Q: Are letters of support needed for the Letter of Intent?
A: No. Letters of support are not required for the Letter of Intent (LOI). However, letters of support will be required for the full proposal.
Q: Are the registration documents supposed to be submitted online or in hardcopy?
A: Online – please submit the documents via email as indicated in the RFP.
Q: If it is supposed to be submitted online, should all the documents (including the appendices and CV's) be submitted in PDF or as Word documents, etc.?
A: Either… a PDF would preserve your formatting.
Q: Is there a specific format for the CVs?
A: For the LOI, any format of CV is acceptable. For the full proposal, please submit the Canadian Common CV CIHR Registration CV.
Q: Can it be handed in using the UBC format?
A: For the LOI: Yes. For the full proposal, please submit the Canadian Common CV CIHR Registration CV.
Q: is there a length limit on the CV's? Should it be the full version or the condensed version?
A: For the LOI, no specific limit has been indicated. For the full proposal, please submit the Canadian Common CV CIHR Registration CV.
Q: Are there any other formatting guidelines that we should be aware of?
A: Only the formatting requirements that are specified in the RFP.
Q: Are there any historical models to inform our thinking?
A: No. This is a “made-in-B.C.” model that was created for this competition.
Q: Trying to provide demonstrable benefits within 18-24 months precludes most clinical trials. What type of evaluation and methodology can we use to demonstrate clinical benefits so quickly?
A: The structure you set up might include clinical trials to demonstrate benefits further into the future, but immediate benefits might be shown by translating advances from previous clinical trials into routine patient care and demonstrating your success at changing care in this way. Another possibility is implementing a new technology that has been shown to be effective elsewhere but is not currently available in B.C. You could also improve access to a therapeutic or diagnostic advance that is currently only available to a few of the children in B.C. who need it. There are many other possibilities as well, and we encourage you to think beyond the standard paradigm.
Q: What criteria will you give the review panel?
A: The same guidelines that you received for the letter of intent will be given to the review panel.
Q: You mentioned aspirations to overcome the “Ring Road” and to further the partnerships with UBC, the community, and other partners. How are the reviewers going to understand these needs? How will the external reviewers see the B.C. context?
A: Our external review panel is composed of individuals with a broad sense of child health research. They have a wide range of expertise that includes leadership of pediatric hospitals, pediatric research institutes, university pediatric departments, public health, public policy, and community pediatrics. In addition, the Executive Director of CFRI, who will provide staff support to the review panel, will be present for all of their deliberations and can assure that the panel is aware of the context in which child health research and care take place in B.C.
Note: The Executive Director will not participate in any of the teams competing for a Collaborative Area of Innovation award, to avoid a conflict of interest.
Q: Doesn’t the review panel need some context for Canada and the way that things operate here?
A: Yes, of course. Three of the four members of the panel are familiar with the Canadian context, and the Executive Director of CFRI will be present for all panel deliberations and can also provide this context, if necessary.
Q: Do you have any examples of interdisciplinary collaborations?
A:
CIHR Emerging Team Grant: Maternal Health - From Pre-conception to the Empty Nesthttp://www.researchnet-recherchenet.ca/rnr16/vwOpprtntyDtls.do?prog=1012&view=seedlist&org=CIHR&type=AND&resultCount=25&sort=program&all=1&masterList=true&language=E
CIHR Terry Fox New Frontiers Program in Cancerhttp://www.researchnet-recherchenet.ca/rnr16/vwOpprtntyDtls.do?prog=971&view=seedlist&org=CIHR&type=AND&resultCount=25&sort=program&all=1&masterList=true&language=E
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council: Major Collaborative Research Initiatives (MCRI)http://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/funding-financement/programs-programmes/mcri-gtrc-eng.aspx#a1
International Polar Year science and research projects in Canada supported through funding from the Government of Canada
http://www.ipy-api.gc.ca/pg_IPYAPI_050-eng.html
Q: With the short timeline in which to achieve results, is it better to focus on one disease?
A: If it’s too broad, then it will be difficult to show anything concretely. If it’s too narrow, it is unlikely to be of sufficient scope or to have sufficient impact – so the application will need to strike a balance. It is up to you to convince the reviewers that you have found the right balance.
Q: I’d like to follow up on your comment about the registrations vs. the LOI – that following the registrations, you might encourage people to work together, yet there are only three days between the close of online registration and the deadline for submitting the letter of intent.
A: The registrations won’t be peer reviewed, and we encourage you to register immediately. If two letters of intent are submitted in the same area, then it is likely that both would suffer during the peer review process.
Q: Who is the leader for these applications – does it have to be an MD?
A: The leader does not have to be an MD but the leader does have to be associated with BC Children’s, BC Women’s and/or BC Mental Health. The leader must be someone who can convince the reviewers that she or he can develop, conduct and manage a research project of this size and scope.
Q: Can we involve investigators who are off-site?
A: Off-site investigators may be involved in the team, but the leader(s) of the project must be on the campus of BC Children’s, Sunny Hill, BC Women’s, and/or BC Mental Health.
Q: Do the projects need to improve child health specifically on this hospital campus?
A: The project need to improve child health, and we would expect this improvement to be seen on the BC Children’s Hospital or Sunny Hill campus at some point, but the initial effect could be demonstrated in the community or elsewhere in B.C.
Q: Can you clarify the timeline of money allocation vs. spending?
A: The funding will be given over three years and must be spent within five years.
Q: Is there any limitation on the number of LOIs (Letters of Intent) that an individual can participate in?
A: No, only one Collaborative Area of Innovation will be funded at this time. There is no reason why you can’t be involved in more than one letter of intent.
Q: Do you foresee any restrictions on the budget?
A: If it’s legal, spent in accordance with standard PHSA policy, and demonstrably required to achieve the goals of the project, then there are no further restrictions. We want to encourage innovation.
Q: One of my colleagues was at the meeting yesterday and heard that “we do not want single disease proposals”. Is that correct?
A: No. As long as the proposal will result in improved child health, is innovative and is collaborative, it is eligible for funding. However, it may be more difficult to demonstrate as great an impact with a single disease than it would be with a broader category of child health conditions.