Stipend and Duration:

All awards are provided without benefits. Successful awardees are expected to organize their own benefits with the host institution. Stipends are valued in Canadian dollars and are not subject to income tax.

For Doctoral trainees who defend their thesis before the 4-year term ends, the last day of the month that the revised thesis is accepted will act as the new end date for the award. It is the supervisor’s responsibility to inform CCHCSP of this change. If funds are paid out beyond this time point, then it will need to be refunded to CCHCSP by the Host Institution and/or supervisor.

Parental leave:  Trainees for the doctoral award are eligible to receive paid parental leave up to a maximum of 6 months if (a) interrupting the CCHCSP award within six months of child birth or adoption, (b) the trainee will be the primary caregiver for the child, AND (c) the trainee is not eligible for and will not be receiving employment insurance or other parental benefits from any other sources. The leave must be requested at minimum 30 days in advance of leave start date. The maximum benefit payable by CCHCSP is $12,500 for 6 months. This is equivalent to $2083.33 per month of the requested leave. Host institutions are not required to match parental leave funds. Any additional benefit-matching amounts are payable at the discretion of the trainee’s host university/training center. For further information regarding your eligibility and requirements, please contact the CCHCSP Program Manager and/or your Center Leader.

Individuals who hold faculty positions (fellows and new investigators) are eligible to receive Employment Insurance (EI) benefits and/or parental leave benefits based on the salary received at the host centre. Under these circumstances, CCHCSP will not provide additional parental leave benefits on the CCHCSP award amount. The award paid from the CCHCSP’s grant will be placed “on hold” for the duration of the leave, and will resume upon the return of the individual to the training environment. Parental leave benefits are paid by the host institution during the leave period and are not part of the original award amount. The term of the award will be extended by the length of the leave up to but not exceeding twelve months.

Medical or Family Caregiver Leave: Trainees are eligible for medical or a family caregiver’s leave. The latter is to provide care or support to certain family members who have a serious medical condition. Awards will be placed “on hold” for the duration of the leave with supported documentation from the local institution. Awards will resume upon the return of the individual to the training environment.

Research Allowance: No research or travel allowance will be provided. However, the Award recipients and their supervisors will have their expenses paid to attend the CCHCSP Annual National Symposia and relevant Regional Mini Symposia. A written commitment from the supervisor/mentor stating his/her agreement to attend National Symposia, for each year that the trainee is in the program, is mandatory with the application.

Deadline to apply: The competition deadline is April 1st and November 1st of each year at 5pm EST. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered. If the application competition date falls on a weekend or statutory holiday, applications will be due on the first business day following (i.e. If April 1 falls on a Saturday, applications will be due on the Monday, April 3 at 5pm EST).

When you are ready to submit your application click on the “submit now” button above to complete the online form. You will be asked to upload each of the required documents below.

A complete application consists of:

1. The application:  Name it “1 CandidateLastname _App”.  Click here for download.

2. Proof of Canadian licensure: Documentation of general or academic license by an appropriate licensing body. Must be valid within the province you are studying. Please include expiration date or proof of renewal on uploaded document. If you are in a combined clinical and research program, please upload a letter of proof of clinical training, end date and intent to apply for a license from your clinical supervisor. Please name it “2 CandidateLastname _License”.

3. Proof of citizenship: A pdf of your passport, birth certificate, or residency card are all acceptable forms of verification.  Please name it “3 CandidateLastname_Citizenship”.  The identity documentation will not be circulated to the Selection Committee, and only used to review eligibility.

4. Common CVs: CIHR Academic Common CVs for yourself and all your supervisors and Mentors should be ready for upload. Please name them as follows:

4 CandidateLastname_CV

4a CandidateLastname_CVSup1

4b CandidateLastname_CVSup2

4c CandidateLastname_CVMentor or  4c CandidateLastname_CVSup3

5. Letter from supervisor:

Doctoral and Post-Doctoral Awards: A maximum 2 page letter signed by all supervisors and mentors (when applicable) is to be uploaded describing:

a.  The commitment of the supervisor and the advisory committee towards the candidate’s research training and endorsement of the candidate.

b.  The space, facilities and personnel support for the candidate.

c.  The interdisciplinary nature of the training.

d.  The commitment of the trainee to participate in the core curriculum.

e.  The commitment of the supervisor and trainee to participate in regional and national symposia of the CCHCSP

f.  The commitment of the supervisor and trainee to participate in annual CCHCSP evaluation, which includes in person consultations at the Annual Symposia.

g.  Mentorship PlanThis portion of the letter should be a separate section within the letter that clearly outlines a mentorship plan. It should explain step by step what each supervisor and/or mentor will aid you in, how they will accomplish this, and how often this will take place. CCHCSP strongly encourages each applicant to meet with your mentorship team to develop a clear strategy for your mentorship to ensure expectations of all parties are met.

h.  This letter must be signed by all supervisors and mentors.

