Grant Guidelines

For complete grant proposal guidelines please see PROPOSAL GUIDELINES

Goals

The overall aim of this rehabilitation research and knowledge translation program of research:

1) to enhance partnerships between academic researchers, educators, clinicians, and clients, and

2) to increase the flow and uptake of information between researchers, educators, clinicians and other stakeholders for improving health care services and patient outcomes.

Expectations

Applicants will be expected to be familiar with, and base their proposal on, a knowledge translation model. Applicants must provide a convincing case that the proposed project will increase the flow and uptake of information between researchers, clinicians, educators, patient groups and/or other stakeholders concerned with rehabilitation, health promotion, or healthy living with a disability.

The principal applicant and project leader will be responsible for providing four study reports during the year:

• A written midterm report on the progress made so far
• An oral presentation of the project and its developments at the Interactive Project Presentations Day.
• A final written study report on the work accomplished and an accounting of expenditure.
• A poster presentation of the final study results to be displayed at the subsequent Interactive Project Presentations Day.

Funding

The annual funding envelope for projects is $98 000. Funding will be awarded to peer reviewed and merit based rehabilitation research projects in research and knowledge translation/exchange. Funding is expected to cover stipends or pays for the project leader or research assistants, as well as any project-related expenses (i.e. photocopies, equipment, communication, etc.). Funding will also cover pays for clinicians or clinician managers to get reimbursed for their time away from clinical work.

Eligibility

The designated principal applicant (principal investigator) on the grant must hold a McGill University appointment at the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy and have a PhD or equivalent.

The project leader is expected to be guided through the process by the principal applicant. Grant applications will be accepted from project leaders who are clinicians, clinician managers, master's or doctoral students in rehabilitation sciences. Proposals are eligible if they meet the following requirements:

1. Research focused on knowledge translation within the rehabilitation or education setting. Either a knowledge translation research project or an integrated knowledge translation project.
2. Key stakeholders are identified and appropriately engaged in the research from conception through to evaluation and dissemination of results. Partners may include those involved in health care delivery or planning and administration, policy making, not-for-profit organizations, community organizations, patient support groups etc.
3. Include a clear, explicit, and manageable knowledge translation plan, which specifies the intended audience(s), the means of involvement and communication, and the intended post-grant follow-up.
4. All projects must evaluate the impact of their knowledge translation plan by measuring change in clinicians’ practice behaviours, patient-related outcomes, and/or organizational characteristics (as applicable) at the end of their study (i.e. outcome evaluation- Step 6 of the Knowledge to Action cycle). A clear description of this evaluation must be included in the research proposal. The Edith Strauss Committee has prepared an evaluation form for measuring the impact of knowledge translation interventions, which may be applicable for your study. Please contact Anita Menon and Ana Maria Rodriguez (straussresearch.pot@mcgill.ca) for more details.
5. The scope of proposals should not be so narrow that the results could be meaningful for only a very limited target audience; nor should the scope be so broad that it is impossible to derive meaningful results applicable to real-life situations.
6. Proposed methods for conducting a project must be appropriate, rigorous and feasible; potential problems must be identified and contingencies offered.