2010 Competition Guidelines
- Introduction
- Eligibility
- Non-Employee Status
- KRESCENT Program Curriculum and Stipend
- Maximum Number of KRESCENT Program Fellowships Per Supervisor
- Indirect Costs
- Competition Results
- Transfer of Awards
- Scientific Integrity and Scholarly Conduct
- Intellectual Property and Patents
- Use and Disclosure of Personal Information Provided to the KRESCENT Program
- Acknowledgment of KRESCENT Program Support
- Assessment of Information
- Forms of Publications and Variation by Discipline
- Contributions to Multi-Authored Papers
- Delays in Research and in Dissemination of Research Results
- Preparing Electronic Files
- Application Package
1. Introduction
Despite many scientific successes in kidney research over the last 40 years, Canadians are facing a growing epidemic of kidney disease due, in large part, to our aging population and the increasing number of people with diabetes, a leading cause of kidney disease. Unfortunately, the dramatic rise in kidney disease has been accompanied by a relative decline in the number of well-trained kidney research scientists at academic centers in Canada. This is attributed to several factors, including the demands on clinician scientists to dedicate more time to the clinical care of patients. Another factor is limitations in opportunities for salary support of those dedicated to research in general including in the field of kidney disease.
In response to the urgent need to better support the outstanding individuals who represent the future of kidney research in Canada, The Kidney Foundation of Canada, the Canadian Society of Nephrology, the CIHR Institutes of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes (CIHR – INMD) and Circulatory and Respiratory Health (CIHR – ICRH) have created an innovative new program to enrich the training and mentorship of new investigators. The Kidney Research Scientist Core Education and National Training program (KRESCENT) represents a unique partnership destined to enhance research capacity by creating conditions that will foster the growth and development of Canada’s brightest research minds.
The objectives of the KRESCENT program are:
- To enhance kidney research capacity by training increased numbers of highly skilled scientists, across multiple disciplines, focused on the prevention of end-stage renal disease and improving the health of Canadians with kidney disease.
- To engage kidney researchers in the development of transdisciplinary kidney research networks.
- To create sustainable momentum in supporting research careers of kidney scientists.
Application to the KRESCENT program is open to applicants, from all disciplines relevant to kidney disease (i.e. biomedical, clinical, health services and population health disciplines) in the following categories:
- New Investigator Awards: Researchers, within the first three years of their first faculty appointment (assistant professor level or equivalent) at the time the Award commences, who have a MD and/or PhD New Investigator Awards must be held at Universities in Canada.
- Post-Doctoral Fellowship: Includes MDs and Post-Doctoral PhDs.
- Allied Health Doctoral Award: Allied Health Professionals (including but not limited to, nurses, psychologists, social workers, dialysis technicians, dieticians, physiotherapists, pharmacists and occupational therapists). who are enrolled in PhD courses at a Canadian university
(For detailed eligibility criteria please see the eligibility section for the various programs)
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2. Eligibility
Applicants must be Canadian citizens or landed immigrants at the time of submission of their application.
For New Investigator Awards, applicants must apply through a university department or affiliated institution offering the faculty appointment.
For Allied Health Doctoral Award and Post-Doctoral Fellowship, applicants must apply through a university department or affiliated institution that has been accepted as suitable for research training by the KRESCENT program.
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3. Non-Employee Status
The granting of an award is deemed to establish neither an employer-employee relationship nor a partnership between the grantor and grantee.
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4. KRESCENT Program Curriculum and Stipend
The KRESCENT program offers a competitive salary stipend (see Guidelines of individual awards for specific stipend levels).
Awardees will be required to participate and complete a core kidney research curriculum. For detailed information on the curriculum see KRESCENT Curriculum document.
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5. Maximum number of KRESCENT Program Fellowships Per Supervisor
The KRESCENT program will not fund more than two Fellowships per supervisor at one time.
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6. Indirect Costs
The KRESCENT program funds only personnel and infrastructure support awards. No funding is provided for indirect costs of research (e.g. library, heat and light, office furniture, overhead, administrative charges and fees).
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7. Competition Results
Successful applicants will be notified by an official letter before May 31 and the results will be posted on the Internet.
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8. Transfer of Awards
Awardees may not change supervisors, projects or institutions without the written permission of the Chair of the Program Steering Committee. The institution to which the awardee is moving will be required to supply the same supporting documentation as was required in the original application.
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9. Scientific Integrity and Scholarly Conduct
Institutions receiving funds must have appropriate policies in place for investigating allegations of misconduct as outlined in “Integrity in Research and Scholarship: A Tri-Council Policy Statement” as published by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Any questions concerning scientific integrity or scholarly conduct that arise during the course of the evaluation of an application will be referred back to the parent institution for that body to proceed with an enquiry. The KRESCENT program is to be informed of the outcome of such investigations.
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10. Intellectual Property and Patents
The KRESCENT program must be informed of any commercial application arising from KRESCENT program-supported activity.
The KRESCENT program does not retain or claim any ownership of, or exploitation rights to, intellectual property developed under KRESCENT program funding. These are owned by the institution and/or the inventor.
