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Section I - Overview
Minister's Message
I am very pleased to present the 2006-2007 Departmental Performance Report for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
In the past year, Canada's New Government has articulated a vision and strategy for how Canada can succeed in the modern global economy. In such an economy, where the most successful nations are those that combine the best people, skills, new ideas and advanced technologies to create a competitive edge, Canada can be a true leader.
As Minister of Health, I feel that CIHR is an important partner in this process. CIHR is helping maximize our impact in three key areas: developing new knowledge; commercializing research; and helping create a highly educated workforce.
From the outset, CIHR has demonstrated its commitment to supporting world-class research. All CIHR funding applications undergo peer review to ensure their excellence. Almost daily, one can see evidence of the results and influence of this research. For example, in the past year CIHR researchers determined that so-called cancer stem cells are the real ringleaders in this disease but, unfortunately, the cells are not being caught using current anti-cancer therapies. This new knowledge provides a powerful platform on which researchers can base future research efforts, to ultimately build more effective treatments for cancer.
CIHR is playing an important role in helping align research with the needs of business to make a real impact in the market. For example, the breakthrough Proof of Principle (PoP) program tests and validates novel technologies prior to launching new ventures. The PoP program improves the commercial transfer of knowledge and technology resulting from academic health research for the benefit of Canadians.
Finally, CIHR continues to contribute heavily to building Canada's people advantage. CIHR training grants and programs are cultivating the kind of talent Canada needs to generate top-quality research and help our country thrive in the knowledge-based economy. CIHR also has invested in internships and scholarships such as those that, under a Canada-China agreement, allow researchers to work and study at labs in each other's countries.
Canada and Canadians can look forward to continued benefits resulting from CIHR's far-sighted investments in health research.
Tony Clement
Minister of Health
President's Message
A revolution is taking place in health research. Emerging areas of science are offering exciting new opportunities for improving health. In the coming decades, key drivers - such as insights from biology that are leading to the new diagnostics and therapies; technologies that have the power to link our bodies, electronic health records and hospitals together; and regenerative medicine, which is leading to changes in how we repair or replace defective or worn-out body parts - are going to transform our approach to human health and health-care delivery.
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) was created within the context of this rapidly changing landscape. Today, we stand poised to help Canada take its place at the forefront of global productivity and achieve health and prosperity for our nation.
We are doing this in several ways: We are supporting the development of what the Government of Canada has called, in Advantage Canada, the best-educated, most-skilled and most flexible workforce in the world. Since 2000, CIHR has doubled the number of graduate students we support, investing more than $100M in their career development.
We are targeting our investments to areas where Canada has the potential to be a world leader, such as clinical research, human genetics, health services and population and public health research, and to areas of government and Canadian priority, such as obesity and autism.
We are leveraging investment on large-scale national scientific and commercialization projects. In 2006-2007, our partners contributed more than $90M1 toward joint projects in health research. Industry-partnered programs leverage public sector funding at a rate of 2:1 or more. We are enhancing the commercialization of Canadian discoveries by facilitating linkages between universities and the private sector.
And, we are ensuring excellence in research by only funding the very best grant applications, as determined by peer review.
Canada is receiving worldwide recognition for CIHR's outcomes-driven, inclusive and strategic approach. A prestigious International Review Panel applauded CIHR for what it has accomplished to date, noting that we are setting an example for the world. And in the United Kingdom, the Cooksey Review, which dealt with support for health research in the UK, singled out CIHR and Canada as a model to follow.
Our success is due, in no small measure, to the dedicated and talented staff of CIHR, and the contributions of CIHR's Governing Council, our 13 Scientific Directors and Institute Advisory Boards, our volunteers on peer-review committees, and hundreds of partners from the public, non-governmental and private sectors. And, of course, our work would not be possible without the continuing support of Parliamentarians. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their contributions and support, past, present and future.
Dr. Alan Bernstein, O.C., FRSC
President, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
1. Currently, these figures represent only partner funds being administered by CIHR. As in-kind contributions can not accurately be validated and that partner funds not administered at CIHR are not included, partner contributions are likely understated.
