Call for Applications


Respiratory therapy is an evidence-based profession. There exists a perpetual need for a current body of evidence that addresses relevant and priority practice issues in respiratory therapy. This body of knowledge is essential to support the clinical decision-making undertaken by respiratory therapists every day. To best ensure research is adequately focused on the evidence needs of the patient and family, research initiatives that are important to the respiratory therapy (RT) profession—and the people they provide services to—should be supported.
In 2019 a grant fund was established by the CSRT Board of Directors to support RT research. This fund allows for an annual research grant of up to $10,000 for original research related to respiratory therapy. The Grant Application is available here in a fillable PDF format (Word version here). The deadline for applications for the 2025 grant is March 1, 2025. Applications must be completed in accordance with the Guidelines and Policies for Submission of Grant Applications (see below) and forwarded by email to: [email protected].

Guidelines and Requirements for Submission of Grant Applications

Applicant Eligibility

Applications must be submitted by the principal investigator (PI). The PI must be a current registered or associate CSRT member in good standing for the duration of the grant funding.

Collaborators (if any) may be non-members of the CSRT but must not be agents of any commercial entity.

  • Previous research grant awardees are eligible to apply.
  • PIs may not have concurrent CSRT research grants.
  • PIs are limited to the submission of one application as PI per year.
  • Applications will be considered for projects that have applied for or received funding from another source
  • Applications will be accepted for research being conducted as part of the research component of a graduate studies program (at the Masters level or higher).

Proposal Eligibility

As a champion of the evidence-informed practice of respiratory therapy, the CSRT will provide grant funding to respiratory therapists who undertake research that establishes and/or builds upon the evidence base of respiratory therapy practice to improve patient and care giver experience and health outcomes and contributes to the advancement of the respiratory therapy profession.

Preference will be given to applications that are aligned with established priorities of the CSRT.

Proposals related to education, administration or other professional issues in the field will also be considered provided there is a significant research/investigative component.

Proposed project timelines should generally not exceed beyond one year. Projects longer than one year may be considered if accompanied by a project plan with timeline and reasoning clearly articulated.
Limitation

  • The amount of funding available for research grants annually will be limited to that approved by the CSRT Board of Directors.
  • Only research areas related to respiratory therapy practice are eligible for research awards. This encompasses clinical practice, education, administration in respiratory therapy.
  • Members of CSRT Board of Directors, CSRT staff, and their immediate family members are not eligible.
  • Research being conducted as part of an undergraduate level education program are not eligible.

Application Guidelines

The Grant Application is available here in a fillable PDF format.

Within the Grant Application, applicants are required to complete the following sections (there is a maximum word count for each section in the PDF). The first-stage applications review is blinded and evaluated using the evaluation criteria below. Once all applications are evaluated, the grant review team will meet to discuss, and applications will be unblinded. CVs and co-investigator names will be revealed only at the second-stage review process.

Information for the first stage of judging (blinded):

  • Proposal title
  • Budget statement
    • total amount requested up to $10,000
    • list any additional funding, anticipated and/or confirmed
  • Blinded Summary of Relevant experience (max 500 words)
    • This section is intended to inform the judges about the PI’s skills and supports regarding team leadership/additional funding, etc., without identifying themselves. PIs are encouraged to outline any relevant education and training here (for example, have you attended a research methods course?). Without identifying information, comment on relevant clinical, research or technical experiences and skills of each member of the research team (PI and Co-Is) and how they will contribute to the success of the proposal.
  • Abstract (max 300 words)
    • Provide a non-technical abstract of the research proposal summarizing the research problem, the purpose, the scientific/methodological approach, anticipated/potential findings and the potential significance/impact of the research. It should be written in a non-scientific, non-expert language.
  • Significance of the Research (max 350 words)
    • Describe the significance of the proposed research, how it aligns with the CSRT’s mission, vision and values, and/or strategic directions. If applicable, include its relevance to the respiratory therapy profession and/or potential impact on patient care.
    • Include a knowledge translation plan: how do you propose to disseminate your results to all end users, including CSRT membership and patients.
  • Origins of the Research
    • Is this original research or an extension of an already existing research program? If it is part of a larger study, how do they relate? Describe your role in this study. Be sure to blind this section and remove any program identifiers.
  • Ethical Considerations (max 300 words)
    • The PI is responsible for the ethical conduct of the study when data is collected from human subjects (e.g. patients, staff, students etc.). This includes complying with their institution’s research policies and procedures, obtaining Research Ethics Board (REB) approval, obtaining subject consent, and proper storage and disposal of data and/or personal health information.
    • If unsure whether REB approval or subject consent is required, the Research Grant Committee may be contacted prior to the application deadline ([email protected]), or the Tri-Council Policy Statement (Chapter 3 – The Consent Process) can be used as a guide.


Research Proposal: unlike the Abstract, this should be technical in nature, and should concisely convey the scientific merits of the proposed research. Be sure to blind this section and remove any program identifiers.

  • Literature Review (max 600 words)
    • Describe the problem and its significance, the gap in knowledge
    • A hypothesis may be included here (if applicable)
  • Purpose/Objectives (max 250 words)
    • A clear purpose should logically flow from the literature review
  • Methods and Materials (max 1000 words)
    • Describe how the research is planned to be carried out in terms of study design, data collection methods and measures, sample selection, statistics considerations, etc.
  • Proposed Data Analysis (max 500 words)
    • Include a specific plan to analyze data, and draw conclusions from the data collected
  • Timeline (max 300 words)
  • Budget (max 500 words)
    • Include justification of items that are not self-explanatory
  • References (max 300 words)
    • Note that extensive referencing is not required or expected


Information for the second stage of judging:

  • Contact information for each investigator
  • CV for the principal investigator ONLY, including a listing of publications
Eligible Budget Items

Project funding is to support the cost of research personnel, equipment and/or supplies. A maximum of $500 may be used for dissemination of results at a conference.

