CIHR Launches the SPOR Innovative Clinical Trials Initiative

Good news for patients, researchers, and health care decision makers

As part of its commitment to support clinical research and strengthening the environment for clinical trials in Canada, CIHR is launching a new initiative to support the conduct of innovative trials in Canada under Canada’s Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR). The initiative will fund researchers to develop and/or adopt innovative methods for carrying clinical trials as alternatives to traditional randomized controlled trials. Methods for conducting innovative clinical trials offer the possibility of obtaining reliable results at lower cost than can be achieved by standard randomized controlled trials. They represent an opportunity to lever one of Canada’s main health resources including data collected via a universally accessible health care system.

The first funding opportunities under this initiative will provide funding for

• catalyst grants
• multi-year grants, and
• mentorship Chairs (anticipated launch date late July 2016).

CIHR will work with its partners in the health research community to promote this new initiative.