Competition Overview

Overview of Collaborative Area of Innovation:

As BC Children’s first Collaborative Area of Innovation, the TIDE-BC team will receive up to $2.25 million over the next five years with funding from BC Children’s Hospital Foundation to implement their proposal. The Collaborative Area of Innovation initiative promotes new and unique collaborations between researchers and clinicians to bring breakthrough advances to improve children’s health within a two-year time frame. It is a key initiative of BC Children’s strategic action plan and a practical illustration of the pivotal role research plays in PHSA’s strategic plan for 2010-13. Other calls for a Collaborative Area of Innovation with additional funding may be announced in the future.

Application process:
To identify the Collaborative Area of Innovation, 19 teams from BC Children’s Hospital submitted letters of intent. An external scientific advisory panel reviewed the letters and selected three teams that were invited to submit full proposals. Each team presented to an expert peer review committee, which evaluated and rated the proposal. The external scientific advisory panel reviewed the peer evaluations and assessed each proposal’s potential impact on child health.

Competition Timeline:

Stage 1: Online Registration
Individuals or teams considering a letter of intent must have registered their intention online by October 25, 2010.

Stage 2: Letter of Intent
The deadline for LOIs was November 1, 2010. A panel of external experts reviewed the letters of intent with a formative peer review.

Based on the letters of intent, three proposed Collaborative Areas of Innovation that showed great promise were awarded $25,000 to develop a full proposal and implementation plan. These awards were announced December 6, 2010. The review panel had the liberty to suggest that leaders of independent but related collaborative proposals work together on a full proposal.

Stage 3: Invitation to Submit Full Proposal & Implementation Plan
By December 6, 2010, three teams were invited to develop a full proposal and implementation plan based on their letter of intent. The deadline was January 31, 2011.

Stage 4: Funding Decision
In April 2011, the successful Collaborative Area of Innovation was announced. The successful team was eligible to receive a maximum of $2.25 million in funding beginning April 1, 2011. Funding will be released in phases and must be used within five years of the award. The first installment will be $1 million.

Stage 5: Two-Year External Review
If the Collaborative Area of Innovation has shown significant progress upon its two-year evaluation in 2013, then it could be eligible for ongoing funding. The review will measure the team’s success, progress and impact.

Competition Documents:

Stage 2:

Request for Proposals

Development Grant Templates
Development Grant Guidelines

Stage 3:
Criteria for the Full Proposal & Implementation Plan 
Budget Template
Budget Guidelines - revised
Budget Justification
Cover Sheet and Signature Pages

Review Panel:
The external review panel, which reviewed the Letters of Intent received for the Collaborative Area of Innovation, consisted of the following individuals:

- Dr. Michael Kramer, Scientific Director, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health (IHDCYH)
- Dr. Janet Rossant, Chief of Research, SickKids
- Dr. Hugh O’Brodovich, Chair, Pediatrics, Stanford University

The Letters of Intent were evaluated by scoring several project criteria.
Letter of Intent Review Form