Should the inventor decide to pursue commercialization of any results of the research funded by the KRESCENT program, he or she must disclose to their institution any potential intellectual property arising from the research; he or she and the institution must make every effort to obtain the greatest possible benefit to Canada from the resulting commercial activity.
The above requirement for disclosure is not intended to supersede any policy on disclosure that the institution might already have in place.
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11. Use and Disclosure of Personal Information Provided to the KRESCENT Program
All personal information collected by the KRESCENT program about
applicants is used to review applications, to administer and monitor
awards, to compile statistics and to promote and support kidney
research in Canada. Consistent with these purposes, applicants should
also expect that information collected by the KRESCENT program may be
used in the following ways:
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For peer-review purposes, applications are provided to the Peer Review Committee. Applications may also be transmitted to external reviewers. The KRESCENT program informs all reviewers of the obligation to maintain confidentiality and to protect the information entrusted to them.
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Funding decisions – After peer review, merit scores, rank, project title and committee recommendations on budget and terms, will be made available to: program staff managing funding envelopes, the Program Steering Committee and Governing Council.
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For the purposes of public information the KRESCENT program routinely publishes and disseminates certain details about successful award applications, including the name of the applicant, the amount awarded, the institution, the department, the title of the project and the summary of research prepared by the applicant for public release. For Post- Doctoral Fellowships and Doctoral Awards the proposed location of tenure the field of research may also be made public.
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For administrative and planning purposes, the KRESCENT program uses files and databases containing personal information for program planning, evaluation, review and audits, and for general statistics for these activities. This information is also used to generate mailing lists for dissemination of the KRESCENT program publications and other information to the research community.
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For purposes of equity, the KRESCENT program application forms ask for the gender of the applicant, but this is provided on voluntary basis only. This information is not used in the peer review process. It is used to promote the increased participation of women in the KRESCENT program and on KRESCENT program committees and to generate statistics pertaining to the program
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The KRESCENT program also collects data on the language capability of individuals for administrative and statistical purposes. The data are not used in the peer adjudication process.
Information submitted to the KRESCENT program is subject to the “Tri-Council Policy: Integrity in Research and Scholarships” and may be used and disclosed consistent with that policy.
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12. Acknowledgment of KRESCENT Program Support
Awardees are expected to acknowledge the KRESCENT program’s financial support in a standardized fashion: in publications arising from the supported research, in conference or congress material, and on equipment and facilities purchased and/or developed with the Program’s funds.
The KRESCENT program expects that all those who receive support will accept invitations from The Kidney Foundation of Canada and other professional and scholarly associations (e.g. CANNT, CANSW, AND) to present their research at meetings or conferences.
KRESCENT awardees are expected to attend the annual scientific meeting of the Canadian Society of Nephrology and submit abstracts to this meeting.
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13. Assessment of Information
The KRESCENT program advises its peer review committee that the quality of a publication’s content is the determining factor in their assessment of productivity and performance. The committee is asked NOT to rely on the number of publications nor, in the case of journals, to use lists of “prestigious” or “unacceptable” journals.
14. Forms of Publications and Variation by Discipline
The KRESCENT program funds researchers in many health related areas and is aware that forms of research publications vary among disciplines. Some disciplines publish almost exclusively in peer-reviewed books, while others favour refereed journals. There is much variation between and within disciplines. The Program advises its peer review committee to evaluate according to the standards of the discipline.
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15. Contributions to Multi-Authored Papers
Publications are often prepared jointly with students, (Post-) Doctoral fellows, other researchers, etc. Applicants should describe their intellectual contribution to collaborative work or joint publications in their application, where indicated.
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16. Delays in Research and in Dissemination of Research Results
The KRESCENT program recognizes that research productivity may vary as result of personal circumstances, or during periods of pregnancy or early childcare, whether or not formal leave of absence is taken. Administrative leave, disability, elder care, and other situations may also result in publication delays.
Applicants should clearly and fully describe in their application any circumstances that have or will affect the research productivity or dissemination of research results. The KRESCENT program advises its peer review committee to be sensitive to the impact of these circumstances on the level of productivity, while ensuring that the quality of the research remains competitive. Each case is reviewed on its own merits.
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17. Preparing Electronic Files
Preparation of Post-Doctoral Fellowship files
Preparation of Allied Health Doctoral Award files
Preparation of New Investigator Award files
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18. Application Package
Please note that all application material are to be submitted to:
(See individual awards for deadlines and requirements).
KRESCENT Program
Nancy Lamothe
Coordinator, KRESCENT Program
National Office
The Kidney Foundation of Canada
300-5165 Sherbrooke Street, West
Montreal, Quebec H4A 1T6
For information on the KRESCENT program, please contact:
Mr. Wim Wolfs
Director, Research Program
National Office
The Kidney Foundation of Canada
300-5165 Sherbrooke Street, West
Montreal, Quebec H4A 1T6
Tel.: (514) 369-4806, ext. 225
Fax: (514) 369-2472