Location of Tenure: The award must be held at a Canadian Academic Institution, and/or child health research institute affiliated with a Canadian University.
Timing: Candidates must be enrolled in a postdoctoral program that will be active as of the award start date. Any interruption in a candidate’s clinical and/or research training will be considered in determining eligibility and should be addressed within the CIHR Biosketch.
Active Salary Awards: Candidates who already have a multi-year salary/stipend award from a local, provincial, or national organization/institution are ineligible for this award. Please apply to the REACH Award.
Protected time: Candidates must have 50% protected research time.
Citizenship: This program is open to Canadians and permanent residents of Canada.
Licensure: Candidates must (a) have a license to practice their clinical specialty in Canada and/or within the Province from which they are applying, or (b) be registered in a combined clinical and research program, in which their license will be attained upon graduation.
Degrees: Candidates may apply from any health profession and/or discipline that meets the requirements of an appropriate licensing body to practice as a child health professional in Canada. These professions include but are not limited to: medicine, surgery, pharmacy, nursing, psychology, nutrition, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, audiology, speech language pathology, sports medicine rehabilitation, respiratory therapy, optometry, and midwifery.
Regional Leaders are available to help you: Sixteen Canadian Pediatric Academic Centres have a Regional Leader. Please contact the Regional Leader closest to your academic institution. They are knowledgeable about the ENRICH program and competition processes. You do not need their sign-off to submit an application. Please contact them well in advance of the application deadlines (45-60 days) to make sure that they have enough time to help you. A list of our Regional leaders can be found HERE.
This award will provide $50,000 of salary support each year for up to 2 years maximum.
All awards are provided without benefits. Successful awardees are expected to organize their own benefits with the host institution. Stipends are valued in Canadian dollars.
Parental leave: Learners are eligible to receive paid parental leave up to a maximum of 6 months if (a) interrupting the ENRICH award within six months of childbirth or adoption, (b) the learner will be the primary caregiver for the child, AND (c) the learner is not eligible for and will not be receiving employment insurance or other parental benefits from any other sources.
The leave must be requested at minimum 30 days in advance of leave start date. The maximum benefit payable by ENRICH is $12,500 for 6 months. This is equivalent to $2083.33 per month of the requested leave. Some individuals may be eligible to receive Employment Insurance (EI) benefits and/or parental leave benefits based on their appointment category at host institution. Under these circumstances, ENRICH will not provide additional parental leave benefits. For further information regarding your eligibility and requirements, please contact the ENRICH Program staff.
The ENRICH stipend will be placed “on hold” for the duration of the leave, and will resume upon the return of the individual to the training environment. The term of the award will be extended by the length of the approved leave up to but not exceeding twelve months.
Medical or Family Caregiver Leave: Learners are eligible for medical or a family caregiver’s leave. The latter is to provide care or support to certain family members who have a serious medical condition. Awards will be placed “on hold” for the duration of the leave with supported documentation from the local institution. Awards will resume upon the return of the individual to the training environment.
Travel Allowance: The Award recipients will have their expenses paid to attend the mandatory ENRICH Annual Symposia. The supervisor can optionally attend the Symposia. ENRICH will cover registration costs, but travel expenses and accommodations are not reimbursable for local supervisors.
Deadline to apply:
Letter of Intent will be due on November 3rd, 2025 12pm noon EST. Successful candidates will be invited to submit the full application by November 17, 2025.
Full Application will be due on January 8th, 2026 12pm noon EST. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.
The following documents will be required in the Letter of Intent:
- Proof of licensure with an expiry date (if applicable): Please name it “1 CandidateLastname_License.”
- One-page research summary: Please name it “2 CandidateLastname_Research Summary.”
- CIHR Biosketch of Candidate: Please name it “3 CandidateLastname_Biosketch.”
- Signature page: Please name it “4 CandidateLastname_Sig Page.” Click here to download.
