General Information:
Continuing Professional Development in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine supports faculty members to contribute to CPD-focused research and scholarship through the CPD Discovery Grant and the CPD Ideas Grants.
Applications for either grant will be due no later than Friday, January 26, 2024 at midnight (EST).
Description:
The CPD Ideas grants support projects, teams, and individuals to further develop a novel idea, test an innovative approach, develop a pilot project, or evaluate an idea or innovation. Projects supported by the Ideas grants should show a potential for scale and spread beyond the local context. Although the funding through the Ideas grant does not require a research component, an evaluation or subsequent scholarly demonstration of the value of the ‘idea’ should be articulated.
Continuing professional development (CPD) encompasses varied educational and developmental activities which licensed, practicing healthcare professionals undertake to maintain and enhance their knowledge, skills, performance and relationships in the provision of health care. Due to this strong focus on CPD, research and scholarly activities aimed at undergraduate, graduate, postgraduate, or fellowship programs or learners are not eligible for funding through this grant.
Projects should focus on the continuing professional development of practicing healthcare professionals in medicine and the rehabilitation sciences, and be relevant to the mission of CPD at the University of Toronto.
On an annual basis, up to three proposals will be selected for funding through the CPD Ideas Grants. The maximum amount of funding available is $5000 CAD per project. Matched funding is not required.
Eligibility:
The Principal Investigator(s) must:
- Hold a primary faculty appointment as a full-time or part-time faculty member of a department within the University of Toronto’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine. Members of any academic rank (lecturer, assistant professor, associate professor or full professor) are eligible to apply. Status-only faculty can act as a PI on a grant. Adjunct clinical faculty members can act as a collaborator on a grant held by a full-time or part-time faculty member.
- Be a faculty member engaged (or engaging) in educational activities related to the mission of CPD at the University of Toronto.
- Agree to take responsibility for the overall project design, development, budgetary oversight and completion.
- Agree to provide year-end and project-end reports.
- Agree to present some aspect of the project at a University of Toronto CPD sponsored program focused on scholarship (example: CPD Scholarship Rounds)
- Agree to submit the work (once complete) for consideration for a scholarly presentation at a relevant CPD-focused conference (examples: SACME Annual Meeting, AFMC CPD Research Symposium, etc.)
Co-Investigators/Collaborators/Advisors:
- Co-investigators, collaborators, or advisors can include, but are not limited to faculty, staff, members of the public, patients, patient families, learners, and trainees.
- Proposals that include students and/or trainees on project teams will be prioritized for funding.
- A formal affiliation with the University of Toronto or the Temerty Faculty of Medicine is not required to act as a co-investigator, collaborator, or advisor.
Notes on multiple applications for even-numbered years:
- The Principal Investigator(s) can select only one stream under which to apply for a particular project, but there is no limit to applications from individuals provided the projects are different (for example, a PI can submit one Discovery Grant proposal and a different project for a CPD Ideas Grant but cannot submit the same project under both streams).
- Co-Investigators, collaborators, and advisors can be named on multiple grants (for example, a collaborator can be listed as a collaborator in two applications within the same stream provided they are not for the same project, or can be listed as a PI in one project and a collaborator in another within the same stream).
- It is very unlikely that an individual PI will receive funding for projects they lead under both grants in the same year, we suggest that you select the right fit for your project. The adjudication committee reserves the right to consider an offer of funding in a different stream than which the applicant originally submitted.
Who is Not Eligible?
- Current PIs and Co-PIs of CPD Advancement and Ideas funded projects are ineligible to apply for funding. PIs and Co-PIs can apply for funding for a new project only after all project requirements are completed (including submission of final reports), and at minimum, 2 years after their initial funding began.
- Individuals who sit on the CPD Discovery and Ideas Grant adjudication committee cannot be listed as a PI, co-PI, Co-I, or collaborator on a grant, but can serve as advisors on funded projects
What supports are available for proposal development?
- The CPD Scholarship team can provide consultation and/or review for proposal development provided this is arranged well in advance of the deadline (i.e., Fall 2023 for a January 2024 submission). Please reach out to the team to arrange consultation.
