Collaborative Research Planning & Dissemination Grants

The Brain-Heart Interconnectome (BHI) program is the first dedicated research program that brings together multiple, diverse disciplines to catalyze a new transdisciplinary approach to studying, preventing and treating brain-heart (B-H) disorders. The BHI program is made possible with support from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF), a tri-agency initiative of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Consistent with CFREF objectives, BHI supports the full range of research, from fundamental to applied, and encourages transformative collaborations among researchers from health sciences, social sciences, humanities, engineering and natural sciences. It fosters community, provincial, national and international partnerships across academic, private and not-for-profit sectors to deliver research leading to important social and economic benefits for Canada. The BHI vision is for uOttawa and its partners to become the global leaders in advancing mission-driven, integrated brain-heart research that benefits all. Research areas of focus are biomedical discoveries, clinical interventions, service delivery models, community prevention approaches and understanding, as well as how to address systemic and unequal distribution of brain-heart disease burden among populations to improve health equity.

The BHI fosters research excellence through its cross-cutting enablers, including Indigenous engagement; inclusion, diversity, equity, accessibility and social justice (IDEAS); co-production and knowledge mobilization; commercialization; patient engagement; and training and mentoring. BHI funding programs are integral to advancing the BHI’s IDEAS strategy, requiring integration of IDEAS principles in research design and practice, fostering diversity at all levels and nurturing a welcoming and bias- and stereotype-free culture.

Please see the BHI website for further information on the BHI and its foundations, themes and cross-cutting enablers. 

The objective of this program is to support planning, and dissemination activities that advance the BHI foundations, themes, and cross-cutting enablers and contribute to the achievement of the BHI Theory of Change.

Through this program, researchers, patient partners and other knowledge users can strengthen relationships and collaborate on activities that:

• Advance the planning and development of future brain-heart research; and/or
• Facilitate the dissemination and mobilization of knowledge generated from brain-heart research and/or the BHI cross-cutting enablers.

Projects are encouraged to embrace the BHI principle of co-production, where leadership and responsibility for designing and implementing activities is shared between academic researchers and knowledge users, including patient, Indigenous and community partners. This program is intended to help the BHI research community develop their skills and experience in research co-production approaches to support their success in future BHI funding opportunities.

In line with BHI’s commitment to IDEAS (inclusion, diversity, equity, accessibility and social justice), the program also aims to expand the diversity of voices meaningfully engaged in, and benefiting from, brain-heart research. This includes the meaningful inclusion of Indigenous Peoples and equity-deserving groups (EDGs), such as racialized individuals; African, Caribbean, and Black individuals; persons with disabilities; women; and individuals from 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, all of whom have historically been excluded from research.

Collaborative Planning and Dissemination Grants Program funding can be used for::

Planning 

• Activities that assist potential teams of researchers and knowledge users to collaboratively identify research priorities or questions
• Consultations and other meaningful engagement with interest groups including patients, Indigenous Peoples and/or equity-deserving groups
• Meetings or activities that support teams in developing applications for future BHI or other external funding opportunities (e.g., grant-writing workshops, facilitated team building, proposal development sessions)
• Conducting an environmental scan or preliminary synthesis of relevant literature, activities or programs
• Early-stage planning to determine possible commercial viability of a discovery

Dissemination

• Public forums or symposia that bring together researchers, patients, communities and the public to discuss science and research evidence (e.g., Café scientifique)
• Policy dialogues with decision-makers to facilitate the integration of research evidence into policy and strategic decision-making (e.g., Best Brain Exchange)
• Scientific symposia on interdisciplinary brain-heart research involving multiple BHI foundations, themes, and/or cross-cutting enablers
• Activities that support commercialization or partnership development with industry to facilitate knowledge translation and impact

The Collaborative Planning and Dissemination Program will have two application deadlines and rounds of funding available per year: spring/summer and fall. 
 

• Maximum funding per project: $20,000 for a one-year period
• Total funding available per round: $120,000
• Total annual funding available: $240,000
• Expected number of funded projects per round: Up to six (6)

1. To be eligible, a project must:

• Be directly relevant to interconnected brain and heart health.

2. To be eligible the team must include:

• A Principal Applicant - Academic: A BHI Core Academic Member eligible to hold Tri-Council research funding.
• Principal Knowledge User or Knowledge User to whom the project/knowledge is relevant.  Principal Knowledge Users are considered Co-Principal Investigators and have a shared leadership role in the project. Principal Knowledge Users hold the status of BHI Core Partner Member. Knowledge Users are considered equivalent to co-applicants and should have a meaningful role in the implementation of the project. Knowledge Users are considered BHI Associate Partner Members.

NOTE: Individuals may submit only one (1) application as Principal Applicant in this competition but may be a Co-Applicant on other applications. Early career researchers are encouraged to apply.

*Knowledge users: are people, including representatives of communities and organizations who are likely to use research results to make informed decisions, or anybody who may benefit or be otherwise affected by research results. This can include, but is not limited to Indigenous leaders and communities, patients, health professionals, community-based organizations, health charities, health system leaders, policy-makers, and private sector organizations.

The project may also involve: 

• Co-Applicant(s) - Academic: BHI core academic members, BHI associate academic members or those eligible for this membership category (includes researchers and research personnel from academic institutions in Canada or internationally), BHI core or associate trainee members or those eligible for these membership categories.
• Knowledge users: Knowledge users participating as co-applicants are considered BHI associate partner members. It is highly encouraged that projects involve at least one knowledge user who is a patient partner.
• Collaborator(s): individuals (from academia or from other sectors) who play an active role in the research and research-related activities but not involved in leading the research project. Collaborators are considered to be BHI associate partner members or Associate academic members depending on their institution.

Before submitting an application and a budget, applicants should review the  CFREF Administration Guide.  Since all eligible expenses must comply with the guidelines published in it.

Eligible expenses are limited to direct costs only, such as:

• Costs associated with patient and/or public engagement including compensation for time spent on project activities, travel, etc. This should align with BHI Patient Partner Compensation guidelines.
• Materials, supplies and other expenses related to planning and dissemination activities.

Award period: Funds will be awarded for a one-year period.

All applications will be reviewed for completeness and on-time submission. All complete applications will be reviewed to verify relevance to interconnected brain-heart health.

Relevant applications will be evaluated by a multidisciplinary peer review committee composed of researchers, health professionals, patients and other knowledge users.

Review criteria:

Impact 

• Clarity and usefulness of the intended outcome(s) that will result from the funding (i.e., meeting report, new collaborations to advance research and mobilize knowledge, innovative communication products to disseminate evidence to new audiences, etc.).
• Extent to which the project meaningfully includes relevant interest holders (i.e., patients, knowledge users, research community) and sectors (i.e., private, public, non-profit). Use of  co-projection approaches are highly encouraged.  
• Extent to which the project actively and appropriately facilitates the engagement of Indigenous peoples and/or groups underrepresented in science in ways that are meaningful and culturally safe.
• Potential of the project to mobilize knowledge and advance BHI Foundations, Themes and Cross-cutting Themes in line with the BHI Theory of Change.
• Extent to which the project address the principles of open access

Feasibility

• Clarity of the proposed activities and appropriateness for achieving intended outcomes.
• Appropriateness, strength and the diversity of the team.
• Feasibility of implementing the activities according to budget and timeline.

All principal applicants will be notified by email of the results of the competition (including any requests for revisions) and successful principal applicants will be sent a notice of award. Principal applicants and their institutions are required to ensure compliance with all relevant institutional and Tri-Agency guidelines and policies.

Before funds can be released, principal applicants must complete the training requirements for core academic members.  Principal applicants, principal knowledge users, knowledge users and co-applicants are required to complete the BHI self-identification survey (Count Me In).

Successful applicants will be expected to acknowledge the support they receive from BHI and provide a report at the end of the funding period to meet BHI’s annual reporting obligations to CFREF and to allow BHI to monitor project’s performance and impact. After grant notification, the BHI Secretariat will issue a schedule listing the deadlines for providing further reporting requirement details, including the demographic information collected from event participants.

Before preparing the application, applicants are encouraged to discuss their proposed project with the lead(s) of the most relevant BHI foundations, themes and/or cross-cutting enablers to ensure it aligns with the BHI scientific strategy and will contribute to the Theory of Change. Please contact leads as early as possible.

Applicants must complete the online application form (including attachments) by September 26, 2025.

As they are formulating their project applications, applicants are encouraged to review the resources available below related to inclusion, diversity, equity, accessibility and social Justice (IDEAS), Indigenous engagement, co-production and knowledge mobilization, patient engagement and the other BHI cross-cutting themes.

The online application form will include the following sections:

• Project details (e.g., title, applicants, keywords).
• Plain language summary (maximum 200 words)
• Contributions to BHI (maximum 300 words) Describe how the project relates to interconnected brain-heart health, and how it will advance the BHI foundations, themes, and/or cross-cutting enablers and contribute to the BHI Theory of Change.
• Description of the team (maximum 500 words) including:
  • the complementary knowledge and skills of members and their roles and contributions
  • how IDEAS has been considered in composing the team
  • the team’s relationship and experience with Indigenous communities and/or underrepresented groups, as relevant.
• Description of the project (maximum 1500 words):
  • ensure all review criteria are addressed in describing the project.

Include the following items as attachments with the application: 

• Project budget: Prepare a budget for the project, including the module for estimating costs associated with patient engagement. Co-funding from partners is encouraged and must be included in the budget template, if applicable.
• Program and/or agenda: for projects involving meetings/events, an event program and/or agenda and information on anticipated meeting participants and their roles.
• CVs: Provide a brief CV (five pages or less) for all principal applicants and co-applicants (preferred format is the new Tri-Agency CV template)
• Letters of support (optional): Letters of support should include a specific description of cash or in-kind contributions from partners; a description of a collaborator’s specific involvement in the project and/or how a partner intends to use the project outcomes. General letters of support for the team or project should not be included.
• RE Form: Applicants from the University of Ottawa are required to include Request for Funds form (RE Form) completed and signed by all parties. 

Co-production: A collaborative approach to planning and implementing health-care research where knowledge users are engaged as equal partners throughout the project alongside researchers using diverse strategies, including stakeholder engagement, co-production of research questions and study design, and partnering in dissemination/implementation.

Knowledge users: people, including representatives of communities and organizations who are likely to use research results to make informed decisions or people who may benefit or be otherwise affected by research results. This may include but is not limited to: Indigenous leaders and communities, patients, health professionals, community-based organizations, health charities, health system leaders, policymakers or private sector organizations.

Patients: individuals who have lived experiences with a health issue, informal caregivers (including family and friends) and/or individuals who are at risk of, or are otherwise affected by, brain-heart conditions.

Equity deserving group: people who, because of systemic discrimination, face barriers that prevent them from having the same access to the resources and opportunities that are available to other members of society and that are necessary for them to attain just outcomes.

Those applying for funding are encouraged to reach out to the cross-cutting enabler leads  for additional support in the development of applications.  

For all other inquiries, please send an email to : [email protected].