Disponible en anglais seulement.
Preamble
Healthy Brains, Healthy Lives (HBHL) is a high profile, high priority interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral research program supported at Ď㽶ĘÓƵ by the Government of Canada’s Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF), in partnership with the Government of Quebec and organizations from across sectors.
CFREF aims to help Canadian postsecondary institutions excel globally in research areas that create long-term economic advantages for Canada. HBHL was competitively selected for funding through this program for seven (7) years starting in September 2016.
HBHL is a global centre of excellence for multidisciplinary research and a hub for neuroinformatics and big data analysis. The research is centred around an advanced analytic platform for brain research—NeuroHub—that accelerates translational discoveries and enables improved brain health for Canadians and globally.
HBHL’s scientific strategy consists of a suite of funding programs designed to stimulate, accelerate, and integrate progress across the overall research program with a focus on an interdisciplinary approach across fields linked by neuroinformatics. HBHL’s objectives are achieved across four strategies: Capacity Building; Advancing Discovery; Accelerating Innovation; and Exchanging Knowledge, each with specific objectives on the discovery-to-innovation continuum.
Mandate
Committee is established as of November 16, 2017 to oversee HBHL’s funding and programming for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.
The Training Program Committee provides guidance to HBHL staff and leadership on the development, implementation and ongoing improvement of HBHL’s training activities. This aims of the HBHL training program will be to:
- Award funding from the HBHL Board approved training envelope to attract and retain exceptional trainees at McGill, and
- Provide a wide range of targeted professional development activities for the McGill neuroscience community to facilitate success in research and diverse careers.
Key Responsibilities
To fulfil its mandate, the Training Program Committee will:
- Oversee HBHL’s yearly fellowship programs for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, including calls for applications, budgets, and the review and selection processes;
- Review and approve budgets and plans for professional development training activities each semester;
- Develop a process for the collection and analysis of feedback from training activities;
- Review progress towards achieving HBHL’s training goals and advise on overcoming barriers to progress as well as opportunities for expansion of the training program;
- Report quarterly to the HBHL Board of Directors, through the Managing Director’s report, on the work of the committee and the progress of HBHL on meeting its training
Membership and Appointments
- Membership of the Training Program Committee shall consist of 4 members:
- Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, McGill (Chair)
- Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Education, Medicine and Health Sciences
- Mitacs Business Development Director for McGill
- The President or Co-Presidents of the HBHL Trainee Committee
- If there is only one Trainee Committee President: One additional member of the Trainee Committee will be selected through open call
HBHL staff will take the lead in setting meeting agendas and coordinating documents.
Trainee members serve for one year, renewable.
Delegates for the trainee members are accepted, as long as the delegates are members of the HBHL Trainee Committee. Ad hoc guests and/or observers withspecialized expertise may be invited to participate in meetings at the discretion of the Chair.
Meetings
The Training Program Committee will meet every two months during the academic year (September to May), and if needed during the summer.
Remuneration
Members of the Training Program Committee serve without remuneration.
Resources
Resources, including staffing, research assistance and budget may be requested from the HBHL staff and will be provided as HBHL resources allow.
Quorum
A simple majority of members constitutes quorum for meetings of the Training Program Committee.
Voting Procedure
Decisions will be made by consensus. If consensus is not forthcoming within a reasonable timeframe, the Chair may proceed with a vote on the question. For the vote to be valid, a majority of members must cast a vote (quorum). Each member has one (1) vote. Normally, the Chair does not vote other than in the case of a tie.
An e-vote may be conducted when appropriate. A simple majority of all members is required for e-vote decisions. Should a voting member fail to vote by the established deadline, this will be counted as an abstention.
Recording Training Program Committee Decisions
A written record of the discussions and recommendations arising at each meeting will be duly documented in official meeting notes, which, once approved by the Training Program Committee, will be available for audit upon request.
The HBHL Training and Equity Advisor will ensure that the agenda and meeting materials are sent to members a minimum of seven days prior to each meeting and that accurate notes of each meeting are taken and circulated at the next meeting for approval. HBHL office staff are responsible for taking notes.
Terms of Reference Review History
- Approved by the Training Program Committee on September 28, 2020
- Approved by the Board of Directors on October 15, 2020
- Approved by the Strategic Steering Committee on January 18, 2022
