PSI Launches the 2022 Competition for the PSI Graham Farquharson Knowledge Translation Fellowship

PSI Foundation is very pleased to announce the 2022 competition for the PSI Graham Farquharson Knowledge Translation Fellowship. This Fellowship is intended to provide salary support for a new/mid-career investigator who has demonstrated the ability to successfully complete high impact knowledge translation research. The Fellowship funds, dedicated to salary support, must protect at least 50% of the Fellow’s time to conduct such research.

Please note: Knowledge translation must be the fundamental purpose of this Fellowship and must be demonstrated in the application.

Amount and Duration of Funding

This program offers two options for a funding timeline for salary support: A maximum of $150,000 per year for two years; OR a maximum of $100,000 per year for three years.

Please note: the award is intended to protect at least 50% of the fellow’s time to undertake research, regardless of whether the award is taken over two or three years.

Eligibility

For the 2022 competition, PSI has modified the eligibility criteria as follows:

The candidate for the Fellowship must be either:

• Within fifteen (15) years of their first academic appointment and have demonstrated potential for high impact research work
• dedicating at least 50% of a full-time schedule to the Fellowship
• a practising physician having direct patient care responsibilities and an academic appointment, thus eligible to apply for her/his own research grants as an independent investigator.

OR

• a fellow who is a practising physician having direct patient care responsibilities, with a supervisor who has an academic appointment and that can provide the necessary research supervision and infrastructure (including administering the grant at the sponsoring institution).  A letter of support from this supervisor must be included in the application.

Important Information in Funding Guidelines

The Funding Guidelines contain important information regarding the award, including PSI’s definition of knowledge translation, sponsoring institution requirements, and funding criteria. Please review this document before applying.

How to Apply

PSI is launching the 2022 competition through a Letter of Intent (LOI) process. Please note that for the 2022 competition, applicants are required to submit their applications directly to PSI, not through the institution.

We require all applicants to submit the completed LOI directly to PSI via the PSI Online Grants Management System (https://psifoundation.smartsimple.ca/) by July 16th, 2021 at 5pm EST.

LOIs will be reviewed by the PSI Grants Committee in August 2021. PSI will invite successful applicants to submit full applications by November 8th, 2021 5pm EST, which will undergo internal review for a final funding decision in December 2021.

Questions?

Please contact the PSI Office to discuss any questions you may have about submitting an application for funding.

PSI Foundation provides quarterly updates to keep Ontario’s physicians and the general public informed about our activities and achievements. If you have any feedback about these updates, please email the PSI Foundation office.

More than $1,000,000 in New Funding Approved

More than 11 applications totaling $1,139,000 were approved at the December 2020 Grants Committee meeting. At this meeting, the Grants Committee reviewed the standard funding streams (New Investigator Grant, Health Research Grant, Healthcare Research by Community Physicians, Resident Research, etc.), as well as applications for the 2021 PSI Graham Farquharson Knowledge Translation Fellowship.

More information about the funded studies is available on PSI’s Funded Research page.

We thank all of the applicants for their submissions, external peer reviewers for enhancing the scientific rigour of our granting program, and Ontario institutions for supporting PSI with the award process.

Changes to Application Form Guidelines – CV Requirements

PSI has revised the CV requirements on our application forms (excluding PSI Graham Farquharson Knowledge Translation Fellowship). For new applications, please ensure all CV follow the following guidelines:

“Each CV is to be made up of two components. The first component should include all relevant information such as education, hospital/academic appointments, committees, etc. The second component is to be a list of major accomplishments (e.g. publications, presentations, grants received, awards, etc.) that directly apply to this application. Maximum 5 pages.”

Holiday Office Closure

PSI Foundation head office will be closed from Wednesday, December 23rd, 2020 to Sunday, January 3rd, 2021 (inclusive). We wish you a safe and happy holiday season.

Stay Connected

For more information about any of these topics, please contact the PSI Foundation office, and follow us on Twitter (@PSIFoundation) for updates.

PSI Foundation provides quarterly updates to keep Ontario’s physicians and the general public informed about our activities and achievements. If you have any feedback about these updates, please email the PSI Foundation office.

More than $700,000 in New Funding Approved in September

More than 15 applications totalling $744,000 were approved at the September Grants Committee meeting. At this meeting, the Grants Committee reviewed the standard funding streams (New Investigator Grant, Health Research Grant, Resident Research, etc.), as well as applications for the 2020 Research Trainee Fellowship.

