FAQ from webinar: Team Grant: Healthy Life Trajectories Initiative (HeLTI) – Canada
Design preconception
Is it essential that recruitment for the cohort be entirely pre-conception? Could a proportion of participants be recruited during pregnancy?
As specified in the FO, in the objectives, the cohort should be “including recruitment of women both preconception and during pregnancy, their infants, as well as the fathers”. As such, recruitment both pre-conception and during pregnancy is expected.
Are preconception interventions required and already harmonized in the other HeLTI cohorts or can cohorts allow early pregnancy interventions?
As specified in the FO, in the objectives, the cohort should “evaluate implemented interventions for, and with, women and men preconception, during pregnancy and for infants during the postnatal period”. As such, interventions both pre-conception and during pregnancy is expected. Further information regarding elements harmonized in the other HeLTI cohorts will be available once the common elements are published.
Expenses
What expenses related to the intervention would be covered and what would not be covered?
With respect to interventions, funds may cover discovery/development/pilot of interventions, but not implementation of interventions. The intention is that interventions are delivered in partnership with the healthcare system, so that research dollars are not used to cover the costs of the healthcare system.
Since the grant is for such a long timeframe (10+ yr), is there potential to increase costs over time to cover human resource salary adjustments over time or can the budget be front-loaded into first few years for setup? /Is the year to year funding amount constant at $1.5M per year?
The funding amount is constant at $1.5M per year, and at this time there is no expectation that there will be additional funds available over the 10 year course of the grant. As such, it is the applicants’ responsibility to provide a budget and justification that demonstrate the ability to achieve the objectives of this funding opportunity with the available budget envelope.
Objectives
What are the objectives of this funding opportunity?
Please refer to the Objectives section in the Funding Opportunity.
Materials available
Are the Strengthening Workshop report and the protocols from the other countries (that were funded) available for review?
A summary of the strengthening workshop will be available shortly and we are also working to share the common elements from the proposals of the applications to the HeLTI LIIC. Please email HLTI-TVS@cihr-irsc.gc.ca to request your name be added to a list of individuals with whom this information will be shared as soon as it becomes available. Of note, as per the evaluation criteria applicants will not be evaluated on how their proposed research will harmonize, but there is an expectation that their proposed research may change in order to match the LIICs.
HELTI office
Can you clarify the division of responsibilities between the cohort teams and the HeLTI office? For example, does each cohort have its own data management resources whereas the HeLTI office is for initiative coordination? Where will the HeLTI office be located?
The location and operations of the HeLTI office will be determined by the HeLTI Research Committee (composed of the Canadian nominated principal investigators and country principal investigators for the LIIC, and the nominated principal investigator and one principal investigator from the successful Canadian team). This should therefore not be specified in the application.
Are we expected to justify the $200 000 grant allowed to HeLTI office?
In order for CIHR to dispense grant funds, the funds need to be ‘requested’. Therefore, the funds for the HeLTI office should be included under ‘Financial Assistance Requested’. However, no budget breakdown or justification of costs should be provided for the HeLTI Office in the ‘Financial Assistance Requested Details’ attachment. Details regarding the dispersal of funds for the HeLTI Office will be determined by the HeLTI Research Committee (composed of the Canadian nominated principal investigators and country principal investigators for the LIIC, and the nominated principal investigator and one principal investigator from the successful Canadian team). Further details regarding budget preparation can be found in the How to Apply section.
Design considerations
Since an Indigenous cohort is planned, what are the expectations for this proposal?
Applications involving an indigenous cohort, or a cohort with indigenous elements, would be considered in the same way as any other application to this competition. All applications to this current competition have to comply with the conditions of funding, which include elements around data management and sharing, as well as initiative governance.
Do you expect a mechanistic sub-study, e.g. methylation, to be included in the HeLTI grant?
As specified in the funding opportunity, in the objectives, the team should “conduct evaluation and mechanistic studies”. As such, a mechanistic element would be expected.
Do you expect this to be a national cohort?
The applicant must demonstrate that they have selected a population that is appropriate to achieve the objectives of this funding opportunity.
With the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle-style vision for this Intervention Cohort, is it expected that recruitment will be continuous over the course of the study?
The PDSA cycle is used as an exemplar of the anticipated methodological advances; it is not intended to give a demonstration of the necessary recruitment process. Rather, the recruitment approach designed should be appropriate to achieve the objectives of the funding opportunity. Further details are available in the research approach heading under the Evaluation criteria section.
What intervention designs have been approved so far in the three approved applications - RCT, stepped wedge, before/after, other?
We are working to share the common elements from the proposals of the applications to the HeLTI LIIC. This is the only detail we will be able to provide from these applications. Please email HLTI-TVS@cihr-irsc.gc.ca to request your name be added to a list of individuals with whom this information will be shared as soon as it becomes available.
Team composition/expectations
What is the requirement of team composition?
Teams are required to include a nominated principal applicant, one other member from a different discipline, a knowledge user (preferably a policy maker at the national level) and a sex and gender champion. Further details can be found under the Eligibility section.
Does this funding opportunity target only large, established teams?
This funding opportunity is seeking applications from eligible teams (see eligibility) who demonstrate the characteristics of excellence as requested in the Review Process and Evaluation section.
Why only one grant?
There are only sufficient funds available to fund one grant.
How likely is it that a team that did not get funded in the earlier phases could get funded? Are the results “pre-determined”?
All applications will be evaluated strictly according to the Evaluation criteria in the Review Process and Evaluation criteria section. As such, previous applications to other funding opportunities are not a criteria, and no related information will be provided to or evaluated by the peer review committee.
Partnership support/tool
Will there be a partnership tool available to help us identify teams and let them know about our specific expertise?
No. A partnership tool was created for the international competitions as it was felt that the collaborations necessary for the success of these teams were less likely to already be established. Given that this is less of a concern in the Canadian environment and that the success of such tools is unclear, no tool will be created at this time.
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