cihr-ig is pleased to be partnering with approximately 18 international funding organizations in the context of this european joint programme on rare diseases (ejp rd) call for proposals 2021. cihr-ig is committed to expanding and improving the diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases by creating the conditions needed to bring together creative, dynamic, interdisciplinary teams of researchers from across canada and the european community (ec) to collaborate for better health outcome for the rare disease patient community.

the topic of the call is social sciences and humanities research to improve health care implementation and everyday life of people living with a rare disease.

projects shall involve a group of rare diseases or a single rare disease following the european definition i.e. a disease affecting not more than five in 10,000 persons in the european community, ec associated states and canada. applicants are encouraged to assemble groups of rare diseases based on solid criteria and commonalities if this leverages added value in sharing resources or expertise or has the capacity to elucidate common disease problematics.

for more information, please consult ejp rd jtc2021.

research areas

this funding opportunity will support transnational research proposals relevant to at least one of the following areas:

1. health and social care services research to improve patient and familial/household health outcomes
2. economic impact of rare diseases
3. psychological and social impact of rare diseases
4. studies addressing the impact/burden of the delay in diagnosis and of the lack of therapeutic intervention
5. e-health in rare diseases: use of innovative technology systems for care practices in health and social services
6. development and enhancement of health outcomes research methods in rare diseases
7. effects of pandemic crisis and the global outbreak alert and response on the rare disease field, and the emergence of innovative care pathways in this regard

additional details on subtopics for each above mentioned area in annex 1 of the european joint programme on rare diseases (ejp rd) call for proposals 2021.

antimicrobial resistance (amr) does not recognise geographic borders or species barriers. progress on amr is necessary for attainment of the united nations (un) sustainable development goals (sdgs), with amr being deeply rooted into attainment of sdgs promoting no poverty, good health and wellbeing, zero hunger, reduced inequality and decent work and international growth. with the current focus of the joint programming initiative on antimicrobial resistance (jpiamr) strategic research and innovation agenda, this call will specifically focus on tackling the rising threat of antibiotic resistance. addressing the rising threat of antibiotic resistance requires a one health approach since resistant bacteria, genetic elements and antibiotics are found in humans, animals and the environment. declining clinical effectiveness of existing antibiotics together with the low and insufficient number of promising new antibiotics in the pipeline stresses the urgency to understand the mechanisms of emergence and transmission of antibiotic resistance.

this call, funded under the era-net jpiamr-action, is the 13^th jpiamr transnational call for research projects. the call advocates for a one health approach to understand the impact of interventions on the development and transmission of antibiotic resistance and to design, implement, evaluate, and compare interventions that will have a true impact on preventing or reducing the development and transmission of antibiotic resistance in one of the and/or between each of the one health settings (human, animal, environment). projects should be implemented into relevant geographic areas, including into resource-limited settings, with a one health perspective. projects are encouraged to include transdisciplinary research teams, in which involvement of the social sciences is encouraged. low and middle income country- (lmic-) led collaborations at global and regional level are welcomed.

research is needed to understand antibiotic resistance development and transmission and to develop interventions in various geographic and socio-economic settings, to design one health implementation strategies, and to test their cost effectiveness, efficiency and uptake¹. factors including the heterogeneity of culture and behaviour, healthcare systems, prescribing practices and consumption of antibiotics, water utility and sanitary routines, agricultural practices, pharmaceutical manufacturing processes, sewage/effluent management and treatment, and resistance to antibiotics across the globe, including in lmics, warrant different implementation approaches.

for more information, please consult the jpiamr website.

the specific objectives of this funding opportunity are to:

• support high quality programs of population health intervention research that contribute to new knowledge to improve health and health equity across the life course. a program of research outlines multiple research projects that are conceptually linked and implemented over several years, based on an analysis of gaps in current knowledge in the field, especially gaps of importance to knowledge users engaged in relevant policies and programs in public health and other sectors.
• stimulate the application of innovative theories, methods and approaches in research and knowledge translation that promote reciprocal learning within and between countries. this includes low-, middle- and/or high-income countries.
• catalyze interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral collaborations between researchers and knowledge users that contribute to evidence-informed decision-making and use of knowledge by public health and other sectors.
• support and strengthen the ability of the research community to respond with actionable evidence to emerging or re-emerging public health concerns that could impact the health and well-being of canadians.
• mentor the current and next generation of population and public health researchers (in particular post-doctoral fellows and early career researchers), practitioners and policy makers from a range of disciplines and sectors.

the department of public safety and emergency preparedness is inviting proposals to support and advance efforts to build a safe and resilient canada through the cyber security cooperation program (cscp), which provides time-limited funding in the form of grants and contributions. funding under the cscp supports projects that contribute to security and prosperity in the digital age while positioning canada as a global leader in cyber security. 

the call for applications is opened to the following classes of recipients:

• canadian not-for-profit organizations;
• canadian academic and research institutions;
• provincial, territorial and local government and authorities;
• canadian individual researchers and professionals; and
• canadian for-profit organizations.

the call for proposals will fund projects that shall not exceed $300,000/year per contribution or grant. in the case of for-profit organizations, the maximum funding is set at $100,000/year per contribution; and $150,000/year per grant.

the call for applications is opened until february 12, 2021. further details about eligibility criteria, and how to apply are available on this website: https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/ntnl-scrt/cbr-scrt/cprtn-prgrm/pplctn-nfrmtn-en.aspx

the northern contaminants program (ncp) engages northerners and scientists in research and monitoring of long-range contaminants in the canadian arctic, that is, contaminants that are transported to the arctic through atmospheric and oceanic processes from other parts of the world and which remain in the arctic environment and build up in the food chain (see ncp’s list of contaminants of concern).

the data generated by the ncp is used to assess ecosystem and human health, and the findings of these assessments are used to address the safety and security of traditional country foods that are important to the health and traditional lifestyles of northerners and northern communities. the findings also inform policy, resulting in action to eliminate contaminants from long-range sources.

the ncp funds research, monitoring and related activities in yukon, northwest territories, nunavut, nunavik and nunatsiavut. this includes the traditional territories of yukon first nations and of the dene and metis of the northwest territories, and all of inuit nunangat. proposals for work to be conducted outside these regions will be considered on a case-by-case basis according to their relevance to priorities and objectives identified in the ncp strategic guidance documents (the ‘ncp blueprints’). the 5 subprograms are:

1. human health
2. environmental monitoring and research
3. community-based monitoring and research
4. communications, capacity and outreach
5. program coordination and indigenous partnerships

starting in 2020-2021, the ncp began supporting multi-year projects under each of the 5 subprograms. as a consequence, a portion of the funds for each subprogram has already been committed to projects extending to 2022-2023.

for this call for proposals, $1 million is available in 2021-2022 for new projects that will address priorities and objectives described in the ncp blueprints, particularly in relation to human health biomonitoring and plastic pollution in canada’s northern and arctic regions. applicants may request funding for up to 3 years.

the chan zuckerberg initiative invites applications for challenge grants in the field of visual proteomics. this request for applications (rfa) aims to advance technology directed at the goal of obtaining near-atomic resolution readouts inside the cell.

the chan zuckerberg initiative invites applications for three-year collaborative projects for the generation of healthy, single-cell reference data from pediatric tissue samples for the human cell atlas (hca). read our medium post for more information. please register your interest with the hca to find collaborators and connect with ongoing efforts.