Soutien à la recherche et concours FR/EN : Appel à propositions - Banque de cas PolÉthicas / Case Database : Call for proposals

The PolÉthicas case database is a joint initiative of the Public Policy and Ethics axes of the Quebec Population Health Research Network (RRSPQ). The Public Policy and Population Health axis funds the 2021–2022 competition. The PolÉthicas database aims to capitalize on the expertise of others, to pool and enhance the knowledge and practices developed to date on public policy and ethical analysis. The case study approach allows for the examination of various problems in different contexts and the ethical issues that may affect public policy in population health.

Public policies structure and drive action in various sectors of society and are a key element in improving population health. For several decades, the health promotion community has encouraged governments to adopt healthy public policies and health in all policies strategies. These policies target determinants of health other than the healthcare system and health services.

Political science offers tools to better understand policy making: What issues are on the minds of elected officials? What roles do experts play in formulating solutions? How do non-health actors perceive health and well-being? What does the analysis of implementation tell us? Why is there not more emphasis on evaluation to improve public policy? A better understanding of the policy process is an important asset for public health actors.

Public health ethics (PHE), an interdisciplinary field developed over the past 20 years in response to increasingly complex ethical issues (individual and collective rights, resource allocation), addresses moral issues using the major concepts of ethical and political philosophy to solve population health problems. Understanding how ethical concepts relate to practice is imperative for the soundness of public policies.

Objectives of the PolÉthicas database:

• To promote a better understanding of public policy making and of the decision-making process;
• To promote the understanding of ethical issues and challenges in the framework of public policies related to population health;
• To provide a pedagogical and research tool for students, researchers and policymakers, and for public health managers and professionals.

Target audience

This database is intended for all those interested in public policy and its ethical issues. The cases will be available online. Students, researchers from academia and practice, managers and public health professionals are invited to submit cases.

Eligibility requirements

• This competition is open to all regular research members and student members of the RRSPQ. The lead author must be a regular research member or student member of the RRSPQ.
• The term "public policy" refers broadly to laws, regulations, strategies, plans, and formal policy statements. We may consider cases about programs, to the extent that their analysis is integrated with public policy directly related to population health.
• Authors must ensure that there are no publication rights conflicts as cases will be published online in the PolÉthicas database and accessible to the public.
• The same publication cannot be funded more than once by the RRSPQ and its axes and training programs.
• The same author may submit multiple submissions or appear as a co-author in multiple submissions to the current publication support competitions organized by the RRSPQ and its axes. However, in order to give equitable access to this publication support to the greatest number of our members, the same author cannot be funded more than once per year.
• If the same author (whoever he or she may be) appears in more than one submission, priority may be given to the submission with the highest score in the evaluation.
• The same RRSPQ student member may submit entries to different annual competitions of the Network and its axes. However, a master's student may not receive more than $5,000 per year in financial support, and a doctoral student or postdoctoral fellow may not receive more than $10,000 per year.

Evaluation criteria

A peer review committee of RRSPQ members will evaluation applications according to the following criteria:

• Relevance of the theme in relation to healthy public policies;
• Originality and quality of the data available for the case;
• Relevance to the objectives of the case database;
• Interest for users of the database.

Submission of applications

Applications may be written in English or French. To submit, complete the case description form available here and attach the case description and a short CV, by 5:00 p.m. on May 13, 2022.

Content of the applications

Only complete applications will be considered for evaluation:

• 3 pages of content (see details below);
• An online description form;
• The main author of the application must attach a short CV (3 pages max.). Long CVs will not be accepted.

Page 1

• Name, affiliation, and full contact information (address, phone number, email) of the principal author of the proposal
• Name and affiliation of co-authors
• The title of the case
• The amount requested, up to a maximum of $4,000.
• A budget justification.

Page 2

• Relevance of the topic to healthy public policy and ethics (max. 150 words)
• The link with the objectives of the database and the target audience (max. 100 words)
• Data sources, originality, and quality (max. 100 words)
• Status of the case study (e.g., data collection in progress, data analysis completed) (max. 150 words)
• Suggestion of 2 readers for the final acceptance of the case

Page 3

• The case summary (max. 350 words)
• Your abstract should not include any figures, tables or references.

Full version of the case for publication

The content of the case should follow the outline that can be downloaded here. Cases may be written in English or French.

Cases should be submitted in Word format in Letter size (8.5 x 11), Times New Roman font, size 12, 1½ line spacing. They should be between 2500 and 5000 words long (5–10 pages), excluding references.

References should use the author-date system, in which resources are cited in the text in parentheses with the author's name and year of publication. References are listed at the end of the text in alphabetical order and following the APA 6th edition style, in a section called “References".

Authors of accepted abstracts will be invited to submit a full manuscript of their case by January 15^th, 2023. Prior to publication, the case will be peer reviewed for final acceptance. Corrections may be requested from the author.

Commitment of the recipients

• Recipients agree to publish the title and an abstract of their publication (in French and English) on the RRSPQ website, upon announcement of their selection.
• Funded authors agree to acknowledge the financial participation of the RRSPQ and to use the RRSPQ logo (if possible) in all activities resulting from the funded project, including publications, announcements and communications. The following wording is suggested:
  "The authors thank the Public Policy and Population Health axis of the Quebec Population Health Research Network (RRSPQ) for its contribution to the funding of this publication."

For further information, please contact Maël Permal, coordinator of the Public Policy and Population Health axis, at the following address: coordination.ppsp@gmail.com