DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHIATRY RESEARCH FUND (DPRF)
GUIDELINES AND INFORMATION
2015
PURPOSE
The Research Section of the Department of Psychiatry makes available small grants to members of the
Department (see eligibility below) to facilitate the development of new research projects. These funds
are intended to serve as seed funding for the following purposes:

To initiate a new project that requires pilot data to assess feasibility, establish treatment size
effects or bring together a new research team.

To obtain initial data required for submission of a larger proposal to another agency.

To fully fund small-scale projects that can be completed within 1-2 years.
ELIGIBILITY and CRITERIA
Who Can Apply
 Principal Investigators (PIs) must be members of the Dalhousie University Department of
Psychiatry, including faculty members, research coordinators, and departmentally supervised
research fellows, residents, postdoctoral, graduate and undergraduate trainees.
 If the PI is not a faculty member, a faculty member in the Department must be the designated
Eligible Applicant (EA) on each proposal.
 PI/EAs must have a full or joint appointment in the Department of Psychiatry OR there must
be a Co-Investigator with a full or joint appointment. Co-investigators must have significant
intellectual input into (some of) the following: formulation of the research question, design of the
study, analysis and interpretation of the results. Collaborators may provide essential services or
resources related to the conduct of the research. The role of each investigator and collaborator
must be fully explained in section ‘D’ of the application.
 Within each calendar year (Jan-Dec) a faculty member may act as an ‘Eligible Applicant’ twice,
or once as a ‘Principal Investigator’ and once as an ‘Eligible Applicant.’ The PI or EA (if that
individual is not the PI) has overall responsibility for the conduct of the research.
Review Criteria
The DPRF funds projects consistent with the Department of Psychiatry’s mission to support research
broadly related to psychiatric medicine and the evaluation and improvement of clinical practices.
Funding is not normally provided to supplement research projects already funded by other sources, nor
for projects based outside Nova Scotia.
Applications are evaluated on the following criteria:

scientific quality of the proposed research
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
feasibility of conducting the proposed research within the planned budget and time frame