- Some departments or teaching sites may have additional resources (such as CPD Directors, consultative services for scholarship, librarians, or other experienced researchers and scholars) and we encourage you to seek out advice as you develop your ideas.
- We encourage you to review the Quick Tips developed for the previous CPD grant as much remains highly applicable.
Application Deadline and Process:
Friday, January 26 2024 (midnight) submitted as (preferably) a single PDF file emailed to the Education and Research Coordinator, Morag Paton. Please pay attention to the stated page limits.
Submission Requirements
Ideas Grants have a 6-page maximum with the exceptions of details noted below:
| Weighting Factor for Review | Counts within 6 page maximum | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Brief Project Information | Title of your project, and stream to which you are applying (Discovery or Ideas) | Required but not weighted | Yes |
| Executive Summary | A summary of your proposal, including your planned methodology, not exceeding 300 words. | Required but not weighted | Yes |
| Background and Rationale: | A description of the area of exploration, including a discussion of the current state of knowledge about the work proposed (or how the proposal is a novel idea), including existing scholarship in the field, and potential gaps in knowledge. | 20% | Yes |
| Project Description/Conceptual Framework and Research Questions/Objectives | A detailed description of the planned project including a conceptual framework and research questions (if relevant) and project objectives. | 25% | Yes |
| Relevance to the CPD mission statement | A description of how the proposed project meets the mission | 5% | Yes |
| Methodology | A detailed methodology, where the design and methods for the project should be clearly described and rationalized. | 20% | Yes |
| Anticipated Impact and Outcomes | A description of expected contributions to CPD educational programs and your own developing capacity. Evaluation-focused projects should detail here the idea?s potential for scale and spread to other CPD programs. | 20% | Yes |
| Dissemination Plan | Brief description of your plans to present results at a CPD-focused conference, publish results in a relevant space, or otherwise disseminate your work. | Required but not weighted | Yes |
| Project Team and Feasibility | Names, affiliations and contact information for all members of the project team with a description of the role and relevant qualifications of each member, specifically describing what each person will contribute. | 10% | Yes |
| Timeline | A list of anticipated timelines with details of deliverables, time estimation, and schedule for completion of the project. | Required but not weighted | Yes |
| Budget | A detailed budget aligned with your stream selection. Funds requested must be adequately justified. See budget guidelines document. Please list any other funding/contribution sources supporting the project, include resources provided in-kind. | Required but not weighted | No |
| Appendices | A list of references, standardized questionnaire samples, interview protocol or other evaluation instruments can be added up to a maximum of 10 pages. | Optional, not weighted | No |
Ethics Approval:
Funded projects must have formal ethics approval and/or formal ethics exemption from either a Hospital or the University of Toronto Ethics Board (REB) prior to funds being released. REB approval must be obtained within six months from award notice. Projects that do not meet this deadline will be considered as abandoned and the funding will not be awarded.
Adjudication Process:
Projects will be reviewed by a peer-review committee with representation from the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and with expertise in CPD. Funding decisions will be based on the merit of each project and with the intention to allocate funding to support multiple projects. In some cases, consultation or more information may be required for submission prior to the funding decision.
The adjudication committee reserves the right to consider an offer of funding in a different stream than which the applicant originally submitted.
Project Timeline and Report Requirements:
Funding is expected to begin on June 1, 2024.
A 1-year report is required at the end of the funding year. Formal written reports will record the work done to date, include a summary of budgetary expenditures, describe progress towards and barriers to implementation, and include a plan for dissemination/knowledge translation. All funds, other than costs related to project dissemination, are expected to be disbursed by the end of the first year and a half and all costs, including dissemination costs are to be disbursed by the end of the second year. Any unused funding is to be returned to CPD. The 1-year report can be submitted online using the provided template.
A final project report is due upon the completion of the project (within 2 years of the original funding date). This report must contain details regarding final budget expenditures which will outline any unused funds or overages, status of knowledge dissemination, implementation and planned future related work. The final report can be submitted online using the provided template.
Additional support
Consultation is available through the CPD Research and Scholarship Office. Please contact Morag Paton with a brief description of your needs and to request a consult. It is advisable to see consultation as early as possible.
Questions?
Please contact Morag Paton, CPD Education Research Coordinator at morag.paton@utoronto.ca.