innovation grants have been created to support innovative, creative problem solving in cancer research. as competition for grant funding increases, peer review panels become more conservative and risk averse, emphasizing feasibility more than innovation. the goal of this ccsri grant program is to support unconventional concepts, approaches or methodologies to address problems in cancer research. innovation projects will include elements of creativity, curiosity, investigation, exploration and opportunity. successful projects may be based on “high risk” ideas, but will have the potential for “high reward” (i.e. to significantly impact our understanding of cancer and generate new approaches to combat the disease by introducing novel ideas into use or practice).

seed grants support a variety of research activities, such as:

• pilot and feasibility studies
• secondary analysis of existing data
• small, self-contained research projects
• development of research methodology
• development of new research technology

applicants may request up to $30,000 in direct costs plus 15 percent facilities and administration costs for a period not to exceed 12 months.

large grants support two-year projects. applicants may request up to $75,000 per year in direct costs and up to 15 percent in facilities & administration costs. applicants are required to submit letters of intent to apply that are reviewed for scientific merit by the scientific advisory board.

the investigators in the pathogenesis of infectious disease (path) award provides $500,000 over five years to support accomplished investigators at the assistant professor level to study pathogenesis, with a focus on the interplay between human and microbial biology, shedding light on how human and microbial systems are affected by their encounters.

the objective of the idea to innovation (i2i) grants  is to accelerate the pre-competitive development of promising technology originating from the university and college sector and promote its transfer to a new or established canadian company. the i2i grants provide funding to college and university faculty members to support research and development projects with recognized technology transfer potential. this is achieved through defined phases by providing crucial assistance in the early stages of technology validation and market connection.

the objectives of this funding opportunity are to:

• support strategic, collaborative, high-quality, novel and innovative hiv/aids biomedical and clinical research that contributes to the creation of new knowledge on co-morbidities in the biological and psychosocial aspects of aging and mental health, including sex and gender considerations;
• foster a multi-disciplinary biomedical and clinical approach to address the complex issues experienced by people living with hiv/aids and other sexually transmitted and blood borne infections;
• build capacity in hiv/aids research and nurture the next generation of researchers by supporting teams that actively engage established researchers, new investigators, trainees, and knowledge users; and
• foster and support the translation and exchange of knowledge and the appropriate uptake and application of new discoveries through interdisciplinary collaborations.

neuroscientific research yields constant progress regarding our basic understanding of the structure and function of the human brain under healthy and pathological conditions. this knowledge is fundamental for the development of new diagnostics and treatments for patients suffering from neurological or psychiatric diseases. at the same time, neuroscientific research has implications for the understanding, and thus potentially also the control, of human decision-making, behaviour, emotions, and social interactions. findings from neuroscientific research can furthermore deeply affect human self-understanding and conscience as such. therefore, it is of major importance to investigate the ethical, legal, and social aspects (elsa) of neuroscientific research and recent advances in the field. this knowledge helps to ensure that neuroscientific methods and findings are utilized in ways which are of the best possible benefit for our society. the high societal relevance of neuroscientific research is underlined by continuously high public interest and ongoing public discourse on this topic.

the 'network of european funding for neuroscience research' (neuron) was established under the era-net scheme of the european commission. the aim of era-net neuron is to co-ordinate research efforts and funding programs of european and partner countries in the field of disease-related neuroscience. under the umbrella of neuron, several joint transnational calls (jtcs) have been launched on different neuroscientific topics from 2008 to 2016. in acknowledgement of the high societal relevance of neuroscientific research, this year, "european research projects on ethical, legal, and social aspects (elsa) of neuroscience" has been launched.

the aim of the era-net call is to facilitate multinational, collaborative research projects that will address important questions regarding ethical, philosophical, legal and socio-cultural aspects related to the neurosciences and their recent advances.

research areas

research areas within the overall era-net call include but are not limited to:

1. the consequences of the development of neuroscientific diagnostic methods (e.g. handling of incidental findings; the "right not to know"; very early disease prediction before symptoms occur; diagnosis in absence of treatment options; interactions between socio-culturally diverse patients and health personnel; availability of novel expensive methods).
2. abnormal behaviour reduced to deviant brain states (e.g. expansion of the concept of illness; seeing psychiatric symptoms merely as specific neurochemical imbalances); use of brain data and brain interventions in legal contexts (e.g. "brain reading" for the detection of deception; brain intervention of offenders; psychosurgery; insurance law).
3. neuroenhancement such as alteration of mental states (cognitive, affective) and abilities (e.g. cognition, sleep, appetite, sexual behaviour) in healthy subjects by pharmacological or by electrical/magnetic brain stimulation.
4. intelligent technologies and close human-machine interaction (e.g. ambient assisted living, brain-computer interfaces).
5. personality changes as side effects of neurological or psychiatric therapies (e.g. deep brain stimulation; brain implants).
6. the impact of modern neuroscience on traditional philosophical questions, concepts and theories regarding fundamental aspects of human nature (e.g. the relationship between mind and brain, the nature of consciousness, self- and personal identity, free will).
7. biobanking of neural tissue (e.g. tissue donation, deceased donor, data protection, possible consequences for relatives).
8. clinical research with patients suffering from neurological or psychiatric diseases (e.g. developing tools to improve the assessment of decision-making capacity of the patients, analysis of legal measures to protect those who do not have the capacity to consent).
9. societal and cultural changes induced by neuroscientific knowledge and its application.

the individual components of joint applications should be complementary and should contain novel and ambitious ideas to answer key questions or lead to a step-wise change in understanding. there should be clear added value in funding the collaboration over the individual projects.

as stated in cihr's strategic plan, health research roadmap ii: capturing innovation to produce better health and health care for canadians, cihr wants to seize the momentum and contribute to innovative, evidence-informed ehealth solutions that will improve patient experiences, health outcomes and the sustainability of the health care system, as well as engage with the international community. as a way of expanding the opportunities for funding and engagement in international markets for ideas and industries, this program enables cihr to leverage the value of its funding investments by participating in transnational joint calls in ehealth research.

this funding opportunity lies within the scope of the international component of cihr's ehealth innovations initiative (ehii). the active and assisted living programme (aal) provides canada with an established and successful mechanism to foster international collaborations and offers the opportunity to engage diverse communities in generating transformative ehealth solutions.

the aal programme is a common funding activity of member states of the aal association, with the financial support of the european commission, based on article 185 of the treaty on the functioning of the european union. the aal programme calls are complementary to the horizon 2020 calls related to active and healthy ageing under societal challenge 1 (sc1).

the aal call 2017 is part of the aal programme that was approved in may 2014 by the european parliament and the council of the european union. as part of the work-programme, the aal is launching a call for proposals: "aal packages/integrated solutions."

the focus of the 2017 call challenge of the aal programme is twofold:

• to develop packages that integrate different solutions that address the needs and wishes of end-users and add value to their lives. since peoples' wishes, aspirations, and needs evolve over time, packages should be designed with built-in flexibility and a variety of components in order to meet diverse individual situations and to remain attractive to end-users over time. end-users expect proposed solutions to be affordable, user-friendly, secure, and reliable. packages should be based on existing and/or open platforms.
• to ensure extensive testing and evaluation of packages in order to provide meaningful and significant results.

the aal packages/integrated solutions funding opportunity is expected to:

• support innovative, transnational and multi-disciplinary collaborative projects.
• support well-integrated solutions that are intuitively useful, personalized, and take the entire life span of the end-user into consideration.

for more information, please consult the active and assisted living website.

additionally, the aal provides a partner search tool for applicants. it can be found at: http://ps.aal-europe.eu/.