Canadian Institutes of Health Research
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Funding Overview

This page provides a broad overview of the CIHR funding programs.

For more in-depth information, please see the Grants and Awards Guide and the individual funding opportunities.

Research Themes

CIHR provides funding opportunities for four themes of health research:

  • Biomedical
  • Clinical
  • Health systems services
  • Social, cultural, environmental and population health

For more information, in the CIHR Grants and Awards Guide please see CIHR Research Themes.

Eligibility

Applicant

To apply for CIHR funding, you must:

  • Be affiliated with an eligible Canadian institution or organization by the time the funding begins
  • Not be employed by Canadian federal government departments or agencies or for-profit organizations unless affiliated with a university
  • Not have a financial interest holding of more than 5% in a company proposed as an industry partner for research funding

For more information, please see the CIHR Grants and Awards Guide.

Each funding opportunity may also have specific eligibility requirements. Please see "Eligibility" in the Funding Opportunity Details for each funding opportunity.

Institution

Please see CIHR's List of Eligible Institutions.

Funding Opportunities

For a complete list of current funding opportunities, please see Funding Opportunities.

Application Process

  1. Register with CIHR
  2. Complete an application
  3. Assemble an application
  4. Submit an application
  5. Await notification of decision

Peer Review

Applications for funding of research projects are evaluated and submitted to the Research and Knowledge Translation Committee's (RKTC) Subcommittee on Programs and Peer Review (SPPR), which in turn makes recommendations for funding to the RKTC; the RKTC provides final approval.

For more information, please see the CIHR Peer Review Process.

Funding Decisions

CIHR's decisions are conveyed by letter to the applicant and to the associated institution/organization.

All decisions are publicly posted; please see Funding Decisions for these postings.

Reporting Requirements

CIHR publishes funding information about who receives support, the research to be conducted and how funds are administered. It expects funding recipients to recognize CIHR support, to provide acknowledgement and recognition of research participants and to publish their research findings.

For more information, in the CIHR Grants and Awards Guide, please see:

  • Public Communications and Acknowledgement of CIHR's Support
  • Publications
  • Policy and Guidelines on Publications and Productivity