CIHR Institute of Aging Betty Havens Prize for Knowledge Mobilization in Aging 2025
A CIHR Institute of Aging (IA) Program

Important Dates

Description

The CIHR Institute of Aging (CIHR-IA) Betty Havens Prize for Knowledge Mobilization in Aging recognizes an individual, team or organization that has advanced the mobilization of research in aging at a local or regional level. This prize is based on nominations of applicants by peers, teams, or organizations.

The CIHR-IA's Betty Havens Prize for Knowledge Mobilization in Aging is an attestation of the importance that the CIHR-IA places on mobilizing research findings into useful knowledge for all stakeholders.

In the CIHR 2021-2031 strategic plan, CIHR has committed to further the science of knowledge mobilization (KM) in Canada amongst researchers and knowledge users, including practitioners, policymakers, educators, decision makers, health care administrators, community leaders or individuals in a health charity, patient group, private sector organization or media outlet. This will build capacity for knowledge users to communicate their needs to researchers and utilize research evidence; for researchers to communicate their findings to knowledge users; and for policymakers to access evidence when making decisions.

This prize honours Betty Havens, a leading gerontologist committed to improving the lives of seniors, with notable achievements in health services research across the lifespan. She created one of the world's richest research infrastructures — the Aging in Manitoba Study (AIM) — used both across Canada and internationally. Betty Havens carried out her research while she was a full-time policymaker, acting as a research director, provincial gerontologist, and Assistant Deputy Minister of Community and Long-Term Care in Manitoba. Her research continues to influence the creation of policy today. Throughout her 30-year career, Betty Havens made substantial achievements and accomplishments as a decision maker, researcher, communicator, supporter of students, and mentor of young scholars.

The achievements of the individual, team or organization that is the recipient of the CIHR Institute of Aging Betty Havens Prize for Knowledge Mobilization in Aging will be celebrated at the Canadian Association on Gerontology (CAG) Annual Scientific and Education Meeting. Recipients are encouraged to attend the CAG meeting to receive their prize and will have an opportunity to address meeting participants. The recipient will also be highlighted in CIHR communication materials.

Nominations for the prize must demonstrate that the nominee has:

• Contributed significantly to moving research findings into practice or policy by facilitating the synthesis, dissemination, exchange, and ethically sound application of knowledge at a local or regional level;
• Engaged in KM activities that are specifically related/targeted to a community and/or region and are aimed at bridging the gap between knowledge and practice/policy and facilitating the dissemination, uptake and application of knowledge in this context;
• Linked research/researchers with decision makers/knowledge users locally and/or regionally to improve the health of Canadians and/or health services/products and/or the Canadian health care system (policy or practice);
• Engaged in KM efforts and strategies that have been successful in influencing or changing local, regional, or provincial policy or practice; and
• Formed strong partnerships with other local/regional organizations.

Relevant KM activities must be clearly related to the research priorities of IA and must have an important impact on Canada's older persons.

Funds Available

CIHR and partner(s) financial contributions for this initiative 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 because of this funding opportunity.

• The total amount available for this funding opportunity is $20,000 for one prize recipient

For more information on the appropriate use of funds, refer to Allowable Costs.

Objectives

The Betty Havens Prize funding opportunity is expected to:

• recognize outstanding achievements and excellence in KM in aging at a local or regional level; and,
• provide financial support to further foster excellence and innovation in KM activities.

Eligibility

Eligibility to Apply

For an application to be eligible, all the requirements stated below must be met:

• The nominee must be an individual, team, or organization.
• While CIHR funding is not a pre-requisite for eligibility of the nominees for the prize, CIHR expects that the exemplary KM activities of nominated individuals, teams or organizations will normally have attracted external merit-based funding.
• The Betty Havens Prize can be received by an individual, team, or organization only once. However, candidates that were not successful in a previous Betty Havens Prize competition may be nominated again.
• Members of the CIHR Governing Council, CIHR Scientific Directors and CIHR staff are not eligible for this prize.

