Overview

1. Annually, the Research Program Awards of the DoS grants funding up to $120,000 over two years (i.e., of up to $60,000 per year) for new research programs and established research programs.

2. They provide this short-term funding to support innovative proposals enabling academic surgeons to develop programs sufficiently to qualify for additional support

3. The programs of research will evaluate novel strategies to transform surgical care delivery.

4. All participating academic surgeons are eligible to apply.

5. A competitive peer-review and transparent process will select the most deserving proposals.

6. A one-year delay before re-applying after success will be imposed.

The Department of Surgery is pleased to announce the competition of the Research Program Awards. The Call for Proposals is made annually in December, with a submission deadline in early February.

What is the objective?

Outstanding proposals for research programs (new or established) capable of attracting external funding

Who is eligible?

Surgeons from the Department of Surgery at the University of Ottawa

What is the award?

$120k (at $60k/year for up to 2 years)

What do you need to apply?

• Completed proposal / application (template available)

• Letter of support from your division head committing $25k/year in funding

• CV

Objective:

To financially support new and established research programs of clinical, translational, educational, and quality improvement research within the Department of Surgery in the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Ottawa

• New research programs are currently unfunded and defined by a novel focus, hypothesis or question, to be submitted by any (i.e. new or established) investigators, and have plans for sustained inquiry, research personnel, multiple publications, and external grant applications.

• Established research programs are defined by existing and sustained inquiry, existing research personnel, multiple publications, and presence of external grant funding.

Research Program Awards will provide support for research personnel to conduct clinical, translational, educational, and quality improvement research aiming to improve short and long-term patient outcomes. Funds should be used to support the human resources necessary to implement, test and/or evaluate new concepts and modes of surgical care delivery.

In general, the funds are not intended for equipment, however the innovative use of equipment (i.e., imaging) could form the basis of a project. Funding may not be used to defray the cost of implantable medical devices, drug trials, and costs of travel.

• Proposals must be submitted by individuals with primary appointments to the Department of Surgery in the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Ottawa.

• A proposal must have the support from its division chair prior to the submission to the selection committee (and supply a letter indicating that the division would provide $25k/year).

• A maximum of two proposals/division will be accepted for review for divisions with ≤24 surgeons; and a maximum of three proposals/division will be accepted for review for divisions with ≥25 surgeons.

• Initial eligibility criteria includes (in first year):

  • plans for sustained inquiry and investigation

  • plans to hire research personnel

  • plans for greater than two publications

  • plans to submit external grant applications

• Continuing eligibility criteria includes (in second year or for established programs):

  • existing hired personnel

  • submitted at least one external grant application

  • submitted manuscript(s) (for established programs only)

Reports to initiate the second year of funding, may be submitted below. Please answer the questions, and either upload a brief report or type it directly.

Submit your first-year report

1. A call for proposals will be made by the Chair of the Department of Surgery or his/her designate.

2. All submitted proposals must follow the template provided above.

3. All proposals must be submitted as a single PDF file.

4. All submitted proposals will be evaluated through a competitive peer-reviewed process involving representatives from the University of Ottawa, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, and the Department of Surgery.

5. Up to 6 Research Program Awards will be made available annually, including both new and established research programs.

• Dean of the Faculty of Medicine or his/her delegate

• Chair of the Department of Surgery or his/her delegate

• Vice-Dean, Research, Faculty of Medicine or his/her delegate

• Vice-Chair, Research, Department of Surgery

• Two additional members nominated by the Department of Surgery Research Committee

• An additional member designated by the Vice-Dean, Research, Faculty of Medicine

The assessment of proposals by the peer-review committee will be based on the following criteria:

• Innovation and Knowledge Translation: creation of new knowledge, tools or innovation and creating awareness about innovation or tool studied

  • The innovation to improve surgical care and/or reduce costs must be clearly identified within the proposal.

  • A coherent knowledge translation strategy should be clearly defined and discussed.

• Potential for Impact: the potential impact of research program within and beyond the local institution and the academic community

  • Applicants should articulate the impact on both patient care and costs of care.

• Strengths of the PI and Team: the experience and skills of the research team, including: track record, historical productivity and impact, likelihood that this team can complete the proposal being proposed, time/availability to commit to the proposal, and collaborative arrangements with colleagues, if applicable.

