PRIORITÉ PATIENT – To improve the quality of cancer care and service trajectories in Québec

1. CONTEXT

The complementarity of the expertise of health professionals and cancer patients is increasingly recognized. Through active collaboration, patient-partners provide added value through their experiential knowledge.

To achieve its mission to mobilize research driven by patient needs, Oncopole assembled a committee of patient-partners whose initial mandate was to identify the issues on which research teams are invited to focus, in close cooperation with patient-partners.

2. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

Overall objective

To fund applied research projects in real contexts to improve the experience of care and services as well as the quality of life of cancer patients and their loved ones.

Funded projects must provide health and social services professionals, managers, decision-makers and community groups with tools to implement new practices to benefit users (patients and their loved ones).

Research themes and relevant program criteria

Projects must make it their priority to address one or more issues raised by the Oncopole patient-partner committee. The issues are categorized based on the terminology used in the Pan-Canadian Framework for Cancer Survivorship Research:

Survivors’ experience and outcomes

• Functional and economic impacts and outcomes of cancer and its treatment
• Informational and self-management needs of survivors
• Interventions to address psychosocial needs

Late and long-term effects

• Mechanisms of late and long-term effects and predictors of high-risk
• Informational needs of patients and caregivers
• Oversight mechanisms to detect delayed effects and their repercussions
• Interventions to prevent and reduce delayed medical and psychosocial effects

Models of care

• Interventions to improve consistency, coordination and integration of follow-up care, including transitions in care

Cross-cutting themes

• Engagement of survivors in both the research and program/policy decision-making processes
• Improved strategies and mechanisms for healthcare providers to communicate reliable information
• Knowledge translation, where appropriate, to ensure findings are communicated and delivered in understandable and relevant ways

The projects must align with the intervention priorities of the PQC as they pertain to the response to patient needs.

3. SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS RELATED TO PATIENT-CENTRED RESEARCH (PCR)

RESEARCH PARTNERSHIP WITH USERS (PATIENTS AND THEIR LOVED ONES BASED ON THE RESEARCH THEME)

• Users must be involved in drafting the application and throughout the project as part of a co-creative approach, in accordance with applicable practices.
• Teams that apply must demonstrate that the proposed practice targets the priorities identified by the Oncopole patient-partner committee, as detailed in the RESEARCH THEMES section, and provides practical and measurable benefits for users.

Action research approach

The project stakeholders (researchers, health and social services professionals, managers and users) must be involved in the different stages of the research project, from the specification of the problem and the research questions, to the interpretation of the results, including the dissemination, transfer and appropriation of knowledge.

PROJECT SUPPORT AND FOLLOW-UP

Several resources are available to teams, notably through the Unité de soutien SSA Québec, which can offer consultations adapted to the projects and needs of research teams in the following areas

• Learning health systems
• Capacity building
• Data organization and management
• Patient/public partnership
• Health economics
• Data Valuation
• Equity, diversity and inclusion
• Indigenous health
• Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and patient-reported experience measures (PREMs)

4. KEY PRINCIPLES

Sustainable health

Several major global disruptions such us the pandemic, the climate change, the demographic change, etc. are causing health research to undergo significant changes. Thus, the concepts of “One Health” (interrelation of human, animal and environmental health) coexist with the concepts of Learning Health Systems (continuous and incremental improvement of the quality of care and services). Sustainable Health is at the intersection of these concepts, focusing on strategies for health promotion, prevention and early intervention of diseases, for optimal health outcomes while limiting additional costs, with at least 3 levels of declination

• Better consideration of health determinants / prevention – promotion
• The transformation of service corridors / new actors
• Global health – transforming public health by integrating the surrounding natural ecosystems

Such an undertaking requires the integration of all health determinants, including interactions with environments. It gives an important place to public health, but not only. It is supported, among other things, by cutting-edge themes such as artificial intelligence and digital health, massive data integration, and precision medicine. Applied to both physical and mental health, they are essential to the development of connected objects that will facilitate our own health management, the optimization of service corridors with better management of access to the “right patient at the right time in the right place”, the improvement of public services (transportation, land use planning based on population health criteria), etc.

