Health Data Nexus Dataset Grants: FAQ
Health Data Nexus Dataset Grants
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Eligibility
Q. What is the main goal of the Health Data Nexus Dataset Grants?
A. The main goal of the Dataset Grants is to stimulate the creation of high-value, de-identified, and accessible medical datasets for use by educators and AI researchers in medicine.
Q. Where can I find the application and a full list of eligibility criteria?
A. The application and eligibility criteria can be found online: https://tcairem.utoronto.ca/health-data-nexus-dataset-grant-call-proposals. Please note that candidates must be available for a 30-minute presentation if chosen as a shortlisted applicant.
Q. To be eligible for the Dataset Grants, must I be a T-CAIREM member?
A. Yes. Principal Applicants must be current T-CAIREM members. To become a T-CAIREM member, visit our website (note that you are not required to be affiliated with the University of Toronto): https://tcairem.utoronto.ca/join-us
Q. Are Principal Applicants who hold faculty positions eligible?
A. Principal Applicants accepted as T-CAIREM members who are University of Toronto faculty are eligible to apply. Co-Principal Applicants who are T-CAIREM members and faculty appointees at other Canadian universities are also eligible if they co-apply with University of Toronto faculty.
Q. I am a post-doctoral associate, am I eligible to be a Principal Applicant?
A. No. Principal Applicants must be T-CAIREM members and faculty appointees at a Canadian university. They must either be a University of Toronto faculty member or co-Principal Investigator with a University of Toronto faculty member.
Q. Does it matter what type of degree I have in order to be eligible as a Principal Applicant?
A. Candidates holding any types of degrees (Ph.D, DPH, MD, etc.) are eligible to be Principal Applicants if they are T-CAIREM, have a faculty appointment at a Canadian university, and either have a U of T affiliation or co-apply with a U of T faculty appointee.
Q. I am not a Canadian citizen, but I have a visa. Am I eligible to apply?
A. To apply for a Dataset Grant, Principal Applicants must be a T-CAIREM member and one of the following:
1.) a Canadian citizen
2.) a permanent Canadian resident
3.) possess a valid Canadian work visa.
Q. My research will take place primarily outside of Canada. Am I still eligible?
A. Principal Applicants must be T-CAIREM members, which requires an affiliation with an institution within Canada. International travel for research collection purposes is acceptable, but the research must be primarily conducted or analyzed within Canada.
Q. Are all scientific disciplines eligible?
A. The proposed dataset described in the Principal Applicant’s Research Proposal may be in any medical discipline, but must relate to the application of AI to medicine.
Q. I read in the Call for Proposals that the winner must commit to upload their dataset to the Health Data Nexus. When does this need to take place?
A. Winning applicants will be contacted by the T-CAIREM Data Steward within the first six months of the award. Datasets must be published during the award period.
Application Requirements
Q. Is a Curriculum Vitae (CV) required?
A. CVs are required for the Principal Applicant and for a co-Applicant.
Q. What are the guidelines regarding the length of the Proposed Research Plan?
A. The Proposed Research Plan should adhere to the guidelines and word limits outlined in the "Application Form Contents" section of this webpage: https://tcairem.utoronto.ca/health-data-nexus-dataset-grant-call-proposals.
Q. What kind of information should be included in the budget and the budget justification?
A. The budget should include details of how the applicant intends to allocate the Dataset Grant. Additional funding sources, which support the applicant’s research, should be identified in the budget summary.
Q. Are there any requirements in terms of typeface style and size?
A. Yes. Any attachments associated with this application (Research Proposal and CVs) must be clear, legible and follow these requirements:
• Use the Arial typeface, font size 11 points or larger.
• A font size less than 10 points can be used for mathematical formulas or equations, figures, tables, or diagram captions and when using a symbol font for Greek letters or special characters.
Award Payment and Use
Q. Are there guidelines related to how the Dataset Grant funds can be used?
A. The award is intended to support the applicant’s creation of a novel dataset that can be broadly used by researchers and educators. Grant funds can be used for computer and technical support, equipment, instruments, laboratory supplies, hiring of support staff (including graduate and undergraduate students), publication costs, as well as attendance at meetings and conferences.
Funds may be used on approved budget items, where no more than half of the total Grant award may be expensed before the submission of the interim Grant report and any changes in the use of funds will require approval of T-CAIREM. T-CAIREM must be notified of any changes in the applicant’s position or institution.
Applicants may allocate up to 2% of their total budget estimate for community service or outreach projects beyond the scope of their proposed research plan (e.g., hosting a science workshop for K-12 students with a local organization).
Indirect or fringe costs including rent, utilities, university overhead, etc. are not permitted.
Q. Can the Dataset Grant be used to cover a salary?
A. Principal Applicants may not cover their own salary from this Grant. Salaries for technicians and students may be included in the budget proposal, and the justification must indicate how these individuals will directly support the proposed research.
Q. Who receives the Grant funds?
A. The Grant will be awarded to the Principal Applicant’s U of T faculty/department, or to another Canadian institution that has an affiliation with the Principal Applicant.
