Trauma Program Research Fund (TPRF)
Award Guidelines 2016/2017
Philosophy Statement
The NB Trauma Program was created to ensure comprehensive, high quality and coordinated trauma care, education, research and injury prevention across New Brunswick. Trauma refers to injuries, not illnesses, for example, people who suffer a concussion or broken bones in a motor vehicle crash are trauma patients; those who suffer a heart attack or stroke are not. The work of the NB Trauma Program is accomplished by providing leadership and coordination for trauma with our program partners – the NB Department of Health, Horizon Health Network, Vitalité Health Network and Ambulance NB.
Introduction
The purpose of the Trauma Program’s research fund is to support investigator-initiated research across the spectrum of biomedical, population based, and health services research. The specific research topics supported will relate to the Trauma System, including: homes/communities; first response/pre-hospital care; hospital care; post-hospital care; or rehabilitation, reintegration and social services. Within the Trauma System topics can include any of the following: injury prevention; policy, standards or procedures; education (public and/or clinical); or patient outcomes.
Quality improvement projects are not eligible for funding. The outcomes of proposed research will have the potential to improve patient safety, strengthen the care system, reduce the injury and trauma burden, or lead to better health generally.
Submissions to the TPRF are encouraged from the entire spectrum of health care providers, administrators and clinical and academic researchers based in New Brunswick. For the TPRF Award 2016/2017 competition, the fund provides up to a maximum of $10 000 in funding.
The objectives of the TPRF are to increase research activity, support teams at the early stages of research program development, foster research capacity, and turn research activities into improved health care for our population.
Multiple awards may be made during each annual funding competition.
Applicant Eligibility
At least one of the principal applicant(s) must be a member of a health professional group within New Brunswick. Co- applicants established through partnerships with academic, health authority and community groups are strongly encouraged.
Application Process and Deadline Dates:
The Deadline for 2016/2017 submission is February 3, 2017
Application packages for the TPRF 2016/2017 are available for download through this website. Completed applications must be submitted via electronic PDF or Word format to:
Ian Watson, Administrative Director, NB Trauma Program
Funding Approval
Applications to the TPRF Award 2016/2017 will be reviewed and rank ordered by the NB Trauma Program Research Subcommittee. See Appendix 1
External experts may be consulted.
The Research Committee will prioritize all applications and make final funding recommendations to the Administrative Director, NB Trauma Program.
The anticipated funding start date will be in the late spring, 2017.
The decision of the Research Committee regarding project selection and grant selection is final.
Research Involving Human Participants or Subject Data
Awarded funds will only be made available once REB approval has been provided to the Administrative Director of the NB Trauma Program. All successful submissions involving human participants or subject data must be reviewed and approved by a Research Ethics Board (REB), with jurisdiction in the region where the study will be conducted.
TPRF Funding Guidelines
· All submissions are encouraged to demonstrate collaborative approaches to research through the formation of project teams. Collaborative partnerships and community integration should be evident within the proposal where appropriate.
· Submissions should not duplicate or compete with existing projects in the local research community and in that regard they should demonstrate creative use of resources (both human and fiscal).
· Where possible, projects submitted for funding must provide clear outcome statements and a defined set of indicators (process or outcome) to provide objective evidence of outcomes achieved.
· Identification of presentation and/or publication plans where appropriate shall be viewed favorably by the Review Committee.
· Detailed justification of the budget is an important consideration for all submissions
· All approved funding projects or studies must begin within one year of being awarded.
· Awarded funds will be available for a maximum period of 3 years from award date. Any extension would require Research Committee approval.
· Only one submission is allowed per Principle Investigator per annual funding competition
Requirements of Successful Applicants
All successful principal applicants or investigators (or delegate) will be required to:
1. Provide evidence that ethics approval has been received prior to obtaining funds.
2. Submit a yearly report and demonstrated progress, in order to maintain funding, which otherwise can be revoked by the Review Committee. See Appendix 2
3. Submit a written final project report to the Review Committee
4. Upon request, make a formal presentation of project outcomes in person to the Review Committee
5. Be willing to present and publish project outcomes / findings in relevant conferences and journals
6. Acknowledge the support of TPRF in all presentations and publications with the statement:
“This project was supported by a grant from Trauma Program Research Fund, NB Trauma Program, New Brunswick, Canada”.
