Ministry of Health Research Seed Grant Program

Ministry of Health Research Seed Grant Program is sponsored by University of British Columbia Health. Funds collaborative, policy-relevant research addressing the BC Ministry of Health's questions.

Ministry of Health Research Seed Grant Program | UBC Health Ministry of Health Research Seed Grant Program The Ministry of Health Research Seed Grant Program provides funding to universities in British Columbia to produce research that responds to the Ministry of Health’s research questions.

The Ministry Seed Grant Funding Program supports collaborative, policy-relevant research that directly responds to the evolving needs of the BC Ministry of Health. This initiative is designed to foster meaningful partnerships between academic researchers and Ministry staff, enabling the co-creation of evidence that informs health policy, planning, and service delivery across the province.

Seed grants provide targeted funding to launch new research projects or enhance existing ones that align with Ministry priorities. The program emphasizes knowledge translation, relationship-building, and the development of research proposals that are both academically rigorous and practically relevant.

Generate new research that responds to the Ministry of Health’s current and emerging priorities Support the development of research proposals that are informed by Ministry staff and policy needs Establish clear pathways for knowledge transfer from researchers to the Ministry of Health Strengthen relationships between Ministry staff and researchers, and between BC’s research universities and the Ministry Promote transparency in how research and evidence are used within the Ministry Enhance Ministry staff’s exposure to and understanding of the research process Ministry program areas gain access to timely, relevant evidence to support policy and planning decisions.

Researchers and Ministry staff build new collaborative relationships Researchers gain insight into Ministry priorities and policy contexts; Ministry staff gain familiarity with academic research environments Researchers receive funding and support to initiate or expand projects aligned with the Ministry's interests Seed-funded projects can serve as a foundation for larger grant applications and long-term research initiatives Call for proposals (Notice of Intent) opens and questions announced September 15 2025 Information Session September 25 2025 Notice of Intent submission deadline October 8 2025 Consultations between shortlisted project leads and the Ministry of Health Early November 2025 Shortlisted projects invited to submit a full application Mid-November 2025 Deadline for full application submission Early January 2026 Adjudication January - February 2026 Notification of funding decision March 2026 Deadline for final deliverables March 2027 Priority Research Questions Priority Research Questions Using insights from behavioural science, how can public health messaging be enhanced to improve public knowledge and implementation of actions that protect against the risks of climate hazards?

How can AI tools be utilized to streamline the Hospital at Home patient identification process to improve admission avoidance, reduce hospital length of stay, and mitigate overcrowding? What is the cost in salaries and hours spent by pharmacists, physicians and other prescribers, and related administrative staff of managing drug shortages in BC per year?

What are the experiences of people with opioid use disorder in accessing and receiving care at community pharmacies in BC? How could pharmacy services delivery be optimized to better support people with opioid use disorder at community pharmacies? What are the current policy inequities between allied health professionals and other health care providers (i.e., physicians and/or nurses), across public and private service delivery?

How do these result in a lack of patient access to health care services? A few examples to provide clarity: there are known inequities in the provision of student loan forgiveness, recruitment incentives, rural attraction incentives for drs, locum support, nursing workload standards, and practice education support What are the behavioral and social drivers of vaccine uptake among the new parent population in BC?

How can vaccine uptake be increased through public health messaging? What is the current state of access to menopausal care and support among Indigenous women in British Columbia? How can we best determine the social/health characteristics and impact of the toxic drug crisis and substance use among people who work in the trades and construction industry by leveraging health administrative data and WorkSafe BC claims data?

Workers in trades and construction bear a disproportionate burden of drug-related morbidity, mortality and other harms amidst the longstanding toxic drug crisis in BC. This burden points to a critical need to address the specific needs of the sector, and there is a timely opportunity to leverage provincial administrative data to identify potential points of intervention.

What are the post-service outcomes and satisfaction levels of children and youth (under age 24) who have accessed provincially funded youth mental health and substance use services in British Columbia? How do these experiences vary between bed-based and non-bed-based services? How can we use this qualitative research to improve services and programs?

Do children and youth note any barriers to accessing these services? Can an integrated screening pathway combining the Cervical and Hereditary Cancer Screening pathways—HPV testing and optional BRCA genetic testing—improve uptake and patient experience in women's cancer prevention in British Columbia? This pilot will explore the feasibility, acceptability, and outcomes of offering BRCA testing as an “add-on” to HPV screening.

It will assess uptake rates and patient-reported outcomes. For an application to be considered, the proposal must meet the following minimum requirements: The principal applicant must be a faculty member at UBC Vancouver or UBC Okanagan (see the FAQs for more information). The proposed project must directly address one of the Ministry of Health research questions.

Applications which meet minimum eligibility requirements will be evaluated based on the following differentiating criteria: Demonstrated research experience and expertise of team members Quality, excellence, and rigour of the proposed research Feasibility of the proposed research Alignment and responsiveness to the Ministry of Health question and potential for real-world impact Involvement and Engagement of Community Members and Individuals with Lived Experience Capacity and preparedness to collaborate with Ministry of Health knowledge users Capacity and planning for health research knowledge translation (including the likelihood of generating post-funding outcomes) Evidence of equity, diversity, and inclusion with respect to the research design and research team A review committee convened by UBC Health will evaluate the proposals and recommend proposal selection and prioritization to the Associate Vice-President, Health.