Kindly name this file “5 CandidateLastName_SuperLtr”

Career Development Awards: A maximum 2 page letter signed by all mentors is to be uploaded describing:

a.  The commitment of the research mentor and the advisory committee towards the candidate’s research training and endorsement of the candidate

b.  The commitment of the candidate to participate in the core curriculum.

c.  The commitment of the mentors and candidate to participate in regional and national symposia of the CCHCSP.

d.  The commitment of the mentors and trainee to participate in annual CCHCSP evaluation, which includes in person consultations at the Annual Symposia.

e.  Mentorship Plan: This portion of the letter should be a separate section within the letter that clearly outlines a mentorship plan. It should explain step by step what each mentor will aid you in, how they will accomplish this, and how often this will take place. CCHCSP strongly encourages each applicant to meet with your mentorship team to develop a clear strategy for your mentorship to ensure expectations of all parties are met.

f.  This letter must be signed by all mentors.

Kindly name the file “5 CandidateLastName_MentorLtr”

6. Letter from host institution:

Doctoral and Post-Doctoral Awards: A maximum 1-page letter from the host institution is to be uploaded describing:

a.  Expression of support of the candidate’s research training within the institution.

b.  Commitment to 90% of protected research time for the applicant.

c.  Kindly name it “6 CandidateLastName_HostLtr”

Career Development Awards: All candidates must be nominated by their Institution. A letter of support is to be completed by the Head of the Department or Research Institute that includes:

a.  A statement of nomination with the candidate’s current academic appointment, the date the appointment took effect and a brief job description for the candidate.

b.  The space, facilities, and personnel support for the candidate.

c.  The interdisciplinary nature of the candidate’s research.

d.  Commitment to 75% protected research time for the applicant.

Kindly name it “6 CandidateLastName_HostLtr”.

7. Official transcripts: For new applicants, official transcripts of the candidate’s graduate and/or health professional training, including proof of any degrees completed in original sealed envelope from the institution(s) is required. These should be snail mailed directly from the Intuitions of their origin Mail your transcripts to: Program Manager. . The Hospital for Sick Children. 555 University Avenue, Room 7291. . If this a reapplication, copies are accepted. Kindly make note in your online application. Please submit a digital copy of your transcripts and name it “7 Candidate Lastname_transcripts”.

8. Sponsor Assessments: Candidates must have three (3) individuals provide assessments on their behalf.  Additional assessments will not be considered.  These should include (if applicable) assessment from each of the candidate’s two most recent research supervisors.  For Postdoctoral candidates, one of these assessments should be from the PhD supervisor (if applicable).  You will be asked to list the names of your sponsors in the online application. It is the responsibility of the candidate to ensure that their sponsors complete the appropriate assessment form (PhD/PDF form or CDA form). Sponsors should email their assessments directly to [email protected] . Assessments are confidential and should NOT be seen by the candidate.

French applications: Applications may be submitted in French. Please note, you are requested to advise the CCHCSP National Office of your intent to submit in French a minimum 4 weeks prior to the application deadline (March 1, October 1 of each year).  If you are successful in the written portion, all interviews are conducted in English. Interviews can be accommodated in French at the candidate’s request.

Issues/Questions? Email [email protected] CCHCSP Program Manager

TIMELINE AND PROCESS

Important Dates:

Reviewer Assignment and Conflict of Interest:

1. Upon application deadline, the Program Manager collates applications and ensures that each applicant meets all CCHCSP eligibility requirements.
2. An email is sent to all Core Selection Committee members with a list of applicants and their demographics, for conflicts of interest.
3. The Program Manager sends the Selection Committee Chair, Co-Chair and Director the list of applicants with demographics, project title, abstract, and conflicts of interest. Individuals with a conflict of interest for certain applicants, and from the same centre will not be assigned to the applicant in question.
4. The Selection Committee Chair assigns 2 core committee reviewers, 1 external reviewer from the pool, and 2 patient partners to each candidate. Emails are sent to the reviewers from the Selection reviewer pool to accept or decline and declare any conflict of interest. If a reviewer declines or has a conflict, a new review will be assigned. Reviewers from the pool who accept a review will also be required to join the Selection teleconference. The Program Manager sends each reviewer and patient partner access to the applications they will be reviewing with an evaluation form. This form includes a formal score ranging from 0 “not acceptable” or “not able to judge” to 4.9 “outstanding”.

