Arthur Child Innovation Catalyst Grants
To support innovative projects focused on enhancing the screening/detection, diagnosis, treatment, and supportive care for individuals affected by cancer, as well as promoting long-term survivorship.
In June 2023, the Arthur J.E. Child Foundation made a transformative gift of $50 million to the Alberta Cancer Foundation. For the Arthur J.E Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre to grow as a world leader, it is critically important we seize emerging opportunities to maintain and enhance research and clinical excellence. The Arthur Child Innovation Catalyst Grant Competition will foster innovation in the screening/detection, diagnosis, treatment, supportive care, and/or long-term survivorship of cancer. It will allow research teams explore ideas with the potential to transform cancer care.
The goal of this funding competition is to support innovative projects focused on enhancing the screening/detection, diagnosis, treatment, and supportive care for individuals affected by cancer, as well as promoting longterm survivorship. This funding opportunity encourages teams to develop and/or apply new ideas, methods, technologies, and interventions.
We are looking for proposals that may include:
- New public health strategies, vaccines, lifestyle interventions, and other novel strategies aimed at reducing the incidence of cancer.
- New imaging techniques, biomarkers and/or genetic tests for earlier cancer screening and detection.
- New ways for discovering molecules or key pathways essential for cancer prevention, detection, or treatment.
- New and/or improved treatment approaches or strategies for effective cancer treatment.
- New and/or improved practices that improve supportive care for patients living with and beyond cancer.
- New strategies for tailoring treatment for cancer.
- New approaches for utilizing data to inform cancer prevention, detection and treatment.
Application Guidelines
Eligibility
An individual can be the main applicant on one proposal, but are allowed to be a collaborator or team member on other applications.
Researchers and teams located in or around Calgary, Alberta, are invited to apply. While teams can include members from outside Calgary, they must be led by someone affiliated with the Arthur Child and/or Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute through their connection with the University of Calgary or Alberta Health Services. Additionally, projects can involve partnerships with industry or commercial entities if needed for the research.
Fund Usage
In keeping with the goals and expectations of the funding competition, funds will support projects or initiatives with a maximum of $300,000 per grant. We anticipate funding four projects, although the number of awards may increase based on the review committee’s recommendations and the availability of funds. The funding amounts and the frequency of grant cycles may be adjusted depending on current resources. Any unused funds from a given year may be reallocated to future grant cycles.
Funds must be utilized within 24 months of receipt by the awarded projects or recipients. They should be held by a principal applicant affiliated with the University of Calgary and/or Alberta Health Services.
Allowable expenditures include salary support for research and clinical staff, graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, clinical trainees, and patient-family partners. Funds may also be used for research costs such as consumables, equipment, services, software, clinical or administrative data access, data storage, and other relevant expenses. Additionally, travel expenses can be covered to support conference registration, as well as travel costs for visiting scientists and other clinical researchers coming to Calgary. Other reasonable expenses may also be included, subject to approval by the Advisory Committee.
The application process includes two steps: Notice of Intent and the Full Application.
Notice of Intent (NOI)
Purpose:
- Applicants will be invited to submit a brief Notice of Intent (NOI) within 4 weeks of competition launch, via electronic submission to charbonneau@ucalgary.ca. Instructions will be available on the competition landing page: Innovation Catalyst - Alberta Cancer Foundation.
- The NOI is required for registration purposes and to help with the identification of reviewers. The NOI will not be used to triage proposals, unless it is determined that the proposal, as presented in the NOI, is not eligible for the competition as per the criteria outlined above. The applicant will be notified if the NOI is not eligible.
- Applicants must submit an NOI by the deadline to proceed to submission of full proposals. Late submissions will not be accepted.
- Two weeks after the NOI submission deadline, applicants will receive instructions for how to proceed to full application.
Format:
- Each NOI must include:
- Name, affiliation(s), location, and brief biosketch of Principal Applicant
- Each Principal Applicant must hold a permanent academic, research, and/or clinical appointment with the University of Calgary and/or Alberta Health Services and be eligible to apply for and hold, grant funding at their institution.
- Biosketch should follow the same format as the CIHR Biosketch.
- Title of proposal
- Brief description (one page max) of the proposal, including an overview of how the proposed work will achieve the goals and expectations of the Innovation Catalyst Grant.
- Names and affiliation(s) of proposed team members and collaborators (if applicable). Team members and collaborators may be added or removed in the full proposal
- Names, affiliations and email addresses of 2-3 potential scientific reviewers
- Institutional signatures will not be required at the NOI stage.
Full Application
The full application for the funding competition consists of several key components:
- Lay Summary: A clear conveyance of the project's essence.
- Proposal: A detailed description of the project, addressing the following:
- How it aligns with the Funding Competition Goal.
- Background/Rationale.
- Approaches/Methods, including potential challenges and strategies for mitigation.
- Significance and Anticipated Impacts.
- Team and Research Environment, including relevant partnerships.
- References: A list of sources cited in the proposal.
- Timeline and Milestones: Key dates and deliverables for the project.
- Budget: Detailed justification of costs, including any sources of leveraged funding.
The main body of the proposal, encompassing the Background/Rationale, Approach/Methods, Significance and Anticipated Impacts, and Team and Research Environment, is limited to four pages, with an allowance of two additional pages for figures. Please note that the total page count does not include the Lay Summary, References, Timeline, or Budget.
Format:
Proposals should be formatted using a 12-point Arial or other sans serif font, with 2.54 cm margins all around and line spacing set to 1.08. Any proposals that exceed the maximum page limit will have the excess pages removed before being reviewed.
More information on the selection process and evaluation criteria can be found in the full Application Guidelines.
Application
Please apply on the ACF website.
