PLEASE NOTE: The location has been changed to Room 3154 Medical Sciences Building, 1 King’s College Circle
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Dear Colleagues,
The CIHR released a Design Discussion Document on Proposed Changes to CIHR’s Open Suite of Programs and Peer Review on its web-site on February 9, 2012:
http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/44761.html
Also see attachment:
http://www.psychiatry.utoronto.ca/News12/feb/Feb9-2012-CIHR-DesignDiscussDoc.pdf
or
The changes proposed are dramatic and will affect the way research grants are formulated, reviewed and funded and likely the way research is carried out.
In a nutshell there will be two funding schemes:
1) longer term (7 years, @ an average of $300,000 p.a., 5 years for new
investigators) programs based largely on an applicant’s track record and
2) shorter term (3-5 years @ an average of $125,000 p.a.) projects based largely on new ideas.
The review process will be application-focused and multi-staged (5-8 reviewers from the College of Reviewers at each of the first two stages) with a final face-to-face interdisciplinary committee meeting to make the final ranking.
The total number of principal investigators supported would remain at ~3,000 with 45% of open grants budget in the program scheme and 55% in the project scheme.
A major concern that has been raised continually is the balance between open programs and strategic initiatives.
CIHR Science Council (http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/33807.html ) is meeting in Toronto on March 7th. On Thursday, March 8th from 9:00 am -1:00 pm in (PLEASE NOTE: The location has been changed to Room 3154 Medical Sciences Building, 1 King’s College Circle) there will be panel discussions and a CIHR Open Forum on Institutes & Strategic Initiatives and the Reform to the Open Suite of Programs & Peer Review held jointly by the University of Toronto, York University and Ryerson. Panel members will include CIHR CSO & V-P Jane Aubin and Scientific Directors of CIHR Institutes.
I encourage everyone interested in the future of CIHR to consider the proposed changes, to attend the Open Forum and to offer feedback to CIHR.
Reinhart Reithmeier
UT CIHR Delegate
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Reinhart Reithmeier, Chair
Department of Biochemistry
University of Toronto
Room 5205, Medical Sciences Building
1 King’s College Circle
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
M5S 1A8
Phone: 416-978-2696
E.mail chair.biochemistry@utoronto.ca
Chair’s Appointments and Calendar (Victoria Ilgacs)
Phone: 416-978-6892
Fax: 416-946-8228
E.mail: victoria.ilgacs@utoronto.ca