Paper Review at home:

5. Reviewers are given approximately 4-6 weeks to complete their reviews and return the evaluation form with scores one week before the Selection Committee teleconference.
6. Candidates will be scored by patient partners on the relevance to child health and lay summary of the application. Each will have equal weight. Scientific reviewers will score the candidates based on (1) research proposal (clarity, feasibility, rationale) (2) research training environment (research team, resources, interdisciplinary nature) and (3) applicant qualifications (research experience, publications, productivity, honors, awards and sponsor assessments). Distribution of weight for each award will be as follows:

Preparation for panel review (Selection Teleconference):

7. The Program Manager sends out a personal score card to each Selection Committee member one week before the teleconference.
8. The Program Manager shares the reviewer scores and their averages with the Selection Committee Chair, Co-Chair and Director. If scores for a candidate are highly variable, the Selection Committee Chair, Co-Chair and Director may request to see the reviews.
9. Based on (a) the compatibility of the scores among reviewers for each candidate and (b) conflicts of interest among Selection committee members, the Selection Committee Chair will determine the order of discussion for each candidate. Reviewers with a conflict of interest will be asked to leave the teleconference when reviewing the applicant in question, and prompted to return when the discussion is complete. Should the Director have a conflict, the Director will leave the call and the Selection Chair will act as the Director and Selection Co-Chair as the Chair. Should the Selection Chair have a conflict, they will leave the call and the Selection Co-Chair will act as the Selection Chair.

Selection teleconference and consensus scoring:

10. At the Selection Committee Teleconference, each candidate will be reviewed in the order determined by the Selection Committee Chair.
11. For applicants who attained a low average score among the 3 scientific reviews or the 2 patient partners, the Selection Committee Chair may request to triage the application. If approved by all reviewers, this applicant will not be discussed. Candidates can be streamlined if (1) Two reviewer scores are under 4.0 and (2) The average of all 3 reviewer scores is under 4.0. The scores reported to streamlined candidates, will be the average score attained from all 3 reviewers and will be identified as “Streamlined: score” in the table above.  Candidates whose applications are not streamlined are identified with only a score in the feedback report.
12. The two patient partners will each state their score, then respectively outline their reviews. Reviewer 1, 2, and 3, will each state their scores and then respectively outline their reviews of the proposed application.
13. A discussion then follows with the rest of the selection committee who may have additional questions, concerns or insights.
14. The 3 reviewers agree on a consensus score based on the application discussion. If the reviewers cannot reach a consensus, the Selection Chair will negotiate a consensus score. All members of the selection committee are then asked to (a) record the consensus score on their personal score cards; (b) score the candidate plus or minus (+/-) 0.5 of the consensus score.
15. Items 11 to 14 are repeated for each candidate until all candidates have been reviewed. Selection Committee members with conflicts are asked to leave before and return after (via text message) the conflicted application.
16. Immediately following the teleconference, each reviewer emails the Program Manager their completed personal score cards. Any revisions to reviews must be submitted within 24 hours of the Selection Committee teleconference.
17. A tally and average of all the personal scores is created by the Program Manager. The Selection Committee Chair and Director are sent the final average only of the tally for each candidate. Candidates who have scored 4.0 or above are considered for an interview approximately 4 weeks later.
18. Candidates who have scored less than 4.0 will be sent official feedback in the form of a letter detailing the reviewer’s and Selection Committee’s constructive feedback. These letters will be drafted by the Program Manager, then reviewed by the Selection Committee Chair, Co-Chair and Director.

Interview preparation:

19. Candidates who will be interviewed may be sent some official constructive feedback in the form of a letter. When necessary, candidates will be requested to submit an optional brief 2-page response before their interview. This response will then be assessed by the assigned reviewers. Reviewers will be asked to send their feedback on the rebuttal to the Program Manager before the interview via email. Otherwise, the candidates will be requested to address any outstanding issues from the feedback at the interview.

Interview day and ranking:

20. The Interviews will be conducted by a representation of the Selection Committee panel consisting of the Selection Chair, Co-Chair, Director, 2 other Selection Committee members, and Program Manager (ex-officio). Any member of the interview panel with conflicts will be asked to leave during the interview. Should the Director have a conflict, the Director will leave the room, and the Selection Chair will act as the Director and Co-Chair as the Chair. Should the Selection Chair have a conflict, they will leave the room and the Co-Chair will act as the Chair.
21. Candidates will be scored on a 5 point scale based on their vision for a scientific career, ability to clearly articulate the research project to the non-expert and discuss the project in the broader context of research in the field, address any reviewer comments raised in the written feedback, mentorship plan, and discuss interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary integration potential for their project. Panel members will also ask follow-up questions as they may arise during the discussion.
22. Based on post interview discussions and average panel scores, a rank order will be determined for fundable candidates.

Executive Committee Approval:

23. The rank order will be presented, and funding cut off will be discussed and approved at the Executive Committee. This decision will be based on funding availability and recommendations from the Director and Selection Committee Chair and Co-Chair.

Notice of Award:

24. Following the Executive vote, notification letters will be sent to the interviewed candidates. These letters will be drafted by the Program Manager, then vetted by the Selection Committee Chair and Director.

Grievances:

25. All grievances with the selection process can be brought to the CCHCSP Executive Committee via the Chair or Co-Chair of the committee.
26. Follow-up telephone call with the Selection Committee Chair can be requested if a candidate has specific questions regarding feedback provided by the selection committee and outcome of the competition.