Project Grant: Spring 2023 Peer review participants

The peer review process relies on the time and dedication of experts across the health research spectrum. For the Fall 2022 Project Grant competition, a total of 1,320 individuals (including Chairs [57], Scientific Officers [111], reviewers [1,153]) participated in 56 peer review committees. There were also 161 early career researcher (ECR) Reviewers in Training 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 1,320.

Approximately 86% (1,156) 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 reviewers were vetted by committee Chairs and Scientific Officers.

Peer review participants by sex

Female Male Undeclared
participated 547 participated 768 participated 30 participated
invited 1,474 invited to participate 1,938 invited to participate 67 invited to participate
accepted 633 accepted (42.9% acceptance rate) 890 accepted (45.9% acceptance rate) 32 accepted (47.8% acceptance rate)

The figures above exclude ECR Reviewers in Training.

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 Reviewers in Training.

Province Invited Accepted Acceptance Rate Participated
British Columbia 388 168 43.3% 138
Alberta 393 190 48.3% 170
Saskatchewan 58 33 56.9% 28
Manitoba 111 58 52.3% 49
Ontario 1,403 607 43.3% 529
Québec 899 400 44.5% 346
New Brunswick 20 7 35.0% 7
Nova Scotia 98 48 49.0% 41
Prince Edward Island 3 2 66.7% 2
Newfoundland and Labrador 24 13 54.2% 11
North West Territories 1 0 0.0% 0
International 61 21 34.4% 16
No region specified 20 8 40.0% 8

Participants by pillar

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

Pillar Participants Proportion
Biomedical (Pillar 1) 752 55.9%
Clinical (Pillar 2) 251 18.7%
Health Systems/Services (Pillar 3) 106 7.9%
Social/Cultural/Environmental/Population Health (Pillar 4) 131 9.7%
Uncategorized 105 7.8%

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.

Career stage of participants

The table below approximates career stages based on the start year of the peer review participants’ self-reported first independent appointment. Only ECR status extensions offered by CIHR due to the COVID-19 pandemic were considered in this approximation; other eligible leaves were not considered. For more information on the ECR status extensions, see the “pause the clock” website and recent Update on the Fall 2022 Project Grant competition.

Career Stage Invited Accepted Acceptance Rate Participated Participant proportion
Early Career Researcher 521 333 63.9% 294 21.9%
Mid Career Researcher 931 441 47.4% 385 28.6%
Senior Career Researcher 1,614 682 42.3% 586 43.6%
Unknown 413 99 24.0% 80 5.9%
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