Further Information
Inquires and information regarding the Trauma Program Research Fund can be directed to:
New Brunswick Trauma Program
Tel. 506-648-8040
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Appendix 1: For use by Research Committee Members when scoring submissions
Trauma Program Research Fund
Application Review Template
**Please fill in all gray shaded boxes
Title of the project:
Reviewers notes of the outline and aim of the project:
Reviewers should assign a score to each of the five factors in the assessment. The final score given to the application is the average of all the factors of the review criteria (Table 1). Table 2 outlines a list of descriptors and a range of scores that can be applied to each factor. These descriptors can be used in the assessment of the factors under review in the application. Several questions/considerations have been added to each factor to assist reviewers in their evaluation. The reviewer is not limited to the questions and may include some of their own comments that may be more appropriate to the application.
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Table 1: Factors for review
Factors / Scores / Weight of Final Score1. Literature Review / 0.0 – 5.0 / 10%
2. Rationale and Goals / 0.0 – 5.0 / 25%
3. Methodology / 0.0 – 5.0 / 25%
4. Feasibility / 0.0 – 5.0 / 20%
5. Budget / 0.0 – 5.0 / 20%
Total
Table 2: Potential scores for each Factor:
Descriptor / RangeOutstanding / 4.5 – 5.0
Excellent / 4.0 – 4.4
Very good / 3.5 – 3.9
Acceptable / 3.0 – 3.4
Needs revision / 2.5 – 2.9
Needs major revision / 2.0 – 2.4
Seriously flawed / 1.0 – 1.9
Rejected / 0.0 – 0.9
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TPRF Scoring Template
Scoring Weighting
· Literature Review 0-5.0/5 X 100 = __ X 0.10 = ___ %
· Rationale and goals (Hypothesis or research question) 0-5.0/5 X 100 = __ X 0.25 = ___ %
· Methodology 0-5.0/5 X 100 = __ X 0.25 = ___ %
· Feasibility 0-5.0/5 X 100 = __ X 0.20 = ___ %
· Budget 0-5.0/5 X 100 = __ X 0.20 = ___ %
Final Score ____%
Factor / Considerations / Yes/No / Reviewer notes1. Literature
review / Are the literature citations appropriate and up to date?
Does the literature review justify doing the research at this time?
Is the research innovative?
What is its potential impact?
Does the research repeat work done by other researchers
If the research is a replication of research already done, is the replication adequately justified and/or is the research a partial replication that includes an extension of previous work?
1. Literature Review Score: 0.0 to 5.0
Factor / Considerations / Yes/No / Reviewer notes
2. Rationale
(Hypothesis or research question) / Is the purpose of the study clearly stated and explained?
Is there a clearly defined research question(s) and is the hypothesis(es) or expectation(s) clearly stated?
Are the goals and all the objectives to be achieved clearly stated? Are the outcome measurements (i.e. dependent/criterion variables) for each objective clearly stated?
Are the outcome measurements aligned with the stated hypothesis(es) and enable the researcher to answer the research question?
2. Rationale Score: 0.0 to 5.0
Factor / Considerations / Yes/No / Reviewer notes
3. Methodology / Do the proposed methods provide enough detail to evaluate the study’s potential to answer the research question(s)?
Is the proposed research design appropriate for answering the research question(s)?
Are the proposed analyses clearly stated and appropriate?
3. Methodology Score: 0.0 to 5.0
Factor / Considerations / Yes/No / Reviewer notes
4. Feasibility / Has the researchers given appropriate consideration to the personnel and/or equipment to complete the project?
Will the researcher(s) have access to the required amount of patients/participants to complete the study?
