Past Solicitations

The Enhanced Surveillance for Chronic Disease Program supports the collection of reliable data on trends in chronic diseases and their risk factors. These data are the basis for planning public health programs and for assessing the impact of prevention on health outcomes.

Past solicitations are described below.

December 2006 - Enhanced Surveillance Grant

In December 2006, the first request for Grant Proposals under the Enhanced Surveillance component of the Integrated Strategy on Health Living and Chronic Disease was issued. The priority area for funding within the call for proposals:

• Increase the use of exiting data sources for chronic disease surveillance e.g. analysing and interpreting data, preparing dissemination products and sharing them with others, and supporting the use of surveillance information in decision-making;
• Expand data sources for chronic disease surveillance e.g. tools to collate data from different sources, automating existing data sources, methods for sentinel surveillance, regional surveys, administrative databases; and
• Improve planning, coordination and evaluation of chronic disease surveillance systems and their component parts e.g. identifying surveillance indicators, development of coordination mechanisms, evaluating quality or usefulness of surveillance tools and methods.

The amount of funding available for one project/organization was $125,000.

May 2007 - Capacity Building for Public Health Surveillance Contribution

In May 2007, as part of the Enhanced Surveillance component of the Healthy Living and Chronic Disease Strategy, a request for proposals in specific project areas was initiated. The priority area for funding within the call for proposals:
Building capacity within Aboriginal organizations for public health surveillance or risk factors and chronic diseases, for example:

• Developing and validating data linkages between Aboriginal registries and existing databases (e.g. Provincial and Territorial Administrative data, Cancer registry);
• Coordinating a collaborative approach to Aboriginal surveillance among several regions or provinces/territories;
• Developing surveillance dissemination approaches

May 2007 - Enhanced Surveillance Grant

In May 2007, another request for Grant Proposals under the Enhanced Surveillance component of the Integrated Strategy on Health Living and Chronic Disease was issued. The two priority areas for funding within the call for proposals:

• Developing and validating case definitions and analytic frameworks for the use of health administrative databases for public health surveillance purposes, and assessing data quality of administrative databases. Note: Research projects that test hypotheses using administrative databases would not receive funding;
• Building capacity within organizations for public health surveillance of chronic diseases.

The amount of funding available for one project/organization was $125,000.

May 2007 - Enhanced Surveillance Contribution (Regional Risk Factor Surveillance)

In May 2007, a request for Contribution Proposals for the Regional Risk Factor Surveillance component of the Enhanced Surveillance component of the Integrated Strategy on Health Living and Chronic Disease was issued. The objective of the Regional Risk Factor Surveillance component is to enhance capacity for public health chronic disease surveillance at the regional/local level using risk factor surveillance. The priority area for funding within the call for proposals:
Supporting the development of risk factor surveillance at the local/regional level:

• Developing and validating data collection tools;
• Coordinating a collaborative approach to risk factor surveillance among several regions;
• Developing dissemination approaches;
• Piloting new tools and methods.

May 2007 - Enhanced Surveillance Contribution (Sentinel Surveillance for Primary Care)

In May 2007, a request for Contribution Proposals for the Sentinel Surveillance for Primary Care component of the Enhanced Surveillance component of the Integrated Strategy on Health Living and Chronic Disease was issued. The objective of the Sentinel Surveillance for Primary Care component is to enhance capacity for public health chronic disease surveillance using clinical settings throughout Canada. The priority area for funding within the call for proposals:

Surveillance of chronic disease, its risk factors and outcomes in the primary care setting across the country. This will include:

• Developing initial indicators of chronic disease risk factors and determinants, and chronic disease management for the following diseases: cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, arthritis, diabetes and mental illness;
• Developing and piloting a methodology for national sentinel surveillance that includes: recruitment, sample size, data collection and analysis and reports;
• Implementation and evaluation of the sentinel surveillance program

November 2007 - Enhanced Surveillance for Chronic Disease Grant and Contribution Program

In November 2007, a request for proposals was issued under the Enhanced Surveillance for Chronic Disease Grant and Contribution Program. The objective of the Enhanced Surveillance for Chronic Disease Funding Program is to enhance capacity for public health chronic disease surveillance activities.

The priority areas for funding within this request for proposals:

Part A General Surveillance

• Supporting the development of regional risk factor surveillance at the local/regional level.
  • Developing and validating data collection tools
  • Coordinating a collaborative approach to risk factor surveillance among several regions
  • Developing dissemination approaches
  • Piloting new tools and methods
• Developing tools and methods for public health surveillance of chronic diseases, including cancer, using registries and/or health administrative databases (includes assessing data quality and validation studies) Note: Research projects that test hypotheses using cancer registries and administrative databases were not funded.
• Develop capacity for public health surveillance of chronic diseases, including cancer, for:
  • Indicator development
  • Data collection tools
  • Data analysis and interpretation
  • Dissemination methods including supporting use of surveillance data in decision-making
  • Collaborative surveillance activities

PART B Aboriginal Surveillance -only aboriginal organizations were eligible

• Building capacity within Aboriginal organizations for public health surveillance of risk factors, cancer and chronic diseases, for example:
  • Developing indicators
  • Developing and validating data linkages between Aboriginal registries and existing databases (e.g. provincial and territorial administrative data, cancer registry)
  • Coordinating a collaborative approach to Aboriginal surveillance among several regions or provinces/territories
  • Developing surveillance dissemination approaches

The total amount of funding available was $3 million. The maximum amount awarded for one single project was $125,000 (with the possibility of an extension for an additional year).

January 2010 - National Population Health Study of Neurological Conditions

The National Population Study on Neurological Conditions is administered through the Enhanced Surveillance for Chronic Disease Program. It is a four-year study assessing the number of Canadians affected by neurological conditions, factors that increase the risk of developing these conditions, the health service needs of people living with these conditions and the impact of neurological diseases on individuals and the economy. The study is designed to fill gaps in information concerning the number of people affected by neurological diseases and the impact of these diseases on Canadians. A comprehensive report will be published by the Public Health Agency of Canada at the end of the study to provide a clear picture of the state of neurological conditions in Canada.

On January 4, 2010, the Public Health Agency of Canada requested a Letter of Intent (LOI) for projects to be conducted between September 1, 2010 and March 31, 2013 in the following four areas:

• Incidence, prevalence, co-morbidities of neurological conditions;
• Risk factors for the development and for the progression of neurological conditions;
• Use of health services, gaps in services, and recommended improvements; and
• Impact of neurological conditions now and projected over the next 20 years including economic cost.

After reviewing the LOIs received, selected applicants were invited to submit a full proposal. Once full proposals were approved, successful applicants received funding for their projects.

For more information: National Population Health Study of Neurological Conditions

November 2010 Re-Solicitation - National Population Health Study of Neurological Conditions

Following the January 2010 Solicitation, some gaps in information were identified. On November 26, 2010, the Public Health Agency of Canada requested full proposals for projects to be conducted in the following areas:

• Use of registries to monitor incidence, prevalence and co-morbidities of neurological conditions; and
• Use of health services and gaps in services.