More information about the funded studies is available on PSI’s Funded Research page. We look forward to featuring these studies and the grant recipients on the PSI website in the coming months.

We thank all of the applicants for their submissions, external peer reviewers for enhancing the scientific rigour of our granting program, and Ontario institutions for supporting PSI with the award process.

Enhancements to New Investigator Funding Stream

PSI Foundation is committed to supporting the research efforts of new investigators. We are pleased to announce that the maximum amount for New Investigator research grant has been increased to $300,000 over three years, with a maximum of $100,000 for any year.

Funding guidelines have been updated accordingly.

Stay Connected

For more information about any of these topics, please contact the PSI Foundation office, and follow us on Twitter (@PSIFoundation) for updates.

PSI Foundation provides quarterly updates to keep Ontario’s physicians and the general public informed about our activities and achievements. If you have any feedback about these updates, please email the PSI Foundation office.

More than $2 Million in New Funding Approved

In early 2020, PSI launched an expedited COVID-19 funding opportunity. This was the first specific request for proposals that PSI engaged in over the last 40 years. The PSI Grants Committee reviewed over 100 meritorious applications focused on COVID-19. PSI is pleased to announce that 6 applications were approved totaling $1,108,000.

In addition to the COVID-19 grants, PSI has approved 13 grants totaling $1,234,000. These new grants are examining a range of topics, including transition in care activities across rural hospitals in Ontario, virtual reality as a tool to reduce pre-procedure anxiety, and qualitative analysis of the experiences of non-insured individuals in Toronto’s emergency departments.

More information about the funded studies is available on PSI’s Funded Research page. We look forward to featuring these studies and the grant recipients on the PSI website in the coming months.

We thank all of the applicants for their submissions, external peer reviewers for enhancing the scientific rigour of our granting program, and Ontario institutions for supporting PSI with the award process.

Supporting our Award Holders During COVID-19

We understand that COVID-19 may have an impact on research-related activities supported through the PSI awards. Please review the separate post on how PSI is supporting our award holders during COVID-19 pandemic.

Stay Connected

For more information about any of these topics, please contact the PSI Foundation office, and follow us on Twitter (@PSIFoundation) for updates.

As a physician-centered organization, we would like to thank all our stakeholders during this challenging and uncertain time. We are most appreciative of your commitment to improving the health of Ontarians during this pandemic.

Supporting Our Award Holders

We understand that COVID-19 may have an impact on research-related activities supported through the PSI awards. We are implementing several changes to address some of the challenges:

• PSI will extend all current award funding periods by 6 months.
• PSI will accept reasonable budget reallocations that are required due to reasons related to COVID-19 (e.g. cancelled conferences).
• PSI understands there may be delays to the start of your study. Please contact us when your institution allows nonessential research to begin and you know your start date.
• PSI will accept delays in submitting reports (e.g. interim/final reports) for reasons related to COVID-19. Please let us know if you are expecting such delays.
• PSI will review protocol changes resulting from COVID-19 on a case-by-case basis. If there are any significant changes to your research protocol, please submit a PDF package outlining your request, changes, and supporting details to the PSI Team via email for review.

PSI Team Working Remotely

PSI team remains fully operational and will continue to work remotely. We are happy to continue assisting you via email and other virtual tools for the foreseeable future.

Stay Connected

If you have any questions or concerns about how PSI is supporting our award holders, please do not hesitate to contact us. We also encourage you to follow us on Twitter (@PSIFoundation) for updates.

PSI COVID-19 Research Stream

PSI Foundation invites all eligible clinician researchers to apply for this special funding stream.

How to Apply

We will manage these application through our Health Research Funding stream. We will fast-track the processing of COVID-19 applications and aim for full review at our June 2020 Grants Committee meeting. Please submit your applications by May 22, 2020.

Questions?

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are very happy to assist.

New PSI Grants Management System Now Live

PSI is very pleased to announce that the new PSI Grants Management System powered by SmartSimple is now live!

This online system allows researchers to apply for PSI Foundation’s funding programs, follow the status of applications, submit any post-award deliverables (e.g. interim and final reports), track status of payments released by PSI, and review assigned applications as external peer reviewers.

Instruction Manuals

PSI has created instruction manuals to guide our applicants and external peer reviewers through the new system:

SmartSimple GMS Instruction Manual – Applicants – Feb 2020

SmartSimple GMS Instruction Manual – Reviewers – Feb 2020

Questions?

