Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

Vision

The best health for all, powered by outstanding research.

Values

• Excellence and leadership
• Commitment to collaboration
• Respect for people
• Integrity and accountability

Priorities

• Advance research excellence in all its diversity
• Strengthen Canadian health research capacity
• Accelerate the self-determination of Indigenous peoples in health research
• Pursue health equity through research
• Integrate evidence in health decisions

As the federal funding agency responsible for investing in health research, CIHR has been central to Canada’s response to COVID-19.

Since March 2020, CIHR has invested approximately $414.8 million in 965 COVID-19 research projects. These projects span everything from diagnostics and potential treatments to public health responses and communication strategies.

CIHR has also worked with partners to invest in Canadian COVID-19 research with dedicated funding for specific topics such as:

• Indigenous communities’ experience with COVID-19
• Addressing the mental health and substance use challenges facing Canadians during the pandemic
• How to keep residents and staff of long-term care homes safe from COVID-19
• Developing guidelines related to prescribing and dispending opioids during the pandemic

CIHR also has engaged with our international partners to ensure the alignment and coordination of Canada’s research with the international response.

In June 2020, Dr. Steven Hoffman, Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute of Population and Public Health (CIHR-IPPH), was invited by the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General to lead a participatory process to identify research priorities that will support an equitable global socio-economic recovery from COVID-19 and continued progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The UN Research Roadmap for the COVID-19 Recovery was built on the work of the UN COVID-19 economic and social recovery plan. It is a result of the collaborative efforts of 38 research funding organizations and 270 experts from around the world. The aim is to transform COVID-19 recovery into a rapid learning initiative so that national and international responses can be informed by rigorous social scientific evidence.. By developing a research agenda at the outset of recovery, early response efforts can inform later responses, enabling countries to learn from one another as they aim to build back better.

As part of a broader suite of research investments to respond to COVID-19 and better prepare Canada for future health emergencies, on January 14, 2022, the Government of Canada announced the creation of the Centre for Research on Pandemic Preparedness and Health Emergencies (Research Centre) with an ongoing investment of $18.5 million per year. The Research Centre, which is housed within CIHR, will ensure Canada has an emergency-ready health research system by supporting research and knowledge mobilization efforts to help Canada better prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from existing and future pandemics and other health emergencies. While the Research Centre contributes to the response to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the focus of its activities goes well beyond COVID-19. The Research Centre addresses all health emergencies and pandemics by supporting high-quality research and mobilizing solid research evidence into better plans, policies, and practices.

CIHR, through the Institute of Infection and Immunity (III), is a founding member of GloPID-R. Additionally, former CIHR-III Scientific Director Marc Ouellette and present Scientific Director Charu Kaushic have served as Vice-Chairs of GloPID-R in previous years. Dr. Kaushic was appointed Chair of GloPID-R in October 2020 and has helped define the organization’s goals for the following two years, including the development of GloPID-R’s strategic priorities with input and validation provided from all its members. CIHR has played leadership roles in GloPID-R’s Data Sharing, Social Sciences Working Groups and is participating in the Clinical Trials Network Working Group. It played a key role in the response to the Zika outbreak in 2015-2017. It contributes to, and is a user of, the COVID-19 Research Project Tracker.

International Collaboration

CIHR currently has 40 international initiatives supported by bilateral agreements with countries such as China, Israel, and Japan and multilateral agreements that span multiple countries and include international programs such as the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases, the Human Frontier Science Program and many programs under the European Framework Programme.

ASRT has participated in several co-funded programs including EuroNanoMed and EraPerMED and key initiatives such as Africa-PerMed. ASRT is a member of JPIAMR and the new ERA4HEALTH.