Operating Grant (RFA and partnered calls)

Operating Grant (Seed)

Funds recurring operating grants for priority Canadian health research collaborations.

CIHR Operating Grants are topic-specific and often partner-funded awards issued through Requests for Applications (RFAs) on a multiple-times-per-year basis. Each Operating Grant call is tied to a defined priority area or international partnership and carries its own eligibility rules, award parameters, team-size requirements, and ResearchNet opportunity page. CIHR's annual budget of approximately CAD $1 billion funds both open investigator-initiated competitions and strategic priority-driven initiatives; Operating Grants sit within the strategic allocation and are distinct from the flagship Project Grant competition.

Calls active as of the May 2026 data snapshot include: Data Analysis Using Existing Canadian Databases and Cohorts (registration 2 September 2026, application 22 September 2026), Early-Career Researchers in Human Development, Child and Youth Health (registration 15 September 2026, application 20 October 2026), EUP OHAMR Joint Transnational Call on healthy ageing and multimorbidity with EU partners (application 17 June 2026), European Partnership for Brain Health (application 30 June 2026), Human Frontier Science Program Research Grants for international collaboration (date TBD), and TRANSCAN-4 transnational cancer research (application 21 July 2026). International calls such as HFSP and TRANSCAN-4 impose additional eligibility conditions defined by their respective partner consortia.

Applications for all CIHR Operating Grants are submitted through ResearchNet by Canadian host research institutions. Team-size requirements, page limits, and award ranges vary by call. Researchers and institutions should consult the ResearchNet current-opportunities portal directly to retrieve per-call specifications and confirm deadlines, as individual calls are opened and closed on schedules that differ from the twice-yearly Project Grant competition cycle.