Research Grants Terms and Conditions

1. Glaucoma Research Society of Canada (GRSC)
The GRSC is a federally incorporated charitable organization established to raise funds to conduct research into various aspects of, and try to find a cure for, glaucoma. (CRA Charitable Registration Number889178695RR0001)

2. Research Funded
The GRSC provides grants for independent basic and clinical research into all aspects of glaucoma. Grants are awarded for eligible research projects recommended by the Scientific Advisory Committee and approved by the GRSC Board of Directors. Projects must be completed within a period of two years after the grant cheque has been issued and mailed.

The Board determines the amount of the annual funding that is available at the start of the granting process. The number of grants to be awarded and the amount of each grant depend on the quality of the proposals and the availability of GRSC funds.
Research proposals will not necessarily be funded, either in whole or in part. The maximum amount of funding is $25,000 per research proposal.

GRSC does not fund overhead expenses, see section 3F. Only $2000 from this grant can be used for travel expenses related to the funded research.
If funding is received from other funding organizations during the relevant two-year period to carry out the same research objectives, a report must be submitted to the GRSC and each other funding organization, describing how the additional funds from the other organization will be used.

3. Eligibility
Only researchers with a Canadian university or academic hospital appointment are eligible to receive funding. Funding may be provided to students in an academic research program if the project is under supervision by a preceptor and the results will form part of a master’s or PhD thesis. Funding may be provided for post doctoral studies and for clinical research fellowships if the research is supervised by a clinician researcher of national standing. Funding may also be provided for trainees who meet the following criteria:

A. The trainee is a student at a recognized university (e.g., an undergraduate science student or undergraduate medical student).

B. The research is conducted in a formal academic research program in a research hospital or university.

C. The is supervised by a glaucoma specialist or glaucoma researcher. Recipients of previous grants must provide the GRSC with up-to-date reports, as outlined in these terms and conditions, to be eligible for renewed funding.

D. Grant Renewal: Only two renewals of projects previously funded by GRSC will be considered. Recipients of a previous grant must provide the GRSC with up-to-date reports as outlined in these terms and conditions, to be eligible for renewed funding.

E. Ethics Approval: Before funding can be considered, all clinical or animal-based research must have prior or pending research ethics board approval. The name and address of the ethics committee must be supplied.

F. Overhead expenses: GRSC does not fund overhead expenses. If an institute demands overhead expenses from a GRSC applicant, the applicant must include this demand as an expense item in the requested budget for peer-review. If two projects achieve the same points rank in the review process, GRSC will give priority to funding the project without the overhead expenses.

4. Application Process
Applicants are invited to submit their applications and proposals online using our module found at www.glaucomaresearch.ca by 9am ET, Monday, November 30, 2026. For further information, please contact Norlan Roberts, Administrator, Glaucoma Research Society of Canada at 416-483-0200 or
1-877-483-0204 or email info@glaucomaresearch.ca. All applicants will be notified by email, no later than May 31, 2027, whether the GRSC will fund their proposal or not.

5. Peer Review and Evaluation
All applications are reviewed and ranked using an independent peer review process coordinated by the Chair and the Co-Chair of the GRSC Scientific Advisory Committee. The Scientific Advisory Committee reviews the results of the peer review process and recommends grant approvals to the Board.

6. Administration of Grants
Grant cheques are payable only to Canadian charitable, designated public institutions, such as academic hospitals or universities.
Grants may not be deposited into personal bank accounts, in business accounts or into the accounts of foundations.
The Principal Investigator, Co-principal Investigator and University/Hospital Signing Authority must complete, sign and return the Signatures for Release page and accompanied Grant Cheque Distribution form to the GRSC before a cheque will be released.
The two-year granting period starts on the day on which the cheque is issued and mailed to the recipient’s institution. If the cheque is not cashed within six months after the date of issue and mailing, the Principal Investigator or institution must notify GRSC and give a satisfactory explanation. GRSC reserves the right to stop payment on the cheque in the absence of a satisfactory explanation.

The Principal Investigator must use the grant funds solely for the purpose of glaucoma research and glaucoma research support as set out in the application that was submitted and approved.

If all the funds are not used in the approved manner because of medical or personal emergencies or unexpected circumstances, then either:

A. The unused funds must be returned to the GRSC with a written request that they be kept in reserve by the GRSC for a period not exceeding one year from the date of the request, to be used later as outlined in the original proposal or as otherwise approved in writing by the GRSC; or

B. On giving written notice to the GRSC, the relevant institution can sequester the funds for a period, not exceeding one year from the date on which notice is received, until such time as the proposed research or an approved alternative can be carried out within the extended period. If the proposed research or approved alternative cannot be completed within the extended period, on giving written notice to the GRSC the institution can continue to sequester the funds for an additional period of up to one year. For greater certainty, the maximum period for which the funds may be sequestered, and the research may be completed is five years, including the granting period and two extensions.

Grant funds may not be used for salary support to the Principal Investigator, or for the personal use of the Principal Investigator or any member of the project research team. Policies from the relevant institutions regarding grant disbursement to researchers will apply.
The Principal Investigator agrees that any portion of the grant that has not been used within two years after the cheque is issued and mailed or an extended period in accordance with the proposal or an approved alternative must be repaid by the Principal Investigator or the institution to the GRSC within four months after the end of the granting period or applicable extended period, if any.

The Principal Investigator’s institution through which the funds were flowed must provide the GRSC with a final report outlining how the funds were used.

7. Reporting and Monitoring
The Principal Investigator must complete a short survey on their research outcomes and return it to the GRSC within the first year of grant issuance, at a time requested by the GRSC.

If the research is not completed by the 1-year mark, the short survey is nevertheless required as above. In such cases a final report is also due within six weeks of the research completion and/or the at the second anniversary mark, whichever occurs first.

Future funding may be granted only if all outstanding final reports and/or progress reports have been received.

By accepting funding for research from the GRSC, the PI and the research team agree to allow the GRSC to publish details of the proposed research and research outcomes in the media, such as GRSC newsletters, news releases and the GRSC website.

8. Publication of Research
The GRSC must be acknowledged in all scientific publications including abstracts and presentations about the research arising from the grant. Three copies of published abstracts and scientific articles must be forwarded to the GRSC.

9. Non-Compliance
If any investigator or institution fails to comply with these terms and conditions, the GRSC will notify the investigators and/or institution, suspend further payments and require the return of any funds not utilized in accordance with these terms and conditions.