1. Background

CATA is the certifying and governing body for Certified Athletic Therapists practicing in Canada. Established in 1965 by a group of ATs working with  professional hockey and football teams, CATA now represents over 2600 members. We are dedicated to the advancement and growth of the Athletic Therapy profession through advocacy, education, and research.

Certified Athletic Therapists (CAT(C)s) are experts in treating injuries to the musculoskeletal system (muscles, bones, and joints), including injury prevention, assessment, emergency and acute care, rehabilitation and re-conditioning.

2. Project

The CATA is welcoming research proposals to determine what Athletic Therapists need to know about pain and pain medication. While rescribing medication is outside our scope of practice, athletic therapists are part of the rehabilitation and treatment of athletes who are commonly prescribed over the counter and prescription medication. As health care professionals, one of our responsibilities is to be a resource to injured athletes about their rehabilitation, which may include medication. However, to date the role of pain and pain medication is not defined in Athletic Therapy or in Athletic Therapy education. We are accepting proposals that will determine the competencies needed for athletic therapists based on a scientific process including evidence based clinical studies. Upon completion of this project, a list of competencies for pain and pain medication are expected. In addition, a CEU course will be created to disseminate the information to athletic therapists across Canada. Proposals that can combine the CATA financial support with other research funds are encouraged.

Key dates

The CATA’s call for proposals will accept research projects proposals until March 12th, 2021.

All complete proposals received by this deadline that fulfil the eligibility criteria will be considered for the research grant. Please send proposals to info@athletictherapy.org.

The CATA aims for a turnaround time of 2 weeks to announce the decision. Please refrain from contacting the association about your application during this period.

4. Eligibility

In order to participate in the Open Call eligibility requirements must be met and include:

• Be an Athletic Therapist in good standing
• Be affiliated with a CATA accredited program
• The principal investigator must have a PhD in a relevant field
•  The principal investigator must be able to supervise students in a graduate program
• The proposed project must be directly related to the field of pain management, pain physiology, and athletes.
• Be able to carry out the project in English and in French to represent Canada’s official languages.

5. Application material

Applications should be prepared in English.  

The following documentation must be presented:

• 3-page proposal that includes background information, methods, analysis, anticipated deliverables, including references
• Budget justification – 1 page maximum
• CV of the principal investigator and the associate researchers (including students if there are any involved)

Please provide the information in MS Word format or PDF.

6. Funding

The CATA will only award one grant for this call for proposal. The budget should be appropriate to support the research described in the proposal.

Any leftover funding from successful projects will return to the CATA’s budget for research projects in order to finance additional studies.

Eligible Costs

Funding can be granted for the following (Eligible Costs) which is in accordance with Tri-council approved funding:

• Research costs (including Research Assistants)
• Participant compensations
• Consumable research material
• Some Equipment will be approved
  if needed for the research project that was justified in the research proposal

Note that indirect costs (overheads) cannot be covered and the CATA reserves the right to ask for modifications to the budget before awarding the grant to the successful applicant.

7. Selection process and criteria

The selection of proposals to receive an award will be made by the CATA board of directors. In order to ensure the quality of the research carried out under the Open Call and the transparency of the adjudication procedure, the CATA will receive information on the proposed projects in anonymous format.

Selection Criteria

The CATA board of directors will take the following criteria into account when making its decision:

Quality of the proposal

•  Theoretical adequacy of the proposal
• Adequacy of proposed methodology to the topic of the proposal
• Qualifications of the applicant researcher or consortium to carry out the proposed project
  
•  Feasibility of the proposal (can the project be carried out with the envisaged budget and proposed time frame)

Relevance of the proposal

•  Relevance of the proposed research project for the CATA’s project
• Practical applicability of the proposal

Value for money

• Respecting the budget guidelines
• Return-on-investment based on anticipated deliverables

8. Successful applications

Successful applicants will be notified once the CATA board of directors has made its decision. The decision of the board of directors is final and binding. The CATA aims for a turnaround time of about 2 weeks after the deadline of the Open Call.