Management Representation Statement
I submit for tabling in Parliament, the 2006-2007 Departmental Performance Report for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
This document has been prepared based on the reporting principles contained in the Guide for the Preparation of Part III of the 2006-2007 Estimates: Reports on Plans and Priorities and Departmental Performance Reports:
- It adheres to the specific reporting requirements outlined in the Treasury Board Secretariat guidance;
- It is based on the department's approved Strategic Outcome(s) and Program Activity Architecture that were approved by the Treasury Board;
- It presents consistent, comprehensive, balanced and reliable information;
- It provides a basis of accountability for the results achieved with the resources and authorities entrusted to it; and
- It reports finances based on approved numbers from the Estimates and the Public Accounts of Canada.
Signed: Dr. Alan Bernstein, O.C., FRSC
Title: President, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Summary Information
1. Raison d'être
The mandate of CIHR is to excel, according to internationally accepted standards of scientific excellence, in the creation of new knowledge and its translation into improved health for Canadians, more effective health services and products and a strengthened Canadian health-care system (Bill C-13, April 13, 2000).
To accomplish this, CIHR provides a range of programs that are designed to achieve results in three strategic outcome areas in accordance with CIHR's mandate and strategic directions: 1) outstanding research; 2) outstanding researchers in innovative environments; and 3) transforming health research into action. CIHR supports more than 11,000 health researchers and trainees in 260 universities, teaching hospitals, research centres and government laboratories across the country who conduct health research in the following areas: biomedical; clinical; health systems and services; and the societal and cultural dimensions of health and environmental influences on health. Together, these activities will help to position Canada as a world leader in the generation and use of health knowledge for the betterment of the health of Canadians and people around the world.
Financial Resources (in millions)
| Planned Spending | Total Authorities | Actual Spending |
|---|---|---|
| $862.8 | $863.4 | $843.3 |
Human Resources2
| Planned | Actual | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| 390 | 347 | -43 |
2. All references to human resources are expressed in full-time equivalents (FTEs), unless otherwise noted.
2. Summary of Performance in Relation to Strategic Outcomes, Priorities and Commitments
In its 2006-2007 Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP), CIHR committed to the priorities and related investments described in the table below. This table also provides a summary "report card" on how CIHR performed relative to expected results and priorities. Finally, it provides a comparison of planned and actual spending in each strategic outcome.
| Status on Performance | 2006-2007 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planned Spending | Actual Spending |
|||
| Strategic Outcome 1.0: Outstanding Research - Best health research supported to create health knowledge responding to opportunities and priorities. | ||||
| Priority #1: Research Advance health knowledge, through excellent and ethical research, across disciplines, sectors and geography (Ongoing) |
Program Activity - Expected Result | Performance Status | Planned Spending | Actual Spending |
| 1.1 Fund health research - Effective and efficient funding programs that enable ethical health research, responding to research opportunities and priorities. | Met Expectations | $469.4 M | $499.5 M | |
| Strategic Outcome 2.0: Outstanding Researchers in Innovative Environments - Strong health research community able to undertake outstanding research. | ||||
| Priority #2: Researchers Develop and sustain Canada's health researchers in vibrant, innovative and stable research environments. (Ongoing) |
Program Activity - Expected Result | Performance Status | Planned Spending | Actual Spending |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1 Fund health researchers and trainees - Effective and efficient funding programs that ensure a supply of highly qualified health researchers and trainees are available to conduct outstanding research. | Met Expectations | $217.7 M | $190.4 M | |
| 2.2. Fund research resources, collaboration and other grants to strengthen the health research community - Effective and efficient partnerships and funding programs that lead to a dynamic research environment and enable outstanding research. | Met Expectations | $73.2 M | $66.2 M | |
| 2.3 Develop and support strong health research community through national and international alliances and priority-setting - National and international health research agendas as well as strong alliances and partnerships are formulated and implemented. | Met Expectations | $28.2 M | $23.3 M | |
| 2.4 Inform research, clinical practice and public policy on ethical, legal and social issues (ELSI) related to health and health research - Uptake and application of ethics knowledge as an integral part of decision-making in health practice, research and policy. | Met Expectations | $6.3 M | $2.2 M | |
| Strategic Outcome 3.0: Transforming Health Research into Action - Health research adopted into practice, programs and policies for improved health of Canadians and a productive health system; stimulation of economic development through discovery and innovation. | ||||
| Priority #3: Knowledge Translation Catalyze health innovation in order to strengthen the health system and contribute to the growth of Canada's economy. (Ongoing) |
Program Activity - Expected Result | Performance Status | Planned Spending | Actual Spending |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 Support activities on knowledge translation, exchange, use and strategies to strengthen the health system - Effective dissemination, exchange, synthesis and application of research results take place to create new knowledge, strengthen Canadian capacity and networks and, together with our partners, enable effective research and application of health research results. | Met Expectations | $40.7 M | $35.0 M | |
| 3.2. Support national efforts to capture the economic value for Canada of health research advances made at Canadian institutions - Mobilizing research to improve health services and products, strengthen the health-care system and economy. | Met Expectations |
$27.3 M | $26.7 M | |
CIHR's Operating Environment
1. Approach to Health Research
CIHR is the Government of Canada's agency for funding and promoting health research. CIHR's vision is to position Canada as a world leader in the creation and use of new knowledge through health research that benefits the health of Canadians and the global community. CIHR's strategic plan, Blueprint, articulates the ways in which the organization implements this vision.3
The Unique Virtual Institute Model
CIHR is structured around 13 virtual, geographically distributed Institutes that support research and knowledge translation (KT) in four related areas: 1) biomedical, 2) clinical, 3) health systems and services, and 4) the societal, environmental and cultural influences on health. Each
Institute forms a health research network that links researchers, health professionals and policy makers from voluntary health organizations, provincial/territorial government agencies, international research organizations and industry and consumer groups. Detailed organizational structure and governance information are provided in Section III - Supplementary
Information.
