Impact grants

There will be a two-stage application and review process. Applicants will be required to submit a letter of intent (LOI) and selected applicants will be invited to submit a full application. A multidisciplinary peer review committee will be assembled to review the LOIs and full applications.

The review criteria will include, but not be limited to five assessment categories: Impact, Research Strategy, Investigator(s), Environment, and Cancer Relevance. Given the scope of this competition, significant emphasis will be placed on the impact statement. Applicants should note that the LOI review will result in significant triage; only the strongest LOIs will be invited for full proposals.

Impact (Impact rating scale)

• potential to address an important problem or a critical barrier to progress in the field
• potential of the project to make a significant advancement in our understanding of cancer
• potential that scientific knowledge and/or clinical practice can be significantly improved
• potential to deliver tangible benefits in the short- to medium-term to patients or populations, such as new risk reduction strategies, early detection, screening or treatment paradigms, or better outcomes for cancer survivors

Research strategy

• scientific merit and convincing rationale that considers critical review and analysis of preliminary data and/or published literature, as appropriate
• clear and feasible methodological approach
• identification of potential problems and how they will be addressed, including alternative approaches(i.e. mitigation strategies)
• consideration of sex and/or gender and/or diversity in the research design, methodology, analysis and interpretation and/or dissemination of findings (if applicable)
• appropriateness of the term and amount of support requested

Investigator(s)

• appropriate leadership to successfully undertake the work proposed
• qualifications and appropriate expertise of the investigator(s)
• if project is collaborative or multidisciplinary, evidence of consideration of equity, diversity and inclusion principles in selection of research team members to ensure complementary and integrated expertise and appropriate resources are available
• plan for mentorship/career development of early career investigators and trainees that implements equitable and inclusive practices

Environment

• quality of the research environment in which the work will take place

Cancer relevance

• direct relevance of the project to cancer
• potential impact on cancer control

There is a limit of one Impact Grant application per Principal Investigator/Co-Principal Investigator in a competition, and only one Impact Grant can be held by a Principal Investigator/Co-Principal Investigator at any given time.

The LOI submission will require the following:

1. an impact statement which clearly articulates the expected progression of the project on affecting the burden of cancer in patients and/or populations. The statement should explicitly describe how the project will promote major advancement in cancer research which will accelerate and focus the knowledge gained from scientific findings, in the short- to medium-term, into outcomes such as optimized patient care, improved treatment or reduced cancer burden
2. a scientific abstract
3. a summary of the proposed research (maximum of 3 pages, single-spaced)
4. sex and/or gender and/or diversity considerations in the proposed research (if applicable)
5. up to 3 pages of figures/tables/charts and associated legends
6. a preliminary budget
7. the names of the investigator(s) and abbreviated CVs (abbreviated NIH-style biosketch) for the PI and any co-PIs
8. the names of suggested reviewers/exclusions.

The summary of the proposed research should include the following:

1. the specific research question to be addressed
2. background and scientific rationale
3. design and brief methodology and analysis
4. relevance of the proposed research to this program

Impact Grants are not intended to support incremental scientific advances but to promote major advancement in research programs that will impact cancer, whether at the fundamental discovery stage or in more applied research.

Please note that changes to the applicant list or significant changes to the abstract after the LOI deadline are permitted, but must be provided to the CCS as they are determined.

When preparing the full application, the following will be required.

1. a public (non-scientific) summary
2. a scientific abstract (the abstract can be updated from the LOI submission)
3. an impact statement (this statement can be updated from the LOI submission)
4. a relevance statement(s) for special funding call(s) (if applicable)
5. a detailed scientific proposal clearly stating the aims of the project including any previous work done in the area, experimental design, methods and analysis. Details of the investigator(s) including which member(s) of the research team will be responsible for which aspect of the project and a rationale for their inclusion in the project are required, as well as a description of the research environment where the work will take place. The proposal will contain no more than 10 pages of single spaced text. In addition, 5 pages of data figures/tables/charts plus 3 pages of supporting non-data schematics/flow diagrams (e.g. to depict signalling pathways, etc.) and their associated legends are allowed.
6. sex, gender and diversity considerations in the proposed research (if applicable)
7. a detailed budget and justification related to the supplies, equipment and personnel associated with the research project. This must include the number of personnel required to complete the work and a description of their experience and/or education level and their commitment to the project.
8. abbreviated CVs (NIH-style biosketch) of research team participants (excluding collaborators) and letters from collaborators
9. grant funding details (held and pending)
10. disclosure of commercialization and conflict of interest

As of this competition due date, there must not be substantive overlap (more than 50%) with any pending application (including those at the abstract or Letter of Intent submission stage) to any other Canadian Cancer Society and Prostate Cancer Canada Research program, with the exception of Prostate Cancer Canada Implementation Research Grants. Duplicate applications will not be accepted. The onus is on the applicant to indicate the extent (or absence) of overlap. Grantees can accept funds from other sources, up to the CCS Research panel recommended amount.