) form [ PDF (244 KB) | Help ]. Before completing the form, be sure to follow the instructions specific to this Travel Award Program:

1. A confirmation of your status as a full-time undergraduate, Master's or PhD student or as a Postdoctoral Fellow at a recognized Canadian academic institution (confirmation could be included in the letter from your research supervisor);
2. A copy of your abbreviated curriculum vitae (2 pages maximum);
3. A letter of support from your research supervisor;
4. A copy of the abstract submitted to the selected meeting;
5. A letter confirming the selection of the applicant's abstract for presentation.

All requests made by individuals must be sent in writing by courier and e-mailed to the Institute with details of the conference.

If you are requesting funds from multiple Institutes, please indicate all that apply in section 2 "Budget Information" of the ICS application form. You must submit a separate application to each Institute.

You must send the following two formats of the ICS form to the Institute:

• Please email the ICS form and all the attachments to the Institute, IMHA@cihr-irsc.gc.ca.
• An original signed ICS form and all the attachments must also be sent by courier to the address listed below:

Attention: ICS Travel Awards - IMHA
Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
160 Elgin Street, 9th Floor
Address Locator 4809A
Ottawa, ON, K1A 0W9

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Contact Information

For questions on the program, research objectives, CIHR funding guidelines, how to apply, and the peer review process contact:

Tanya Gallant
Program Manager/Analyst
Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Telephone: 613-954-3469
Fax: 613-954-1800
Email: tanya.gallant@cihr-irsc.gc.ca