  • The PI’s CV should include publications, presentations, and grants.

  • A statement about the productivity and impact of the PI’s work should be included, as well as their availability to commit to the research project.

  • The expertise (and experience) of research personnel to be supported should be stated.

  • Any collaborative arrangements support the project should be identified.

• Feasibility: clarity and realism of the research proposal with respect to the objectives, timeframe, intended outcomes and outcome metrics, and resources available.

• Funding (Use and Potential): efficient and effective use of funds to achieve research objective, as well as the potential to attract external funders

  • Applicants should articulate how their proposal optimally uses the funding.

  • The potential for obtaining external funding will be a major consideration for the review panel. All proposals should include an external funding strategy, including the names of target funding organizations.

1. Selected grant proposals are approved by the Selection Committee,

2. Matching contributions for each research award include $25,000/year/award contributed by Department of Surgery, $25,000/year/award contributed by division, and $10,000/year/award contributed by University of Ottawa. Each award has a two-year duration (pending the mid-award report).

3. As principal investigator, the award winner will need to provide their individual cost centre to collect their award grant money. Once all matching contributions for an award winner are collected, the award will be disbursed to the award winner’s cost centre.

4. The financial year of the fund is from May 1 to April 30.

Dr. Andrew Seely, Vice-Chair Research
Department of Surgery
Ottawa Hospital, General Campus
Tel.: 613-737-8899 ext. 74052
[email protected]

Jennifer Artz PhD, Research Program Manager and Consultant
Department of Surgery
Ottawa Hospital, General Campus
Tel.: 613-737-8899 ext. 75105
[email protected]

• All submitted proposals must follow the template provided (above) using 11 or 12-point font and saved as a single PDF file. The template includes the descriptions and word counts provided below.

• The CV(s) and letter(s) of support (i.e., division head) can be submitted as separate PDFs via the web portal.

• The complete the online application includes uploads for your proposal, letter(s) of support, and CV(s) via the web portal provided above.

You will be asked for all of the following information in the document template and via the web portal for submission:

1. Domain of research (select one: clinical research, quality improvement research, educational research, or translational research)

2. Type of research program (select one: new research program or established research program)

3. Research program title (25 words maximum)

4. Principal investigator(s) (include all degrees and institutional affiliations, and a CV for each investigator)

5. Plain language abstract (describe the proposal using non-technical language emphasizing the research question and its importance to surgical care delivery, 200 words maximum)

6. Background and rationale (optional use of one table/figure/illustration to support description is allowed, 500 words maximum)

7. Overall aim and hypothesis of proposal (200 words maximum)

8. Specific objectives (define primary and secondary objectives as applicable, 200 words maximum)

9. Methodology overview (provide a description of the approach/methodology to be employed using the suggested headings below and up to 2 optional tables/figures/illustrations, 800 words maximum)

   • Suggested sub-headings include the following:

     • Study setting

     • Study subjects

     • Study intervention(s) (if applicable)

     • Outcomes and outcome metrics

     • Sample size and rationale (if applicable)

     • Data sources and data collection

     • Data management

     • Data analyses

     • Ethics (specify plans for seeking research ethics approval)

   • If your proposal includes the collection and use of data, then a consultation is strongly recommended with the OHRI Methods Center

10. Timeline/milestones (provide a target start date, the dates when each outcome/milestone will be completed and the target finishing date, use one optional table/figure/illustration such as a Gantt chart, 200 words maximum)

11. Team (include the names and affiliations of the team members, with a brief statement of their roles, experience, area(s) of expertise, time commitment and planned contributions, 300 words maximum)

12. Relevance and impact of research program (300 words maximum)

13. Dissemination (provide plans for investigators to communicate results via conferences, publication, reporting in results databases, or other, 200 words maximum)

14. Additional program funding (elaborate on existing or planned supplemental funding for the proposed program including the amount(s) and source(s); including existing (established) grant applications and dollar amount, and/or planned (new) grant applications and dollar amount, 300 words maximum)

15. Budget (provide a table using the suggested row headings: human resources, other, and total funds)

16. List of references (30 references maximum)

17. Support letter from division head (and partners, if applicable)

    • A proposal must have the support from its Division Chair committing funding prior to the submission to the selection committee (mandatory)

    • Support/letters from partners (if applicable)

    • CV