Anyone with direct knowledge of the contribution of the nominee(s) can nominate the individual, team, or organization for this prize. Nominators can be colleagues or any organization(s) or individual(s) who have benefited from the nominee's activities. CIHR welcomes nominations from either individuals, teams or organizations working in Canada in the health field, including:

• Health planners, managers, policy makers and administrators
• Health practitioners
• Independent health researchers
• Not-for-profit organizations with a research or knowledge translation mandate including professional associations
• Public health or public policy officials
• Groups representing survivors of, or patients with, a specific health problem that is within the priorities of the Institute of Aging.

Guidelines

General CIHR Policies

Before submitting an application to this funding opportunity, applicants should review the relevant policies and guidelines on the CIHR Funding Policies page to ensure understanding of their responsibilities and expectations.

Allowable Costs

Applicants are advised to consult the Use of Grant Funds section of the Tri-Agency (CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC) Guide on Financial Administration (TAGFA) to determine if an expenditure is an appropriate use of grant funds.

Use of Personal Information

• Personal information submitted during the application process, including but not limited to information provided through applicant CVs, the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Self-identification Questionnaire and other application documents required by this FO, will be made available to CIHR personnel for the purposes of future program design and delivery, results measurement, and reporting. For further information about the EDI self-identification questionnaire and the use of personal information, see the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Self-identification Questionnaire Frequently Asked Questions. 

Conditions of Funding

• The applicant must consent to the use and disclosure of full application and nominative information at the time of application, for purposes of relevance review and/or funding decisions by the relevant sponsors.
• The recipient is encouraged to attend the Canadian Association on Gerontology (CAG) Annual Scientific and Education Meeting in October to formally receive the prize.
• The Nominated Principal Applicant will be required to contribute to the monitoring, review, and evaluation of CIHR's programs, policies, and processes by participating in evaluation studies, surveys, workshops, audits, and by providing data or reports as required for the purpose of collecting information to assess progress and results.
• The Principal Applicants who are successful in this competition are strongly encouraged to actively participate in peer review, and as members of the CIHR College of Reviewers, when invited.
• CIHR-IA staff will contact the funded recipient to request a plain language summary of their knowledge mobilization plan, activities or products that may be posted on the CIHR-IA website. This could include key messages and/or findings, outcomes, and next steps.

Review Process and Evaluation

Relevance Review Process

CIHR-IA will perform a relevance review to identify applications that are in alignment with the objectives and the Institute of Aging's Strategic Priorities.

Applications that are not deemed to be relevant will be withdrawn from the competition.

Review Process and Evaluation Criteria

To support the strategic objectives of this funding opportunity, the following evaluation criteria will be used:

• To what extent does the nomination demonstrate evidence of influence on the synthesis, dissemination, exchange, and ethically sound application of knowledge at the local or regional level?
• To what extent does the nomination demonstrate significant improvement in the health of Canadians, more effective health services and products, and/or strengthening of the health system?
• How strong are the letters of support received in support of the nominee(s)?

Funding decision

In the case of a tie, the prize(s) will be split amongst the finalists. However, if funds become available recipients can receive up to the full amount each.

The names of successfully funded applicants will be published on the CIHR website.

How to Apply

For Nominator(s):

• Connect with your nominee(s). Organizations and teams can be nominated; however, one nominee must act as the Nominated Principal Applicant
• Provide completed nomination letter to nominee(s)

For Nominee(s):

• The nominee(s) must submit all nomination attachments (see below) by email, in one password protected pdf. file named [last name,first name_betty havens prize 2025], to Ariane.Geerts@cihr-irsc.gc.ca therefore nominators will send all nomination documents to nominees (applicants) for submission.
• All materials should use Aptos font size 12 with 2.54cm margins
• Self-nominations will not be accepted.
• The nominee acting as Nominated Principal Applicant is required to:
  • Have/obtain a CIHR PIN
  • Complete the Tri-Agency Self-identification Questionnaire.
  • Organizations applying as Nominated Principal Applicants for the first time must contact CIHR's Contact Centre for guidance in creating a ResearchNet account and registering for a CIHR PIN.

