News

The Ontario SPOR SUPPORT Unit (OSSU) issued its inaugural Call for Proposals today for the newly created IMPACT* Awards.

“I’m delighted to announce today, the first round of patient-oriented research funding under Canada’s Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research, or SPOR as it is known. This initiative will enable us to harness and focus the impressive and collective expertise and perspectives of those working in, and associated with, Ontario’s health sector on finding new and more effective ways to prevent injury and disease, treat people experiencing serious health issues, and improve how we plan for and deliver the care Ontarians need now and will need in the future,” said Michael Decter, Chair of the OSSU Board of Directors.

This new research funding competition will support patient-oriented research projects that advance the science of implementation research and facilitate knowledge translation and exchange in the areas of prevention, care in the community and at home, and health system integration and sustainability.

With a funding envelope of up to $15 million, the IMPACT Awards will support health research projects that bring together diverse stakeholders—including patients, researchers and other health sector participants—to develop, refine and implement promising new knowledge and practices that will improve patient health outcomes and advance our health system.

What distinguishes the IMPACT Awards from other research funding opportunities are the requirements to engage patients in an active and meaningful way, and a focus on large comparative research projects that aim to improve health outcomes by implementing existing evidence and knowledge.

For details about OSSU’s first Call for Proposals, including submission details and deadlines, click here.

Investigators interested in applying for IMPACT Award funding must register their interest in submitting a Letter of Intent (LOI) by emailing ossu@ossu.ca by 5 p.m., November 24, 2014. The deadline for completed LOI submissions is 5 p.m., December 15, 2014. Following a rigorous review and selection process, funding for successful proposals will begin in June 2015.

OSSU is a collaborative of Ontario health researchers, clinicians, policy experts, patients, as well as other sector and industry representatives, established to implement Canada’s Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) in this province. With a budget of approximately $100 million co-funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Government of Ontario, OSSU provides resources, infrastructure, expertise and support for people engaged in patient-oriented research.

* IMPACT is an acronym for projects that are Innovative, Measurable, Patient-oriented, Appropriate, Collaborative and Transformative.