|
CIHR Institutes Aboriginal Peoples' Health (IAPH) |
A Problem-based Multidisciplinary Approach
Through its 13 Institutes, CIHR is creating new opportunities for Canadian health researchers to produce results that matter to Canadians and the rest of the world. CIHR uses a problem-based, collaborative and multidisciplinary approach to health research and its application. While the majority of its funded research is investigator-driven,
research funding is also directed towards specific strategic initiatives that respond to health challenges that are of high priority to Canadians.
A Key Role in the Health Portfolio
The Minister of Health, through the work of the Health Portfolio, is responsible for maintaining and improving the health of Canadians. The Portfolio consists of the newly formed Assisted Human Reproduction Agency of Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Health Canada, the Hazardous
Materials Information Review Commission, the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board and the Public Health Agency of Canada. Each member of the Portfolio prepares its own Report on Plans and Priorities and Departmental Performance Report.
The Health Portfolio consists of approximately 11,700 employees and an annual budget of more than $4.6 billion.
3. CIHR's Blueprint for Health Research and Innovation can be found at: http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/20266.html.
2. CIHR's Core Business
Funding Research and Knowledge Translation
CIHR activities include the funding, coordination and promotion of health research and KT through grants and awards competitions, and strategic initiatives. CIHR also participates with other federal agencies in a number of programs, including the Networks of
Centres of Excellence program, Canada Research Chairs (CRC) and Canada Graduate Scholarships (CGS).
CIHR invests a significant portion of its budget in "open" competitions, enabling individual researchers or groups of investigators to identify research areas that they consider to be of importance. The remainder of the CIHR budget is invested in "strategic" research, that is, research on specific topics of priority to Canadians identified by CIHR's Institutes following broad consultation.
CIHR provides a range of salary awards and training programs to support health researchers across all disciplines, building capacity in those areas where needs are identified. It develops and supports innovative training programs that promote a multidisciplinary approach to understanding health and disease. CIHR also contributes to improved research ethics policies and practices in Canada and internationally.
CIHR's investments in research and researchers are coupled with a growing emphasis on KT, to ensure that these investments have the broadest possible impact on improving the health of Canadians, the health-care system and the economy.
CIHR is responding to the health needs of Canadians. For example, CIHR is funding research that promises to improve our understanding of autism and address the needs of children and adults with this disorder and their families. In 2006-07 CIHR funded $3.1 million in research related to autism, bring its total investment in research in this field to $26.1 million since 2000. CIHR is also working with partners in the Health Portfolio to implement the new autism initiatives announced by the Minister of Health in November 2006 to improve knowledge and research on autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in order to help individuals and families facing the challenges of ASD.
Peer-review Process
CIHR manages an independent peer-review process for reviewing and selecting health research applications to ensure that it is funding the best applications received. Applications undergo a rigorous competitive review by experts in the field, who assess the proposals on the basis of excellence, technical approach and
degree of innovation, and value to the health of Canadians. The presence of international reviewers helps to ensure that the research funded by CIHR is internationally competitive.
In 2006-2007, there were nearly 130 CIHR peer-review committees. The peer-review process involved over 2,200 peer-review committee members from Canada and abroad who volunteered as expert reviewers.
