Barer-Flood Senior Career Prize in Health Services and Policy Research

Application Deadline: October 30, 2026

Notice of Decision: February 2027

Table of Contents

Description

The CIHR Barer-Flood Prize for Health Services and Policy Research is a career achievement award that honours and recognizes an exceptional senior career researcher whose contributions have significantly advanced the field of health services and policy research (HSPR).

The prize celebrates individuals who have made sustained and influential contributions to advancing health services and policy research, health policy, and/or health care delivery. Recipients will also have demonstrated exceptional contributions to strengthening HSPR capacity through training, mentorship, and leadership, while fostering inclusive and collaborative research environments.

CIHR's Institute of Health Services and Policy Research (IHSPR) is dedicated to advancing excellence and innovation in HSPR, strengthening research capacity, fostering knowledge mobilization, and to catalyzing the application of research findings to policies, practices and programs that provide real-world benefit for Canadians. IHSPR aims to position Canada as a global leader in leveraging timely evidence to inform decision-making, strengthen health systems, and improve health outcomes.

The prize is named in honour of the leadership, vision and innovative contributions of the first two Scientific Directors of IHSPR, Dr. Morris Barer and Dr. Colleen Flood.

Funds Available

  • The total amount available for this funding opportunity is $25,000, enough to fund one (1) prize.
  • The prize is to be used toward research and/or knowledge mobilization related activities.
  • In the case of ties, the prize will be split amongst the finalists unless additional funds are available to offer additional prizes.

CIHR and partner(s) financial contributions for this prize are subject to availability of funds. Should CIHR or partner(s) funding levels not be available or are decreased due to unforeseen circumstances, CIHR and partner(s) reserve the right to reduce, defer or suspend financial contributions to awards received as a result of this funding opportunity.

The recipient will also receive:

  • Promotion through various IHSPR channels (e.g., website, newsletter, social media)
  • Certificate of Excellence from IHSPR
  • Opportunity to attend the Canadian Association for Health Services & Policy Research (CAHSPR) conference and IHSPR celebration dinner

Objective

To recognize the exemplary efforts and achievements of an exceptional senior career health services and policy researcher whose career contributions have significantly advanced health services and policy research, policy and/or care delivery in Canada; strengthened capacity through training, mentorship and leadership; and cultivated inclusive and collaborative research environments.

Eligibility

Eligibility criteria for all CIHR research funding programs apply. Refer to the Individual Eligibility Requirements regarding the eligibility requirements for individuals and institutions.

For your application to be eligible:

  1. The nominee must be an independent HSPR researcher.
  2. The nominee must be registered at an eligible institution. Eligible institutions may nominate more than one researcher each year.
  3. The nominee must have assumed their first independent research position more than 15 years ago.
  4. Nominators may have previously worked or be currently working with the individual they nominate. Candidates may be nominated on more than one occasion provided that they continue to meet the eligibility requirements.
  5. Current members of the CIHR Governing Council, CIHR Leadership, CIHR Scientific Directors, CIHR staff and past Barer-Flood Prize winners are not eligible for this prize.
  6. Self-nominations will not be accepted.

Review Process and Evaluation

Relevance Review Process

IHSPR will perform an administrative review to ensure that applications are complete and meet the Eligibility Requirements listed above. In addition, applications will be reviewed for relevance. To be considered relevant, the nominee's body of work must be substantively and directly relevant to:  

Submissions that are deemed to be incomplete, not relevant, or more directly relevant to pillar 1, 2, or 4 will be withdrawn from the competition.

Review Process

A review committee comprised of members of the HSPR community will evaluate the full applications. The review process consists of two steps, with both steps using the same evaluation criteria, listed below. First, reviewers will individually review and score the applications. Second, members of the committee (who are not in conflict of interest with the applications) will meet (virtually) to discuss a subset of the top-ranked applications (based on score from the first stage) and rank order them.

For information on CIHR's peer review principles, see the Peer Review: Overview section of CIHR's website.

Evaluation Criteria

Nominations will be assessed using CIHR's refreshed definition of research excellence, which recognizes diverse forms of scholarly contributions, leadership, mentorship, and impact:  

  • The extent to which the nominee's body of work aligns with IHSPR's mandate and CIHR's definition of health services and policy research. Note: only applications with strong alignment (4.0 or more on a 5-point scale as determined by the review committee) will be considered for the prize.
  • The extent to which the nominee has made sustained and influential contributions to advancing health services and policy research;
  • The extent to which the nominee's work has contributed to meaningful and sustained impact on health services and policy research, policy and/or care delivery in Canada. Impact may be demonstrated through influence on research, practice, implementation, decision-making, capacity building, system improvement, community outcomes, or the uptake of evidence;
  • The extent to which the nominee has demonstrated excellence in training, mentoring, leadership, and engagement. This includes their effectiveness in developing trainees and early-career researchers, providing leadership within the research community and/or health system, fostering inclusive, collaborative, and supportive research environments; providing formal and/or informal leadership within academia, policy, health system, and community settings; and meaningfully engaging with knowledge users and interest holders to advance evidence uptake, capacity building, and impact;
  • The strength of the letter(s) of nomination and support, including evidence provided regarding the nominee's contributions, impact, leadership, mentorship, and influence on the field.

