Operating Grant: Data Analysis Using Existing CDN Databases and Cohorts (2026)

• Tri-agency CV for all participants, as required by this funding opportunity.
• Letter or other supporting document from the data custodian indicating permission to access the data.
• Certificate of Completion for the sex- and gender-based analysis training module.
• If applicable: Indigenous Health Research Cultural Safety Form, Equity-Denied Group Experience attachment, Team Expertise and Experience attachment, Applicant Partner COI Document, and scanned signed signature pages and Routing Slip.

Who is eligible?

• Early Career Researchers or Mid-Career Researchers affiliated with a Canadian postsecondary institution and/or its affiliated institutions, including hospitals, research institutes and other non-profit organizations with a mandate for health research.
• Individuals affiliated with an Indigenous non-governmental organization in Canada with a research or knowledge translation mandate.
• Indigenous non-governmental organizations in Canada with a research or knowledge translation mandate.

Who is not eligible

• Applicants whose primary place of employment or primary appointment is outside Canada are not eligible to apply as the Nominated Principal Applicant, unless otherwise stated in the Funding Opportunity.
• An applicant can only submit one application as the Nominated Principal Applicant.

Eligible expenses

• Expenditures that respect the culture and traditions of Indigenous peoples, including community mobilization and engagement, culturally relevant promotional items such as tobacco, cloth, feasting and gift giving for honoring ceremonies, cash reimbursements, and contracts or consultant fees for knowledge translation and communication activities for Indigenous Elders, community members, and Indigenous Knowledge Keepers.
• Accessibility supports necessary for the Nominated Principal Applicant to carry out the project and engage with persons with disabilities, when not offered as standard provision by the employer institution.
• Processing previously collected biospecimens to generate data points, up to a maximum of $25,000.

Ineligible Costs and Activities

• The collection of new data or biospecimens.
• The development of biospecimen assays.
• Clinical trials.

• Research question: clarity of the research question, potential for creation of new knowledge, and originality of the proposed research.
• Research approach: clarity of rationale, appropriateness of the design, methods and analyses, relevance of the dataset, feasibility, and anticipated difficulties.
• For projects involving First Nations, Inuit, and/or Métis Peoples: alignment with Indigenous Health Research and Meaningful and Culturally Safe Health Research, TCPS 2 Chapter 9, Indigenous rights, self-determination, self-governance, and data sovereignty.
• For projects involving equity-denied groups: the extent to which the project is grounded in identified needs or gaps and engages the group throughout the research process.
• Applicant(s): experience in the proposed area and methodology, ability to disseminate findings, team complementarity, and relevant Indigenous or equity-denied group expertise and experience where applicable.

• Complete the application in two steps: Registration and Full Application.
• For Registration, identify participants, enter proposal information, complete the Summary of Research Proposal, and optionally complete Peer Review Administration Information, apply to Priority Announcements/Funding Pools, and manage access.
• For the Full Application, identify participants and upload the tri-agency CVs required under the Funding Opportunity.
• Complete the proposal information, sensitive technology research area screening if applicable, Summary of Research Proposal, budget information, and other application materials.
• Attach the required supporting documents and any conditional attachments, including letters of support, the SGBA certificate, and other required forms.
• Print the signature page and upload the scanned signed signature pages and Routing Slip.

• CIHR and sponsors perform a relevance review using the Summary of Research Proposal and the Relevance Form; applications deemed not relevant are withdrawn from the competition or removed from the pool.
• Peer review is conducted in accordance with the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment.
• Applications relevant to each research area are funded top down in order of ranking, remaining applications are pooled and funded in rank order, and a lottery or randomized process may be used for tied last applications.
• The names of successfully funded applicants will be published on the CIHR website.
• The Nominated Principal Applicant is responsible for an electronic Final Report available on ResearchNet at the beginning of the grant funding period and completed as the research progresses.

• The optional Partner Linkage Tool is voluntary and does not confer any advantage in the evaluation or funding of applications.
• Indigenous data management principles may include the CARE Principles, Métis OCAS Principles, First Nations Principles of OCAP, the National Inuit Strategy on Research priority on data and information, and Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit Principles.