Discovery Research Grants
The Discovery Research Grant Program is intended to support various research projects aligned with the MS Society of Canada’s (MSSC) new strategic plan. The strategic plan outlines four key impact areas:
- Advance Treatment and Care: Research that aims to advance treatment and care for people affected by MS (e.g. symptom management; diagnosis; developing new treatments and understanding their mechanisms, understanding and evaluating interventions to address mental health, wellness/self-care, and rehabilitation in people living with MS; innovations in the provision of health services, clinical care practices and models of care; and advances in healthcare delivery/policy).
- Enhance Well-being: Research that aims to understand how to enhance the well-being of people affected by MS within communities (e.g. understanding the social determinants of health; assessing the health economics/cost benefit analysis on MS interventions and support structures and systems; evaluation of community-based programs; and advances in health systems research/policy).
- Understand and Halt Disease Progression: Research that aims to understand the etiology and mechanisms of MS, disease progression, progressive MS, and repair (e.g., myelin biology, neurobiology, neurophysiology, immunology, neuropathology, and imaging).
- Prevent MS: Research that aims to prevent MS (e.g. identifying risk factors for disease, effective interventions for prevention, health economic/cost benefit analysis on prevention, and defining highest risk populations).
Based on the nature of the research, applicants can apply to one of the following two streams:
- Biomedical Research Stream
- Clinical and Population Health Research Stream
Biomedical Research Stream
The Biomedical Research stream supports research which uncovers the biological, pathological, and mechanistic aspects of MS, and provides fundamental knowledge about the development, progression, prevention and treatment of MS disease. Studies can involve in vitro, animal, and/or human models.
Clinical and Population Health Research Stream
The Clinical and Population Health Research stream supports clinical research with the goal of improving diagnosis, treatment, or the health and quality of life of individuals with MS; health services research; encompasses research on, or for the treatment of, people affected by MS; supports population health research that aims to understand the complex, biological, social, cultural and environmental interactions that determine the health of individuals and populations.
Term and Amount
Term: The MSSC will support Discovery Research grants for up to three (3) years. These grants are non-renewable.
Amount: The amount that may be requested is expected to be within a range of $50,000-$100,000 per year. Budgets must not exceed $300,000. All budgets will be rigorously assessed by the review committee and MSSC to maximize funding available to support as many researchers.
Support beyond the term of funding (i.e. 3 years) will require submission and approval of a new grant application which is subject to review in direct competition with other new grant applications.
Eligibility
- Have an academic or research appointment which allows the individual to pursue the proposed research project and engage in independent research activities.
- Conduct research within a Canadian institution.
- Engage in independent research activities for the entire duration of the funding, supervise trainees and publish research activities.
Important Dates
- Competition Opens: July 30, 2021
- Application Deadline: October 1, 2021 at 16:00 EDT
- Anticipated Notice of Decision: March 2022
- Funding Start Date: April 1, 2022
Policies and Procedures
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an extraordinary impact on MSSC’s ability to raise funds. This impact is likely to be felt for a number of years to come. Given that we did not provide opportunity to apply for project funding in 2020, we anticipate that we will receive an increased number of applications. It is our intention to support the MS research community by funding as many researchers and projects as possible and ensuring access for our early career researchers.
Those who submit an application in this year’s competition are expected to understand there is limited research funding available. In an effort to fund as many researchers and their projects, we ask researchers to apply for only the funding that is needed at this time, and to propose the most promising ideas aimed at improving the lives of people affected by MS. Project budgets will be rigorously assessed by the review committee and MSSC to maximize funding available to as may researchers as possible.
What's new this year?
1. Discovery Research Grants are expected to be within a range of ~$50,000-100,000 per year and a term of up to three years. Budgets must not exceed $300,000. All budgets will be rigorously assessed by the review committee and MSSC to maximize funding available in order to support as many researchers.
2. MSSC will permit trainees as an allowable expense for Discovery grants. The expectation is that the requested support should be commensurate with the needed capacity to complete the project.
3. Each applicant can submit a maximum of one (1) proposal to the Discovery Research Grant competition.
4. All applications must be submitted via a new grants and awards management system called ProposalCentral, which can be accessed through the following website: https://proposalcentral.com. Note that the EasyGrants system will no longer be used to accept applications.
5. Interested applicants must create a profile on ProposalCentral through which they can complete the application process. Applicants are also required to connect their ORCiD identifier, a persistent and unique digital identifier, to the ProposalCentral profile. ORCiD will connect your iD with your professional information (e.g. grants, publications, funding, etc.). If you don’t have an ORCiD, you can easily create one in a few minutes.
6. The MSSC has included an Equity and Diversity section to all grant and award applications. Applicants are encouraged to complete the Equity and Diversity Questionnaire to help us better monitor equity in our programs. Your information will only be seen by authorized MSSC staff and the data collected will only be used in an aggregated form in order to protect the identity of individuals.
