Our
funding
programs

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

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Individual funding Team funding Partnered funding How to apply EDI

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 health research and life sciences community.

Individual funding programs

  • Scholar Program

    2023 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.
    View details See 2022 award recipients

  • Research Trainee Program

    2023 competition is CLOSED

    Supports the best and brightest health researchers in training to enable career development and support world-class health research in BC.
    View details See 2022 award recipients

  • Health Professional-Investigator (HP-I) Program

    This program is paused for 2023

    Supports health professionals (e.g. MD, RN, PT) to develop and advance research with the goal of bringing research evidence into practice within the health system.
    View details See 2022 award recipients

  • CIHR Health System Impact (HSI) Fellowship

    2023 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.
    View details See 2022 award recipients

Team funding programs (KT-focused)

  • Convening & Collaborating (C2) Program

    2023 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.
    View details See 2022 award recipients

  • Reach Program

    2023 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.
    View details See 2022 award recipients

Partnered funding

  • BC Network Environment for Indigenous Health Research (BC NEIHR) Pilot Project Grants

    2023 competition is OPEN

    Through a partnership with BC NEIHR, this funding opportunity supports Indigenous (First Nations, Métis or Inuit) early career researchers to improve the competitiveness of Indigenous researchers in CIHR and other research competitions.

    View details

  • CANTRAIN (Clinical Trials Training Programs)

    2023 competition is OPEN

    Through a partnership with CANTRAIN, awards at the masters, doctoral and postdoctoral levels are available to support applicants conducting research related to clinical trials.  

    View details

  • 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.

    View details

  • 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.

    View details

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.

Learn more

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)