Funding Decision

The successful recipient of the CIHR Barer-Flood Prize for Health Services and Policy Research will be the top-ranked, eligible application determined by the peer review committee. The name of the successful recipient will be published on the IHSPR website.

How to nominate someone

Note: This funding opportunity DOES NOT require the use of ResearchNet to apply for funding.

Nomination Process

  • Nominators are required to complete the Nomination Form 
  • Nominators are required to email the Nomination Dossier as a single file containing the materials specified below to bfp-pbf@cihr-irsc.gc.ca by OCTOBER 30, 2026.
    • Please use the subject line: BFP Nomination – [NOMINEE FIRST & LAST NAME].
    • Please organize your nomination documents using the headings listed below.
    • All files should be combined into a single PDF attachment.
  • Self-nominations and incomplete nominations will not be accepted.

Nomination Dossier Requirements

The page and word limits listed below apply to documents written in English; however, since it has been determined that French content requires approximately 20% more space than similar content in English, please add 20% to the specified limit for any section or document written in French. For example, "maximum one page" becomes "maximum 1.2 page," while "maximum 250 words" becomes "maximum 300 words".

Please ensure the nomination dossier is organized as follows, using the appropriate headings, and combined into one single PDF file.

  1. Title page: Please include a title page in the nomination dossier that clearly indicates the nominee (name and institution) and nominator (name and institution).
  2. Nomination Letter (maximum one page): One signed letter from the nominator providing the principal reasons for which the nominee merits consideration for the prize.
    • The nomination letter should be no more than one page, single-spaced, 11 pt font.
  3. Statement of Career Accomplishments (maximum two pages): This document should clearly outline how the nominee meets the evaluation criteria for the prize:
    • the extent to which the nominee has made sustained and influential contributions to advancing health services and policy research (suggestion: 300 words);
    • the extent to which the nominee's work has made sustained and influential contributions to advancing health services and policy research, policy and/or care delivery in Canada. Impact may be demonstrated through influence on research, practice, implementation, decision-making, capacity building, system improvement, community outcomes, or the uptake of evidence (suggestion: 300 words); and
    • The extent to which the nominee has demonstrated excellence in training, mentoring, leadership, and engagement. This includes their effectiveness in developing trainees and early-career researchers, providing leadership within the research community and/or health system, fostering inclusive, collaborative, and supportive research environments; providing formal and/or informal leadership within academia, policy, health system, and community settings; and meaningfully engaging with knowledge users and interest holders to advance evidence uptake, capacity building, and impact (suggestion: 300 words).
    • The Statement of Career Accomplishments should be no more than two pages, single-spaced, 11 pt font.
  4. One letter of support from a source other than the nominator (maximum one page)
    • This letter should be from an established expert in health services and policy research and/or from an individual in a position to provide an expert assessment of the impact of the nominee's career achievements.
    • The letter should emphasize the achievements of the nominee in alignment with the evaluation criteria for the prize.
    • The letter should be one page, single-spaced, 11 pt font maximum.
  5. Curriculum Vitae
    • any of: CCV, narrative CV (tri-agency CV), or biosketch.
    • (OPTIONAL): A half-page document to discuss career interruptions and/or non-linear career pathways.
  6. Up to three supporting documents (OPTIONAL)
    • Up to three supporting documents can be submitted to supplement the nomination package.
    • Material should assist in demonstrating how the nominee meets the evaluation criteria.
    • Only one additional letter of support is allowed.
    • Examples may include: one additional support letter, reference list, media stories or opinion pieces, collected testimonials, links to online materials/videos/websites (aside from the reference list, one link counts as one attachment; screenshots may be provided with links).
  7. A signed letter from nominee (maximum 250 words)
    • One signed letter from the nominee accepting the nomination and confirming their position as a senior career researcher (i.e., assumed first independent research position >15 years ago).
    • The signed letter must also include the following consent (text can be copy pasted directly): I confirm that I accept the current nomination and consent to the use and disclosure of the full application and nominative information for relevance review and funding decisions. Furthermore, I agree to abide by the general conditions governing grants and awards as outlined in the Tri-Agency Guide on Financial Administration with funds originating from this funding opportunity, if successful.
    • The nominee's signature must be included.
  8. One electronic copy of the full nomination dossier is required to be emailed to bfp-pbf@cihr-irsc.gc.ca as a single PDF file. Please use the subject line: BFP Nomination – [NOMINEE FIRST & LAST NAME].

Questions?

For any questions, please contact Jennifer Newell, Lead, Strategic Initiatives at jnewell.ihspr@ices.on.ca.

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