The Vancouver Foundation is now accepting applications for the Participatory Action Research Grants, which are health-related research grants that are available for projects that are a collaboration between a community service organization and an institution with access to an ethics board, such as a university, health authority, or other research-based organization. Participatory Action Research (PAR) grants fund health-related research projects that investigate and understand the root causes of pressing health issues affecting communities in British Columbia. By focusing on the social determinants of health, such as education, employment, and healthcare, these grants play a critical role in generating knowledge and informing policy that invests in community health.
Two different grant types are available that reflect the various stages of a participatory action research process: Convene and Investigate.
1. Convene Grants (up to $25,000, for up to one year)
Convene grants are short-term grants to help teams to unpack a complex health issue and to question the systemic behaviours that have created that issue, or that are holding the issue in place. Convene grants help teams to articulate a research question and to develop a participatory research project plan that can then be submitted to funding organizations in the future. The funding requested should be distributed equitably between the convening process and the community’s participation in that process. Convene grants are a one-stage application.
2. Investigate Grants (up to $100,000 per year, for up to three years)
Investigate grants are multi-year grants to help teams answer a research question, analyze their findings, and share knowledge in a way that supports the community to take action in the future. Investigate grants have a two-stage application process. Applicants begin their application by completing the first stage of questions and, if successful, are then invited to complete the remaining questions.
Eligibility
To be eligible for a PAR grant, applicants must meet the following criteria:
- The organization acting as the primary applicant is a qualified donee listed by the Canada Revenue Agency
- The research must be a collaboration between a community service organization and an institution with access to an ethics board, such as a university, health authority or other research-based organization
- The project takes place primarily in BC
- Use a participatory action research methodology to develop and/or explore a health research question coming from community
For further information about the Participatory Action Research Grants or to apply, click here.