Q. Does my institution/faculty/department need to formally sign this application given that the award will be administered to the institute/faculty/department itself?
A. No, your institute/faculty/department does not need to formally sign this application. However, we strongly encourage applicants to check with their institution/faculty/department before submitting the application to ensure they can accept the award.
Q. What is the payment structure/timing of the Dataset Grant?
A. The Dataset Grant will be paid in two installments. The first Grant distribution, typically half of the total value of the Grant, will be paid within a month of the award announcement. The remaining balance will be distributed following submission and review of the interim status report, which will be due one year after the initial Grant distribution. Alternative schedules for fund distributions must be requested and explained in writing and must be approved by T-CAIREM. Grant funds will be available for use one month after the award announcement.
Q. What happens if the award recipient changes positions or institutions during the award?
A. If the award recipient changes institutions or positions during the award, T-CAIREM must be notified. If the new position meets the requirements, funding will continue. If at a new institution, and still affiliated with the University of Toronto, any remaining funds must be returned to T-CAIREM for redistribution to the successor institution.
Q. What happens to equipment purchases if I change institutions during the award?
A. Any equipment purchased with the award funds are the property of the award recipient and with approval from T-CAIREM can be moved to an institution where the award recipient is conducting the proposed research. If the award recipient is no longer conducting the proposed research, T-CAIREM will decide on the future use of the equipment.
Q. What if the nature of my funding proposal changes after the submission of my application?
A. Any changes in the use of the Grant funds will require the approval of T-CAIREM.
Dataset Creation and Use
Q. What types of datasets can be created?
A. Any dataset in the health or medical field can be created, including inpatient data, public health and epidemiological data, imaging data, genomic data, and free-text notes, as long as these are appropriately de-identified.
Q. What approval do I need to create a dataset?
A. The dataset must be created following a proposed research plan for the creation of a de-identified dataset, which must receive approval from an appropriate Research Ethics Board (REB). This does not need to be the University of Toronto REB; however, if a non-U of T REB approves the project plan, then it must be shared with the T-CAIREM Data Steward for submission to the University of Toronto REB for administrative review. T-CAIREM can provide support for language to be included in the REB. Additionally, a Data Transfer Agreement must be signed between the institution holding the data and the University of Toronto, represented by T-CAIREM. Please ensure before applying for the grant that you have institutional and REB support to create a dataset to be shared for broad use.
Q. Will the dataset include any Personal Health Information (PHI)?
A. A dataset created through this grant must be appropriately de-identified per the T-CAIREM De-identification Guidelines, and all PHI must be removed. A copy of the guidelines are available: https://tcairem.utoronto.ca/sites/default/files/assets/files/t-cairem-deidentification-policy-16mar23.pdf. If at any point PHI is inadvertently transferred or discovered, it will be immediately removed from the platform, the dataset creator will be notified, and the dataset will be reuploaded once all PHI is removed.
Q. Do I require patient consent to create a secondary dataset using de-identified patient data?
A. Under PHIPA and TCPS-2, consent is not required for the creation of a secondary dataset using patient data as long as all identifying information has been removed. Consent is required for the collection of primary patient data.
Q. How will the dataset be used after it’s created?
A. Ideally, the data will published in Zone 1 of the Health Data Nexus. At this point, credentialed users on the platform who complete all required training and sign a Data Use Agreement (developed by T-CAIREM with the input of the dataset creator) will be able to access the dataset for research purposes in a cloud-based analytics environment. For more information on the access model, contact contact@healthdatanexus.ai for a copy of the Health Data Nexus governing documents.
Q. What additional documentation and information will I need to provide to accompany the dataset?
A. As the dataset is being uploaded to the Health Data Nexus, it must include detailed documentation on the specific dataset, how it was generated, how it can be used, and any additional helpful information. T-CAIREM will provide dataset holders with all the information to be provided to ensure a successful data transfer.
Q. Will I receive publication credit for any research using the dataset?
A. Yes. Part of the process of uploading the dataset on the Health Data Nexus includes automatically generating a unique DOI and publication reference. Any research published using the dataset will require referencing this dataset and the authors credited with its creation.
Q. What happens if I want to commercialize or patent the dataset or research derived from it?
A. If any researchers create intellectual property based on research with the data, this IP will be negotiated directly between the creator of the dataset and the researcher. This will happen independently of T-CAIREM and the Health Data Nexus.
Q. What happens if I want to remove the dataset from the platform?
A. Per the terms of the T-CAIREM Data Transfer Agreement, the data holder can request the removal of a dataset from the Health Data Nexus at any time, as long as 60 days' notice is provided to data users to decommission a workspace and any data resources. However, the intent of this grant is to create a data resource which will have a meaningful and long-lasting impact on the AI in medicine community, and grant applications will be adjudicated with this goal in mind.
For more information, contact January Adams, T-CAIREM Data Steward: january.adams@utoronto.ca.