New Brunswick and Canadian Institutes of Health Research Regional Partnership Program

Eligibility Criteria

Applications from any area of research governed by the CIHR themes, comprising biomedical research, clinical research, research respecting health systems, the health of populations, societal and cultural dimensions of health and environmental influences on health are eligible for RPP support.  In addition:

• the applicant must be the Nominated Principal Applicant of a CIHR application
• the applicant must be at a New Brunswick academic, health care or research institution
• NBRPP funds (CIHR and Partner funding) must be administered through a New Brunswick academic, health care or research institution
• at least 75% of the funded research must be conducted in New Brunswick
• training awards must be to an individual who will be working with a primary supervisor at a university or institution in New Brunswick
• a Principal Investigator holding a current CIHR grant (RPP or other) will normally not be eligible for NBRPP support
• RPP support will normally be limited to a maximum of five successive years of funding for grant and / or award recipients

Funding Opportunities

The following CIHR funding opportunities are eligible for RPP support.  However, each of these funding opportunities may not be supported during every competition cycle.  The RPP- NB Board determines which opportunities will be supported during each competition cycle and confirms their selection with CIHR prior to each Priority Announcement.  Therefore, applicants must review the Priority Announcements carefully to determine which funding opportunities are being supported through the NB-RPP during each competition cycle.  

• Operating Grants
• New Investigator Salary Awards
• Knowledge to Action (KTA) grants
• Proof of Principle grants (Phase 1 only)
• Synthesis grants
• Fellowship Award
• Doctoral Research Award
• Masters Award

Special funding opportunities launched by CIHR’s thirteen individual institutes are not eligible for RPP funding.

NBRPP funding opportunities will be announced through CIHR’s Priority Announcement process twice a year in June and December.  To be considered for RPP funding, applicants must:

1. Notify the New Brunswick RPP Advisory Board that they wish to be considered for RPP funding by contacting a representative of the Board at the address below at least two weeks in advance of sending the application to CIHR.
   
   
   • Administrator, Medical Research Fund of New Brunswick
     PO Box 5100
     520 King Street, Fredericton, NB
     E3B 5G8
     Telephone:  506-444-3222
     Fax:  506-453-2780
     Email: john.boyne@gnb.ca
     
     
2. Notify CIHR that they wish to be considered for RPP funding, by ensuring that they have selected and appropriately completed the application process components that identify their request to be considered for RPP funding for the particular funding opportunity.
   
   
   • For ResearchNet applications, the final application should specify ”Research Priorities of New Brunswick” as the Relevant Research Area and “RPP – New Brunswick” as the Title of the Priority Announcement in the Request to be considered for the following Priority Announcements section.
     
     
   • For applications submitted through other processes such as web-forms, applicants should check with the designated CIHR contact to ensure that all necessary steps have been taken to appropriately identify their request to be considered for RPP funding.

NBRPP Review Process

1. All applications received by the NBRPP Advisory Board will be reviewed for eligibility under the NBRPP.
   Both the applicant and CIHR will be advised regarding the results of the review, specifically whether the     application is eligible for NBRPP funding, prior to the CIHR peer review process.
   
   
2. All applications will be submitted to the CIHR peer review process, regardless of NBRPP eligibility. Information concerning the applicant’s eligibility for RPP funding will not be shared with the peer review committee.  However, it is important to note that applications will not be considered for RPP funding unless their eligibility has been confirmed by the NBRPP Advisory Board prior to the peer review process.
    
3. All applications that score above the CIHR budget-imposed cut-off scores will be funded through CIHR’s regular operating procedures regardless of NBRPP eligibility.
   
   
4. NBRPP eligible applications that fall below the budget-imposed cut-off, but above CIHR’s merit score of 3.5 will be considered for NBRPP funding.

Allocation of NBRPP funding

When an application meets the criteria for NBRPP funding, the Provincial Advisory Board will liaise with CIHR and provincial funding partners to determine the allocation of available funds.  Funding allocation decisions will be based on the applicant’s percentile rank within the funding opportunity; the funding parameters of the provincial partners; and the relative priority assigned to each funding opportunity by the Advisory Board.  Successful applicants have 7 months after the earliest possible start date of the award in which to secure partner funding.  The Provincial Advisory Board will work with successful applicants to identify an approved source of matching funds to secure the CIHR portion of the RPP grant or award.

Further Information

The NBRPP Advisory Board may impose certain conditions on successful RPP applicants, including requirements for re-application for full CIHR funding during the term of the RPP award or grant.  For further information on the NBRPP, please consult the New Brunswick - Canadian Institutes for Health Research Regional Partnership Program Strategic Plan or contact the individuals below.

Contact Information