How a Grant is Ranked and Scored?"
CIHR Process
Written evaluations include:
 A brief synopsis of the proposal
 An assessment of the proposal (strengths and weaknesses) in
relation to the evaluation criteria
 Comments on issues that should be flagged
 Comments on the budget requested
Applicant: Smith, John
Title: Role of butyrate in curing cancer
Request: $154,870 for five years
Assessment of Applicant:
Dr John Smith is a Full Professor in the Department of Cancer Biology etc etc etc.
He has published a total of 158 papers, one book and 21 book chapters. During
the past five years, he has published 55 papers (37 as contributing author)
published in good to very good journals. His research program is currently funded
by grants from CBCF, Terry Fox Foundation (co-PI) and CCSRI (co-PI). The
applicant’s research group has expertise in the majority of the methods to be
applied in this proposal and has called in collaborators when needed.
Proposal:
The applicant will study the mechanism of action of butyrate….
Two specific aims were proposed:
Aim 1: …
Aim 2 ………
Preliminary data:
The applicant demonstrated that butyrate….
Critique:
The preliminary data demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed work.
Strengths….
Weaknesses….
Summary
This is an excellent proposal that incorporates studies to explore the structural
and functional aspects of butyrate…..
Budget
The budget is reasonable. Recommended term 5 years.
Rating
4.4
http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/4656.html#7c
The Rating
CCSRI Review Process
Chart showing panel average score (▲) and individual reviewers scores (●) for each
application. Numbers after applicant's name reflects the level of enthusiasm of the panel
for each application. For example Smith (8/1/4) would indicate that of the 8 reviewers
in the room scoring this application, 1 suggested that it must be funded while 4 put the
application at their desirable funding level. The absence of numbers after the applicants
name indicates that no reviewer suggested the application be funded.
Report from Chair to Advisory Committee on Research (ACOR)
Panel expertise:
Range of applications:
Number of applications:
Renewals: 8
New: 30
Reapplications: 9
Cut-offs:
 hard: 4.10 and above; 8 applications (18% success rate)
 soft: 3.99 and above
Project summaries: