Project Grant: Fall 2020 Peer review participants

The peer review process relies on the time and dedication of experts across the health research spectrum. For the Fall 2020 Project Grant competition, a total of 1285 individuals (including Chairs [59], Scientific Officers [115], reviewers [1112]) participated in 59 peer review committees. There were also 176 early career researcher (ECR) observers present during the peer review process.

Note: Some individuals played multiple roles, such as chairing one review panel and then acting as a peer reviewer in another, which is why the role counts may not add up to 1285.

Approximately 82% (1069) of the committee members are members of the College of Reviewers, which has specific eligibility criteria. As a first step, CIHR staff provided lists of suggested reviewers based on specific selection criteria, and then all reviewers (100%) were vetted by committee Chairs and Scientific Officers.

Peer review participants by sex

Female Male Undeclared
578 participated 722 participated 0 participated
1133 invited to participate 1371 invited to participate 2 invited to participate
652 accepted (57.5% acceptance rate) 837 accepted (61.1% acceptance rate) 1 accepted (50.0% acceptance rate)

The numbers above exclude ECR observers.

Not all individuals who accepted ended up participating (based on review needs).

Participants by region

The following table is based on the region information of the individual’s institution. The table includes all peer review participants, excluding ECR observers.

Region Invited Accepted Acceptance Rate Participated
British Columbia 289 145 50.2% 125
Alberta 288 187 64.9% 165
Saskatchewan 50 24 48.0% 22
Manitoba 101 60 59.4% 55
Ontario 955 610 63.7% 527
Québec 646 371 57.4% 324
New Brunswick 12 9 75.0% 8
Nova Scotia 75 40 53.3% 36
Prince Edward Island 2 1 50.0% 1
Newfoundland and Labrador 20 10 50.0% 9
International 62 31 50.0% 27
No region specified 6 2 33.3% 1

Participants by pillar

The following table is based on the self-reported primary research pillar of peer review participants, excluding ECR observers.

Pillar Participants Proportion
Biomedical (Pillar 1) 667 51.3%
Clinical (Pillar 2) 236 18.2%
Health systems/services (Pillar 3) 125 9.6%
Social/Cultural/Environmental/Population Health (Pillar 4) 132 10.2%
Uncategorized 140 10.8%

Note: The proportions of peer review participants by pillar reflect the types of applications submitted to the competition. For more information, please visit the competition results page.

Date modified: