Changes to CIHR institute funding draw protests

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is under fire for splitting $111.8 million in annual funding provided to its 13 institutes in half, with 50% placed in a common fund that can only be accessed if external funding partners are secured. The change was announced in an August 29/14 communique from CIHR's governing council and drew protests from eight of the 13 institute advisory boards that have written letters critical of the new policy, according to a CBC report. In its communique, the governing council stated that "the other half of the research budget will be maintained in a common fund aimed at multi-institute and multidisciplinary initiatives that could have greater impact across sectors and pillars. Any investment originating from this fund will have to be leveraged from external sources and voted on by Science Council (and must) align with the priorities set out in the CIHR strategic plan." In addition, the 13 institute boards are being rolled into four groups and Ottawa-based staff dedicated to the institutes is being integrated into the three CIHR portfolios ….