Funding Research with Real-Life Impact
The OHTN is funded by the Ontario taxpayers through the Government of Ontario. As part of Ontario's strategic plan and response to the HIV epidemic, the OHTN must ensure its research investments are aligned with the province's needs and interests. Compared to other HIV research funders, such as the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the National Institutes of Health in the US, the Gates Foundation and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the OHTN is a relatively small funder. It should not duplicate research funded by these larger organizations or try to fund everything; instead it should fulfill its mandate and its role as a niche funder established specifically to address HIV research needs in Ontario and to support research that will lead to tangible return-on-investments.
Our Values
- Relevance, Vision and Sense of Urgency
Research funded will be relevant to and benefit people living with and at risk of HIV. Our research programs will be bold, visionary and push the field. We will maintain a sense of urgency.
- Impact/Make a significant difference
Research funded by the OHTN will have the potential to have an impact and make a significant difference in HIV prevention, care, treatment and/or support. The OHTN is committed to being a trusted source of knowledge, and sharing research findings to enhance HIV prevention, care, treatment and support.
- Excellence
OHTN will attract the best and brightest who will be competitive at CIHR and NIH across all streams of research.
- Responsive/Pro-active/Risk-taking
The research program will be able to respond to emerging issues and needs. It will be proactive in identifying needs and be willing to be innovative and take risks.
- Equity and social justice
The OHTN's research programs will actively promote equity and social justice. Funding will be allocated in a way that is proportional to the populations affected, and will address all factors that influence health.
- Inclusive
The OHTN research funding programs will continue to be open to teams working across all streams of research and to expanding our network.
- Community/Collaboration/Connectedness
The OHTN's success is based on its community-based, community engaged, collaborative approach to research. As a network, we will continue to grow together, support collective empowerment, build connections and nurture individual and collective growth.
- Effective/Responsible/Accountable
Our research-funding program will be accountable for making responsible use of our limited resources and investing in rigorous research that has a real-life impact on those most affected by the epidemic in Ontario.
Populations in Ontario most affected by HIV
- People living with HIV
- Gay men and other men who have sex with men
- African, Caribbean and Black men and women
- Aboriginal men and women
- Men and women who use drugs
- Women who have unprotected sex or share drug equipment with people from the populations listed above
Additional Funding Information
Promoting Rigorous, Relevant Research: The Next Five Years
The OHTN's Strategic Plan to 2015: Striving for Excellence, Achieving Impact, reaffirms its commitment to support rigorous relevant research that will have an impact on the health and lives of people with or at risk of HIV. This report describes the OHTN's research granting programs, the types of research we have funded, and the impact of that research over the past 12 years. It was developed to provide background information for a Research Consultation that took place on February 3, 2011 at Hart House, University of Toronto.