New Health Investigator Grant

To apply for a New Health Investigator Grant, the applicant must meet one of the following criteria:

1. Early Career Health Researcher within the first five years of first-time academic/research appointment at a Nova Scotia university/college, or an appointment with research responsibilities at an affiliated hospital; or
2. Health Researcher who has recently moved to Nova Scotia after an absence of at least five years who holds an academic/research appointment at a Nova Scotia university/college, or an appointment with research responsibilities at an affiliated hospital; or
3. Researcher who is new to the field of health research and has undergone a career transition within the past five years. Must hold an academic/research appointment at a Nova Scotia university/college, or an appointment with research responsibilities at an affiliated hospital

Eligibility will take into account any approved leaves of absence for the principal investigator. During the full tenure of the grant, all grant holders must reside in Nova Scotia, work at a Nova Scotia institution, and maintain an academic appointment. For any questions regarding eligibility please contact the Research Support Coordinator.

Please note: Current Establishment Grant and/or New Health Investigator Grant holders are eligible to apply, provided their grant end date is prior to December 31, 2022.

Academic/Research Appointments 

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Research Nova Scotia determines the following to be academic appointments:

• Tenured appointments
• Tenure-track appointments
• Probationary tenure-track appointment
• Research Scientist (NSCC)
• Limited-term appointments*
• Affiliated scientists, medical staff or other appointments/affiliations approved by a senior official (i.e., CEO or VP Research) 

Please note: Adjunct and instructor positions are not considered academic appointments.

*Applicants with limited term appointments are eligible to apply, however, if funded, applicants will be asked to provide institutional confirmation that term end date is post grant completion date.

Health Research Funding Priority Areas

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Research Nova Scotia is mandated to support research that reflects provincial health research priorities. New Health Investigator Grant submissions must address one or more of the following priorities:

Research Priorities for 2022

1. Research that contributes to recruitment and retention of healthcare professionals with a focus on:
   • Equity, diversity, and inclusion
   • Innovative education and training approaches
   • Community-level supports

2. Research focused on access to people-centred, flexible, quality healthcare, including:
   • Innovative healthcare models, such as virtual care, to support improved access and reduced wait times
   • Culturally specific supports reflecting the diversity of residents
   • Coordination of care

3. Research contributing to healthcare delivery excellence that addresses opportunities for team-based care and the ability of healthcare providers to work to their full scope of practice.

4. Research that addresses the factors affecting health and well-being of Nova Scotians, including:
   • Improving community wellness
   • Culturally safe and appropriate health services
   • Understanding and addressing health inequalities
   • Collaborative approaches to address the social determinants of health.

Applicants can submit one application for consideration. Requests can be to a maximum of $50,000 per year for a period of up to two years ($100,000 total). All projects are subject to a financial holdback of 10%. 

To apply for a New Health Investigator Grant, applicants must first submit a Notification of Intent to Apply (NOI). This is a mandatory step and allows RNS to start the review process. A review committee will verify subject matter alignment with provincial health research priorities. Scientific review does not occur at this stage. Those that are deemed eligible will be invited to submit a full application for consideration by a peer review committee.

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Step 1: Confirm Eligibility

Consider whether you are eligible for this opportunity using the criteria outlined above.

If you are unsure of your eligibility, please contact the Research Support Coordinator for confirmation before beginning your NOI application.

Step 2: Review Requirements for NOI

Please review carefully the requirements for the NOI, outlined in the document below:
2022-23 New Health Investigator Grant – NOI Requirements (PDF)

Step 3: Register for a Jura Account

All NOIs will be submitted via Research Nova Scotia’s online portal, Jura. 

The main contact person for the submission is considered the Primary Applicant (PA). In order to access the application, this individual must create an account in Jura by clicking the ‘Register’ button found here.

Step 4: Submit NOI 

To complete submission of the NOI, log in to Jura to access the application, where information will be either entered directly to the form or uploaded as PDF documents. Be sure to refer to the ‘New Health Investigator Grant – NOI Requirements’ for detailed instructions.

Step 5: Obtain Institutional Approval Before Deadline

All submissions must receive institutional approval before NOI deadline. This process is completed via an institutional representative in Jura. Please connect with your Research Office well in advance of the deadline to note any internal deadlines and processes.

Applicants who are successful in this process will be invited to submit a full application. 