potential to support the growth of research within the Dalhousie Department of Psychiatry and
the community it serves
Projects of high scientific merit considered likely to lead to successful applications for funding to other
agencies, and those that help new investigators initiate research activities will be given highest priority.
If there is uncertainty as to eligibility of the applicant or project for funding, contact the Director of
Research well before submitting a proposal in order to allow a determination of eligibility.
PROPOSAL SUBMISSION
There are normally two deadlines for grant submission each year (April and October). The completed
application form, appendices, and CVs must be submitted electronically to megan.bellefontaine@dal.ca
with a hard copy of the cover page (signature page) of the grant to:
Megan Bellefontaine
Research Administrative Assistant
Department of Psychiatry
Room 8412, Abbie J. Lane Building
The full electronic application and signature page must be in by the deadline. Late applications will not
be accepted.
THE REVIEW PROCESS
Proposals are reviewed by anonymous expert reviewers who assign ratings for scientific merit based on
the CIHR scale (0 to 4.9). Reviewers are also asked to comment on the feasibility of conducting the
proposed research within the planned budget, and its potential to support the growth of research within
the Dalhousie Department of Psychiatry and the community it serves. The Review Subcommittee Chair
recommends funding decisions to the Director of Research based on these reviews. The Director will
approve funding for grants, based on these recommendations and on availability of resources, and will
provide a written decision and copies of reviews to applicants. Funding will not exceed $10,000 for a
proposal. All applications must provide a detailed budget with a clear justification for each item
requested. Partial funding may be provided and changes in the proposed budget may be required before
a grant is approved. Any equipment approved for purchase through a DPRF grant should be purchased
through the Research Administrative Assistant. Such equipment remains the property of the Department
of Psychiatry; its disposition after completion of the study will be determined by the Director of
Research. Costs of travel, meetings, entertainment and publications/presentations are not eligible for
funding.
AFTER FUNDING IS APPROVED
No funding will be made available before documentation of Research Ethics approval of the project is
provided. Ensure that the applicants named and the proposal title are identical in the submission to
the DPRF and to the relevant Research Ethics Board. Failure to do so will result in additional
paperwork and delays in making funding available.
Once Ethics approval is documented, the Research Administrative Assistant will submit appropriate
documentation to open an account from which funds can be drawn by the PI, up to the total granted.
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Funds granted must be used exclusively for the purposes proposed in the application. The PI should
contact the Director of Research to request approval for expenditures of funds other than as budgeted.
Such approval will be granted only if an alternate expenditure is necessary to conduct the proposed
research. Under no circumstances should the grant account be placed in a deficit situation. If it appears
that the account will go into deficit, all activity in the account will be suspended immediately. The PI (or
Eligible Applicant, if that individual is not the PI) is responsible for ensuring that the funds are used
appropriately and exclusively for the research purposes intended. The proposed research should be
initiated within six months of approval of a grant. If the research is delayed beyond this start time,
contact the Director of Research to explain the nature of the delay.
A detailed progress report, including a list of any publications, presentations and current budget
status, must be submitted to the Director of Research 12 months after the grant account is opened
in order to permit continued access to funds.
The support of the Dalhousie Psychiatry Research Fund should be acknowledged in any
publication or presentation to which this funding contributes.
It is mandatory that those who are awarded grants will present at grand rounds or Research Day.
It is anticipated that research related to a project will be completed and funds expended within 24
months after the grant account is opened. After 24 months, a final report on the project, including copies
of any abstracts, presentations or publications related to this funding, and a budget statement are
required. The grant account will be closed at that time and any unused funds will revert to the
Department of Psychiatry, unless continued access to these funds can be adequately justified to the
Director of Research.
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DPRF Application Checklist
The following information must be included in your submission for it to be considered complete.
To be submitted electronically:
 Completed application form including first page (signatures not needed in electronic copy).
 Appendices as needed.
 Common CVs in CIHR format including publications and presentations for all investigators on
the proposal.
 Official price quotes for equipment, third-party services, hospital departments or study-related
supplies.
 Letters of support/agreement from collaborators as appropriate.
To be submitted by hardcopy:
 Completed first page of application with all applicable signatures.
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DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHIATRY RESEARCH FUND
APPLICATION FORM
2015
A.
Cover Page
Principal Investigator:
Department and Position:
1Co-investigators/Affiliations:
Collaborators/Affiliations:
Eligible Applicant (if not the PI):
Title:
2Status of Ethics Review:
If obtained, provide a copy of the official
approval letter; if to be submitted, indicate
to which REB.
Signatures
Date
Principal Investigator
Eligible Applicant
Head, Department of Psychiatry
Complete applications must be submitted electronically to: megan.bellefontaine@dal.ca
Signed cover page should be submitted to:
Megan Bellefontaine
Administrative Assistant, Research Section
Department of Psychiatry
8th Floor Abbie J. Lane Building
1
The PI has overall responsibility for the conduct of the research. Other investigators have a significant intellectual input into (some of) the
formulation of the research question, the design of the study, its analysis and interpretation. Collaborators may provide essential services or
resources related to the conduct of the research.
2
All human subject research requires prior ethical approval by a duly constituted Research Ethics Board (i.e., the REBs of the Capital
Health District, IWK Health Centre or Dalhousie University. Note that the title and the investigators named must be identical in this
proposal and in the REB submission. If you believe that this project does not require ethical approval, you must obtain a written
statement from one of these REBs to that effect. Animal research requires prior approval by the Dalhousie University Committee on
Laboratory Animals in accordance with the rules of the Canadian Council on Animal Care.
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B.
Proposed Research
Summary (250 word maximum):
Relevance (250 word maximum):
Describe how the proposed research is relevant to the mission of the Department of Psychiatry to
support research broadly related to psychiatric medicine and the evaluation and improvement of
clinical practices.
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Full Proposal:
In an attachment, briefly summarize relevant background work in this area by others and by the
applicants (include references), summarizing the state of knowledge in this area. Describe the
objective(s) of the proposed research briefly and clearly. State the hypotheses to be tested, describe
methods to be used, measures and outcomes to be obtained, and a plan for statistical assessment of the
results. Highlight the novelty of the proposed research and describe how it will lead to a new line of
research and new funding applications. Your attachment can be a maximum of five pages for this
section, not including references and any figures or tables included in an Appendix.
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C.
Funding Requested
Total funding will not exceed $10,000.
Costs of travel, meetings, entertainment and publications/presentations are not eligible for funding.
We will assume that there is no financial overlap of current or proposed funding with the current
proposal, but if there is an appearance of such overlap, indicate in detail on a separate page why the
requested funding is not redundant with available funding and is required for the project. Failure to
provide sufficient detail may delay review of the proposal.
Total Funding Requested:
Detailed Budget and Justification:
Expense
Justification
$
Expense
Justification
$
Expense
Justification
$
Expense
Justification
$
Expense
Justification
$
Expense
Justification
$
Expense
Justification
$
Expense
Justification
$
Expense
Justification
$
Expense
Justification
$
Expense
Justification
$
Total $
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D.
Investigators
Briefly explain the role of each investigator:
PI/EA/Co-I? Name:
Role:
Attachment
For each investigator on the proposal, provide the following information: name; degrees and
training (dates and institutions); current position; awards/honours; number of total lifetime
publications by category (peer-reviewed journal publications, book chapters, books, published
abstracts, presentations); a list of these for the last five calendar years, including original
authorship, title and a full bibliographic reference; current research funding and funding applied
for. Use the web-based Common CV to generate this information in CIHR CV format.
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