Grant Application Review

All grant applications submitted at Unity Health Toronto (UHT) must be reviewed by the ORA whether the lead is a trainee or a principal investigator. This is a requirement in order to obtain institutional signature. The ORA will ensure:

• PI holds appointment
• There is no conflict of interest
• Whether matching funds are required for submission and if so, whether they are in place
• Required letters of reference are in place and reviewed, and signatures are obtained
• A preliminary review of the research protocol is complete
• A detailed review of budget and budget justification is complete
• Identification numbers for Unity Health Toronto are correct (Charitable #, EIN, DUNS, etc.) as well as contact information

The ORA reviews a grant application when:

• UHT PI is lead and an institutional signature is required
• UHT PI is lead and an institutional signature is an electronic submission
• UHT PI is a co-investigator and institutional signature is required
• UHT PI is lead but no institutional signature is required

The purpose of the mandatory peer review program (MPRP) is to increase the success rate of any grant that is submitted by Unity Health investigators and support cohesion and collegiality in Research at Unity Health Toronto. Unity Health has implemented the MPRP to ensure the highest quality grant and award applications are being submitted to external granting agencies, professional societies and associations. In certain cases, some applications do not need to go through the MPRP. You cannot accurately fill in the Document Tracking Form until you have determined who your mandatory peer reviewers are going to be. If you are unsure, please read the Mandatory Peer Review of Research Grant and Award Applications Policy (For Internal Use Only; Click Here for a step-by-step guide on how to externally access internal documents).

The MPRP applies to all grant and award applications to all peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed granting agencies except for the following:

• Grant and award applications from a senior researcher (> 6 years faculty appointment) with a budget of ≤ $75,000 per annum (not including any applicable overhead costs).
• Grant and award proposals that have been peer reviewed by appropriate organizations (e.g., primary academic appointment faculty) provided that an appropriate Peer Review Report is submitted to the ORA in order to obtain the hospital’s authorized signature.
• Collaborative grant applications where the primary researcher is not a Unity Health scientist/investigator.
• Grant and award applications that have previously gone through the MPRP within the last four months (e.g., grants that were submitted previously to a different granting agency), and have not been rejected.
• Trainee salary award applications (e.g., Fellowship, Scholarship and Studentship).
• Equipment grants (not including Canada Foundation for Innovation grants which must undergo the Mandatory Peer Review Process).
• Maintenance grants.
• Industry-funded research grants.
• Internal funding opportunities (e.g. Angels Den).