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 Number 889178695 RR 0001).

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. Only two renewals of projects previously funded by GRSC will be considered. 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 $25,000.00 per research proposal. GRSC does not fund overhead expenses, see section 3.

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 as long as the project is under supervision by a preceptor and the results will form part of a Masters 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 research 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.

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.

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 a separate 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 for the project without overhead expenses in its budget over the application from an institution demanding overhead expenses.

AI: Applications must be written by applicants themselves, not using AI. With AI still under investigation, there is some concern regarding plagiarism and invalid authorship both from and by the applicant. If an application is questioned and proven to be written by AI, the Society may use this as reason to not fund the project in question.

4. Application Process

 Applicants are invited to submit their applications and proposals online using our module found at www.glaucomaresearch.ca  by 9am ET, Friday, December 13, 2024. For further information, please contact Glaucoma Research Society of Canada’s Administrator at 416-483-0200, 1-877-483-0204 or email info@glaucomaresearch.ca. All applicants will be notified by email, no later than May 31, 2024, 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 of the GRSC independent 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 of the funds are not used in the approved manner because of medical or personal emergencies or unexpected circumstances, then either:

1. 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
2. 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 copy of the Fund Utilization Report outlining how the funds were used.

7. Reporting and Monitoring

The Principal Investigator must provide a Final Report of their research to the GRSC within 6 weeks after the end of the granting period. Future funding will be granted only if all outstanding final reports and/or progress reports have been received.

The GRSC may ask the Principal Investigator to provide information for use in media such as newsletters, news releases and the GRSC web site. The GRSC will advise the Principal Investigator before any such materials are made public.

8. Publication of Research

The GRSC must be acknowledged in all 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 applied in accordance with these terms and conditions.