The Interplay between Participatory Health Research and Implementation Research: Canadian Research Funding Perspectives

Table 1

Eligibility and review criteria respecting who needs to be engaged in selected CIHR-funded initiatives on implementation research (IR). Table 1 outlines excerpts from IR-focused initiatives led by/involving CIHR that favour the use of participatory health research (PHR). It focuses on the “who” needs to be engaged in IR. The eligibility criteria relate to who can lead the research, who must be involved in the research, and who can hold the funds. Eligibility is assessed first and if these criteria are not met, the application does not advance through peer review. The peer review criteria are used by reviewers to assess the proposals.

Funding initiative	Eligibility (who must lead and be involved in research)	Peer review criteria (how the research proposal is assessed)
CIHR Pathways to Health Equity for Aboriginal Peoples—Implementation Research Teams (component 2)	Independent researcher (Nominated Principal Applicant (PA)); At least one community member must be listed as a principal knowledge user; Community-based policy/decision-maker expected to play key role in ensuring sound engagement strategies with communities.	Composition of team: “demonstrated experience working with Aboriginal communities in different contexts”; Research and Community Engagement plan is culturally appropriate, gender sensitive, ethical, and methodologically sound; Evidence of equitable and ethical partnerships with communities
Innovating for Maternal and Child Health—Implementation Research Teams (no longer publicly available) (CIHR, International Development Research Centre (lead) & Global Affairs Canada)	African researcher based in; a targeted country (PA); Canadian researcher as a co-PA; National level decision-maker as a co-PA (from same country as PA)	Team demonstrates a strong track record relevant to IR
HIV Implementation Science—Component 1	One knowledge user must be a community member with lived experience; One knowledge user must be a decision-maker from service/policy-oriented organization.	Multidisciplinary, multisectoral team with expertise relevant to involved communities/settings; policy environments; disciplines relevant to IR