Funding Programs - Team Start-up Program

Infrastructure Program Definitions

General Definitions
The following terms are used in the context of MSFHR infrastructure funding applications and awards, including research unit, team and institutional awards. To be eligible for a team or research unit award, all elements of the application must comply with the following definitions.

Associated Health Researcher
An Associated Health Researcher (AHR) is a researcher who does not meet the QHR definition, but who participates in the research activities of a Team or Research Unit. AHRs may include, for example, researchers outside of BC, researchers with expertise in related but tangential research areas, or researchers who do not have the necessary publication or funding record to qualify as a QHR. Inclusion of AHRs is optional, however in large units a core group of no more than 20 AHRs must be specified for MSFHR funding application purposes.

Host Institution
The host institution is most commonly a publicly-funded BC health research institution or university responsible for administering award funds on behalf of the successful award recipient in accordance with MSFHR's guidelines. The members of a Team or Research Unit (or a significant majority of them) are usually physically located in premises provided by the host institution and also receive some infrastructure support from the institution towards their research activities. All applications submitted to MSFHR for Team and Research Unit infrastructure funding must be electronically authorized by the host institution in order for the application to be received by MSFHR.

Leader of a Team/Research Unit
The Leader of a Team or Research Unit is a QHR who has overall responsibility for the leadership and strategic direction of a Team or Unit that s/he leads. The Leader is expected to demonstrate the necessary skills and commitment to lead a Team or Unit, and its research and training activities. The Leader has overall responsibility for the application submitted to MSFHR under his/her name, and subsequent reporting and accountability where an MSFHR award is granted. The Leader is bound by the same conditions as QHRs regarding membership of other Teams and Research Units. In addition, a Leader can only be the leader of one Team and one Research Unit at the same time. In the event that a Leader breaches this condition, and submits an application as the Leader of a second Team or Unit, the application will be judged ineligible.

Qualified Health Researcher
A Qualified Health Researcher (QHR) is a BC-based health researcher with qualifications, skills and experience directly relevant to the Team or Research Unit with which s/he is affiliated. For example, a QHR may have a recent publication record (over the past three years or more) in areas of study that are directly relevant to the Team or Research Unit; and/or may hold funds for research in areas of study that are directly relevant to the Team or Research Unit (including grants determined by peer-review or policy-based review, contracts from private industry, or funding from other partnership sources). QHRs are expected to make significant contributions to the research and training activities of the Team or Research Unit with which they are affiliated. For this reason, at any one time, a researcher can be a QHR with one MSFHR-funded Team (Planning or Start-up) and two MSFHR-funded Research Units. A researcher may be an AHR with any number of Teams and Units. Trainees (including Post-doctoral Fellows and Doctoral and Master's students) cannot be QHRs, but they may be AHRs.

Research Unit
A Research Unit is an established group of researchers working together in a focused area of health research. A Research Unit must consist of at least three QHRs, including the Unit Leader; inclusion of AHRs is optional. The Research Unit may vary in size, however in large units a core group of no more than 20 QHRs must be specified for MSFHR funding application purposes. All researchers do not have to be located at the same geographic site. A Research Unit cannot be part of a larger Research Unit that is applying for or receiving MSFHR funding (i.e., Units may not break into smaller Units in order to submit multiple funding applications). MSFHR categorizes Research Units into two sizes: Category A (3-10 QHRs), and Category B (11 or more QHRs). Applicants can only submit an application under one Category in the same competition, and will not be permitted to change categories within a competition.

Team
A Team is a group of researchers who aim to establish a cohesive and effective working relationship in a focused area of health research. A Team must consist of at least three QHRs, including the Team Leader; inclusion of AHRs is optional. The maximum number of QHRs that may be affiliated with a Team is 10. All researchers do not have to be located at the same geographic site. Team members may be part of other non-MSFHR-funded Teams or research groups, as long as there is minimal overlap with the research program of the current Team. For MSFHR funding purposes, a Team can apply for either a Team Planning Award or a Team Start-up Award. The Team Planning Award provides limited funding for up to one year to help new teams undertake planning activities towards their establishment and definition of a research agenda. The Team Start-up Award provides funding for up to three years and is intended to support teams to launch planned research initiatives, start building a supportive research and training environment, increase productivity, initiate and advance collaborative activities, and leverage additional funding that would not be otherwise available. A Team applying for a Team infrastructure award cannot be part of a larger research group that is applying for, or is already holding, another MSFHR Team or Research Unit infrastructure award (i.e., researchers may not break into smaller Teams/Units in order to submit multiple funding applications).

Budget Definitions
Because of the variability in research situations, and different job titles and classifications across host institutions, it is impossible to define every category of employee who could be considered Administrative, Research or Technical personnel. The following definitions are therefore intended as a guide only.

Administrative personnel
Persons who provide clerical and administrative support to research projects or activities. Examples of the type of work performed by administrative personnel include, but are not limited to:

word processing
preparing mail outs
developing communications materials, including web sites
coordinating meetings and travel
book-keeping
assisting with proposal compilation
filing and records management.

Full Time Equivalent
Full Time Equivalent (FTE) is a measure used to quantify salaried staff positions. The unit of measure (1.0) is equal to one full-time, annual-salaried position, and is represented as 1.0 FTE. A part-time position is represented as a proportion of 1.0. For example, a half-time position is 0.5 FTE, and a position for one day a week is 0.2 FTE.

Research personnel
Persons who have direct contact with subjects, have contact with subjects' identifiable data or biological samples, use subjects' personal information, or contribute to research projects in some other substantive way. Examples of the type of work performed by research personnel include, but are not limited to:

recruiting subjects and obtaining consent
collecting biological samples from subjects
collecting survey data from subjects
entering and analysing subject data
coordinating and managing research projects.

Technical personnel
Persons with specialized skills who provide technical expertise to research projects or activities. Examples of the type of work performed by technical personnel include, but are not limited to:

designing and manufacturing tools for research projects
preparing laboratory samples or undertaking laboratory testing or analysis
conducting advanced statistical analysis
providing advanced computer programming.