The following documents will be required in the Full Application:
- Proof of citizenship/permanent residency: Please name the file “1 CandidateLastname_Citizenship.”
- Itemized Response (for resubmissions only): If you submitted an application within the last 12 months, please upload an itemized response to the ENRICH reviewer comments (2-page limit). Please name the file “2R CandidateLastname_Reviewer Response”
- Research Proposal: This document should state a rationale for your proposal, an outline of the research objectives, goals and timelines, the scientific methods to be used, potential challenges and mitigation strategies, along with relevant knowledge translation and community and patient involvement plans. Your role in the project should be made evident within this description. This summary should be written in general scientific language. (A maximum of 5 pages including figures and tables is allowed with one (1) additional page for references. Please use any standard 12-point font, single-spaced, 2 cm margins) and include your name in the right side of the header. Please name the file “2 CandidateLastname_Research Proposal”
- Your Primary Supervisor/Mentor’s CIHR Biosketch: Please name the file “3a Supervisor 1 CandidateLastname_Biosketch.”
- All other Co-supervisors/Mentors’ CIHR Biosketch (when applicable): Please name the files “3b Supervisor 2 CandidateLastname_Biosketch” and “3c Supervisor 3 CandidateLastname_Biosketch”.
- Community Support Letter (optional, please provide if applicable): Please name the file “4 CandidateLastname_Community Support Letter.”
- Institutional Letter: Please name the file “5 CandidateLastName_Institutional Letter.”
- Signature page: Please name it “6 CandidateLastname_Sig Page”. Click here to download the Signature Page.
- *Sponsor Assessments:
Additionally, the candidate must have three (3) individuals provide assessments on their behalf. This includes:
1. One (1) letter from a primary supervisor/mentor
a. This is the same as the primary supervisor/mentor you listed in your Letter of Intent
2. Two (2) letters from two individuals of the candidate’s choice
a. This can be a secondary supervisor/mentor/leader within your institution or outside your institution
b. They can be the same or different from co-supervisors you listed in your Letter of Intent
The assessment forms include a rating form and justification portion. Additionally for the primary supervisors also include a mentorship plan and attestation to:
- Supervisor’s commitment towards the candidate’s research training and endorsement of the candidate.
- The available space, facilities and personnel support for the candidate.
- The interdisciplinary nature of the training environment.
- Confirming the commitment of the learner to participate in the core curriculum.
- The commitment of the learner (and supervisor optional) to participate in regional and national ENRICH symposia.
- The commitment of the supervisor and learner to participate in annual ENRICH evaluations, via virtual or in-person formats.
- Mentorship Plan (This portion of the letter should be a separate section within the letter that clearly outlines a mentorship plan. It should explain step by step what the mentor will aid the learner in, how they will accomplish this, and how often this will take place. ENRICH strongly encourages each applicant to meet with your mentorship team to develop a clear strategy for your mentorship to ensure expectations of all parties are met.)
More details are under the Sponsor Assessment section of the full application in REDCap.
*French applications: Applications may be submitted in French. Please note, you are requested to advise the ENRICH National Office of your intent to submit in French a minimum 4 weeks prior to the application deadline. If you are successful in the written portion, interviews can be accommodated in French at the candidate’s request.
If you have any questions or concerns during this process, please email enrich.admin@bcchr.ca.
Timeline
| Letter of Intent |
Open: October 3rd, 2025
Deadline: November 3rd, 2025 12pm EST
|
| Full Application |
Invitation to apply: November 17th, 2025
Deadline: January 8th, 2026 12pm EST
|
| Review and Scoring |
January-April 2026
|
| Interview |
April 20-30, 2026
|
| Competition Result Announcement |
May 2026
|
Letter of Intent Stage
- Program Staff will review the Letter of Intent submissions to ensure the candidate meets all the eligibility requirements.
- If eligible, the Selection Committee Chairs will evaluate in more detail and make a recommendation (yes/no) for the candidate to proceed to the full application phase.
