Enhancing Healthcare in Newfoundland and Labrador

Funding under this program is no longer available. For a list of funded research in the last round of this awards program, please look here.

ABOUT THIS PROGRAM

In 2016, the Dr. H. Bliss Murphy Cancer Care Foundation, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and Eastern Health announced the final competition for research funding following from the Cameron Inquiry. The objective of this program of funding is to increase the scope and scale of research and evaluation activities that can improve care for patients in this province, including those with cancer.

The Research Fund for Enhancing Health Care offered grants of up to $75,000 each for projects involving up to three years of work on areas of concern identified by the Cameron Inquiry as they apply to patient care, including cancer care, within the province’s health care system. Applications may have involved research on clinical questions or on the organization, administration, or provision of health care. They may also involve the evidence-based design, implementation, and evaluation of innovative projects for improving the organization and quality of care.

Eligibility

The Principal Applicant and any Co-Principal Applicant of an application must be an employee or graduate student of Memorial University, any of the province’s Regional Health Authorities, or any other non-profit organization based in this province. Research teams may include co-investigators or collaborators who do not meet these criteria. Collaboration across institutional, disciplinary and provincial boundaries is encouraged. Where appropriate, teams are encouraged to include decision makers from within the provincial health care system and administration who are in a position to facilitate the uptake of the project’s expected findings.

Special consideration for smaller grants of up to $25,000 each for up to two years will be given to projects submitted by Principal Applicants who qualify as emerging researchers (defined as applicants who have never received a research grant of more than $25,000).

Expenditures that are not fundable

salary support for any of the principal investigators or co-investigators on the team
salary support for faculty members of educational institutions of any kind
additional funding for ongoing research or demonstration projects
development of medical devices or products
capital costs (other than for equipment that is essential for conducting the proposed project)

Application Procedures

The application process for this program is being managed by the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Applied Health Research (NLCAHR). It consists of two stages—a Letter of Intent Stage and a Full Application Stage.

Letter of Intent Stage

All applicants submitted Letters of Intent using the electronic form found here. The Letter of Intent were submitted electronically by April 6, 2015 to: Tyrone White: tkwhite@mun.ca

All Letters of Intent were reviewed by the program’s Advisory Committee for relevance to the mandate of the program as specified in the first paragraph of this webpage. Applications deemed relevant were invited to proceed to the Full Application Stage.

Full Application Stage

Applicants whose Letters of Intent were been deemed relevant by the Advisory Committee were invited to submit full applications. The full applications were submitted on the electronic form found on the forms page.

As specified in the form, full applications were submitted electronically, no later than July 27, 2015, to: Tyrone White: tkwhite@mun.ca

Review of Proposals

Full applications were reviewed by a committee comprising individuals representing the academic community, Eastern Health, the Dr. H. Bliss Murphy Cancer Care Foundation, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, representatives of patients, and other individuals with the requisite expertise. If necessary, projects may also have been sent for review by external experts.

In evaluating the full applications, the committee used the following criteria:

Scientific merit of the application:

feasibility of the project
clarity of the research questions and objectives
clarity and appropriateness of the proposed methodology and approach
feasibility of the proposed timelines
appropriateness of the proposed budget

Merit of the applicants:

experience and research record of the principal applicant(s) and of the other team members
inter-professional and/or inter-jurisdictional representation on the team.

Relevance

potential benefit to the provincial healthcare system
applicability of the project’s results to other jurisdictions and healthcare settings
involvement of relevant stakeholders (e.g., patients, informal caregivers, health professionals, members of the public) in the development and implementation of the project

Reporting

Successful applicants must complete their proposed work within a maximum of three years from the date of the award and must report annually on the progress of their project and their expenditures. These annual reports must be submitted on the electronic form that can be found on this page within a few days. A final report is also required within two months of the end of the project’s duration and shall be submitted using an electronic form that shall be available on this page.

Information and Assistance

For further information, please contact Tyrone White at tkwhite@mun.ca or by telephone at (709) 777-7973.