Is the proposed timeline realistic?
4. Feasibility Score: 0.0 to 5.0
Factor / Considerations / Yes/No / Reviewer notes
5. Budget:
*Note: Rating for the budget should be based on the potential costs of the proposed work and the rate at which the applicant is likely to progress. / Is the budget adequately explained and justified?
Has the researchers considered all personnel and equipment/supplies costs to complete the project?
Is the budget realistic? Can the study be completed with the funds requested or with awarded co-funding by another agency?
5. Budget Score: 0.0 to 5.0
Factors / Score / 5 / Result: See Appendix A / X 100 / Result / Multiply by / Final Weighted Percentage Score
1. Literature Review / X 100 / X 0.10
2. Rationale (Hypothesis / Research Question) / X 100 / X 0.25
3. Methodology / X 100 / X 0.25
4. Feasibility / X 100 / X 0.20
5. Budget / X 100 / X 0.20
Total Score
Please add any helpful comments for the applicants:
Please direct any questions to
Chair, NB Trauma Program Research Sub-Committee.
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Appendix A: ‘ X’/5 =
0.1/5 / 0.020.2/5 / 0.04
0.3/5 / 0.06
0.4/5 / 0.08
0.5/5 / 0.10
0.6/5 / 0.12
0.7/5 / 0.14
0.8/5 / 0.16
0.9/5 / 0.18
1.0/5 / 0.20
1.1/5 / 0.22
1.2/5 / 0.24
1.3/5 / 0.26
1.4/5 / 0.28
1.5/5 / 0.30
1.6/5 / 0.32
1.7/5 / 0.34
1.8/5 / 0.36
1.9/5 / 0.38
2.0/5 / 0.4
2.1/5 / 0.42
2.2/5 / 0.44
2.3/5 / 0.46
2.4/5 / 0.48
2.5/5 / 0.50
2.6/5 / 0.52
2.7/5 / 0.54
2.8/5 / 0.56
2.9/5 / 0.58
3.0/5 / 0.60
3.1/5 / 0.62
3.2/5 / 0.64
3.3/5 / 0.66
3.4/5 / 0.68
3.5/5 / 0.70
3.6/5 / 0.72
3.7/5 / 0.74
3.8/5 / 0.76
3.9/5 / 0.78
4.0/5 / 0.80
4.1/5 / 0.82
4.2/5 / 0.84
4.3/5 / 0.86
4.4/5 / 0.88
4.5/5 / 0.90
4.6/5 / 0.92
4.7/5 / 0.94
4.8/5 / 0.96
4.9/5 / 0.98
5.0/5 / 1.00
.
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Appendix 2
NB Trauma Program Research Fund
PROJECT STATUS REPORT
PI:.
Project:
Funding amount: $.00
Date awarded: MM/DD/YYYY
Balance remaining: $ 0.0
As a successful recipient of an NB Trauma Program Research Fund (TPRF) grant part of the accountability outlined in the TPRF submission guideline is to submit annual progress reports. Therefore, you are asked to complete the following information regarding the above noted project.
As stipulated in the NB TPRF guidelines, the projects must be initiated within one year of receiving funding approval. Therefore,
- If the project has not yet begun, the funds must be returned to the funder.
o Please indicate if the project has begun:
____ Yes
____ No, return the funds to the funding agency
- If the project is ongoing (received REB approval and there has been recent activity regarding the project), please provide the following information;
o REB approval date:
o Date project began:
o Expected project completion date:
o Summary of project status:
- If the project is completed, remaining funds must be returned to the funding agency.
o Please indicate if the project is completed:
____ Yes, return remaining funds to the funder and submit final study report
____ No
Signature:______- -- Date: MM/DD/YYYY: ______
Thank you very much for completing this progress report. Do not hesitate to contact me with any questions you may have regarding the information requested. Please complete this survey and return it by replying to this email.
This information is kindly requested by xxxx.
Regards,
Barry Strack
NB Trauma Program Research Fund Review Committee
Horizon Health Network
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