CIHR 2022-23 Departmental Plan: Gender-based analysis plus

GBA Plus Governance

CIHR has a GBA Plus Framework to coordinate related work and to operationalize commitments to the Health Portfolio and Department for Women and Gender Equality. The Framework seeks to build GBA Plus organizational capacity and sustain the practice of GBA Plus through three streams:

• GBA Plus in CIHR-Funded Research: Aims to ensure that GBA Plus is taken into account in research design, methods, analysis and interpretation and/or dissemination of findings.

  • Operationalized through the CIHR Sex and Gender-Based Analysis in Research Action Plan and the CIHR Institute of Gender and Health Strategic Plan.

• GBA Plus in CIHR’s Funding System: Aims to ensure equitable access to CIHR funds across eligible individuals.

  • Operationalized through an Equity Strategy, Gender Equity Framework, Official Languages and Minority Communities Action Plan, and Action Plan: Building a healthier future for First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples.

• GBA Plus in CIHR’s Workplace: Aims to ensure CIHR conducts its business in an equitable manner.

  • Operationalized through federal legislation (such as the Employment Equity Act, the Canadian Multiculturalism Act and the Official Languages Act), policies (Harassment in the Workplace Policy), and mandatory GBA Plus and EDI-related training commitments for employees and Governing Council members.

The CIHR GBA Plus Responsibility Centre leads, enhances, supports, and monitors implementation of CIHR’s GBA Plus Framework and the actual practice of GBA Plus. It is comprised of the GBA Plus Focal Point and staff of the EDI Team within the Science Policy Branch. In 2021-22, CIHR implemented a new Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) governance structure comprised of two internal EDI advisory groups, including:

1. EDI in the Research Ecosystem Action Committee: This committee is focused on enhancing EDI in CIHR’s funding system and funded research, and is co-chaired by CIHR’s Vice-President, Learning Health Systems and CIHR’s Scientific Director of the Institute of Infection and Immunity. The co-chairs of this committee serve as CIHR’s EDI Champions with respect to GBA Plus/EDI in CIHR’s funding system and funded research. Starting in 2022–23, an EDI implementation network, with representation from across CIHR, will provide support at the working level.
2. Employee EDI Committee: This committee is focused on enhancing EDI in CIHR’s workplace, and is co-chaired by CIHR’s Corporate EDI Champion (currently CIHR’s Chief Financial Officer) and an employee.

CIHR has also established two time-limited external EDI advisory groups:

1. External Anti-racism Advisory Committee: This committee provides guidance on CIHR’s approach to engaging communities marginalized by racism and on the development of CIHR’s actions and action plan relating to anti-racism;
2. External Advisory Committee on Accessibility and Systemic Ableism: This committee provides guidance on identification of barriers to accessibility within the health research funding system and the development of a CIHR accessibility action plan that aligns with the Accessible Canada Act.

Strategic guidance on GBA Plus / EDI-related matters is also provided by CIHR’s Science Council, while operational guidance and decision-making is provided by senior management. CIHR’s Governing Council is responsible for developing and approving CIHR’s strategic directions, and applies an EDI lens to all deliberations.

CIHR will continue to work with NSERC and SSHRC to implement the Tri-Agency EDI Action Plan. Work is governed through an Interagency Committee on EDI and implemented by an Interagency EDI Policy Working Group.

GBA Plus Capacity Building

All CIHR staff and members of CIHR’s Governing Council are required to complete the Department of Women and Gender Equality GBA+ training module. As part of the onboarding for new employees, CIHR requires employees to complete a series of EDI related learning modules. Further, CIHR implements mandatory training commitments each fiscal year for employees and senior management on EDI and Indigenous cultural awareness. These training commitments comprise courses provided by the Canada School of Public Service (CSPS) and the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI) with whom CIHR has recently collaborated as an Employer Partner. These courses are documented in each employee’s performance agreement and completion is tracked at year-end.

GBA Plus Monitoring

To monitor GBA Plus in CIHR-funded research, CIHR tracks the proportion of funded research proposals that integrate sex and gender, and reports on this in its Departmental Results Framework. To monitor GBA Plus in its funding system, CIHR tracks diversity in applicants for and recipients of CIHR funding through the Tri-agency Self-Identification Questionnaire. Using this data, CIHR reports on the proportion of newly funded recipients who self-identify as women, visible minorities, Indigenous Peoples and persons with disabilities in its Departmental Results Framework. In program evaluations, CIHR administers surveys to applicants and recipients to monitor differential impacts of funding programs on four designated employment equity groups and gender. To monitor GBA Plus capacity in CIHR’s workplace, CIHR tracks GBA Plus and EDI-related training completed by staff and Governing Council members, and participates in Health Portfolio-wide surveys to assess staff knowledge and application of GBA Plus. CIHR also monitors progress towards creating a diverse and inclusive workplace through a number of mechanisms including the Employee Self-Identification Survey, the Public Service Employee Survey, the Employee Exit Survey, Official Languages Consultations and Analyses, the Workplace Equity Information Management System (WEIMS) analysis and CIHR Demographic Analysis.

CIHR’s Investigator Initiated Program collects sufficient data to enable the monitoring and/reporting of program impacts by gender and diversity through the following initiatives:

Monitoring Gender and Diversity in CIHR-funded Research

Biological (e.g., sex, age, etc.) and socio-cultural (e.g., gender, race, etc.) factors influence health risks, health services use, health system interaction and health outcomes. Across all program areas, CIHR requires applicants to integrate sex, gender and other diversity considerations into in all funding applications, to ensure that CIHR-funded research is relevant, impactful and culturally sensitive for Canada’s diverse population. In CIHR’s Project Grant Program, reviewers are required to provide an assessment of the integration of sex and/or gender into research proposals. In addition, CIHR and the Institute of Gender and Health delivers training for peer reviewers, tailored to the subject-matter areas of committees in the Project Grant competition.

CIHR monitors integration of sex and gender in funded research through the performance indicator “percentage of research that addresses sex or gender considerations”. For the 2022–23 fiscal year, CIHR’s target is that 58% of CIHR-funded Investigator-Initiated research addressed sex or gender considerations. Targets are also reported in the Departmental Results Framework and will be available in the GC InfoBase.

Monitoring Gender and Diversity in CIHR’s Funding System

Beginning in May 2018, applicants to all CIHR programs must complete the Tri-Agency Self-Identification Questionnaire. Using data collected from the questionnaire, CIHR monitors diversity in applicants for and recipients of CIHR funding across all of its funding programs (i.e. proportion of women, members of visible minorities, Indigenous Peoples and persons with disabilities). Aggregate results are reported internally as part of Program Information Profiles and externally as part of the Canadian Research Coordinating Committee (CRCC) progress reports. In addition, CIHR posted the results from the 2018 and 2019 Spring and Fall Project Grant competitions on its website, and will be posting results from future Project Grant competitions.

Measures to enhance monitoring and reporting in 2022–23:

In 2021–22, CIHR launched an internal-facing dashboard to support internal monitoring of aggregated self-identification data across all of CIHR’s funding competitions.

Tri-Agency Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Action Plan

In fall of 2018, CIHR, along with NSERC and SSHRC, developed a Tri-agency EDI Action Plan that comprises initiatives relevant to enhancing EDI across all program areas. The objectives, and corresponding initiatives within the action plan aim to increase EDI amongst recipients of research funding, as well as teachers, researchers and students at post-secondary institutions. Performance indicators have been developed to measure progress against the plan’s overall objectives, as well as impacts of the agencies’ influence over the longer term, and are reported externally as part of the Canadian Research Coordinating Committee (CRCC) annual reports.

CIHR’s Research in Priority Areas Program collects sufficient data to enable monitoring and/reporting of program impacts by gender and diversity through the following initiatives:

Monitoring Gender and Diversity in CIHR-funded Research

Please see description above in the Investigator-Initiated Research section. CIHR requires applicants to integrate sex and gender in all funding applications, across all program areas, where appropriate. The performance indicator for this program is “percentage of research that addresses sex or gender considerations”. For the 2022–23 fiscal year, CIHR’s target is that 54% of CIHR-funded Research in Priority Areas addressed sex or gender considerations. Targets are also reported in the Departmental Results Framework and will be available in the GC InfoBase.

Monitoring Gender and Diversity in CIHR’s Funding System

Using data collected from the Tri-Agency Self-identification Questionnaire, CIHR monitors and reports on diversity in applicants for and recipients of CIHR funding across all of its funding programs. Aggregate results are reported internally, in the Program Information Profiles, and externally as part of the CRCC progress reports. In addition, CIHR published an analysis of self-identification data across its 2020 COVID-19 funding competitions.

Measures to enhance monitoring and reporting are described above in the Investigator-Initiated Research section.

Tri-Agency Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Action Plan

Please see description above in the Investigator-Initiated Research section.

CIHR’s Training and Career Support Program collects sufficient data to enable monitoring and/reporting of program impacts by gender and diversity through the following initiatives:

Monitoring Gender and Diversity in CIHR-funded Research

Please see description above in the Investigator-Initiated Research section. CIHR requires applicants to integrate sex and gender in all funding applications, across all program areas, where appropriate. The performance indicator for this program is “percentage of research that addresses sex or gender considerations”. For the 2022–23 fiscal year, CIHR’s target is that 63% of CIHR-funded research in Training and Career Support addresses sex or gender considerations. Targets are also reported in the Departmental Results Framework and will be available in the GC InfoBase.

Monitoring Gender and Diversity in CIHR’s Funding System

Using data collected from the Tri-agency Self-identification Questionnaire, CIHR monitors and reports on diversity in applicants for and recipients of CIHR funding across all of its funding programs. Aggregate results are reported internally as part of Program Information Profiles and externally as part of the CRCC progress reports.

Measures to enhance monitoring and reporting are described above in the Investigator-Initiated Research section.

Tri-Agency Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Action Plan

Please see description above in the Investigator-Initiated Research section.