Upcoming Funding Opportunity: Healthy Cities Research Initiative (HCRI) – Planning Grants for Implementing Healthy Urban Policy

Overview

The Planning Grants for Implementing Healthy Urban Policy supports collaboration between city leaders and researchers and co-development of activities related to implementing and evaluating interventions in urban settings that would improve health and wellbeing. The goal of this funding opportunity is to facilitate the design of implementation research projects that could possibly be funded in the future through CIHR’s Project Grant Program, CIHR’s Healthy Cities Research Initiative, or opportunities from other funders.

This opportunity is composed of two parts: a five-day immersive workshop in a leading healthy city, and a post-workshop planning and knowledge mobilization activity/event.

To support the research planning process, teams composed of four city/community leaders and one researcher will be required to participate in a five-day workshop organized by 880 Cities. The theme for this workshop is active transportation and public space. The workshop will take place in Fall 2023 in Copenhagen, a world leader in this area. Teams will benefit from examining how this model city has designed, implemented and evaluated its active transportation and public space interventions and will draw on these learnings to develop action plans and intervention research ideas for their own Canadian cities. The required workshop will explore the connection between improved health outcomes and well-designed, maintained and programmed parks, streets, bike lanes, schoolyards, plazas and other public spaces, and will emphasize opportunities for using data and research to continually monitor and improve infrastructure to meet the needs of people of all ages, abilities and socioeconomic backgrounds. NOTE: this workshop will be conducted in English only. Following the workshop, teams will host a planning and knowledge mobilization activity/event in their own community.

Objectives

• Empower and support communities and researchers to collaboratively adapt, implement and evaluate healthy cities interventions with the ultimate goals of maximizing the success, long-term sustainability, health and equity-promoting potential of interventions.
• Build capacity among knowledge users and implementers to continually monitor and improve urban environments to meet the needs of people of all ages, abilities, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Research Areas

This funding opportunity will support projects relevant to the following research area(s):

• Active transportation and public space

Anticipated Timelines

These timelines are estimates and subject to change

Program Launch: October 15, 2022
Application deadline: December 14, 2022
Notice of Decision: March 1, 2023
Funding start date: March 1, 2023

Funds Available

The total amount available for this funding opportunity is $272,260, enough to fund four (4) grants. The maximum amount awarded for a single grant is $68,065 per annum for one (1) year to support four teams to partake in the Urban Policy Workshop. Of this $68,065, $43,065 is designated to cover registration and travel costs of participation in the five-day workshop, and up to $25,000 is intended for the planning and knowledge mobilization activities. The funding provided through this funding opportunity is non-renewable.

Application Eligibility

1. The Nominated Principal Applicant must be one of the following:
   • an independent researcher appointed at a Canadian postsecondary institution and/or its affiliated institutions (including hospitals, research institutes and other non-profit organizations with a mandate for health research and/or knowledge translation) and/or Canadian non-federal government departments or agencies (including regional health authorities when specific programs of those departments or agencies do not fund the activity that forms the subject matter of the grant) at the time of application.
     OR
   • an individual affiliated with an Indigenous non-governmental organization in Canada with a research and/or knowledge translation mandate.
     OR
   • an Indigenous non-governmental organization in Canada with a research and/or knowledge translation mandate.
2. The Nominated Principal Applicant must have their substantive role in Canada for the duration of the requested grant term.
3. An application must include a team of five (5) people (one of whom is listed as the Nominated Principal Applicant and the other four as co-applicants) with the following rules:
   • One population and public health researcher with an active research program in population and public health;
   • One senior elected official with decision-making authorities (i.e., Mayor or Deputy Mayor);
   • One Medical Officer of Health or designated senior health policy officer; and
   • Two of the following:
     • Chief city planning or senior planning staff;
     • Director- or manager-level staff working on built environment and health;
     • Director- or manager-level staff working on transportation planning or transportation engineering; or
     • Director- or manager-level staff working on recreation and public space.
     • Senior-level staff working at a community-based organization (e.g. community health centres, community-based primary healthcare practices, Indigenous representative organizations, etc.)

Contact information

For all inquiries, please contact:  

CIHR Contact Centre
Telephone: 613-954-1968 
Toll Free: 1-888-603-4178
Email: support-soutien@cihr-irsc.gc.ca