In response to a recommendation made by the International Review Panel (described below), a new governance system has been established, the Research and Knowledge Translation Committee (RKTC), to account for all research-related decision making within CIHR.
Knowledge Translation
A key part of CIHR's mandate, Knowledge translation (KT) is a dynamic and iterative process that includes the synthesis, dissemination, exchange and ethically-sound application of knowledge to improve the health of Canadians, provide more effective services and products and a strengthened health-care system. This mandate is accomplished through
funding KT research and activities; facilitating and managing partnerships that can accelerate KT; and developing measurement, analysis and evaluation policies, frameworks and tools to assess the outcomes and impacts of CIHR-funded research.
Commercialization
In 2006 there were 532 biotech companies in Canada, responsible for over $4 billion in revenues and $1.7 billion in research and development expenditures with a total market capitalization of over $15 billion4. CIHR, through its Commercialization and Innovation Strategy, has developed a coherent suite of programs to help move research
discoveries from the academic setting to the marketplace.
4. Source: BIOTECanada, Biotechnology in Canada; Facts: http://www.biotech.ca/content.php?sec=3.
3. Evaluating our Performance
After five years, as required by CIHR's own commitment to accountability to Canadians and in accordance with the CIHR Act, CIHR embarked on a significant and comprehensive evaluation by a prestigious International Review Panel (IRP), comprising 27 distinguished experts. The purpose of this review was to determine how well CIHR is fulfilling its mandate and to assist CIHR in learning from its first five years as it moves forward.
The panel met with more than 100 stakeholders - university and government leaders, partners in industry, health charities and the provinces and CIHR management and staff. Panel members also had access to detailed and extensive surveys of researchers from across Canada and an evaluation of each of CIHR's 13 Institutes.
The final report of the panel was published in June 2006 and is available at http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/31680.html. The Executive Summary of the Year 5- International Review Panel Report - 2000-2005 is included in Section IV of this report. In addition, the major findings of the review as well as CIHR's response are referred to in various sections of this report.
4. CIHR's Partnerships - Leveraging our Impact
Partnerships have played a central role in the success of CIHR since its inception. By pooling resources, we have been able to fund more research in areas of shared strategic importance spanning a wide range of health challenges. CIHR engages partners along the entire spectrum of health research, from setting research priorities, through funding research, disseminating research results and, eventually, translating the resulting knowledge into action.
Partnerships span every Institute and strategic initiative at CIHR and partners come from a wide array of sectors including federal departments, other granting agencies, health charities, associations and provincial governments. There are many pan-CIHR partnerships, including such projects as the Regional Partnership Program and the Clinical Research Initiative.
CIHR's impact would be significantly reduced in the absence of partnerships. In the seven years that CIHR has been in existence, it has established more than 500 partnership agreements with over 350 organizations. Over the same period, these partnerships have leveraged more than $558M5 in additional funding for CIHR-led health research projects. However, the value of a particular partnership extends beyond that of a financial transaction. Non-financial contributions can include access to professional networks, areas of expertise, shared tools and documentation and in-kind resources.
CIHR is working with national and international partners to address health problems in the developing world. For example. CIHR is supporting the Teasdale-Corti Global Health Research Partnership Program, a new, collaborative health research program developed with the other federal partners in the Global Health Research Initiative -- International Development Research Centre, Canadian International Development Agency, and Health Canada. The program supports teams of Canadian health researchers and researchers from developing countries who work on research projects that address global health problems. In March 2007 the Government announced $20 million in funding that will support 13 research teams.
5. Currently, these figures represent only partner funds being administered by CIHR. As in-kind contributions can not accurately be validated and that partner funds not administered at CIHR are not included, partner contributions are likely understated.
5. Risks and Challenges
CIHR continuously assesses opportunities, challenges and risks at three levels: strategic, programmatic and corporate. For environmental scanning and response development at a strategic level, each of the 13 Institutes has an Advisory Board that provides a wide variety of perspectives on health and health-research issues. These boards identify threats to the health of Canadians and opportunities for rapid advances in health knowledge and develop strategic research initiatives in response. At the programmatic level, CIHR assesses the opportunities and risks associated with different types of research and designs appropriate research funding mechanisms. At the corporate level, CIHR is working towards a framework for integrated risk management, and the corporate planning process involves the identification and assessment of risks on annual basis.
