At a Glance: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Departmental Evaluation Plan 2025-26 to 2029-30
- Under the Policy on Results, CIHR’s President is responsible for annually approving and providing to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat a five-year, rolling Departmental Evaluation Plan (DEP).
- CIHR’s Evaluation Unit (EU) develops the DEP, in accordance with the Policy on Results, as part of its annual evaluation planning in consultation with CIHR’s Senior Leadership Committee (SLC), in the capacity as the agency’s Performance Measurement and Evaluation Committee (PMEC), Program Officials, and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.
- The 2025-26 DEP outlines the work of the Evaluation Unit for the five-year period from 2025-26 to 2029-30 to meet evaluation coverage of program spending, support the President to make evidence-based decisions, and demonstrate accountability for results achieved by CIHR.
- The DEP was recommended for approval by CIHR’s Senior Leadership Committee, approved by CIHR’s President and submitted to the Results Division of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat in June 2025.
- Almost all (98%) of CIHR’s program spending is subject to mandatory evaluation coverage, the DEP prioritizes the completion of mandatory evaluations with an increased focus on utility and learning.
- Table 1 presents the key achievements from fiscal year 2024-25 and the planned and ongoing for evaluation activities for 2025-26; Tabel 2 outlines the planned evaluation coverage for the five-year period of the 2025-26 DEP.
Table 1: 2024-25 Achievements and 2025-26 Activities
| 2024-25 DEP Achievements | Projects (Lead) |
|---|---|
| Completed | 1. Evaluation of the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships Program (CIHR) |
| 2. Evaluation of the CIHR Antimicrobial Resistance Research Initiative (CIHR) |
| 2025-26 DEP Achievements | Projects (Lead) |
|---|---|
| Ongoing | 1. Evaluation of CIHR’s HIV/AIDS and STBBI Research Initiative (CIHR) |
| 2. Evaluation of the Clinical Trials Fund (CIHR) | |
| 3. Assessment of CIHR’s COVID-19 Research Investments (CIHR) | |
| 4. Evaluation of the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (CIHR) | |
| 5. Evaluation of the Centre for Research on Pandemic Preparedness and Health Emergencies (CIHR) | |
| 6. Evaluation of the Network Environments for Indigenous Health Research Program (CIHR) | |
| 7. Evaluation of the Canadian Excellence Research Chairs (SSHRC) | |
| 8. Canada First Research Excellence Fund Evaluation (SSHRC) | |
| 9. Evaluation of the College and Community Innovation Program (NSERC) | |
| Planned | 10. Evaluation of the CIHR Institutes (CIHR) |
| 11. Evaluation of Adapting to Impacts of Climate Change (ECCC) | |
| 12. Neutral Assessment |
Table 2. Evaluation Coverage of Program Spending 2025-26 to 2029-30
| Program (2025-26 Program Spending)Footnote 1 | Planned and Ongoing Evaluations for the next 5 years | Fiscal Year of Approval | 2025-26 Evaluation Coverage | 2025-26 Program CoverageFootnote 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Investigator-Initiated Research: $923,457,125 G&A: $882,221,456 |
1. Canadian Excellence Research Chairs (CERC) | 2025-26 | $17,792,767 |
$918,995,860 |
| 2. Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) Evaluation | 2025-26 | $60,532,199 | ||
| 3. Canada Research Chairs Program (CRCP) Evaluation | 2027-28 | $125,259,466 | ||
| 4. Evaluation of Project Grant Program (PGP) Evaluation | 2028-29 | $715,411,428 | ||
|
Training and Career Support: $104,073,096 G&A: $94,918,791 |
5. Evaluation of the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships ProgramFootnote 2 | 2025-26 | $9,155,304 |
$104,073,096 |
| 6. Evaluation of CIHR Training and Career Support (TCS) ProgramFootnote 2 | 2027-28 | $28,545,693 | ||
| 7. Evaluation of the Canada Research Training Award Suite | 2028-29 | $66,372,099 | ||
|
Research in Priority Areas: $347,448,476 G&A: $311,692,417 |
8. Evaluation of the CIHR HIV/AIDS and STBBI Research Initiative | 2025-26 | $22,378,697 |
$321,531,509 |
| 9. Evaluation of the Clinical Trials Fund | 2025-26 | $15,782,315 | ||
| 10. Evaluation of the College and Community Innovation (CCI) Program | 2024-25 | $2,797,588 | ||
| 11. Assessment of CIHR's COVID-19 Research InvestmentsFootnote 2 | 2025-26 | $0 | ||
| 12. Evaluation of Centre for Research on Pandemic Preparedness and Health EmergenciesFootnote 3 | 2025-26 | $23,245,391 | ||
| 13. Evaluation of the Network Environments for Indigenous Health Research (NEIHR) Program | 2026-27 | $2,794,675 | ||
| 14. Evaluation of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) | 2026-27 | $9,725,468 | ||
| 15. Horizontal Evaluation of the Legalization and Regulation of Cannabis | 2026-27 | $1,676,805 | ||
| 16. Evaluation of the Brain Health and Cognitive Impairment in Aging Initiative including CCNA | 2026-27 | $12,026,290 | ||
| 17. Adapting to Impacts of Climate Change (Roll-up of departmental evaluations) | 2026-27 | $849,064 | ||
| 18. Horizontal Evaluation of the Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy (including the overdose crisis in Canada) | 2027-28 | $5,147,791 | ||
| 19. Evaluation of the CIHR Institutes | 2027-28 | $159,315,352 | ||
| 20. Evaluation of the Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) | 2028-29 | $64,002,664 | ||
| 21. Evaluation of the CIHR Antimicrobial Resistance Research Initiative | 2029-30 | $1,789,409 | ||
| Total Budget: $1,374,978,697 | $1,344,600,465 | $1,344,600,465 (97.8%) |
||
- Date modified: