Project Grant Program

Sponsor’s Website

Visit the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) website for more information on the Project Grant program.

Internal Contact

Potential applicants are encouraged to discuss this funding opportunity with their Faculty Research Facilitator (FRF).

Deadlines

Please note: There is a dual submission process with the Office of the Vice-President (Research, Innovation and International) (OVPRII).

Principal Investigator Deadlines

OVPRII Deadlines

Overview

The Project Grant program is designed to capture ideas with the greatest potential for important advances in fundamental or applied health-related knowledge, health care, health systems and/or health outcomes by supporting projects of research proposed and conducted by individual researchers or groups of researchers in all areas of health. The best ideas may stem from new, incremental, innovative and/or high-risk lines of inquiry or knowledge translation approaches.

Research areas:

• Commercialization
• Global health
• Indigenous health research
• Interdisciplinary research
• Randomized controlled trials
• Specific research areas

Learn more about formatting requirements and research security.

Value and Duration

The financial contributions from CIHR and partner(s) are subject to availability of funds. Should their funding levels not be available or decrease due to unforeseen circumstances, they reserve the right to reduce, defer or suspend financial contributions to grants received as a result of this funding opportunity.

The total amount available for the Fall 2026 and Spring 2027 Project Grant competitions is approximately $800 million.

• Within the investment allocated to each Project Grant competition, there will be a funding envelope of:
  • $20 million dedicated to large grants, which are defined as those within the top 2% largest total grant amount requested by all applicants within the competition and varies with each competition. This budget envelope is not intended for series of projects to be bundled together for long-term support. Individual grant applications requesting a total of more than the amount dedicated to the large grant funding envelope will be withdrawn.
  • $18.4 million (4.6%) dedicated to supporting applications with an Indigenous health research focus.
  • A portion of the competition budget will also be reserved to ensure that the proportion of grants funded is at least equal to the proportion of applications submitted by early career researchers (ECRs), female applicants, applicants submitting applications written in French, racialized applicants and applicants who self-identify as a person with a disability. Should the full amount set aside not be required, all remaining funds will be returned to the Project Grant competition to further increase the number of grants funded.
• The number of grants funded will depend on the requested budgets and peer review recommendations.
• Project Grant applicant funding levels are proportionate to the requirements of the research proposed, which is expected to vary by research field, research approach and scope of proposal activities.
• Funding is augmented by Priority Announcements that award grants in specific research areas.

For more information on the appropriate use of funds, refer to allowable costs guidelines.

Eligibility

For an application to be eligible, all the requirements stated below must be met:

1. The nominated principal applicant (NPA) must be one of the following:
   • If the NPA is a knowledge user, there must be at least one Principal Applicant (PA) who is an independent researcher or a knowledge user 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 and/or knowledge translation) at the time of funding.
   • An individual affiliated with an Indigenous non-governmental organization in Canada with a research and/or knowledge translation mandate.
   • An Indigenous non-governmental organization in Canada with a research and/or knowledge translation mandate.
2. The NPA (individual) must have their substantive role in Canada for the duration of the requested grant term.
3. The Institution Paid must be authorized to administer CIHR funds before the funding can be released (see Administration of Funds for more details).
4. PAs must be independent researchers or knowledge users (inclusion of one or more PAs is optional). Individuals in the PA role may not be a trainee or be in a subordinate position (i.e., directed or supervised by another), with respect to the subject matter of the proposed research and/or activities.
5. Co-Applicants can be either an independent research, knowledge user, trainee or other.
6. The NPA must have successfully completed one of the sex and gender training modules available online through the CIHR Institute of Gender and Health and submit a Certificate of Completion (see How to Apply for more details). 
7. An individual or an organization cannot submit more than two Project Grant applications per competition as an NPA. If the NPA submits more than two applications, CIHR will automatically withdraw the last application(s) submitted based on timestamp of submission.
8. Applicants must comply with CIHR’s policy on identical or essentially identical applications.
9. Individuals who hold a Foundation Grant in the role of Program Leader are eligible to apply to the Project Grant competition in the role of NPA or PA only 18 months prior to their grant expiry date.

Note: Inclusion within the ECR cohort is based on the eligibility status of the NPA at the application deadline.

Submitting You Application

1. Submit an internal Approval Form through our central awards management database cuResearch. Consult the user’s manual for guidance.
2. OVPRII coordinates the submission of the application.