Internal

Scientific merit review is conducted by the Office of the Vice-President (Research) in the event that the research proposal is not funded by a major granting agency, such as the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) or the National Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). To avoid conflict of interest, reviewers must not be collaborators on the research project. See Instructions for Principal Investigators,  Peer Reviewers and Scientific Merit Review Terms of Reference.

External

Successful review by a major granting agency such qualifies as successful peer review for scientific merit review. It is within the Animal Care Committee's mandate to verify questions relating to successful scientific merit review, including review process and validation of conflict of interest guidelines.

Collaborations

Each institution has the authority to request scientific merit review. In general, the host institution for the primary principal investigator provides scientific merit review, but it may be undertaken by each institution.