Fonds de recherche de la Fondation J. Armand Bombardier en santé mère-enfant

Timeline

On March 15, 2024, the Centre de recherche Azrieli du CHU Sainte-Justine hosted the first collaborative symposium with the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC). Organized by both institutions, this significant gathering aimed to encourage the emergence of new research collaborations. The symposium also represented an occasion to discuss possible funding opportunities, in order to spark synergistic efforts that will transform into a strong and lasting partnership for the two university pediatric hospitals in Montréal.

Overview

As part of the newly established partnership between the two institutions, the funding program was created to provide seed funding for projects aiming to:

• Foster the development of new collaborative projects between CHU Sainte-Justine and MUHC investigators
• Improve mother-child health and well-being
• Strengthen our capacity to understand the challenges, recognize the needs and fix current gaps in this research area
• Develop novel approaches and cross-institutional data sharing to advance precision health
• Enable investigators to position themselves favorably for subsequent applications to other granting agencies.

The Program has been made possible by philanthropy in collaboration with the CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation and the MUHC Foundation, thanks to a generous donation from the Fondation J. Armand Bombardier.

During the Fall and Winter of 2024, the program will fund three (3) awards of up to $100,000 each over two years.

Eligibility Criteria

The Program is open to all researchers (clinical and fundamental) in areas of mother-child health research that are aligned with CHU Sainte-Justine’s and MUHC’s missions.

The eligibility criteria are as follows:

• Proposals must address challenges in the field of mother-child health and/or approaches to improve health outcomes for patients, families and communities.
• There must be one (1) principal applicant from CHU Sainte-Justine and one (1) principal applicant from MUHC. Additional co-applicants may be named from other institutions, but funding can only be used at CHU Sainte-Justine and MUHC.
• The principal applicants need to have a research institute appointment at CHU Sainte-Justine or MUHC at the time of submission and be authorized to hold research funds at their respective institutions.
• A researcher can only submit one (1) proposal per competition as a principal applicant. They may however be named as a co-applicant in other proposals.
• Only new collaborative research projects (discovery, translational, and/or clinical) will be considered.*
• All applicants must adhere to the Open Science Principles and FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship.

*Proposals submitted to the Program should only include new collaborative project ideas; applicants can however have past experience of working with each other but cannot submit an ongoing joint study. Even though the long-term goals of a given proposal may extend beyond the means and timeline of this grant, within one year the results of the collaborative projects should enable the development of funding proposals that are eligible for submission to national or international peer-reviewed competitions.

Eligible Expenses

Eligible expenses are those directly related to the conduct of the proposed research and include costs for:

• Provision of special services and user fees
• Material, consumables and maintenance of equipment
• Salaries (excluding faculty salary)
• Patient partner compensation
• Knowledge transfer fees (publications, conferences participation, webinars, workshops).

Overhead cost associated with managing the project are not eligible. Please consider resource and environmental stewardship in identifying eligible expenses.

Application Process

Step 1 – Letter of intent (competitive)

Submission Deadline: July 2, 2024 (23 h 59)

The principal applicants must submit a letter of intent (one per project) to confirm they meet eligibility criterias. LOIs’ eligibility will be evaluated by a joint committee, and selected teams will be invited to submit a full application.

The principal applicants must fill the letter of intent form with the following information:

• Project title, names and email addresses of principal applicants and co-applicants, and Research Priority Area.
• Project rational and goals (300-word limit): Includes the rationale of proposed collaborative project, the challenges addressed, the specific aims, and a clear statement of the intended impact on mother-child health outcomes. Use the Research Plan section below to elaborate on the proposed research.
• Research Plan (600-word limit): Describes the approaches, methods and techniques that will be used. It must demonstrate the project’s feasibility within the timeframe and budget.
• Collaborative synergy (200-words limit): Describes the value of the participation/contributions of each of the two institutions, the vision for continuation of the collaborative project beyond the funding period, including strategies for future funding applications.
• A maximum of two figures or tables can be included in the text or inserted in the designated box.
• References are not required and will not be considered in the word count.

Instructions for preparing and formatting documents

• Use an Arial (11 pts), Calibri (11 pts) or Times New Roman (12 pts) typeface, black font color. Do not use condensed/narrow font sizes or type density. Smaller text in tables, charts, figures, and graphs is acceptable, as long as it is comfortably legible when the page is viewed at 100%.
• Use single line spacing. Do not use narrow line spacing.
• Insert a margin of 2 cm (¾ inch) around the page.

Letter of intent must be converted in PDF format and saved as: Last Name,First Name(CHUSJ)_Last Name,First Name(MUHC)_JABombardierFund_LOI2024.pdf.

PDF file must be submitted to: affaires.scientifiques.hsj@ssss.gouv.qc.ca.

