Canadian Cancer Society Innovation Grants in Cancer Research (Canada)

Disruptive Innovation Grants will support proposals from any research field and discipline that demonstrate the potential for high impact and, where appropriate, seed collaborations among non-traditional cancer fields, such as engineering, AI, robotics, physics, nanoscience, statistics, informatics, computer and data sciences, behavioural science, and any other research domain poised to generate the next generation of disruptive technologies in cancer control. These grants are not intended to support research that represents incremental research in a program of work, or an expansion of previous work, but rather provide truly novel insights and directions for future larger grants that will serve as “game-changers” in the way they approach cancer, disrupting existing methods and displacing the status quo.

Funding can be applied to generating pilot data for a new and exciting idea, establishing and developing new collaborations where appropriate, testing a new technology/intervention or using an existing technology/intervention in an innovative way. We envisage that data generated and/or collaborations established through a Disruptive Innovation Grant will form the basis for a more extensive future project.

Scientific focus of the program: Eligible research areas are limited only by the imagination and resourcefulness of the applicants and the originality and feasibility of the proposed study.

Program Goals

• The goals of this funding opportunity:
  • To spur the development and/or application of truly novel “out-of-the-box” ideas to better prevent, diagnose and treat cancer and/or lead to new lines of future investigation.
  • To provide a unique opportunity for researchers to follow up on serendipitous findings that they would not otherwise have the resources to probe.
  • To facilitate the adaptation and repurposing of existing methods and technologies from other health fields and research disciplines with the potential to change the status quo in cancer prevention detection and treatment.
  • To fund bold projects that, if successful, would lead to disruptions in current standards of care and replace the status quo in cancer prevention, detection and treatment.

Funding Information

• Approximately $4M is available for this funding opportunity, enough to fund up to 16 projects. Individual projects will be awarded up to $250K over two years, with the full $250K being awarded in the first year. Funding can be applied to generating pilot data for a new and exciting idea, establishing and developing new collaborations where appropriate, testing a new technology/intervention or using an existing technology/intervention in an innovative way. They envisage that data generated and/or collaborations established through a Disruptive Innovation grant will form the basis for a more extensive future project.

Ineligible Projects

• Projects that would be considered ineligible for this competition include:
  • Projects that focus on obvious next steps or incremental research associated with ongoing studies.
  • Projects for which validation already exists in the literature.
  • Projects with no obvious potential impact on cancer.

Eligibility Criteria

• Principal Investigator Eligibility:
  • A Principal Investigator must hold a firm academic position (as a primary appointment) which allows the individual to engage in independent research activities for the duration of the project and includes the ability to supervise trainees and publish research results. A researcher designated as the Principal Investigator must be based in, or formally affiliated with, an eligible Canadian Host Institution such as a university, research institute or health care agency.
  • Graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, research associates (who are not independent investigators), Adjunct Professors or Status only appointments (except where they hold a firm academic position at another Canadian institution), technical support staff, or investigators based outside of Canada are not eligible to be a Principal Investigator. Where there is uncertainty as to the eligibility of an individual due to their appointment/title, CCS encourages applicants to reach out for clarification. Both the Principal Investigator and executive authorities of the Host Institution are required to agree to the terms of the Host Institution/Canadian Cancer Society Agreement included as part of the application.
  • The person named as the PI remains the PI on a grant for the duration of the grant unless given express permission by the Canadian Cancer Society.
• A researcher designated as Co-Principal Investigator or Co-applicant is a researcher who may or may not have a formal affiliation with the Host Institution, but will take responsibility for particular administrative and scientific aspects of the research project. These categories can include Adjunct Professors or Status only appointments. These categories may not include graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, research associates (who are not considered independent investigators), technical support staff, or investigators based outside of Canada. These individuals are not eligible to receive salary support from a grant.
• Knowledge Users (or Implementers/Decision-makers, depending on the funding opportunity), recognizes members of a research team who will use the knowledge and/or implement the approaches or interventions generated through the research in order to make informed decisions about health policies, programs and/or practices. Healthcare practitioners, policy makers, educators, decision makers, health care administrators, members of First Nations, Inuit, Métis and Urban Indigenous communities and organizations or racialized communities may be included in this category. CCS staff members participating on grants are to be included in this category. Individuals with lived or living experience of cancer are to be assigned as Patient/Survivor/Caregiver participants.
• Patient/Survivor/Caregiver participants (or People affected by cancer, depending on the funding opportunity) are defined as individuals who have been affected by cancer. This category may include anyone at elevated risk of cancer, who has been diagnosed with cancer, or someone who provides physical and emotional care to someone with cancer, but not in a professional or vocational role. Patients/Survivors/Caregivers are eligible to receive financial remuneration from the grant for their participation (in line with CCS policy.

For more information, visit CCS.