The New Open Suite of Programs and Peer Review Process - Project Scheme

Overview and Objectives

The Project Scheme is designed by the Canadian Institutes of Health research (CIHR) to capture ideas with the greatest potential to advances health-related knowledge, health research, health care, health systems, and/or health outcomes. It supports projects with a specific purpose and a defined endpoint. The best ideas may stem from new, incremental, innovative, and/or high-risk lines of inquiry or knowledge translation approaches. The Project Scheme is expected to:

• Support a diverse portfolio of health-related research and knowledge translation projects at any stage, from discovery to application, including commercialization;
• Promote relevant collaborations across disciplines, professions, and sectors;
• Contribute to the creation and use of health-related knowledge.

The Project Scheme will be supported by a two-stage competition and application-focused review process. Stage 1 focuses on assessing a project's concept and feasibility, which is founded on selecting projects with a sound and important idea supported by a feasible plan of execution. Stage 2 focuses on the selection of applications close to the funding cut-off, also known as "grey zone" applications.

Grant Value and Duration

Project grant values and durations will be commensurate with the requirements of the project proposed, and will vary depending on the field, proposed approach, and scope of activities. Applicants will be eligible to apply to the Project Scheme for grants within the range of approximately $25,000 to $750,000 per year, with grant durations ranging between 1 to 5 years, reflecting the wide variety of projects presently funded in various Open programs.

Based on the proportion of CIHR's Open funding grants budget allocated to this Scheme (approximately 55%), CIHR will be able to support an annual intake of approximately 939 grants of varying sizes and duration at steady state, once the phase-in and ramp-up period is over.

Eligibility

In the Project Scheme, CIHR anticipates supporting a diversity of projects from all areas of health research. Eligible applicants will include one or more independent researchers and/or knowledge users affiliated with an eligible institution.

The Project Scheme is accessible to eligible applicants working independently or in teams with one or more Project Leader. In cases where Principal Applicants are applying as a collective, the Nominated Principal Applicant must be affiliated with an eligible institution. A Foundation Grant Program Leader will not be eligible to apply to the Project Scheme as a Project Leader.

Each stage in the research process presents an opportunity for collaboration with knowledge users and/or non-academic partners, where appropriate.