- By November 17th, 2025, candidates will receive first-stage application results through email from enrich.admin@bcchr.ca.
Full Application Stage
Reviewer Assignment and Conflict of Interest
- After full application deadline, the Program Staff will collate applications and ensure that each candidate meets all eligibility requirements.
- An email is sent to all Selection Committee members with a list of applicants, for conflicts of interest and declaration of expertise.
- The Program Staff sends the Selection Committee Chair, Co-Chair and Director the list of applicants, project title, abstract, and conflicts of interest. Individuals with a conflict of interest will not be assigned to the candidate in question.
- The Selection Committee Chair, Co-Chair, and Program Staff will assign the following reviewers to each candidate:
- Scientific review: 3 reviewers consisting of selection committee members, invited ENRICH mentors, and external reviewers
- Patient Involvement review: 1 patient partner
*The Selection Committee Chair, Co-Chair and Director will not be assigned any applications to review.
Review Process
- Reviewers who accept a review are required to join the virtual Selection Committee Meeting for overview of reviewing process.
- The Program Staff will send each reviewer their assigned applications along with an evaluation form.
- Reviewers will be given approximately 4-6 weeks to complete their reviews and return the evaluation form with scores.
- Assigned reviewers are required to attend Selection Review Meeting to discuss candidate scoring.
Scoring
1. Scientific Review: Reviewers will score the candidates based on the following categories from a scale of 0-5:
(1) Research Proposal (clarity, feasibility, rationale, originality, scientific rigour, patient and community involvement, knowledge translation)
(2) Training Environment (research team, supervisors/mentors, resources, interdisciplinary nature)
(3) Candidate Qualifications (research experience, honors & awards, publications, productivity, sponsor assessments)
| Outstanding |
Excellent |
Very Good |
Good |
Average |
Below Average |
Not Eligible/Acceptable |
Unable to Judge |
| 5.0-4.5 |
4.4-4.0 |
3.9-3.5 |
3.4-3.0 |
2.9-2.0 |
1.9-1.0 |
0 |
U |
The distribution of weight for the doctoral award will be as follows:
- Research Proposal: 25%
- Training Environment: 25%
- Candidate Qualifications: 50%
2. Patient Involvement Review: Reviewer will review the lay summary and patient involvement section. The candidates will receive a pass, revision, or major revision rating based on the relevance and impact to perinatal and child health and well-being, communication in plain language, and the patient involvement plan.
3. EDI Review: Reviewers will provide EDI review of the application. The candidates will receive a good, fair or poor rating based on the CIHR Best Practices in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Research guide. Reviewers will provide justification to their rating.
4. After receiving the Reviewers’ submitted evaluation forms, the Program Staff will evaluate the scores between the 3 Scientific Reviewers (scale of 0-5). Candidates will be streamlined based on the following criteria:
- Two reviewer scores are under 4.0
- The average of all 3 reviewer scores is under 4.0.
*Should there be a large number of applications, the boundary for streamlining applications may change to ensure that only 15 applications maximum are discussed at the Selection Review Meeting.
5. Only applications which passed the streamlining criteria will be discussed in the Selection Review Meeting.
6. Reviewers of applications which passed the streamlining criteria will be required to attend and present their scoring at the Selection Review Meeting. If a Reviewer of a streamlined application feels strongly that the application should be discussed, Reviewer may contact Program Staff for consideration. The rest of the Selection Committee is encouraged to attend to provide feedback.
Selection Review Meeting
1. Based on the (a) matching of availability of reviewers of each candidate and (b) conflicts of interest among Selection Committee members, the Selection Committee Chair and Co-Chair will determine the order of discussion for each candidate. Reviewers with a conflict of interest will be asked to leave the meeting when reviewing the applicant in question and prompted to return when the discussion is complete. Should the Director have a conflict, the Director will leave the call and the Selection Chair will act as the Director and Selection Co-Chair as the Chair. Should the Selection Chair have a conflict, they will leave the call and the Selection Co-Chair will act as the Selection Chair.
