Research calls

The School of Health (SoH) is launching a call to support proposals for 2-year innovative research projects that align with the three foundational hubs; 1) Biomedical Sciences and engineering research, 2) Clinical Research and Prevention, and 3) Community Health Research. The call is open to SoH members from the “Concordia University Researcher” membership category and is meant to fund projects that will generate highly impactful research that addresses critical health issues and contributes to the betterment of society.

Objectives

Proposals should align with the following objectives:

• The 2-year project must involve an interdisciplinary and/or intersectoral research team. Applications from Concordia research centers are strongly encouraged.
  
• The project should generate findings with translational potential or to sustain critical programs e.g., health technologies for commercialization (CQDM, MEDTEQ), health interventions via community programs, and/or findings that can serve to develop or add critical changes to health policies.

Funding

The total funding committed to this call is $225,000. Because of the diversity of projects that are anticipated, there is no set minimum or maximum budget per project, and no set size for the team. Projects may be funded fully or in part, and the number of applications funded will depend on the budgets of those with the highest ranking. Efforts will be made to fund projects from across the three hubs.

Examples of eligible expenses include:

• Student support
  
• Consumables directly related to the execution of the project
  
• Knowledge transfer (e.g., publication fees, poster presentations, conferences)
  
• Participant fees
  
• Cost of infrastructure use
  
• Other expenses that are directly relevant to the project

Eligibility

The Principal investigator(s) must be an SoH member from the “Concordia University Researcher” membership category. To apply for membership, please use the following link which will take you to a simple form to complete.

Membership - Concordia University 

Deadline

All applications must be submitted by 5pm EST, on Monday, Feb. 10th, 2025. We expect to make an announcement of the funded projects after 6 weeks. Please note that this is a firm deadline and no requests for extensions will be accepted.

Applications are to be submitted to the following email address executive.secretary.soh@concordia.ca using “SoH_Call for proposals_PI name” in the subject field.

Should you require additional information, please contact Wendy Kunin, Lead Research Operations at wendy.kunin@concordia.ca or by phone at 514-848-2424 ext. 5295.

Note that only complete applications will be considered and evaluated.

Application process

All applications must include the following components in this order:

1. A title page with the following information:
   a. Title of proposed research project
   b. Submitted by NAME and EMAIL
   c. List of applicants and their affiliations.
2. Research Proposal – 5-page limit:
   a. Overview of the rationale, relevant background and specific research question(s) or hypothesis;
   b. Main objectives to address the research question(s) or hypothesis;
   c. Methodology and approaches;
   d. Impact of the proposed research and new knowledge generated;
   e. Potential for knowledge transfer – e.g., plans for declaration of invention and patent application as well as further commercialization, development of new community program or development of new health policy.
3. References – no limit
4. Detailed budget justification and gantt chart with timetable of milestones over 2 years – 2-page limit plus gantt chart
5. Appendix with a maximum of 4 figures and/or tables
6. Description of the lead PI and co-applicants outlining their role in the project – 2-page limit (teams with >5 co-applicants can add an additional page as needed)
7. CVs from the lead PI and up to 4 co-applicants who are members of the SoH (tri-agency or short freehand CV for past 6 years), noting that additional co-applicants or collaborators do not need to be members or submit CVs.

Format

Proposals should be written in Times New Roman (or equivalent) 12-point type with a maximum of six lines per inch. Margins should be formatted at 2 cm (3/4 inch) minimum around the page. Please combine all files into one pdf.

Evaluation criteria

Projects will be reviewed by the School of Health Research Committee, which will contain representation from each of the three hubs:

1. Research concept (25%):
   • Scientific rationale with clear objectives
   • Originality of the research concept
   • Interdisciplinary and/or intersectoral
2. Research approach (25%):
   • Quality of methodology and research design
   • Appropriateness of analyses
   • Mitigation strategies
3. Impact (35%):
   • Generation of new knowledge
   • Potential for innovation
   • Potential for knowledge transfer
4. Team (15%):
   • Expertise and experience of the research team to support the proposed approaches

Expectations:

1. Acknowledgement of the School of Health funding support in reports, publications or presentations.
2. Present findings at the Annual School of Health conference or colloquium.
3. Complete a final report demonstrating how the funds were used, the impact of these findings and which milestones were met. The report should include:
   a. Title of the project;
   b. Name of Principal Investigator and co-applicants and their research centre and/or home unit affiliation;
   c. A list of highly qualified personnel that were involved in the project (names, program);
   d. A brief description of the findings and implications;
   e. A full accounting of the budget, and gantt chart with completed milestones;
   f. A list of any publications, presentations, reports, policy, and/or public programs arising from or directly impacted by the funded research.
4. Successful applicants will be highlighted in news bulletins, social media and on the School of Health website.