The most fundamental role of the CIHR is to provide grants and awards to fund health research undertaken by Canadian scientists in Canada's universities, teaching hospitals and research institutes. CIHR support is an integral foundation of Canada's globally recognized leadership in health sciences research, and in addition provides the resources to continue to train new generations of researchers.

In response to new challenges being faced by increased competition for health care, as well as health research and resources, CIHR has expanded its vision and mandate to encompass a wide variety of partnerships to ensure that CIHR not only continues to fund the highest calibre basic research, but also develops and supports mechanisms which assist in developing that research for clinical applications and/or commercial development.

These partnerships are broadening the reach of CIHR, by bringing CIHR peer review into activities such as industry R&D, venture capital funding decisions, and health charity fund-raising activities. Through these partnerships, CIHR is assisting Canadian researchers to maximize the benefits to the health of Canadians, and to the Canadian economy, from its public investment in health research.

CIHR has developed a wide array of partnerships designed to help bring the benefits of health research to the ultimate end-user, the Canadian public, through better health care technologies and practices, and through keeping the economic benefits of health research in Canada.

Joint funding projects with industry are creating academic-industry collaborations allowing industrially relevant projects to benefit from peer review and some CIHR funding, while CIHR quality research is able to access significant industrial development funds.

CIHR works in collaboration with the Canadian Medical Discoveries Fund, to assist the venture capital company in investing in the highest quality Canadian research and ensuring CIHR researchers access to the resources necessary to develop their discoveries.

Through delivery of the Networks of Centres of Excellence Program (NCE), CIHR has supported the creation of over twenty (20) spin-off companies in the biotechnology sector to date, all based on research at the five (5) biomedical based NCE's.These innovative collaborations of academia, government, and industry have developed international reputations for quality of research as well as quality of development and commercialization.

Numerous other programs are designed to matchmake between academic scientists and potential collaborators in all sectors, provide peer review and funding assistance where appropriate, assist regional interests in partnering with industry, research groups, volunteer agencies, government agencies and others within the goals of a regional development strategic plan, as well as to add value to local health research fund raising efforts through additional funding and access to peer review. To maximize the benefits to Canadian patients, CIHR is training clinical based scientists, which Canada lacks, to transfer new discoveries to patients, and is facilitating the access by Canadian scientists to international health care and health research funding and development programs.

CIHR funds, but does not perform Research & Development.