In other words, sustainable health is a holistic approach that combines the physical and psychological health of people with the environment in which they live. It commits individuals and the community to deploy, at all stages of life, different interventions that will allow for an optimal state of health for each individual, including vulnerable populations and future generations.

Social acceptability of health data use

Basic training on the social acceptability of sharing and using health data is offered to all team members whose projects involve health and social services information.

The training includes the following modules

• Definition of social acceptability
• Guiding principles and best practices
• Tools and services available to teams
• Description of the support offered by the FRQ

This basic training will take place during an online webinar that researchers can attend prior to application submission, if available. Details on how to access this training will be shared at a later date.

5. CALL FOR PROPOSALS AND PROJECT FOLLOW-UP

Steps

• Submission of pre-proposal and assessment of relevance

Teams must submit a pre-proposal based on the requirements detailed in the REQUIRED DOCUMENTS AND EVALUATION sections.

The relevance of the pre-proposal will be assessed by program partners, and recommendations will be made for the submission of a complete application, when appropriate. Only the most relevant pre-proposal will move on to the next step in the competition.

• Submission of complete applications and scientific evaluation

A joint committee of peers, independent researchers and users trained in PCR and action research will assess the applications using the criteria detailed in the EVALUATION section.

6. TEAM MEMBERS AND APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY

Conditions

A team may be made up of researchers, health and social services professionals, managers and users. Researchers must have the status of university researcher, clinical university researcher or college researcher (see Definitions section of the Common General Rules).

Team structure

The team must include a minimum of three (3) members:

• A principal investigator (PI) with university researcher or clinical university researcher status under the Common General Rules who will represent the project and act as the scientific director and manager, in accordance with the administrative conditions and requirements of the FRQS. The principal investigator’s home institution shall manage the funding;

AND

• A co-investigator with 4c status under the Common General Rules (e.g. physician or health and social services professional) who represents a user community;

AND

• A user (patient or or patient-partner and their loved ones). Note that the identity of the user may be confirmed when submitting the complete application.

An unlimited number of additional team members may join as co-investigators (statuses 1, 2, 3, 4 under the Common General Rules).

An unlimited number of additional team members may join as collaborators (any individual who has one of the four statuses under the Common General Rules). Individuals with a student status under the Common General Rules are not eligible to contribute as collaborators.

The role and research status of each team member must be clearly detailed in the documents submitted for evaluation. Team members, including users, must demonstrate how they collaborate or actively collaborate on the proposed project and specify the amount of time they allocate to the project or their level of involvement.

The program partners strongly encourage collaboration between researchers with expertise in different sectors, as well as the integration of new researchers.

Multiple applications

A researcher may only submit one (1) complete application as a principal investigator.

An individual may contribute to up to two (2) applications to this competition as a team member.

Professional corporations

Team members who are health and social services professionals must provide proof that they are members in good standing of the professional order that governs their sector in Québec, have a valid license to practice in Québec and have professional liability insurance.

Ethics

Team members must comply with the standards pertaining to the ethical conduct of research detailed in the Common General Rules.

Basic research ethics training

Basic research ethics training is mandatory for all team researchers with 1, 2, 3, 4a and 4b status, since the projects involve humans. Other team members are also encouraged to follow the training.

Research on humans involves:

• the participation of humans as subjects;
• the use of human biological material (parts, products, tissues, cells, genetic material derived from the human body) from a living or deceased person;
• assisted reproduction activities or the use of embryos derived therefrom, within the meaning of the Act respecting clinical and research activities relating to assisted reproduction (R.S.Q. Chapter A-5.01);
• the use of administrative, scientific or descriptive data from humans.

Participants must successfully complete levels 1 and 3 of the online tutorial in research ethics.

The first payment is conditional upon the successful completion of the training program.

7. REQUIRED DOCUMENTS – PRE-PROPOSAL

The documents must be duly transmitted to the FRQS via the form in the FRQ electronic portfolio of the principal investigator.