Upon approval, the Ministry of Health will review the recommendations and make the final decision. If you have any questions about the program, contact Lindsay Burton, Coordinator, Interdisciplinary Research Initiatives, UBC Health at lindsay. burton@ubc.

ca . Frequently Asked Questions Who is eligible to apply? Faculty members who hold a tenure-stream position at UBC, including Professors, Associate Professors, Instructors, Senior Instructors, and Professors of Teaching, are eligible to apply as the primary applicant.

Those with term appointments or affiliations with UBC (including Professors, Associate Professors, Assistant Professors, Instructors, Senior Instructors, Professors of Teaching, Adjunct Professors, Clinical Faculty, Honorary and Partner Faculty, and Research Associates) are also eligible to apply, provided that they have written approval from the appropriate UBC Department Head and Dean.

Written approval must be submitted alongside the application. Students and visiting scholars are not eligible to apply but can be collaborators. Do I need to include a reference list with my application?

Consistent with the character limits, extensive referencing is not required for the application. Key references may be cited within the character limits or be included as in-text citations in APA style (i.e., first author last name, publication year). While this is not an expectation or requirement, applicants may submit a reference list by email as a PDF before the submission deadline.

Do I need to complete a Research Project Information Form (RPIF) before I submit my application? No. This process will begin after the review committee funding recommendations are approved. However, funds will not be distributed until research ethics approval is granted, if required.

Can the funding be used to fund an existing project, or must the research be entirely new? Funding can support the addition of a new piece of work to an existing study or project, such as adding a new module to a pre-existing planned survey. However, it cannot be used to fund a piece of work that was already funded and/or in progress but contains no new components.

When will the Full Application Form be available? The Full Application Form will be accessible through Qualtrics once applicants are shortlisted. Applicants will then be able to view, complete, and submit the Form.

Any applicants having troubling accessing the Qualtrics form or planning document should contact Lindsay Burton at lindsay. burton@ubc. ca Can I budget for activities that occur after the research project ends?

While applicants are expected to plan how the project will generate impact and outcomes for knowledge-users, the budget must cover only the direct costs of conducting the research and any required engagement during the project.

Budget items for dissemination or knowledge mobilization may be included only if they are clearly identified in the original budget submission, and accompanied by a justification showing how the activity is integral to the research or engagement process (e.g., a planned presentation of summative findings to community partners). Requests to re-allocate funds to such activities after an award will not be permitted.

What costs does this funding opportunity allow? Allowable costs are those directly required to carry out the proposed research and related engagement activities.

These include items needed to complete the project as described (e.g., salaries for research staff; materials and supplies for data collection or analysis; services or consultation needed for interest holder engagement; travel directly tied to research or engagement activities).

If costs for sharing or mobilizing findings are included, these must be identified in your original budget with justification, as outlined above, and will be eligible only if pre-approved. If invited during the Notice of Intent stage, what specific information are project teams expected to bring to the consultation with the Ministry of Health?

Teams should be prepared to provide a high-level description of the project they are proposing, including highlighting if they suggest any deviations from the topic or scope proposed in the question or set of questions. They should also include any questions for the Ministry and an outline of any key supports they will require from the Ministry to complete the project.

Is the selection process different if I have an existing relationship or collaboration with the Ministry of Health? No, all eligible applications will be considered regardless of prior relationships or collaborations with the Ministry of Health. An existing relationship or collaboration does not guarantee project funding.

In past competitions, both new and existing collaborations have been funded. Capacity and preparedness to collaborate with Ministry of Health knowledge users will be assessed alongside other criteria during the review process. How are patient and community members involved in the selection process?

Patient and community members will be included in the review and adjudication of all projects at the full application stage and will access the proposals on relevance, readability, engagement, feasibility and potential for real-world impact, and equity, diversity, and inclusion. How does the Ministry of Health choose priority questions?

Program areas across the Ministry of Health are invited to identify and prioritize key objectives—specifically, the kinds of information they hope to gain from BC-based research. Each program area goes through a prioritization process to determine its most pressing research needs.

These proposed questions are then shared with the Ministry of Health leadership to ensure alignment across divisions, avoid conflicts, and identify opportunities for collaboration or partnership across different areas. What kind of support will the Ministry of Health provide during the research project?

Typically, the Ministry’s role is to explain how they hope to use the research and, therefore, what aspects of the question(s) they hope it will address. However, additional support may be requested or provided. Some examples include helping to connect researchers with health authority or agency contacts and facilitating connections with other teams and resources doing related work.

What are the expectations of knowledge mobilization activities related to funded projects? Applicants will be assessed on their team’s capacity and planning for health research knowledge translation, including the likelihood of generating post-funding outcomes. The Ministry and UBC Health are supportive of external knowledge mobilization efforts.

Teams can contact UBC Health to coordinate. Internal (Ministry-focused) knowledge mobilization activities may include presenting to the Ministry’s knowledge exchange (a large group of Ministry staff from a variety of areas), presenting to specific groups within the Ministry, or developing resources to help policymakers understand and use the results.

Please note that any associated budget costs must be clearly included and justified in your original budget request. #400 - 2194 Health Sciences Mall E-mail ubchealth. admin@ubc.

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