Ministry of Health Research Seed Grant Program
The Ministry of Health Research Seed Grant Program provides funding to universities in British Columbia to produce research that responds to the Ministry of Health’s research questions.
CALL FOR PROPOSALS
In partnership with the Ministry of Health, UBC Health is offering funding of up to $50,000 to researchers from UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan to address a specific research question identified by the Ministry of Health.
The call for proposals is now closed. The notification of competition results will be made in April 2024.
Please consult the program timeline for key dates. If you have any questions, contact Aoife Tierney, Project Coordinator, UBC Health at aoife.tierney@ubc.ca.
- Generate new research that responds to the Ministry of Health’s current needs
- Produce research proposals that are informed by policymakers
- Build a knowledge transfer pathway from researchers to the Ministry of Health
- Build relationships between Ministry of Health staff and researchers and between BC’s research universities and the Ministry of Health
- Increase transparency of how the Ministry of Health uses research and evidence
- Increase exposure and understanding of research and the research process across Ministry of Health staff
- Ministry of Health program areas gain evidence to use in policy and planning
- New relationships between researchers and the Ministry of Health
- Researchers gain an understanding of Ministry of Health research needs, and Ministry of Health staff gain an understanding of the academic research environment
- Researchers can access funding and support for existing or new research projects that are in alignment with Ministry of Health interests
- Researchers can launch research that can then be leveraged to support larger funding applications and projects
Participating researchers will have the opportunity to:
- Receive up to $50,000 from their institution to carry out a research project over 12 months that responds to a Ministry of Health research question
- Work directly with Ministry of Health staff to learn more about their specific research interests and how resulting evidence will be used
- Share research directly with end-users in the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions
Participating researchers will:
- Meet with Ministry of Health staff a minimum of three times during the research process (from proposal planning to final report)
- Complete the research project within 12 months of receiving the funding
- Upon completion of the research project, provide the Ministry of Health with a final research report
- Upon completion of the research project, submit a financial and impact report and return any unused funds to UBC Health
- Alert the Ministry of Health and UBC Health about and acknowledge both organizations in publications and other outputs produced as a direct result of the research project (e.g., conference papers, presentations, knowledge translation activities, etc.)
In partnership with the Ministry of Health, UBC Health is offering funding of up to $50,000 to researchers from UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan to address a research question identified by the Ministry of Health.
The call for proposals is now closed. Applicants will be notified of the competition results in April 2024.
October 4, 2023 | Call for proposals (Notice of Intent) opens |
October 18, 2023 | Notice of Intent submission deadline |
November 1-10, 2023 | Consultations between shortlisted project leads and Ministry of Health |
November 17, 2023 | Project leads invited to submit full application |
December 15, 2023 | Deadline for full application submission |
January-February 2024 | Adjudication |
April 2024 | Notification of competition results |
April-May 2024 | Public announcement of funding recipients Research projects begin |
June 31, 2025 | Deadline for final deliverables |
For the 2023/24 funding round, the Ministry of Health has prioritized the following research questions:
- How do we assess and rank communities’ needs and readiness for mobile mental health crisis services in BC?
- Hospital at Home provides acute care to eligible patients in the comfort of their homes. Could mass-market or medical wearable devices be deployed by health authorities to provide patient-centred and efficient Hospital at Home patient monitoring? If so, which devices are the most patient-centred?
- The issue of polypharmacy in long-term care is well-researched in Canada and internationally. Recent literature defines polypharmacy as the use of five or more prescribed and nonprescribed medications by a single individual. The Beers List is a consensus list of potentially inappropriate medications for seniors and provides evidence-based information supporting the need to reduce and/or eliminate medications for seniors that lack evidence of efficacy over time. What strategies have demonstrated success in the long-term care sector (nationally or internationally) to reduce and sustain reduction in these medications? What aspects of these strategies demonstrated greatest effectiveness?
- What is pharmacists’ perception of quality of care in the context of prescribing for minor ailments and contraception? What are enablers and barriers to pharmacists providing quality prescribing? What provincial strategies are needed to support quality prescribing by pharmacists?
- What are the barriers and facilitators in pharmacists assessing and prescribing contraceptives since the expanded scope of practice on June 1, 2023? What strategies should be implemented to mitigate identified barriers?
- How has the contraceptive coverage policy and pharmacist prescribing for contraceptives through the Minor Ailments and Contraceptive Services changed access to contraception care for teens and young adults in BC?
- What are the treatment challenges faced by small water system operators relating to water quality (e.g., turbidity) stemming from climate change induced risk amplification of extreme precipitation events, flooding, or draughts, and what actions have been shown to increase their resilience?
- What is the burden of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in BC drinking water? This includes investigating the concentrations of PFAS in drinking water and its sources across BC, the capacity of BC laboratories to test for PFAS, the costs of sampling and testing in different jurisdictions, treatment needs and cost-effective mitigation methods for systems exceeding the proposed Health Canada objective for PFAS, training needs, and implementation best practices.
For an application to be considered, the proposal must meet the following minimum requirements:
- The principal applicant must be a faculty member at UBC Vancouver or UBC Okanagan. (see the FAQs for more information)
- The proposed project must directly address one of the Ministry of Health research questions.
Applications that meet the above minimum eligibility requirements will be evaluated based on the following differentiating criteria:
- Demonstrated research experience and expertise of team members
- Quality, excellence, and rigour of the proposed research
- Feasibility of the proposed research
- Alignment and responsiveness to Ministry of Health question
- Capacity and preparedness to collaborate with Ministry of Health knowledge users
- Capacity and planning for health research knowledge translation (including the likelihood of generating post-funding outcomes)
- Evidence of equity, diversity, and inclusion with respect to the research design and research team
A review committee convened by UBC Health will evaluate the proposals and recommend proposal selection and prioritization to the Associate Vice-President, Health. Upon approval, the Ministry of Health will review the recommendations and make the final decision.
Who is eligible to apply?
Faculty members who hold a tenure-stream position at UBC, including Professors, Associate Professors, Instructors, Senior Instructors, and Professors of Teaching, are eligible to apply as the primary applicant. Those with term appointments or affiliations with UBC (including Professors, Associate Professors, Assistant Professors, Instructors, Senior Instructors, Professors of Teaching, Adjunct Professors, Clinical Faculty, Honorary and Partner Faculty, and Research Associates) are also eligible to apply, provided that they have written approval from the appropriate UBC Department Head and Dean. Written approval must be submitted alongside the application. Students and visiting scholars are not eligible to apply.
Do I need to include a reference list with my application?
Consistent with the character limits, extensive referencing is not required for the application. Key references may be cited within the character limits or be included as in-text citations in APA style (i.e., first author last name, publication year). While this is not an expectation or requirement, applicants may submit a reference list by email as a PDF before the submission deadline.
Do I need to complete a Research Project Information Form (RPIF) before I submit my application?
No. This process will begin after review committee funding recommendations are approved.