Our
funding
programs

As BC’s health research agency, we design funding programs to attract, develop and retain BC’s health research talent.

Our funding programs

We offer a suite of targeted health research funding programs. Using our program learning and improvement cycle, we continue to grow and evolve our health funding programs to ensure they meet the needs of BC’s life sciences sector.

Individual funding programs

  • Research Trainee Program

    2024 competition is CLOSED

    Supports the best and brightest health researchers in training to enable career development and support world-class health research in BC.
  • Scholar Program

    2024 competition is CLOSED

    Supports early career health researchers, helping them form their own research teams, train the next generation of scientists and develop world-leading research programs.
  • Health Professional-Investigator (HP-I) Program

    2024 competition is CLOSED

    Supports health professionals who are actively involved in patient care to build their health research programs, train the next generation of scientists, and make significant contributions to their field.
  • CIHR Health System Impact (HSI) Fellowship

    2024 competition is CLOSED

    Through a partnership with CIHR’s Institute of Health Services and Policy Research, the HSI Fellowship provides doctoral and postdoctoral awardees with an experiential learning opportunity within health system organizations, where they can advance the organization’s impact goals and contribute to improved health system performance.

Team funding programs (KT-focused)

  • Convening & Collaborating (C2) Program

    2024 competition is CLOSED

    Supports teams of health researchers and research users to co-develop research that can have direct impacts on people, including patients, health practitioners and policy makers.
  • Reach Program

    2024 competition is CLOSED

    Supports teams of researchers and research users to disseminate research evidence with those who can directly benefit from it in order to impact health and care in BC.

Partnered funding

  • Health Research BC-Mitacs Industry-Based Program

    2024 competition is OPEN

    Through our partnership with Mitacs, this program provides graduate students and postdoctoral fellows with paid internships at BC-based life sciences companies to advance knowledge and gain business skills. Small and medium-size companies gain research expertise that drives innovation, solves complex challenges and helps position BC as a global hub for life sciences.

  • CIHR Strengthening the Health Workforce for System Transformation

    2024 competition is CLOSED

    Through our partnership with CIHR’s Institute of Health Services and Policy Research, we support research that strengthens the health workforce, led by teams who will inform the implementation, evaluation, spread, and scale of evidence-informed workforce solutions that address system level challenges.

    Webinar: June 27, 2023  |  Registration deadline: October 5, 2023   |  Application deadline: November 9, 2023

     

  • CANTRAIN (Clinical Trials Training Programs) Internships

    2024 competition is OPEN

    Through our partnership with CANTRAIN, internship (practicums) awards are available for Clinical Trial Research Professionals.

     

  • Match funding

    ONGOING

    We offer match funding to qualifying BC-based researchers and research teams applying to non-BC government-funded research competitions that require applicants to source match funding as a condition of the application.

  • Knowledge Sharing and Mobilization (KSM) Grant

    2024 competition is CLOSED

    Through our partnership with BC NEIHR, we support Indigenous (First Nations, Métis or Inuit) communities, collectives and organizations (ICCOs) who have completed ICCO-led research and want to share research findings in culturally and contextually relevant ways. 

    Deadline: January 22, 2024

     

  • Research Development Grant

    2024 competition is CLOSED

    Through our partnership with BC NEIHR, we support Indigenous (First Nations, Métis or Inuit) communities, collectives and organizations (ICCOs) for community outreach, relationship building and research development activities. 

    Deadline: January 22, 2024

  • Partnered awards

    ONGOING

    We partner with organizations across BC to co-fund successful applications from Michael Smith Health Research BC competitions. Partners are listed in our funding application forms, where applicants can express interest in receiving a partnered Health Research BC award.

How to apply

Applications to our funding competitions are coordinated through Health Research BC ApplyNet, an online grants management system that allows users to manage their entire award lifecycle, from application submission to post-award monitoring. The application submission process typically involves both applicants and third parties (e.g. deans, department heads, supervisors, references, etc.).

Note: If you and/or any of your third parties (e.g. department head, dean, supervisors, referees, etc.) have ever applied for funding from Health Research BC and you do not know your login and/or password information, please contact our Help Desk at helpdesk@healthresearchbc.ca.

Health Research BC ApplyNet quick start guides

  • Registration

  • Drafting Your Full Application

  • Resetting Your Password

  • Third Party Forms

  • Applicant Portal Homepage

  • Host Institution Approval

  • Completing the Eligibility Quiz

  • Peer Review Stage 1: Conflicts and Preferences

  • Drafting Your Letter of Intent

  • Peer Review Stage 2: Pre-Meeting Scores and Comments

    PDF

Equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI)

We have a strategic commitment to fostering a more equitable, diverse and inclusive health research system in BC.

Diversity in research is important to cultivating talent and promoting inclusive excellence, which in turn drives discovery and helps build a more equitable health research system.

We are taking a number of actions to advance EDI in our health research funding programs, policies, processes and strategic initiatives.

Questions?

Our Help Desk staff are standing by to answer your questions.

Help Desk hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. PST, Monday to Friday (excluding holidays).

helpdesk@healthresearchbc.ca  |  604.714.6609 (toll-free: 1.866.673.4722)