Missing documents and required documents that do not comply with the competition rules or e-forms may make the application ineligible.

The team shall not be notified when a required document is missing from the application.

Documents received after the submission deadline for the pre-proposal shall not be considered. Applications shall not be updated.

Documents that are not required but transmitted with the pre-proposal shall be removed from the application prior to the evaluation.

No extensions. Forms that are not transmitted by the deadlines shall be automatically rejected.

Every co-investigator (status 1, 2, 3, 4a), 4b) and 4c)) must consent to being part of the team prior to the deadline to submit the pre-proposal set by the managing institution. Otherwise, the principal investigator shall not be eligible to submit the pre-proposal form. Co-investigators (status 1, 2, 3, 4a), 4b) and 4c)) who have not created their FRQnet account should go to the toolbox and follow the steps to do so.

Principal investigator

• Priorité patient pre-proposal e-form (for information only, you can find the PDF PRPT-2024 PRE-PROPOSAL document in the toolbox)
• Canadian Common CV, funding version for FRQS (updated on June 1, 2022)
• Detailed contributions (updated on June 1, 2022) (consult the guidelines to attach files to the CV in the toolbox)

Only teams whose pre-proposal is deemed eligible will be invited to submit a complete application.

Co-investigators (status 1, 2, 3 and 4a)

• Canadian Common CV, Funding CV version for FRQS (updated on June 1, 2022)
• Detailed contributions (updated on June 1, 2022) (consult the guidelines to attach files to the CV in the toolbox)

Important :

Status 4a) co-investigators will be required to forward their CCV and detailed contributions in PDF format to the Principal Investigator.

Co-investigators (status 4b, 4c)

• An up-to-date abbreviated CV (maximum two (2) pages) in PDF format, and tailored to the call for proposals; see the FRQ Abridged CV document.

Important: These documents should all be forwarded to the Principal Investigator.

Users (Patient or patient-partner and their loved ones) if already identified

• Letter of motivation or interest in PDF format (maximum 2 pages) mentioning their motivation or interest in participating in the project, the nature of the expertise they bring and their role in the project.

Important: The principal investigator must submit a list in PDF format of the users who are members of the team. These documents must all be submitted by the principal investigator.

Important information

Consent and FRQnet Account

Each co-investigator (statuts 1, 2, 3, 4a, 4b) and 4c)) must provide consent to be included in the team by the pre-proposal deadline or the principal investigator will not be able to submit the pre-application form. Co-investigators (statuts 1, 2, 3, 4a, 4b) and 4c)) who do not yet have a FRQnet account are encouraged to follow the “création de compte FRQnet” procedure available in the Toolbox.

8. REQUIRED DOCUMENTS – COMPLETE PROPOSAL

The complete proposal must be submitted using the electronic form available in the FRQ’s electronic portfolio of the principal investigator.

Any document that is missing or that does not comply with the rules of the program and the electronic forms, but that is deemed critical for eligibility or evaluation, renders the file ineligible.

Items required but not included in the file will not be claimed.

Any documents received after the application filing date are not considered and there is no file update.

Any document not required but submitted with the application will be removed from the file before evaluation.

No extensions will be allowed. Any application not submitted by the specified deadlines will be automatically rejected.

Principal investigator (university researcher or clinical university researcher)

The complete application must be submitted by the principal investigator and must include:

• Priorité patient complete application e-form (for information only, you can find the PDF PRPT-2024 PROPOSAL document in the toolbox)
• Canadian Common CV, funding version for FRQS (updated on June 1, 2022)
• Detailed contributions (updated on June 1, 2022) (consult the guidelines to attach files to the CV in the toolbox)
• If funded, clinicians will be required to provide a letter from the head of the clinical department or the dean of the faculty stating how many hours will be released from clinical obligations to carry out the research project (only for those who do not hold a FRQS career award)

Co-investigators status 1, 2, 3 and 4a)

• Canadian Common CV, Funding CV version for FRQS (updated on June 1, 2022)
• Detailed contributions (updated on June 1, 2022) (consult the guidelines to attach files to the CV in the toolbox)
• If funded, clinicians will be required to provide a letter from the clinical department head or the dean of the faculty specifying how many hours will be released from clinical obligations to carry out the research project (only for those who do not hold a FRQS career award)

Important:  Co-investigators in status 4a) will be required to forward their CCV and detailed contributions in PDF format to the Principal Investigator. In addition, if funded, clinical investigators will be required to forward their letter from the head of the clinical department to this same person.

