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Current Competitions

There are currently no open competitions.

 

Closed Competitions

Patient Partners’ Research in Sepsis (PPRS): Small Research Grant Competition 

About Sepsis Canada 

Sepsis Canada is guided by its vision to Suspect Sepsis, Save Lives, Support Recovery. As part of our core values, Patient and Family Partnerships plays a central role in driving our research projects. Patients and families have travelled the sepsis journey firsthand, and they know best where research and care priorities exist.   

Competition Details 

To support patients and families, Sepsis Canada will offer a one-time grant of up to $25,000 to eligible members of Sepsis Canada’s Patient Advisory Council. This competition will provide patient partners the opportunity to work with Sepsis Canada researchers to apply leading-edge science to advance a research project. The project is to begin on April 1st, 2023, with an expected duration of 18 months. 

Eligibility Criteria 

  • There must be at least two Patient Partners that form the lead Principal Applicants of the research team. 
  • The lead Patient Partner Applicants must be active members of Sepsis Canada’s Patient Advisory Council. 
  • The research team must include at least one independent investigator/researcher, that is a member of Sepsis Canada as a co-Principal Applicant 
  • There is no limit on the number of co-applicants and/or collaborators in the project. 
  • Eligible projects must align with Sepsis Canada’s Core Values and advance one or more of the following focus areas: 

-Understanding the causes of sepsis 

-Improving the prevention of sepsis 

-Improving the detection and / or identification of sepsis 

-Improving the management of sepsis 

-Improving rehabilitation from sepsis 

Eligible Expenses 

Funds must contribute to the direct costs of the proposed work. Funds cannot result in personal gain for the applicants or other members of the proposed research team. Patient Partners can compensate for their time within reason, and based on the Patient Partner Compensation Guidelines. No overhead or indirect costs can be covered by this grant. 

The PPRS Grant can be used for: 

  • Research staff and patient partner compensation: Funds can be used to pay personnel for specific research activities, including funds to reimburse patient partners for the time spent on providing expertise, feedback, and other direct contribution to the project (standard rate of $25/hour). 
  • Ceremonial gifts: For Elders and other Knowledge Keepers participating in the project, in recognition of the culture and tradition of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit. 
  • Translation and transcription services: Funds to hire personal and or use software to conduct necessary research data collection. 
  • Costs associated with meetings of patients/collaborators that are part of the project methodology (based on SPOR Patient Engagement Framework): Funds to reimburse patients’ travel costs for attending in-person meetings; rental costs for a community space, where patients can be brought together for meetings/forums; and costs for non-alcoholic refreshments and food for patients attending meetings/forums. 
  • Knowledge dissemination: Lead Applicants can attend one in-person or online conference attendance (where fees are required) to further knowledge mobilisation of research data and/or outcomes. The conference costs cannot exceed $2,500 (10% of the grant). 
  • Open access journal fees: Fees for publishing the result findings of up to one article in an open access peer reviewed journal as per Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publication. 
  • Other expenses: Costs associated with survey development or testing; use of specialised research equipment; purchase of small equipment ($2,500 or 10% of grant) or software required to support the research activities, etc. (item eligibility will rest solely upon Sepsis Canada and ineligible items will be removed and budget adjusted accordingly). 

Conditions of Award 

  • Grant is non-renewable: The grant duration is for 18 months, with a start date of April 1st, 2023. A one-time extension of up to six months will be considered based upon a submission of a written justification, including a revised timeline and budget. 
  • Fund distributed to Independent Investigator Co-Applicants institute: In accordance with the Tri-Agency Financial Administration Guide, funds will be transferred and held by the Researcher’s institute through institutional agreement. The Researcher will be the fiscal steward to distribute the funds in accordance with the application budget. 
  • Progress report: Lead Applicants are required to submit two progress reports (a mid-term report and a final project report). A progress report template will be provided by Sepsis Canada at a later date. 
  • Media: Recipients must agree to being featured in social media and on affiliated Sepsis Canada websites. Sepsis Canada must be acknowledged on all presentations, publications and media engagements relating to all the research products developed through the support of this grant. 

How to Apply 

The application consists of three sections: 1) information about the applicants and co-applicants; 2) project proposal and timeline; 3) project budget. 

Section 1: 

  • Provide the names and contact information of lead applicants. 
  • Provide the name and contact information of the independent researcher. 
  • Provide the names, and roles of the co-applicants and collaborators. 

Section 2: 

  • Provide detail information on the proposed project. 
  • Proposal must be written concisely, with sufficient details to permit assessment of the work.  
  • The maximum length of the proposal is 7 pages (including figures and tables). 
  • Include the following information: 
  • Title 
  • Research question/ hypothesis 
  • Research need: how will the proposed project address a relevant gap in knowledge or help to inform further research. 
  • Methodology: a clear outline of the research approach. Be clear on how data will be collected and evaluated/interpreted. 
  • Patient engagement approach: describe how, when, and where other patients will be involved, and the number of people involved, including how patients will be recruited and supported to contribute in a meaningful way. 
  • Timeline: include a project Gantt chart, listing all the expected tasks and duration to complete the tasks. Can use the free online Gantt Chart software (or any other tool such as Excel). 
  • Expected outcomes 
  • Proposed impacts: potential application, relevance, and benefits of the project to the research community and/or patients in the short- and long-term. 

Section 3: 

  • Provide a breakdown of the project budget.  
  • Include a budget breakdown in a table and provide justifications for each requested item. Items must fall within the Eligible Expenses listed above.  
  • Explain how the funds will be used and why they are needed.  
  • Budget cannot exceed $25,000.  
  • Ineligible items will be removed from the budget and budget adjusted accordingly, and applicants will not be given the opportunity to revise the budget. 

Application Review Process: 

Applications submitted late, incomplete, or not meeting the eligibility criteria will not be evaluated. Sepsis Canada’s Managing Director will perform a relevance review to identify applications that are in alignment with the objectives of this funding opportunity. Applications that are not deemed to be relevant will be withdrawn and the teams will be notified. 

Sepsis Canada hope that the Patient Advisory Council will recommend one project to go forward for the PPRS Grant. However, if there are multiple applicants, the applications will go forward to an adjudication process.  

Adjudication Process: 

The Sepsis Canada Grants & Manuscripts Committee will evaluate full applications. Research proposals will be evaluated based on the following criterions: 

    1. Potential impact 

  • Does the proposal clearly identify a knowledge gap and/or build on knowledge to inform further research? 
  • Does the proposal clearly communicate outcomes/impacts as well as how it is/will be related to patient benefit in the short- and long-term? 

    2. Feasibility of the work plan 

  • Does the proposal employ appropriate study design to answer the research question/hypothesis? 
  • Are the proposed activities deemed feasible with the timeline provided? 
  • Is the requested budget appropriate and well-justified? 
  • Does the team demonstrate the capacity and resources to conduct the research?

    3. Readability of proposal 

  • Is the proposal clearly written, with appropriate descriptions of the whys and hows of the proposed project?

Research proposals will be evaluated based on the following criterions using the following rubric  

Deadline: CLOSED

 

Springboard Grants Program - Early Career Researcher Competition

Changes to the Sepsis Canada/CFN Early Career Researcher Funding Stream!
Please note that this funding stream will consider funding of the intersection of rehabilitation, sepsis and frailty and can include observational studies on this population, surveys, health services research, knowledge synthesis, or innovative approaches to improving clinical trial design and outcome measurements. Please see updated Project Guidelines below.

Canadian Frailty Network (CFN) is pleased to announce that it has partnered with AGE-WELL, Perley Health and Sepsis Canada to co-fund early career researchers (ECRs) in Canada. This competition will help ECRs build skills, knowledge and allow them to develop early stage research programs such that they are competitive for future larger funding competitions. See below for additional details and important dates.

  • AGE-WELL is a unique Canadian network that brings everyone together to develop technologies and services for healthy aging. We’re also training the next generation of innovators in this field and making Canada a world leader in technologies that help aging populations everywhere.
  • Perley Health is a unique and innovative community of care that empowers Seniors and Veterans to live life to the fullest. We are also a centre for research, education, and clinical innovation and our Centre of Excellence in Frailty-Informed Care™ conducts and shares the practical research needed to improve care. The Centre of Excellence provides opportunities for the next generation of researchers in the field of aging.
  • Sepsis Canada is a single nationally coordinated network committed to supporting research and innovation that reduces the burden of sepsis for all Canadians. Specifically, Sepsis Canada is committed to understanding the causes of sepsis, improving the prevention, detection and management of sepsis, advancing rehabilitation from this disease and building capacity within the current and next generation of sepsis researchers.

The full program guidelines can be viewed here.

Deadline: CLOSED

 

Cardiometabolic Health, Diabetes and Obesity Research Network / Sepsis Canada Intercenter Structuring Initiative

Sepsis Canada and the Cardiometabolic Health, Diabetes and Obesity Research Network (CMDO) have partnered to fund an Intercenter Structuring Initiative for the period of 2022 - 2023. The objective of the CMDO/Sepsis Canada common initiative is to advance knowledge in biomedical, clinical, population health, or health systems research to address common determinants (e.g., inflammation, infection, microbiome, metabolic) in the pathogenesis, prevention, detection, management, or rehabilitation from cardiometabolic diseases, diabetes or obesity AND sepsis. This competition allows researchers who are regular members of both entities to propose intercenter collaborative projects, with the requirement for one (1) CMDO member from the province of Quebec and one (1) Sepsis Canada member based within Canada. One (1) research project relevant to these themes will be funded based on the evaluation criteria outlined in the program guidelines. Eligible projects could also involve additional international research centers.

One (1) project of excellent scientific quality that demonstrates a structuring effect for research within the networks will be funded up to $40,000 for one year (12 months) ($20,000 provided by CMDO / $20,000 provided by Sepsis Canada).

The full program guidelines can be viewed here.

Deadline: CLOSED