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are very happy to assist.

New PSI Online Grants Management System will be Live February 28, 2020

PSI will be transitioning to a new online grants management system powered by SmartSimple. This system allows researchers to apply for PSI Foundation’s funding programs, follow the status of applications, submit any post-award deliverables (e.g. interim and final reports), track status of payments released by PSI, and review assigned applications as external peer reviewers.

Important Notes for Applicants and Grantees

The new system will go live February 28, 2020 at 12:00pm EST. Applicants can begin submitting their applications in the new system at that time.

Until that time, applications can still be submitted via our current system. Applications will need to be submitted by February 27, 2020 at 11:59pm EST to considered. After this date/time, we will no longer be accepting applications submitted via our current system, and all applications will need to be submitted on the new system.

If you have an application in progress, please note you will need to submit by February 27, 2020 as stated above or be prepared to transfer your application to the new system by reloading all information and attachments.

If you currently have a submitted application, we will be contacting you with results as normal, and will include information on registering with the new system as necessary.

If you are a current grantee, we will be sending out an email in February 2020 with login credentials and instructions.

Questions?

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions – we are happy to assist.

PSI Foundation provides quarterly updates to keep Ontario’s physicians and the general public informed about our activities and achievements. If you have any feedback about these updates, please email the PSI Foundation office.

The fourth quarter of 2019 was very busy and included some exciting and special initiatives. Read on to find out more.

Grants and Awards Approved in December

More than 30 applications totalling $2,272,500 were approved at the December Grants Committee meeting. At this meeting, the Grants Committee reviewed the standard funding streams (New Investigator Grant, Health Research Grant, etc.), as well as applications for the 2020 Graham Farquharson Knowledge Translation Fellowship and 2020 Research Trainee Fellowship. The Committee also reviewed the applications for the one-time 50^th anniversary funding streams: the PSI-50 Mid-Career Clinical Research Award and 2020 Mental Health Knowledge Translation Fellowship.

More information about the funded studies is available on PSI’s Funded Research page. The fellowship and award recipients and their programs of research will be featured on the PSI website in early 2020.

We thank all of the applicants for their submissions, external peer reviewers for enhancing the scientific rigour of our granting program, and Ontario institutions for supporting PSI with the award process.

Enhancements to Funding Guidelines Beginning January 1, 2020

We are pleased to announce that the maximum amount and duration for Health Research Grants and Healthcare Research by Community Physicians Grants has been increased to $250,000 over three years, with a maximum of $100,000 for any year.

In addition, the $1,500 limit in the operating grant budget for costs associated with attending scientific meetings to present or costs for publication (e.g., open access fees) has been removed. However, detailed justification in the application for such items is required.

Funding guidelines and applications forms have been updated accordingly.

New Online Grants Management System

In an effort to improve our stakeholders’ experiences and streamline application and post-award deliverables submissions, PSI Foundation will be replacing the current online grant application system in early 2020.

We will outline important details on our website and notify applicants, grantees and institutions of the important changes in January/February 2020.

Stay Connected

Thank you to all of our stakeholders for supporting PSI Foundation and our mission to improve the health of Ontarians. As we recognize our 50^th anniversary in 2020, we are proud of what we have been able to achieve thus far and excited about what is to come.

We always aim to have strong relationships with our grantees and the physician community. Follow us on Twitter to stay connected and up to date with our news, and contact the PSI Foundation office if you have any questions about the items in this update.

Results from December 2019 Grants Committee Meeting

PSI Foundation is pleased to announce that over 30 applications were approved totalling $2,272,500. For more information regarding these funded studies, please visit the Funded Research page.  At this meeting, in addition to the standard funding streams (e.g. New Investigator grant), the Grants Committee also reviewed the applications for the 2020 Graham Farquharson Knowledge Translation Fellowship, 2020 Research Trainee Fellowship, and the 50th Anniversary funding streams (i.e. PSI-50 Mid-Career Clinical Research Award and 2020 Mental Health Knowledge Translation Fellowship).

PSI Foundation would like to thank all of our applicants for submitting their applications, external peer reviewers for strengthening the scientific rigour of our granting program, and the medical universities in Ontario for assisting the Foundation with the process.

Stay Connected

We look forward to showcasing all of our grantees via our communication channels. We invite you to follow us on Twitter to stay on top of PSI news, including new funding opportunities and updates to our funding guidelines.