the project grant program is expected to:
the project grant program is expected to:
cihr's health research training strategy aims to equip research trainees so that they emerge from their training as scientific, professional, or organizational leaders within and beyond the health research enterprise. generating research leaders of tomorrow is a key objective for cihr.
fellowships provide support for highly qualified applicants in all areas of health research at the post-phd degree or post-health professional degree stages to add to their experience by engaging in health research either in canada or abroad.
it is expected that applicants integrate sex and gender perspectives into their research to promote rigorous science that has the potential to expand our understanding of health determinants for all people. as such, applicants are required to indicate how they will account for sex (biological factor) and gender (socio-cultural factor) in the research design, methods, analysis and interpretation, and dissemination of findings. for more information and resources, please see the sex, gender and health research page on the cihr website.
the specific objectives of this funding opportunity are to:
brain canada is pleased to be partnering with als canada to launch the als canada-brain canada career transition award 2022.
the intent of this award is for als canada and brain canada to support a promising postdoctoral fellow or research associate working at a canadian institution to transition into an independent faculty position contributing to als research. the award will be for up to three (3) years for a total of $250,000 cad. each year, als canada and brain canada will provide a $60,000 salary and $20,000 research allowance, with $30,000 for research allowance in year three.
evidence clearly shows that increasing equity, diversity, and inclusion (edi) in research environments enhances excellence, innovation, and creativity. als canada and brain canada are committed to excellence through equity, and we encourage applicants of diverse backgrounds to apply to our funding opportunities, which will promote the expression of diverse perspectives, approaches, and experiences, including those of underrepresented groups.
click here to view the terms of reference
deadline for receipt of applications: august 22, 2022 at 13:00 et
nly proposals that meet the eligibility criteria will be considered.
this call for proposals is open to select individual organizations or consortia headquartered in the respective region (mena, lac and asia) with preference given for organizations in lmics (see annex 3 for a complete list).
note that this call for proposals is not open to individuals or government ministries and agencies, but it is open to public research institutes and public university centres, labs and departments.
this call is purposely limited to selected institutions or consortia, and idrc reserves the right to reject proposals from institutions not directly targeted.
the following eligibility criteria also apply:
applicants must have independent legal status (or “legal personality”) and be capable of contracting in their own right and name, receiving and administering funds, and have authority to direct proposed project activities. applicants must be able to demonstrate legal status through written documentation. legal status will only be reviewed if and when applicants are selected following technical selection.
in additional to standalone institutions, transdisciplinary consortia are encouraged to apply. consortia may consist of up to three (3) organizations. in case of a consortium, the proposal needs to provide a rationale explaining why the consortium has come together to implement this innovation research and describe the role and added value provided by each member organization. consortia must describe the governance and coordination arrangements they will use to produce high quality work and support fair and equitable partnerships.
in case of a consortium application, individual members can be based in different countries and the non-leading members may be based in countries other than those included in annex 3. however, the leading institution can only be based in an eligible country (see annex 3). idrc will enter into a contractual agreement with the designated lead institution only, and that institution will need to specify their arrangements with other consortia partners within their budgets (either as sub-contractors or sub-grantees).
background and rationale
the use of ai is showing promise in transforming how health systems are planned and health services are delivered across low- and middle-income countries (lmics) today. responsibly designed and implemented ai has the potential to contribute to improved global health outcomes. in the area of srmh outcomes, ai applications have the potential to strengthen point-of-care services, inform diagnoses and provide personalized information based on real-time analysis of relevant data. for example, ai models and applications have been developed to support the early detection of pre-eclampsia and improve accuracy of hiv testing.
in lower-income countries, indicators for sexual, reproductive and maternal health — referred to by some more generally as sexual and reproductive health rights (srhr) — are not on track to achieve sustainable development goal (sdg) 3: good health and well-being. inadequate srmh service provision has been linked with unintended pregnancies — including teen pregnancies — early and forced marriage, complications related to unsafe abortions, gender-based violence and increases in sexually transmitted infections. this is particularly pronounced for vulnerable groups such as adolescents, people living with disabilities, refugees and internally displaced populations. the covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on srmh outcomes such as access to essential services and support for survivors of gender-based violence. gender inequality, the focus of sdg5, is a central challenge for women and girls to overcome, especially in matters related to sexuality and reproduction.
despite the promise of ai to improve srmh outcomes, there are important ethical, legal and social risks that need to be appropriately managed, mitigated and governed. for example, harmful biases can be integrated into algorithms, which can translate into biased public health messaging, diagnoses and treatment protocols. furthermore, much of the data required to develop ai models to tackle srmh challenges are non-representative or inaccessible. the current increase in demand for health-focused ai solutions in lmics is not commensurate with the investments being made to strengthen health systems, credible data, skilled individuals and requisite computing infrastructure.
key objectives
through this call, up to three hubs will be set up and managed, one each in mena, lac and asia. these hubs will be managed by a regionally based organization or consortium of organizations. each of the hubs will be tasked with establishing, managing and supporting implementation research networks in their respective region. setting up the network should consist of running an open call to select implementation research projects in the corresponding region working on or researching ai innovations for srmh, with a typical approach being to select six to ten projects. it is expected that the selected projects will represent linguistic, gender and geographic diversity across the respective region; diversity across relevant areas of application of ai to srmh; and diversity of relevant involved stakeholders (e.g., university researchers, start-ups, ministries of health, research-oriented think-tanks, consultancies, labs or community groups). the selected innovation research projects will receive funding and support as sub-grants for an implementation research project for a duration of at least 18 months.
the general objective of each of the three innovation research networks is to advance srmh in mena, lac and asia through implementation research promoting responsible development and deployment of ai innovations. by responsible, we are referring to ai innovations that are ethical, respect human rights, inclusive and contribute to environmental sustainability.
specific objectives are to:
the primary responsibilities of the hubs include:
for more information, please contact jill sherman, international research facilitator, at intl.research@lakeheadu.ca.
mit solve, in collaboration with the bill and melinda gates foundation, seeks solutions that will offer new ways of measuring primary health care performance improvement in low- and middle-income countries. to that end, this challenge seeks novel and improved methods that:
employ unconventional or proxy data sources to inform primary health care performance improvement;
provide improved measurement methods that are low cost, fit-for-purpose, shareable across information systems, and streamlined for data collectors;
leverage existing systems, networks, and workflows to streamline the collection and interpretation of data to support meaningful use of primary health care data;
provide actionable, accountable, and accessible insights for health care providers, administrators, and/or funders that can be used to optimize the performance of primary health care; and
balance the opportunity for frontline health workers to participate in performance improvement efforts with their primary responsibility as care providers.
for more information, please contact jill sherman, international research facilitator, at intl.research@lakeheadu.ca.
