Closing date: May 31, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. (EST)
To express interest and obtain an application form, please email grants@wsib.on.ca.
1. Funding overview
The objective of the WSIB Grants Program is to enhance workers’ compensation system outcomes by supporting innovative proposals that are aligned to the WSIB’s strategic mandate.
This is accomplished through highly practical, expert research studies and training initiatives delivered by professional individuals and organizations that address current and emerging challenges, and strengthen Ontario's workers' compensation system now and in the future.
Systematic review grants support research issues in workers' compensation. Outcomes from systematic reviews may be considered by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) to determine whether the scientific evidence meets the recommended standards for scheduling, policy development or to underpin adjudicative support in case-by-case decision-making.
2. Funding opportunity
The WSIB is interested in one award for a systematic review of the scientific evidence examining if occupational asbestos exposure causes gastro-intestinal cancers.
Specifically, the review must address:
- Gastro-intestinal cancers and the individual cancers (i.e. cancers of the esophagus, stomach, small bowel, colon and rectum)
- Individual types of asbestos (i.e. chrysotile, crocidolite, amosite, tremolite, actinolite and anthophyllite) where possible
- Identification of
- Any dose-response relationships
- Interdependent causes or synergistic relationships
- Subgroups of workers who have an increased risk of developing gastrointentinal cancers and/or any of the individual cancers
- Examine any evidence for a minimum interval (latency) between the first exposure to asbestos and the diagnosis of gastrointestinal cancer and/or any of the individual cancers
The review must follow established principles for conducting systematic reviews.
Refer to Proposal Instructions Appendix C for detailed requirements for the systematic review.
3. Outputs and reporting
Outputs
For the purpose of this research competition, a systematic review is considered to be a review of a clearly formulated question that uses systematic and replicable methods to identify, select and critically appraise all relevant scientific research, and to collect and analyze data from the studies that are included in the review. Methods used should also minimize bias and ensure results are reproducible. Statistical methods such as meta-analyses should be used, if appropriate, to analyze and summarize the results of the included studies. A rationale and the appropriate supporting analysis should be clearly identified to validate the inclusion or exclusion of meta-analytic techniques.
This information may be considered by the WSIB to determine whether the scientific evidence meets the recommended standards for scheduling, policy development or to underpin adjudicative support in case-by-case decision-making.
Reporting
WSIB grant recipients will be required to regularly report on their progress to ensure we can support the recipient in early identification and removal of barriers.
The successful applicant will be required to complete a final report as a condition of funding, which will be subject to a peer-review as arranged by the WSIB. The final report will need to address peer-reviewer comments and be delivered within 2 (two) months of receipt of peer-reviewer comments. Additionally, a requirement to present the overall findings of the systematic review to WSIB management will occur following the peer review of the final report.
The final report delivered to the WSIB will be in electronic format and will be published within the WSIB Reference Centre.
Refer to Proposal Instructions Appendix C for detailed requirements of the final report.
4. Eligibility
The research team will require a minimum of three (3) team members including:
- At least one member with a Doctorate in Epidemiology
- At least one member who has formal training in toxicology or industry hygiene (Masters Level or PhD)
- At least one member of the team must have demonstrated experience conducting systematic reviews including meta-analyses related to disease etiology
Expert researchers affiliated with an eligible applicant organization:
- Publicly funded universities or colleges
- Public hospitals with a specialized research area
- Not-for-profit or registered charitable organizations with the capability and capacity to conduct research
- Canadian non-governmental organizations with the capability and capacity to conduct research
- Other organizations that have the capability and capacity to conduct research and are not privately owned and operated may also be eligible for a WSIB grant.
Private organizations are not eligible to apply for a WSIB research grant as a Project or Secondary Lead. Private organizations may be identified as a partner or collaborator of an eligible applicant organization.
5. Award amount and term
One grant will be awarded with a funding term of up to 12 months and a total of $150,000.
6. Important dates
- Competition launch: April 19, 2021
- Application deadline: May 31, 2021
- Notice of decision: June 25, 2021
- Funding start date: July 1, 2021
7. Contact
For inquiries regarding the application process, please contact the Grants Team at grants@wsib.on.ca.