Step 2 – Full Application

Submission Deadline: November 14, 2024 (23h59) 

In August 2024, proposals selected by the joint committee will be invited to submit a full application. Applications submitted by the deadline to apply will be evaluated by external reviewers and evaluations will be taken in consideration during the Review Panel round table.   

Guidelines for full application: 

Principal applicants will submit a maximum 5 pages (including figures and tables; see below for accepted margins limitation and font) using the Full Application Form.  

Please note that full applications must include the following sections: 

1. Cover page (not included in the total):
   • Project Title (in French and in English) 
   • Name and email of the principal applicants and co-applicant(s) 
   • Relevant affiliations 
   • Lay abstracts in French and in English (200 words each)  
2. Project background, rationale (including problem statement/knowledge gaps and proposed solution), hypothesis, overall objective and specific aims 
3. The approaches and method, including potential pitfalls and how they will be overcome;  
4. Expected impact on maternal, fetal or child health 
5. Specific contributions of any collaborators involved in the project should be outlined as well as the synergies being leveraged by this collaboration (or by bringing together all principal applicants’ and co-applicants' expertise). Please also include your vision for continuation of this new collaborative project 
6. Training plan for students enabled by this collaborative work and how it will incorporate HQP’s participation and support of early career researcher(s)-ECR as collaborator(s). Integration of ECR in the project is strongly recommended    
7. Applicants must indicate how Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) principles are considered in the research project design, in the creation of the team and in the work environment.  
8. Timeline of the proposed work (Gantt chart, not included in page limit) 
9. Justification for items in the budget by category (1 page, not included in the 5 pages limit).
    

Unlimited references can be included in the application submission form (not considered in the page limit).

Instructions for preparing and formatting documents 

• Use an Arial (11 pts), Calibri (11 pts) or Times New Roman (12 pts) typeface, black font color. Do not use condensed/narrow font sizes or type density. Smaller text in tables, charts, figures, and graphs is acceptable, as long as it is comfortably legible when the page is viewed at 100%. 
• Use single line spacing. Do not use narrow line spacing. 
• Insert a margin of 2 cm (¾ “) around the page. 

Applicants must also provide the following documents: 

• CV of the principal applicants. Applicants must use their CIHR Academic CCV; and, 
• Completed budget form for the 2-year period. Applicants should use the provided budget template.  

The Full Application Submission Form (including references) and CVs must be combined into a single PDF document and saved with the following file name: Last Name,First Name(CHUSJ)_Last Name,First Name(MUHC)_ FondsJABombardier_FullApplication2024.pdf. The budget can be transmitted as an Excel spreadsheet with the following file name: Last Name,First Name(CHUSJ)_Last Name,First Name(MUHC)_FondsJABombardier_BUDGET2024. All files must be submitted to: affaires.scientifiques.hsj@ssss.gouv.qc.ca.

ADJUDICATION CRITERIA  

Full applications submitted to this collaborative funding opportunity will be equally evaluated by reviewers based on the criteria listed below. Each of these criteria will be addressed and considered in assigning the overall score demonstrating the likelihood that the proposed research will have a substantial impact on the pursuit of the funding’s goal. A detailed full application evaluation criteria and grid can be found here.    

Significance and Impact on Maternal, Fetal or Child Health  

Does the project have the potential to change the paradigms of the field or address a critical barrier to progress in maternal, fetal or child health? The degree to which the project will lead to discoveries and develop tools and technologies that will improve diagnosis, treatment and quality of life for kids, families and communities. The study should include new collaborative project ideas and be distinct from the investigator’s other funded research. Are EDI principles considered in the research project design, in the creation of the team and in the work environment?  

Approach and Feasibility  

Are the conceptual design, methods, and analyses adequately developed, well integrated, well-reasoned, and appropriate to the aims of the project? Appropriate background and justification for the proposed research should be provided. Consider the degree to which the research can be successfully executed using the proposed methodology within the timeframe, budget, and inter-institution expertise available. Does the applicant acknowledge the potential problem areas and provide alternative tactics? 

Value and Sustainability of the Collaboration 

Testify how the work proposed is appropriate for the principal applicants and their co-applicants or collaborators. The investigators’ training and track record as well as the complementarity of the surrounding teams (co-applicants/collaborators, HQPs) and institutional resources to successfully complete the project will also be considered. Will this collaborative work generate favorable training opportunities for students, and does it appropriately utilize support of early career researcher(s)-ECR as collaborator(s)? We will also evaluate the potential of the proposed project for creation of impactful and sustainable inter-institutional collaboration.    

PROGRESS REPORT 

Principal applicants must submit mid-project (end of Year 1) and closeout (end of Year 2) reports (narrative and financial) as a condition of funding. Templates will be provided. 

Any unexpended funds are to be returned to Centre de recherche Azrieli du CHU Sainte-Justine and RI-MUHC directory. 

RECOGNITION STATEMENT 

Principal applicants will be required to acknowledge the source of funding in any presentations, publications, or other media: “Research funded by the Fondation J. Armand Bombardier ”.