The recent report of the IRP identified the major challenges and risks facing CIHR, including:
Governance and Management
- Governance will be crucial in the next phase of CIHR. Accountability and transparency need to be reinforced at all levels of the organization. CIHR's Governing Council should consider its position as the main board of the organization and a single research committee should be established to account for all research expenditures.
- Rapid growth and the challenges associated with matrix management across the Institutes and Ottawa has created management challenges within CIHR leading to the conclusion that the executive team needs expanding and strengthening. The most appropriate structure for handling these issues should be considered after an organizational review.
- Scientific Directors should now be given further responsibility to oversee the panel activity in their scientific area. It would also seem reasonable that a future role of Scientific Directors might be to form the core of the central committee replacing Research Priorities and Planning Committee responsible for allocation of the whole research budget.
- The crucial leadership role played by the Scientific Directors led the IRP to consider the succession challenges associated with moving Institutes every five to seven years and believe this is a significant issue as institutional memory will be lost. Options should be considered for ensuring the smooth transition of the Institutes.
Programs and Peer Review
- Rapid growth, particularly of new strategic initiatives and peer review panels, has led to excessive complexity. This complexity needs to be reduced to enable opportunities and activities to be both focused and manageable.
- The peer review system that is responsible for handling most of the research funding is currently under strain and requires more academic leadership. A review of its processes and structure is necessary.
- Since teams and collaborations often form unpredictably and in a more bottom-up approach in response to complex problems, CIHR should develop a flexible and responsive approach to promote multi-disciplinary research.
Knowledge Translation
- There remains lack of clarity about the definition of knowledge translation across the organization.
- More attention should be directed at providing leadership in the area of technology commercialization.
Ethics
- CIHR should increase its emphasis on research in ethics as well as its governance responsibilities that ensure that the research that it funds meets the highest ethical standards.
Evaluation
- End-of-grant reports provide an important mechanism in accumulating data on achievements that can be used for future evaluations. There are standard metrics in all (research) settings and more effort needs to be invested in ensuring that these are collected and analyzed to plot the relative success of the organization. This process needs to be addressed immediately so that
information is available to assess CIHR objectively on its performance.
Communications
- Communication remains an important and challenging activity for the CIHR, particularly the range of potential audiences, including funding partners, provincial and federal governments, universities, health researchers, international agencies and the citizens of Canada. CIHR management needs to consider creative approaches to the
utilization of a wide range of communication sources and resources including effective use of electronic and web-based dissemination, and should continue to improve its communication with key stakeholders.
Canada's Research Landscape
- A major outstanding challenge for the CIHR and health research in Canada is the apparent lack of co-ordination at the federal and provincial levels of the many different types and sources for funding for different aspects of health research. Support for infrastructure and research posts are welcome but must be aligned with the operating grants that are necessary to keep the research enterprise running.
In response to the risks and challenges noted above by the IRP's report, CIHR has introduced a number of changes to strengthen these areas:
Governance and Management
- CIHR has strengthened the governance role of its Governing Council through a review, revisions and enhancements to the existing committee structure and related terms of reference;
- It has delegated responsibility for funding decisions to management through the creation of the Research and Knowledge Translation Committee. This new committee had its inaugural meeting in February 2007; and
- CIHR has revised its organizational structure to optimize organizational functioning, strengthen accountability, and support retention of corporate memory during Institute transition periods. This included consolidating administrative and service support functions under the Executive Vice President and adopting a Chief Financial Officer model as recommended
by Treasury Board.
Research Programs and Peer Review
- The Research Portfolio is leading efforts to streamline CIHR programs through the Better, Simpler CIHR Initiative and will also undergo an internal restructuring in 2007-2008 in an effort to better align programs and resources;
- It is developing a standardization project which involves the review and streamlining of the competition management process; and
- It is examining processes related to composition of peer review panels, peer reviewer recruitment, and standardized evaluation of grants.
Knowledge Translation (KT)
- A new Vice President, Knowledge Translation and Partnerships was appointed in July 2006 and spent several months building internal capacity and reviewing existing activities; and
- The KT Branch has completed a study to inform assessment of KT in peer review and is developing related guidelines. Similarly, work on a KT module for inclusion in requests for applications is in progress.
Ethics
- CIHR has launched two strategic initiatives promoting ethics in research, both of which will help to build capacity in this priority area in Canada, and is promoting education in research ethics.
