Internal Peer Review
Supporting Institute members preparing funding applications in the areas of population and health services research
Spring 2025 Timelines for CIHR Project grants
Equivalent timelines apply to other granting opportunities’ deadlines
Internal Peer Review (IPR) is believed to increase a research program's impact, feasibility, and funding application’s chance of success in an external competition.
Additional benefits include networking with relevant members of the Institute and, possibly, eligibility for potential Bridge Funding opportunities. To participate in one of the Institute's IPR-based support programs, register your request, allowing reasonable time to complete the desired review process.
The ‘decision tree’ and the explanations of each support program provide context regarding the overall suite of IPR-based programs. “Regular IPR” is currently the Institute’s most-accessed program; Panel IPR and Chalk Talks were new additions in 2021, and are now available in hybrid (virtual/in-person) format.
Project planning and grant application support
Sample timeline of project-specific support programs
IPR-based Support Program notes
Answers to frequently asked IPR questions.
Primary funding
The primary funding competition supported by the IPR program is the CIHR Project opportunity, which runs in two cycles, Fall and Spring. Specific timelines for the Institute's IPR processes are usually announced in June and November respectively
IPR registrations
IPR Registrations are welcome at any time throughout the year, for all interested Institute members, and for most significant grant funding opportunities in the areas of population health and health services research (including other grant funding opportunities of CIHR or other agencies (e.g., SSHRC, NSERC, Heart and Stroke Foundation, etc.)
When is IPR not offered?
IPR is not usually offered for studentships, for opportunities wherein the competition is mainly internal (e.g. URGC, MSI, PetroCan Young Investigators), for industry grants, nor for awards less than $100,000
Make sure to check the member directory
It is highly recommended that registrants scan the Member Directory for desired review expertise, or otherwise determine relevant internal reviewers to propose.
Vetting process
If registrants propose/request reviewers, they will be vetted for appropriateness (e.g., do they have relevant research and/or grant experience?) prior to Institute staff initiating contact with them. If registrants do not suggest/request reviewers, the Institute team will (take longer to) identify and invite reviewers.
Honoraria for external peer reviewers
To get advice from specialists/experts not available in the Institute, following and augmenting Institute-level IPR, members can apply to CSM for honoraria for external peer reviewers
Institutional environment
For application questions about the environment in which research will be conducted, read the overview.
Process for requesting letters of support from AHS
Researchers who wish to include a letter of support from AHS as part of their grant applications must now submit a request via email to the AHS Office of Partnerships (PartnershipsOffice@ahs.ca) 14 days or more before the date the letter is needed.