Research Areas

In alignment with the CIHR HIV/AIDS and STBBI Strategic Plan 2022-2027, the CBR Program will fund projects that focus on the development and/or implementation of interventions for addressing HIV/AIDS and/or other STBBI across one or more areas of the care cascade (prevention, testing, linkage to treatment and care, and ongoing care and support) at the community level. This includes projects and partnerships focused on research and interventions to understand, address and reduce the impact of stigma, racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism and other forms of discrimination and systemically entrenched oppression on people living with and at risk of HIV/AIDS and STBBI; developing, testing and advancing new or improved, culturally-safe and holistic models of care and evidence-based interventions to achieve more equitable health outcomes for people living with or at risk of HIV/AIDS and STBBI; enhancing knowledge of the role of sex, gender, sexuality and systemic barriers in the experiences, risks and outcomes associated with HIV/AIDS and STBBI in people living with and at risk of HIV/AIDS and STBBI; and implementation science research to understand, define and integrate the context, conditions and adjustments that will maximize uptake and adoption of new and existing interventions for HIV/AIDS and STBBI in different health, social and cultural settings.

In particular, the CBR Program is committed to supporting research that focuses on key populations including: First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples, including urban Indigenous communities; ethno-racial minority communities with high rates of infection; gay and other men who have sex with men; transgender populations; people currently or previously incarcerated; people who use drugs; people engaged in the sale or the purchase of sex; youth and women.

The CBR Program supports partnerships among community organizations, researchers, and decision-makers working in areas such as, but not limited to: housing, mental health, substance use disorders, activity limitations and employment, health services and access to care for key and hard to reach populations. Research projects involving quantitative and/or qualitative research methods, including epidemiology, intervention research, arts-informed research, case studies and interviews, are eligible for funding.

To accommodate the overarching goals of the CIHR HIV/AIDS and STBBI Research Initiative, the Pan-Canadian STBBI Framework and Canada’s Action Plan on STBBI, which support achieving the STBBI global targets, applications that propose projects outside of Canada may be considered for funding. However, such applications must clearly demonstrate how the knowledge created will have impact on Canadian communities through such methods as a knowledge transfer plan.

In keeping with the CIHR Sex, Gender and Health Research policy, all proposals are required to consider how sex and/or gender might shape community-based research. Applicants are encouraged to complete the CIHR unconscious bias learning module and visit the How to integrate sex and gender into research page for more information on the appropriate integration of sex and gender in their proposal.

Role and Contributions of Applicant Partners: CIHR recognizes that a broad range of partners may be relevant to this opportunity and it is expected that applicant(s) describe the role of all applicant partners and how/if they will contribute to research and research related activities. Any consideration of risk and/or conflict of interest should also be explained, as appropriate.

Funds Available

CIHR and partner(s) financial contributions for this initiative are subject to availability of funds. Should CIHR or partner(s) funding levels not be available or are decreased due to unforeseen circumstances, CIHR and partner(s) reserve the right to reduce, defer or suspend financial contributions to grants received as a result of this funding opportunity.

• The total amount available for this funding opportunity is $1,800,000, enough to fund approximately 4 grants. The maximum amount per grant is $150,000 per year for up to three years, for a total of $450,000 per grant.
• Of this $1,800,000:
  • $900,000 is available to fund applications relevant to the General Stream.
  • $900,000 is available to fund applications relevant to the Indigenous Stream.
• If a pool is undersubscribed or lacks fundable applications, funds will be rolled into the other pool.
• There is an additional amount available of up to $1,200,000 in supplementary funding available to teams (in either General or Indigenous Stream) whose primary research focus is in northern, remote and/or geographically isolated communities. (see How to Apply).
  • The maximum additional amount per grant is up to $100,000 per year for up to three years, for a total of $300,000 per grant.

For more information on the appropriate use of funds, refer to Allowable Costs.

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Objectives

The specific objectives of this funding opportunity are:

• To promote the creation of new knowledge that is relevant to communities affected by HIV/AIDS and/or other STBBI in Canada;
• To promote the dissemination of new knowledge and uptake of evidence into action to enhance the community response to HIV/AIDS and/or other STBBI;
• To develop partnerships between researchers and affected communities;
• To build capacity in the knowledge user community to engage in research and use evidence in their everyday business;
• To build the next generation of HIV/AIDS and STBBI CBR researchers through meaningful engagement of trainees in high quality CBR projects; and
• To reduce the incidence of new HIV/AIDS infections and/or other STBBI in key populations by focusing research on prevention efforts.

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Eligibility

Eligibility to Apply

For an application to be eligible, all the requirements stated below must be met:

1. The Nominated Principal Applicant (NPA) must be one of the following:
   1. A knowledge user, specifically, one of the following:
      • A Community Leader from a Canadian non-governmental, not-for-profit organization (including community or charitable organizations) with a research or knowledge translation mandate.
      • A Canadian non-governmental organization (including Indigenous-led community organizations and regional health authorities) with a research or knowledge translation mandate.
   2. An independent researcher affiliated with a Canadian postsecondary institution and/or its affiliated institutions (including hospitals, research institutes and other non-profit organizations with a mandate for health research and/or knowledge translation).
2. The NPA (individual) must have their substantive role in Canada for the duration of the requested grant term.
3. The Institution Paid must be authorized to administer CIHR funds before the funding can be released (see Administration of Funds).
4. The team must involve at least one of each of the following:
   1. An independent researcher as either the NPA or a Principal Applicant.
   2. A knowledge user who is affiliated with a community or community organization as either the NPA or a Principal Knowledge User.
5. The NPA* must have successfully completed one of the sex- and gender-based analysis training modules available online through the CIHR Institute of Gender and Health and have submitted a Certificate of Completion (see How to Apply).

   *Organizations as NPAs: For organizations applying as the NPA, a representative of the organization must complete the training module on the organization’s behalf.

6. If applying to the Indigenous Stream:
   • The NPA or Principal Applicant must self-identify as Indigenous (First Nations, Métis or Inuit) and/or provide evidence of having meaningful and culturally safe involvement with Indigenous communities (see How to Apply for more details).
   • In addition, at least one knowledge user must be affiliated with First Nations, Inuit or Métis and/or urban Indigenous communities or organization.
7. For applications not solely focused on Indigenous Health Research (i.e., not eligible to apply to the Indigenous Stream), but involving research with Indigenous Peoples, at least one member of the research team in a Principal role (i.e. Principal Applicant or a Principal Knowledge User) must self-identify as Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit or Métis) and/or provide evidence of having meaningful and culturally safe involvement with Indigenous Peoples (see How to Apply for more details).
8. For both streams, the application must include funding to support the hiring of a minimum of one student (e.g. undergraduate, graduate, etc.) as a research trainee on the grant.

Administration of Funds

Funds will only be released to the institution or organization identified as the Institution Paid. If the Institution Paid is not already authorized to administer CIHR funds, for the duration of the grant term, it may be required to undergo a financial and eligibility review and sign a funding agreement, or the successful applicant may choose to have their funds administered by a CIHR eligible institution. Please contact the Contact Centre to enquire about the process.

Notes:

• For the purpose of this Funding Opportunity:
  • If not applying as the NPA, Community Leaders are also invited to identify themselves as Principal Knowledge Users or Knowledge Users, which are equivalent to Principal Applicants and Co-applicants respectively.