Please note that the next pilot project grant competition will be held in the Fall of 2012.

GRIISIQ offers grants up to 15,000$ (subject to availability of funds) to its members undertaking pilot-type research projects, provided that full project proposals are eventually submitted to external funding agencies.  

Providing that it is supporting a “nursing intervention with clinical outcomes[1]”, GRIISIQ recognizes the following as a “pilot project”:

• A smaller scale study conducted prior to a more major study on the same  subject
• A study that aims to evaluate a project’s feasibility and/or pre-test and validate measuring instruments 
• A study that is conducted with the same rigour as the major study in order to detect it’s weaknesses and to correct them in the major study, 
• A study in which the participants must come from the same population as the future main study and in which the same intervention and the same data collection and analysis methods must be used 

Note: All documents must be originals.

Electronic versions may be sent as long as hard copies follow and arrive by mail before the end of day on the date of the deadline.

Documents will not be returned to the candidates.

Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.

LOI's and full applications should be sent to:

Catherine Ledoux, Coordinator of communications and administration
3875 rue St-Urbain, suite 205
Montreal, Quebec H2W 1V1

For further information, please contact us at:
catherine-ameli.ledoux@umontreal.ca

 

Eligibility criteria

• Undertake a pilot-type research project aimed at developing, carrying out, or refining a nursing intervention with clinical outcomes.
• The principal investigator (PI) may be:
  • a regular GRIISIQ researcher; OR
  • an associate or adjunct GRIISIQ researcher, with a regular GRIISIQ member acting as co-investigator
• The project involves members from the nursing-research departments of at least two of GRIISIQ's four affiliated universities - i.e., McGill University's School of Nursing, the University of Montreal's Faculty of Nursing, the University of Sherbrooke's School of Nursing, and the University of Laval's Faculty of Nursing.
• The research team involves at least one nurse holding a bachelor's, master's or Ph.D. degree working in a clinical nursing position in a healthcare institution affiliated with one of the above-mentioned universities.
• At least one of the above team members holds a Ph.D.

Evaluation

Applications for GRIISIQ funding are first sent to the Scientific Evaluation Committee (SEC), which then submits its recommendations to GRIISIQ’s Co-Directors for financial approval.

The evaluation criteria used by the SEC include those listed below. These are intended to help candidates prepare their application.

• Excellence of candidate’s research record:
• Overall quality of the investigator’s scientific activities;
• Scientific publications and presentations (conferences, symposia, seminars);
• Grants/fellowships held.
• Relevance of project:
• The project focuses on developing, testing or refining a nursing intervention with clinical outcomes (i.e. the project coincides with the definition of “nursing intervention with clinical outcomes”;
• The project describes the characteristics of the future intervention that will be influenced by results of the current study;
• The project addresses an important nursing care issue for which the proposed intervention offers an added clinical value for a given patient population;
• The aspects of the interventions that are relevant to the advancement of clinical nursing practice are highlighted;
• There is a dissemination plan that has a clinical outreach, directly affecting the patient population and the research is practice based;
• The project could make a significant contribution to the advancement of knowledge in nursing).
• Scientific quality of project:
• The research question and objectives are clearly defined and presented in relation to the proposed nursing intervention and its clinical outcomes;
• The methodology is clearly described and consistent with the project’s objectives;
• The expected clinical outcomes are stipulated.
• Justification of the pilot project: The pilot project should answer the methodological questions it has been designed to address (e.g.: pre-testing and validation of measuring instruments, sample size determination or other methodological issues).
• Strength of the research team:
• The respective roles of investigator(s) and nurse(s) are clearly defined and foster collaboration between the universities involved;
• The team has the expertise to complete the project;
• The timeline is clearly established and realistic.
• Funding-application plan: The investigator has identified pertinent competitions of other granting agencies to which he/she intends to submit a complete research project as principal investigator (this aspect is evaluated even if no amount has been requested in the budget in order to draft a subsequent external funding application).
• Budget justification:
• The resources are adequately allotted and the financial plan allows the project to be carried out;
• The budget reflects direct costs of the project and is consistent with suggested allowable expenses;
• The budget justification is adequate.

Accepting the grant

Any researcher accepting a GRIISIQ project grant must agree to abide by the funding-allocation conditions described in the Formal Agreement governing this competition. In particular, the researcher agrees to:

• Complete a progress report including information regarding the status/completion of the research project, and funds spent and any remaining expenses.
• Present the progress of his/her work at appropriate scientific meetings.
• Recognize the financial support provided by GRIISIQ and its partners in all subsequent publications and scientific communications.