Co-investigators (status 4b, 4c)

• An up-to-date abbreviated CV (maximum two (2) pages) in PDF format, and tailored to the call for proposals; see the FRQ Abridged CV document.

Important: These documents should all be forwarded to the Principal Investigator.

Users (Patient or patient-partner and their loved ones)

• Letter of motivation or interest in PDF format (maximum 2 pages) mentioning their motivation or interest in participating in the project, the nature of the expertise they bring and their role in the project.

Important: The principal investigator must submit a list in PDF format of the users who are members of the team. These documents must all be submitted by the principal investigator.

9. RESEARCH LOCATION

Choice of research location

Québec university, college institution, FRQS group or centre or institution of the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS).

Refer to the list of institutions recognized by the FRQ to manage funding.

Change of research location

The FRQS expects the grant holder to lead her/his project in the institution or university that endorsed the application for the entire duration of the grant period.

A grant holder who wants to change research location must submit her/his request to the FRQS in writing. The application must detail the reasons for the change, as well as the potential impacts on the research project.

University or institution administrators must provide the FRQS with written approval of the change.

Administrators of the new research centre or university department of the new research location must advise the FRQS in writing of their willingness to welcome the grant holder.

The conditions surrounding changes to the research location and any other change made during the grant period are detailed in Section 6 of the Common General Rules.

10. GRANT PERIOD

Term

Up to two (2) years

Start date

January 2024

11. AMOUNT OF THE GRANT

Amount

The maximum amount for this program is $250,000 per project over two (2) years.

The program has a minimum budget of $ 750,000. As a result, at least three (3) projects will be funded.

Indirect costs of research

This program does not benefit from the amount paid out by the FRQS and its partners to cover the indirect costs of research.

12. EXPENSES

Eligible

In addition to the list of eligible research expenses detailed in Section 8 of the Common General Rules of the FRQ, the following expenses are eligible:

• Key resources who are essential to the project, including the cost of leaves of absences to participate in team activities (when the leaves require replacements)

Institutions may be compensated directly from the project budget to replace the professionals participating in the project.

• Compensation for physicians for the time dedicated to project-related professional activities that are not billable to the RAMQ, in accordance with the agreements between the MSSS and the medical associations (FMOQ, FMSQ) (excluding the project leaders)
• Compensation for users involved in the research process

Not eligible

• Any expense not included in the list of eligible expenses contained in the RGC is considered ineligible, unless authorized in the program rules.
• Funds may not be transferred outside Québec.

13. EVALUATION

Pre-proposal

A relevance assessment committee made up of representatives from the Oncopole, the PQC and users will review and select pre-proposals based on relevance criteria that meet the objectives of the program and research themes.

Only the teams whose pre-proposals have been retained by the relevance assessment committee will be invited to submit a complete proposal. The FRQS

will confirm to applicants by email whether their pre-application has been retained.

The recommendations from the relevance assessment committee will be sent to the applicants and the joint committee responsible for reviewing the complete applications.

The relevance criteria are as follows:

• Alignment of project objectives with the competition priorities. Team members must highlight the relevance of their project with a view to improve the care and services provided to users.
• Demonstration of user involvement in the project. The pre-proposal must state the anticipated methods to engage users.

Complete proposal

The complete proposal will be reviewed by a joint committee of scientific and health and social services experts, according to current FRQS rules for the composition of review committees. Users will also sit on the joint review committee. They will be selected through a rigorous process by the members of Oncopole.
The team’s efforts to promote diversity will be considered in the proposal*.

