Competitions open: 2023 Convening & Collaborating (C2) and Reach Programs
4 April 2023
The Michael Smith Health Research BC 2023 Convening & Collaborating (C2) and Reach competitions open today.
These team-funded programs mobilize communities for research impact — supporting co-development of research questions and disseminating research evidence to audiences who can directly use it. This important knowledge translation work supports moving research into practice and policy.
The award amount available for both competitions is up to $15,000 and the term of the awards is 18 months.
Previous C2 and Reach awardees are based across the province including Vancouver Island University, Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, UBC Okanagan, BC Centre for Disease Control, University of Victoria, Fraser Health, and University of Northern British Columbia.
Awardees are using Health Research BC funding to address a wide range of health challenges including: sharing evidence-based information on prevention, diagnostics, treatment and survivorship in gynecologic cancer; diabetes prevention for Indigenous communities; and equipping health care providers with resources to care for their own mental health.
Convening & Collaborating (C2) awards
The C2 award enables knowledge exchange and meaningful collaboration by supporting researchers, trainees and research users* in co-developing research that can directly impact people such as patients, health practitioners and policy makers, helping to ensure the research’s relevancy.
The program supports this fostering of collaboration by those who will use research, and helps ensure it has the maximum impact on health and the health system.
Researchers who need support to develop a research agenda, identify key research practice priorities or evaluate a peer support initiative should consider applying to the C2 Program.
For example, a C2 award enabled Drs. Tal Jarus and Armansa Glodjo, with their research team, to co-create adapted screen time guidelines for children with autism. “We would like to express our appreciation of the C2 Program and Michael Smith Health Research BC that allowed us to create a meaningful collaboration and create a new valuable and much-needed tool for caregivers and clinicians of children with autism,” says Tal.
Reach awards
The Reach award enables KT activities by supporting researchers and research users in disseminating research evidence through co-developing events, activities and/or tools to extend the reach of their work.
This helps teams “reach” audiences who can directly use the knowledge to ultimately improve health and care for British Columbians and their communities.
Researchers who need support to disseminate their research through projects like a social media initiative, patient forum, or a learning curriculum should consider applying to the Reach Program.
For example, a Reach award enabled Drs. Julie Bettinger and Hana Mijovic and their research team to turn their research findings on uptake of childhood vaccines in BC into a short video documentary aimed at frontline healthcare professionals. This video is a simple but effective tool that provides an opportunity for healthcare providers to gain broader understanding of childhood vaccine uptake in BC, identify opportunities for interprofessional collaboration to promote vaccine confidence, and facilitate childhood vaccine uptake. The video has now been incorporated into online midwifery training for the Canadian Association of Midwives.
2023 C2 and Reach competitions key dates
- Application deadline (applicant): May 15, 2023
- Application deadline (host institution): May 23, 2023
- Anticipated notice of funding decision: September 2023
- Anticipated start of funding: October 1, 2023
All competition details, eligibility requirements, and information on how to apply can be found on our website. Applicants are encouraged to attend the applicant information webinar on April 12.
Both the C2 and Reach awards also help build KT capacity, experience and skills for BC’s research and health professional trainees.
Making a difference — together
We partner with many organizations to co-fund awards. This enables us to fund more awardees while reducing the gap between research and its implementation to improve health care. Our partners also provide valuable connections between researchers, partner stakeholders, and patient groups. If you are interested in receiving a partnered Health Research BC award, let us know when prompted in your funding application.
Find out about organizations seeking opportunities to co-fund researchers in these competitions.
Health Research BC is committed to enabling and supporting these KT-focused awards because this funding provides BC health researchers the tools they need to increase the impact of their research, and thereby closing the gap between research and implementation into health care.
Learn more about these team-based awards.
*Research users might include patients, community partners, caregivers, health practitioners, government policy makers, or health charities.