Attachments:

• Lay summary
  • Name and information of nominee(s): Name(s), affiliated institution(s), CIHR PIN of the Nominated Principal Applicant
  • Lay Title and Abstract: Provide an overview of the nominee(s)'s knowledge mobilization achievements in a way accessible to a lay audience (maximum 250 words).
  • Primary location where research was conducted: Provide the name of the Canadian institution (CIHR Eligible Institution) at which the KM activities were conducted. For organizations not associated with a CIHR Eligible Institution enter the name of the institution or organization to which they are associated.
• Short biography of nominee(s) (Maximum of 2 pages per biography)
  • For organizations or teams that are nominated, no more than three member biographies can be included. Biographies beyond the maximum allowed will be removed. One of these members must be designated as Nominated Principal Applicant.
• A summary description (of the KM activities)
  • Maximum 3 pages of text summary including references and bibliography. This summary can be prepared by the nominator either with or without the participation of the nominee.
  • The summary must include the following sub-sections:
    • Knowledge Mobilization Activities:
      • Describe the knowledge mobilization activities with reference to how the nominee has influenced the adoption of knowledge in terms of synthesis, dissemination, exchange, and ethically sound application. Include the strength of the evidence supporting the knowledge applied and outline how the knowledge translation activities were evaluated. Applications should include a justification of the KM strategy employed (was the KM strategy evidence-based?). If applicable, include a description of the nature of the interactions between researchers and knowledge-users as part of the knowledge mobilization process.
    • Impact:
      • Describe and provide evidence of the impact of the knowledge mobilization activities (and how the impact was measured) in terms of improving the health of individuals in Canada and/or abroad, providing more effective health services and products and strengthening the health care system nationally and/or internationally. Please also detail how previous CIHR funding, if applicable, has contributed to the nominee's knowledge mobilization activities/research (include grant and/or award FRN numbers).
• Letters of Support (up to 1 page per letter)
  • One nomination letter signed by the nominator, and;
  • Two support letters from an individual/organization (other than the nominator) that has direct knowledge of the nominee's contributions in knowledge mobilization.
  • One of these letters must be provided by an outside institution.
• Supporting documents
  • Applications may include up to three supporting documents. Provide a cover page (maximum 2 pages) briefly outlining the three supporting documents being submitted. Additional documents will be removed from the nomination package.
  • Documents may demonstrate knowledge mobilization activities and/or impact. These include newspaper clippings, testimonials, workshop materials, posters, journal articles, reports, policies, etc.
  • Nominators are encouraged to submit a range of supporting documents bearing in mind the time required by the review committee to evaluate lengthy attachments, and to submit weblinks in instances where the material is available online, accompanied by a brief description summarizing the piece.

Contact Information

For all inquiries, please contact:

Ariane Geerts
Scientific Project Manager
CIHR Institute of Aging
Ariane.Geerts@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

Sponsor Description

CIHR – Institute of Aging (IA)

The CIHR Institute of Aging (CIHR-IA) mandate is to support research, to promote healthy aging and to address causes, prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, support systems, and palliation for a wide range of conditions associated with aging.  By championing an inclusive approach to research excellence that considers health across the lifespan and addresses social and structural determinants of health, CIHR-IA funds evidence-based research that informs public policy, programs, and services. CIHR-IA’s mission is to advance training, research, and knowledge mobilization to maintain and improve the health and wellbeing of all Canadians as they age. CIHR-IA promotes the inclusion of age, aging, and the role of persons with lived and living experiences and their caregivers in the entire research ecosystem.

Canadian Institutes of Health Research

Institute of Aging-At the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), we know that research has the power to change lives. As Canada’s health research investment agency, we collaborate with partners and researchers to support the discoveries and innovations that improve our health and strengthen our health care system.

Date modified:

2025-06-06