2. The meeting runs for about 4 hours, with around 15 minutes of presentation and discussion time for each candidate.
3. For each candidate the order of presentation and discussion follows:
- Scientific Review: Reviewers 1, 2, and 3, will each state their scores and then respectively outline their reviews of the proposed application, including the EDI review.
- Patient Involvement Review: The patient partner will state their rating, providing reasoning.
- A discussion then follows with the rest of the Selection Committee who may have additional questions, concerns or insights.
- The 3 Scientific Reviewers agree on a consensus score based on the application discussion, taking into consideration EDI review and the Patient Partner’s feedback. If the reviewers cannot reach a consensus, the Selection Co-Chairs will negotiate a consensus score.
- All Scientific Reviewer members of the Selection Committee are then asked to score the candidate up to plus or minus (+/-) 0.5 of the consensus score on their scorecards.
4. Above is repeated for each candidate until all candidates have been reviewed.
5. Each reviewer submits their completed personal scorecards with any revisions to the Program Staff within 24 hours of the Selection Review Meeting.
6. After receiving all scorecards, the Program Staff will tally and average all the personal scores and add it to the consensus score, forming a final score. The Selection Committee Chair, and Co-Chair are sent the rankings and final scores for all candidates.
7. The highest scoring candidates will be invited for an interview with at least two candidates for each award category.
8. Candidates who are not selected for an interview will be sent a summary of reviewer feedback, along with official notes from the Selection Committee detailing any constructive feedback that came up during the discussion if applicable. These notes will be drafted by the Program Staff, then reviewed by the Selection Committee Chair, and Co-Chair.
Interview
- Candidates selected for an interview will be invited between April 13-15 to select their interview times. The interviews will be held along the following times: Apr 20-22, 27-30 @1-4pm EST. Candidate must be available to attend one of these slots.
- Interview candidates will be sent a summary of reviewer feedback with highlighted questions from the Scientific Reviewers and Patient Partner, a week before the interview. Candidates will need to address these concerns, provide an overview of their research, and describe how ENRICH would benefit their career in the interview.
- The Interviews will be conducted by a representation of the Selection Committee panel consisting of the Selection Chair, Co-Chair, Director, 2 other Selection Committee members, a Patient Partner, and a Program Staff. Any member of the interview panel with conflicts will be asked to leave during the interview. Should the Director have a conflict, the Director will leave the room, and the Selection Chair will act as the Director and Co-Chair as the Chair. Should the Selection Chair have a conflict, they will leave the room and the Co-Chair will act as the Chair.
- Candidates will be scored on a scale of 0-5 based on their vision for a scientific career, ability to clearly articulate the research project to the non-expert and discuss the project in the broader context of research in the field, address any reviewer comments raised in the written feedback, mentorship plan, discuss interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary integration potential for their project, and explain their patient and community involvement and EDI plan for the research. Panel members will also ask follow-up questions as they may arise during the discussion.
- Based on post-interview discussions and average panel scores, a rank order will be determined for candidates.
Executive Committee Approval
- The rank order will be presented, and funding cut-off will be discussed and approved at the Executive Committee Meeting in May 2026.
- This decision will be based on funding availability and recommendations from the Director and Selection Committee Chair and Co-Chair.
Notice of Award
- Following the Executive approval, competition results will be announced to all candidates through email in May 2026.
- Successful candidate will receive a Condition of Acceptance Letter and will be invited for an intake in September 2026.
Grievances
- All grievances with the selection process can be brought to the Executive Committee via the Chair or Co-Chair of the committee. Please email enrich.admin@bcchr.ca for any questions or concerns.
- A follow-up telephone call with the Selection Committee Chair or Program Staff can be requested if a candidate has specific questions regarding feedback provided by the selection committee and the outcome of the competition.
