CPRC Update April 2009

The Canadian Poultry Research Council (CPRC) is currently accepting applications for its annual research grant competition.

The Canadian Poultry Research Council (CPRC) is currently accepting applications for its annual research grant competition.  This competition is open to all researchers in Canada (and indirectly to foreign scientists working in collaboration with Canadian researchers).  The granting process starts with a “Call for Letters of Intent” (LOI).  These LOIs are short proposals that highlight the details of a research project – objectives, methodology, expected outcomes and budget.  LOIs are reviewed by CPRC’s Scientific Advisory Committee (plus external reviewers where appropriate) for scientific merit and by the CPRC Directors for relevance to the council’s priorities.  The CPRC members then decide which proposals they wish to support and invite successful applicants to prepare a full, more detailed application to be submitted to a funding partner (e.g., the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)).  Funding from CPRC is contingent on securing matching funds from one or more of these partners.

Any given Call usually pertains to two priority research areas.  These priorities are set during regular national workshops with participants representing industry, government and academe.  The last one took place in 2005 in full partnership with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC).  The next one will take place in 2010.  These workshops provide participants with the opportunity to collectively decide where major research efforts should be directed.  Provisions have also been made within CPRC to support research that addresses acute or emerging needs for the industry.  This year, CPRC is calling for research proposals pertaining to “Poultry Welfare and Behaviour”, and “Food Safety and Quality – The Impact of Poultry Health and Disease”.  These areas cover a wide range of research topics that are often interrelated.  Such a broad Call is aimed at fostering collaborations among different researchers and institutions.  Collaborative approaches to research are always encouraged by CPRC, and are especially important this year as they are consistent with new funding opportunities emerging from AAFC.  Under its new policy framework, Growing Forward, AAFC is developing programs which are aimed at increasing “competitiveness and innovation” within agricultural sectors.  Preliminary details of these programs were provided in the March issue of the CPRC Update.  At the time of writing this update, these programs were still subject to government approval.  Final details of the programs will be provided in future updates.
 
Applications to scholarship supplement due May 1
Further to supporting research through its granting process, the CPRC also directly promotes succession in our poultry research community.  One manner in which it does so is through a “Postgraduate Scholarship Supplement”.  The supplement is $7,500 per year.  To be eligible, a student must be studying (or planning to study) some aspect of poultry science and hold an NSERC scholarship at the Masters level (eligible for one year) or Doctoral level (eligible for up to two years).  Applications are due May 1.  Details on past winners are available at the “Updates” section of the CPRC website, where there is also a link to the NSERC website detailing eligibility criteria and application procedures.

NSERC postgraduate scholarships are available on a competitive basis to Canada’s best postgraduate students.  The purpose of the CPRC Postgraduate Scholarship Supplement is to attract these students to consider a career in poultry science.

The specific objectives of the program are:

• To encourage and support graduate students to carry out research in an aspect of poultry science
• To build Canada’s intellectual capacity in poultry science
• To promote graduate research in poultry science at Canadian universities

 
Welfare cluster agreement signed
In past CPRC Updates, we have told you about a cluster of poultry welfare and behaviour expertise being developed at the University of Guelph.  This process started with a workshop in June 2006, hosted by CPRC and AAFC.  One of the main conclusions from the workshop was that Canada’s poultry sector would benefit from a more co-ordinated and collaborative approach to welfare and behaviour research.  The CPRC, in conjunction with AAFC, agreed to facilitate the development of a cluster of poultry welfare and behaviour expertise in Canada.  The University of Guelph was chosen as the location for the cluster.  Through an agreement between CPRC, AAFC, the Poultry Industry Council and the University, an AAFC scientist, Dr. Stephanie Torrey, will be moving to Guelph.  Dr. Torrey’s arrival represents the creation of a new poultry science position that will add to the breadth of welfare and behaviour expertise already at Guelph.  Her position also marks the beginnings of a “critical mass” of poultry welfare science that will hopefully attract more people in the discipline to work at Guelph and participate in a network of welfare-related scientists across the country.  Details of the agreement as well as some background on Dr. Torrey can be found on page 9 in this magazine.

 For more details on these or any other CPRC activities, please contact Gord Speksnijder at The Canadian Poultry Research Council, 483 Arkell Road, R.R. 2, Guelph, Ontario, N1H 6H8, phone: (289) 251-2990, fax: (519) 837-3584, e-mail: info@cp-rc.ca, or visit us at www.cp-rc.ca .

The membership of the CPRC consists of the Chicken Farmers of Canada, Canadian Hatching Egg Producers, Canadian Turkey Marketing Agency, Egg Farmers of Canada and the Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors’ Council.  CPRC’s mission is to address its members’ needs through dynamic leadership in the creation and implementation of programs for poultry research in Canada, which may also include societal concerns.