Positioning BC’s health research system for the future: Research talent

For nearly 25 years, Health Research BC funding programs have helped British Columbia attract, develop, and retain health research talent.  

We are proud of our successes but also recognize that the provincial, national and global context for research talent in BC is changing.  

Not only is funding constrained, but career paths continue to adapt to evolving market and academic needs. Recent evaluations by Health Research BC and others have highlighted gaps in traditional ways of funding and supporting health researchers. 

In this changing environment, we will adapt our funding programs to support the diverse skills, experiences, and talent BC needs – and determine how we can work more effectively with other institutions to build BC’s research talent.

Starting this fall, we will lead provincial discussions about talent needs and gaps – and their solutions. Insights from these discussions are intended to inform not only Health Research BC’s program decisions, but to highlight changes other organizations could make, and importantly how we can work together as a system to support research talent development in BC. 

While we engage the research community, we will pause our Scholar and Health Professional-Investigator programs. We will continue to offer our Research Trainee program and will also announce a new team funding program for knowledge translation this fall. 

Health Research BC has a long history of adapting our funding programs to the shifting needs of the research system and the evolution of research career paths. We are committed to working with the community to develop appropriate responses to the challenges and opportunities facing research talent in British Columbia.