(2010-01-29) On behalf of CIHR, I am pleased to announce the results of the fall 2009 Open Operating Grants Funding Competition, in which CIHR approved the investment of more than $232.8 million over approximately five years. The 2009 competition met our stated goals of awarding between 400 and 450 grants and of increasing the average value of these grants.

As we announced last year, this competition cycle represented the first time since the Medical Research Council's transition to CIHR that we have integrated applications for randomized controlled trial (RCT) grants into the general competition. This was done in response to a clear need expressed by the RCT community. Combining the RCT and Open Operating Grants funding opportunities into a single competition will result in a more stable, sustainable and fully integrated process and will further support the goals outlined in CIHR's five-year strategic plan, Roadmap.

In order to be able to meet our long-term commitment to RCTs and ensure their sustainability and stability for years to come, the integration will be incremental over the next few competitions. But these changes have already allowed us to fund a greater number of RCT applications and invest overall significantly more money in RCTs than if we had run a separate RCT competition as in previous years.

Streamlining and harmonizing CIHR's flagship grants program was no small task. It could not have been achieved without the outstanding support and engagement of our Governing Council, Institutes, Advisory Boards, peer reviewers, staff and you, the research community.

CIHR is proud to support the best ideas and brightest minds in health research. The dedication and talent of our researchers, and the difference their hard work makes to the health and well-being of Canadians, continue to inspire us.

Pierre Chartrand, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer and Vice-President, Research
Canadian Institutes of Health Research