Full Application Process

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Only applicants who have been invited to submit a full application may complete this process. 

Step 1: Review Application Requirements

When invitation to complete full application is received from RNS be sure to carefully review all application requirements, as outlined in the document below:

2022-23 New Health Investigator Grant – Full Application (PDF)

Step 2: Complete Application

To apply, log in to Jura to access the application, where information will be either entered directly to the form or uploaded as PDF documents. Be sure to refer to the ‘Application Requirements’ for detailed instructions.

Step 3: Submit Application

To complete application submission, login to Jura to access application. When your application is complete, select ‘submit’. Confirmation of successful submission will be available in your applicant portfolio.

Step 4: Obtain Institutional Approval

All submissions must receive institutional approval before the deadline. This process is completed via an institutional representative in Jura. Please connect with your research office well in advance of the deadline to note any internal deadlines and processes.

Notice of Intent (NOI)

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Notice of Intent submission will be reviewed by Research Nova Scotia staff to confirm applicant meets eligibility criteria.

NOI will then be reviewed by a committee comprised of representatives of the Department of Health and Wellness which will confirm whether proposed project topic aligns with research priorities. Applicants who are eligible for funding and have topics deemed a priority by this committee will be invited to submit a full application for consideration.

Full Application

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Full applications will be reviewed by Research Nova Scotia staff to confirm application meets all guidelines for application.

Full applications will be reviewed by a peer review committee in keeping with RNS peer review guidelines.

Equity, diversity and inclusion strengthen the scientific and health communities, as well as the quality, social relevance and impact of research. Increasing diversity and gender equity in the research enterprise are key priorities for RNS. Resources for application development and research management are available on the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) website. RNS strongly suggests that all applicants review this information and incorporate into applications submitted for consideration.

CIHR EDI Resources

Technical issues related to application submission via Jura can be directed to:
RNS Jura Helpdesk
helpdesk@researchns.ca | 902.410.2862

Jura Helpdesk Hours are 8am-4pm ADT Monday to Friday.
Responses will be provided as soon as possible but please allow up to 24 hours for a response. 

Canadian Common CV
For technical questions regarding the CCV (including password and account resets, PINs, CCV submission, etc.), contact the CCV Centralized Helpdesk.

CCV Centralized Helpdesk
support-soutien@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
1.888.603.4178

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Require assistance?
If you require any application support or have questions about this funding opportunity, please contact:

Trish Cormier
Research Support Coordinator
Trish.Cormier@researchns.ca

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Q:           Am I able to submit multiple proposals as the Principal Investigator?

A:            No. Applicants may only submit one proposal as the Principal or Co-Principal Investigator. Applicants may, however, act as a co-investigator on multiple proposals.

Q:           Which team members require a CV?

A:            All team members, including mentors, must submit an up-to-date, PDF version of a funding CV (either CIHR Academic or CIHR Project Biosketch) to the Primary Applicant (PA) to be uploaded in the ‘Attachments – Team Member CVs’ section of this application.

Partners are not required to submit a CV, however, they should submit a letter of support detailing their qualifications/interest (i.e. why he or she would like to be involved in the project) and what they will be contributing to the project.

Q:           Does a team member need to be affiliated with a post-secondary institution in order to be a co-investigator?

A:            No. A team member may be a co-investigator without a post-secondary institution affiliation. The affiliation is only required for Principal Investigators AND Co-Principal Investigators.

Q:           For eligibility, how are leave of absences calculated into the length of an academic appointment?

A:            If someone was appointed in May 2016 and applying in 2022, and had a 1-year approved leave of absence from August 1, 2018, to July 31, 2019, you would calculate:

• 2016 – 2022 = 6 years
• LOAs = 1 year
• Total = 5 years = ELIGIBLE

Q:           If my research requires more than $50,000 in either year of my grant, am I able to request an adjustment to my payments?

A:            Any requests for more than $50,000 per year must be made in writing, with a detailed explanation, to Trish Cormier (Trish.Cormier@researchns.ca)

Q:           I am unable to submit my application because of Error #33. How do I fix the issue and submit my application?

A:            Error #33 comes up when you have more than one objective listed in the text boxes provided or you hit enter at the end of one of your objectives and sent the cursor to the next line. To fix the issue, ensure you only have one objective in each text box and an additional line hasn’t been started after each objective.