Evaluation
- CIHR has strengthened its evaluation and analysis capacity, including analytical expertise on measuring the impacts of health research; and
- CIHR is developing a research results database on the basis of an on-line end-of-grant reporting tool that will become mandatory for CIHR grant holders; the reporting tool is scheduled to be completed by December 2007 to lead to data available from the results database by 2010.
Communications
- The Communications and Marketing Branch has implemented innovative strategies and programs that target a variety of audiences through workshops, CIHR's website, newsletters, daily alerts, and outreach events.
Canada's Research Landscape
- CIHR was actively involved in the development of the Government's new S&T Strategy for Canada. The new Strategy states that "the government can improve value for money by developing a more comprehensive approach in its management of the overall envelope of support for higher education R&D. This includes ensuring the right balance in funding for researchers, direct and indirect costs of the research they perform, research infrastructure, and research networks."
- CIHR is continuing to work closely with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and each are committed to collaborating at both the operational and strategic levels. For example, in 2006-2007, CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC and Quebec's three research agencies signed an agreement to extend the reach of the Canadian Common CV for researchers across the spectrum of research including the natural, social and health sciences, engineering and the humanities;
- CIHR supports and hosts the Forum of Health Researchers, which brings together federal and provincial health and funding agencies and major charities to discuss the state of health research and collaborative activities that could be undertaken to support health research in Canada; and
- CIHR has completed a series of studies which assess the impact of government investments in infrastructure (Canada Foundation for Innovation) and personnel (CRC) programs on current and future demand for research grants through CIHR.
Alignment to Government of Canada Strategic Outcomes
The following table illustrates how CIHR's Strategic Outcomes and Program Activities align to and support Government of Canada Strategic Outcomes:
| CIHR Strategic Outcome | CIHR Program Activity | Alignment to Government of Canada Strategic Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Outstanding Research | 1.1 Fund health research | Economic: An innovative and knowledge-based economy |
| 2. Outstanding Researchers in Innovative Environments | 2.1 Fund health researchers and trainees | Economic: An innovative and knowledge-based economy |
| 2.2 Fund research resources, collaboration and other grants to strengthen the health research community | Social: Healthy Canadians with access to quality health care | |
| 2.3 Develop and support strong health research community through national and international alliances and priority setting | Social: Healthy Canadians with access to quality health care | |
| 2.4 Inform research, clinical practice and public policy on ethical, social and legal issues (ELSI) related to health and health research | Social: Healthy Canadians with access to quality health care | |
| 3. Transforming Health Research into Action | 3.1 Support activities on knowledge translation, exchange, use and strategies to strengthen the health system | Social: Healthy Canadians with access to quality health care |
| 3.2 Support national efforts to capture the economic value for Canada of health research advances made at Canadian institutions | Economic: An innovative and knowledge-based economy |
Summary of CIHR's Performance
Measuring and reporting on CIHR's performance is critical both in terms of meeting our commitment to be accountable to Canadians and to ensure that our programs and investments have the maximum possible positive impact on Canadian society and to research internationally. Measuring the outcomes and impacts of health research investments is a challenge - countries around the world are grappling with this issue. Objectively demonstrating direct links between particular research investments and immediate, short-term or long-term, identifiable and measurable outcomes is difficult. As evidenced in this report, CIHR is committed to continuously improve the measurement and reporting of its performance.
During 2006-07, CIHR continued to create new opportunities for Canadian researchers to be internationally competitive. Today, more health researchers are receiving higher levels of funding in more disciplines and in all provinces. The result is health-research discoveries that are designed to make a difference to the health of Canadians in terms of disease prevention and improved diagnosis and treatment. New health research programs have been developed to help strengthen our health care system to better meet the needs of Canadians. Programs such as the Proof of Principle (PoP) program are catalyzing the commercialization of CIHR-funded research.
Since its inception in 2000, CIHR has been able to:
- Increase the number of CIHR-funded health researchers and trainees from approximately 6,000 to more than 11,000, an increase of more than 83%.
- Increase average annual open competition operating grants for individual researchers from $92,000 to $112,000, an increase of more than 21%.
- Fund a large number of health researchers in strategic priority areas that were identified in consultation with the community.
- Encourage and catalyze the commercialization of research.
- Develop important new partnerships with provincial health research agencies, industry and health charities.
- Put in place new collaborative agreements with partners in countries around the world.
- Develop programs to engage the users of health research in the health research process through KT research, synthesis and knowledge-to-action programs.