Course/tuition fees are not eligible expenses.

Where the funding request to CSRT represents only a portion of the cost of a proposed project, this should be stated and an estimated total cost of project should be included. Additional sources of funding that have been received, approved, applied for or are pending approval should be noted.

If a project is deemed the winner of the CSRT grant competition and its success is dependent on all funding being available, CSRT will require proof of secured funding from all sources before issuing funds to the successful applicant.
Timelines

The project timeline should generally not exceed one year. Projects longer than one year may be considered if accompanied by a project plan with timeline and reasoning clearly articulated. In the event that an extension is required, an extension of the project up to a maximum of 3 months beyond the original ending date with no funding implication may be requested. A request for an extension along with a progress report must be made in writing to the chair of the committee. The request must state the reasons for the extension, length of the extension required, and an explanation of how the reasons for the delay have been corrected.
Evaluation

Proposals will be graded and grant recipients selected by the CSRT Research Grant Committee. At the discretion of the committee, external experts may be called upon to advise or review proposals that are outside the scope of the committee members’ expertise.

Proposals will be evaluated based on three criteria:

  1. Applicants and environment (20%)

    • The PI appears knowledgeable on this topic.
    • The PI possesses the team supports necessary to complete this project.
    • The PI possesses the research skills and experience necessary to complete this project.
  2. Research proposal (40%)

    • The research subject is related to a clinical, technical, professional, managerial or educational aspect of Respiratory Therapy.
    • Research methodology/design aligns with the research question/hypothesis.
    • The research methods and activities will result in findings that achieve the stated aims.
    • The methods proposed will result in original and high quality research.
    • The researchers appear to have fully considered all the potential ethical issues and risks to which participants may be/become subject.
    • Evaluate the quality of research design, including sampling, recruitment strategy, chosen method, assessment of rigor and/or trustworthiness, data collection and analysis, timelines.
    • Budget is sound, justified, and in keeping with guidelines for eligible expenses.
  3. Significance and impact (40%)

    • The study is likely to generate results that will be of significant interest and importance to the profession, patient and families/care givers, and the health care system.
    • The findings from this study have the potential to advance and/or develop the profession.
    • The findings from this study address a gap.
    • The topic of the research is consistent with the CSRT Strategic Plan and/or Mission.
    • The knowledge translation plan is appropriate.

The scores will be divided by number of judges and weighted as indicated above. A fundable score is 7 or higher. The CSRT Board will be provided with a ranked list of scored applications from the committee for final funding decisions.
Dissemination of Research

The PI is responsible for submitting a final report following the funding period (approximately 1 year) to the Research Grant Committee consisting of an Executive Summary (to be published on the CSRT website with the PI retaining intellectual rights to work), summary of expenditures, and any dissemination activities.

Successful applicants are additionally expected to endeavor to disseminate research findings at the project’s completion through presentation and publication. Funded research may be considered for presentation at a CSRT conference or another suitable conference. Should the research not be presented at the CSRT Conference, the PI may be offered the opportunity to present the work to the CSRT community via a webinar (or similar media) which will be facilitated by the CSRT and Research Grant Committee.

CJRT holds first right of refusal on publication of research results but does not guarantee publication.

CSRT must be acknowledged as the funding source in any conference presentation or publications in relation to the research project funded.
Activities following the Application

The decision to award the grant will be reached no later than May 1st annually and announced at the CSRT Annual conference.

Prior to funds being released, the successful PI must return a signed Conditions of Funding form that will be provided by the CSRT.

Following the funding period, and as part of the conditions of funding the PI is required to complete a final report consisting of:

  1. Executive Summary: a short report (maximum of 1 page, single spaced) summarizing the research problem, project approach, key results, achievement of the aims and significance of the findings to date; written in a non-scientific, non-expert language that is understandable to the general respiratory therapy community.
  2. Project Completion Report: a summary of expenditures and explanation of unexpended funds, if any; a list of research dissemination activities (e.g. presentations, publications); a draft or final version of the publication, if available.

Note that the Research Grant Committee reserves the right to request the return to the CSRT any unused or improperly spent funds.
 
 

Past Winners

2021

The Research Grant committee selected two applications for funding in 2021. The committee felt that these projects were equally worthy of receiving support:
  • Impact of Online EDucational Resources and VIRTUal Respiratory Therapy EDucator Training Sessions on Usability, Perceived Workload and Usage for Users of Home Respiratory Technology (The VIRTU-RT-ED Study)
    Principal Investigator Mika Nonoyama
    Faculty of Health Sciences, Ontario Tech University
    Note: this project was granted an extension to May 31, 2025.
  • Identifying the practice profiles of Canadian registered respiratory therapists: a cross-sectional observational study
    Principal Investigator Marco Zaccagnini
    School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University
    • Executive Summary
2022
A Mobile Electronic Repository to Address Patients’ Support Needs in Coping with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Principal Investigator Shirley Quach
School of Rehabilitation Sciences, McMaster University
Note: this project was granted an extension to June 30, 2024.
2023
EIT: Electronic Impedance Tomography in a Quaternary Pediatric Centre: Knowledge-to-Action for the Bedside
Principal Investigator Katherine Reise
Hospital for Sick Children
2024
No grant was awarded in 2024.