The evaluation criteria for complete applications are as follows:

Project (30%)

• Clarity of objectives
• Scientific quality of the project and methodological rigour
• Originality and coherence of the project
• Realism and importance of expected outcomes
• Where relevant, consideration of diversity in the design and conduct of research projects (research, methodology, etc.)

Team (10 %)

• Quality of the team members’ experiences and achievements
• Complementarity of the team members’ expertise

Quality and coherence of the plan to engage users in the research (20 %)

• Description of the users’ roles and expectations in preparing the application
• Description of the users’ roles and expectations in the project’s governance and implementation
• Demonstration of the motivation and interest of users and their loved ones to play an active role in the research project
• Specific actions already taken and/or planned to promote the diversity of users involved in the project (recruitment practices, supervision, etc.)

Feasibility (10 %)

• Scientific, technical and operational feasibility of the project
• Practicality of the project schedule
• Relevance of follow-up indicators
• Detailed and realistic justification of the budget

Benefits, knowledge transfer and mobilization strategy (30 %)

• The project is consistent with the desire and concerted efforts of Oncopole, the PQC and the FRQS to provide Québec with new research, application and knowledge transfer capabilities to support the transformation of cancer care and services
• Proposed strategies in order to ensure the results lead to improved care and services and better quality of life for users with respect to one or more of the issues raised (research themes) by the Oncopole patient-partners committee
• Originality of the knowledge mobilization strategy and diversity of the means proposed to reach a varied audience – academics, users, partners, marginalized groups, etc. – in addition to scientific publications.

* The applicant should not provide information regarding their own or their team members’ membership in marginalized or underrepresented groups.

Note: The minimum passing score is 70%.

Sustainable health:

Applicants must complete a form demonstrating how their project contributes to sustainable health. Although there is no weighting associated with this key principle, submission of this document is mandatory (Form available in the Toolbox).

14. RESEARCH OUTCOMES, FOLLOW-UP AND KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER

Submission of reports

When they accept the grant, the grant holders agree to produce

• Annual financial reports and a final financial report by the deadlines indicated by the FRQS
• An annual scientific report and a final report in the three months following the end of the grant

Funded teams commit to participating in the mobilization activities of Oncopole and its partners, including annual events and workshops.

Use and dissemination of the results by partners

Upon accepting the funding, the investigator grants a non-exclusive and non-transferable license to the FRQS (on behalf of Oncopole), and any partners that may join the program after its launch, of her or his copyright on the final scientific report without territorial limits, for an unlimited duration and for non-commercial purposes. This license allows the FRQS (on behalf of Oncopole) and partners, if applicable, to reproduce, adapt, publish, translate and communicate the final scientific report to the public by any means (conferences, websites, Facebook, Twitter, etc.). The grant holder garantees to the FRQS (on behalf of Oncopole) and the other partners (if applicable) that she/he owns all rights to consent to this copyright license. When using the material, the partners shall acknowledge the authors.

Open access

Peer-reviewed publications resulting from the research made possible by this award will be required to be released on an immediate open access (non-embargoed) basis under an open license in accordance with the Open access dissemination policy (revised in 2022).

15. EQUITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

The Fonds de recherche du Québec seek to contribute to supporting a research ecosystem based on equity, diversity and inclusion. Measures have been implemented to strengthen the integration of these principles. Award and grant holders are also encouraged to consider them in the context of their research activities. For more information, see our statements on equity, diversity and inclusion.

16. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Grant holders, and the institutions they are affiliated with, hold all copyrights for the intellectual property with respect to the original raw data, interim research works and funded project results, in keeping with the internal rules pertaining to intellectual property of the institutions.

Furthermore, owing to Oncopole’s mission is to mobilize oncology resources in Québec and federating vision, copyright holders from funded projects, including the institutions involved, are expected to remain involved and update Oncopole so the results of the co-funded projects become instrumental to the pursuit of Oncopole’s objectives, with the ultimate goal that each project will serve Québec society.

17. PARTNERS

Oncopole- pôle cancer du FRQS

Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé