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Governance

On this page you will find information about the CCCTG's board of directors, policies and terms of reference. View the CCCTG organization chart (PDF). 

Board of Directors

Directors

Rob Fowler
Past-Chair
Bram Rochwerg
Chair-Elect
Mark Duffett
Secretary
Stephanie Sibley
Grants & Manuscripts Review
Andrew Seely
Career Development & Mentorship
Nicole Zytaruk
Scientific Meeting Planning
Nadine Foster
Patient & Family Partnerships
Srinivas Murthy
Partnerships & International Collaborations
Nadia Roumeliotis
Young Investigator Support
Gord Boyd
Communication & Website
Sangeeta Mehta
Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Ex Officio

Patricia Liaw
Canadian Critical Care Translational Biology Group
Katie O'Hearn
Canadian Critical Care Research Coordinators Group
Dori-Ann Martin
Canadian Critical Care Research Coordinators Group
Karen Burns
Canadian Critical Care Society
Patricia Fontela
Pediatric Group Representative
Jennifer Tsang
Canadian Community ICU Research Network
Brenda Lucas
Executive Director (non-voting)

 CCCTG Policies

The intent of the policy document is to ensure that diversity is explicitly addressed in the governance of the CCCTG, as well as, in our participation in other events that the CCCTG may cohost or for which the CCCTG nominates a representative (e.g., representative at meetings held by other networks/organizations or international meetings/conferences). In addition, this policy aims to ensure that our processes are transparent, visible, and yield measurable outcomes.

TO LEARN MORE, download the CCCTG Diversity Policy (PDF).

The Canadian Critical Care Trials Group (CCCTG) is committed to providing a friendly, safe and welcoming environment for all, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, disability, race, ethnicity, religion, national or ethnic origin, or other characteristics (e.g., colour, religion, age, sex). The rationale for this Code of Conduct is to promote our values and ensure that we remain collegial in our interactions within and outside of the CCCTG and outlines our expectations for participant behavior and the consequences of unacceptable behavior.

TO LEARN MORE, download the CCCTG Code of Conduct Policy (PDF).

Guidance has been developed on how to best facilitate CCCTG-endorsed contributions to international trials, as well as to foster international support for Canadian-led initiatives. Criteria is included for formal adoption of an international project by the CCCTG.

TO LEARN MORE, download the CCCTG Policy for adoption of International Projects (PDF).

Terms of Reference

We aim to co-operatively help develop protocols that benefit from the diverse expertise and constructive advice of the CCCTG membership. In so doing, we aim to merge scientific rigour with clinical relevance, within the constraints of feasibility and available resources.

The focus of the CCCTG is the development and execution of protocols which are investigator-initiated and officially affiliated with the CCCTG. The Trials Group acknowledges that research that has originated from a pharmaceutical or technology related company is important for the advancement of critical care research. However, to date it has been the agreement of the CCCTG membership that such projects not be directly supported by the Trials Group.

Any CCCTG member is welcome to bring protocols to our meetings. This requires pre-circulation of a written protocol to the membership. Before a study is affiliated with the CCCTG name in a grant or publication, the protocol must be discussed at a meeting of the CCCTG, and approved by the membership.

After protocol presentations, revisions are often recommended by the group before grants may be submitted with the affiliation of the Canadian Critical Care Trials Group name. A grant application for funding under the auspices of the CCCTG must be endorsed by the CCCTG Executive Committee prior to its submission. In the latter situation, the Executive in association with one or more members will provide an internal review of the protocol and provide feedback within 2 weeks. The goal of this feedback is provision of constructive comments to investigators about their studies which represent CCCTG membership views on issues of methodology and implementation.

CCCTG authorship must be acknowledged in the grant proposal submitted for funding if all of the following criteria are fulfilled a) the protocol has been presented at a CCCTG meeting, b) support has been given to the project by the CCCTG membership at one of the meetings, c) explicit agreement regarding grant submission was obtained, and d) feedback on the grant itself was provided by the CCCTG Executive. Without these 3 steps, investigators are requested not to make reference to the CCCTG in their proposal.

CCCTG authorship must be acknowledged in all manuscripts submitted for publication if in the opinion of the CCCTG Executive and the investigators, substantial scientific support has been provided by the group at our meetings and between meetings. Without this agreement, investigators are requested not to make reference to the CCCTG in their manuscript.

Before CCCTG authorship is finalized, the CCCTG Executive must review all manuscripts to be submitted to peer-review journals. To allow for (inevitable) last minute preparation, abstracts of CCCTG projects may be submitted to scientific meetings without a priori review by the Executive.

We meet thrice per year, once in January (in Lake Louise), once in May/June (in a rotating location in eastern Canada) and once in October/November (at the Toronto Critical Care Medicine Symposium).

  • Are sponsored by Chair, Exec or any member
  • Fund themselves
  • Have clear objectives (e.g., starting TG, participating in CCCTG study, not just seeking enrolment in their own study)
  • Are invited by Chair in writing (including confidentiality / intellectual property clause)
  • Are introduced to CCCTG (background, objectives)
  • Address the CCCTG at the end of the meeting (observations, plans for future collaboration)
  • Are to limited to 1-2 visitors / meeting

New Studies

  • Brief background
  • Question/Hypothesis
  • Objective(s)
  • Design
  • Plans (implementation, timelines etc)
  • Questions for the CCCTG?

Ongoing Studies

  • Brief review of background, question, hypothesis, objective(s), design
  • Update
    • Issues raised by group at last meeting
    • Work done since last meeting
    • Milestones
    • Problems
    • Solutions
    • Plans
  • Questions for the CCCTG?
  • Pre-circulate documents in advance
  • Follow presentation guides
  • Explain responses to feedback
  • Be clear on collaborator commitments
  • Provide detailed study update
  • Share challenges as well as successes
  • Attend each meeting or send representative
  • Develop & commit to (revised) timelines
  • Ensure study completion
  • Read pre-circulated documents in advance
  • Provide constructive feedback on rigour, relevance, ethics, feasibility & fundability
  • Consider mentorship & partnership
  • Problem solve during ongoing trials
  • Share tips, study aids & other documents
  • Ensure to study completion
  • Help to interpret study results
  • Review grants & manuscripts within 2 wks
  • Provide all necessary study documents
  • Provide initial training & ongoing feedback
  • Communicate study progress & set-backs
  • Advise on local feasibility issues
  • Seek advice on study issues
  • Follow through on commitments
  • Develop & commit to (revised) timelines
  • Publish scientific progress
  • Ensure study completion
  • Understand collaborator commitments
  • Problem solve local feasibility issues
  • Communicate study progress & set-backs
  • Advocate locally for the study
  • Follow through on commitments
  • Suggest improvements
  • Collaborate on scientific progress reports
  • Ensure study completion
  • Summarize CCCTG feedback
  • Write support letters for CCCTG grants
  • Advocate for each study across sites
  • Help to problem solve
  • Ensure the CCCTG honours commitments
  • Ensure study completion
  • Ensure publication
  • Liaise with funding partners as necessary