Closed
Source verified August 1, 2026
Research Challenge
Support for new VCH clinical practice research
Latest source updateLast Update: August 1, 2026Latest change: The Research Challenge now shows expanded competition guidance, application tasks, and resource listings, including updated portal instructions and deadlines on supporting pages.View change
Latest source update
Last Update: August 1, 2026
Latest change: The Research Challenge now shows expanded competition guidance, application tasks, and resource listings, including updated portal instructions and deadlines on supporting pages.
Research Challenge guidelines and application resources updated
The Research Challenge supporting materials now show a much more detailed application workflow, including required tasks, submission steps in Survey Monkey Apply, and a new Award Application Forms and Resources section with revised forms and templates. The competition guidance also now spells out eligibility for the PI and Co-PI, along with explicit deadlines and portal instructions on the UBC Faculty of Medicine application page. The new supporting-page content adds stronger detail on who the program is for and how applicants are expected to apply, while keeping the funding focus on clinical, applied, and patient-oriented research within VCH and related partner settings. It also surfaces the application window on the UBC page as opening Sep 19, 2025 and closing Jul 17, 2026.
Funding available
$ 8,000 - $ 11,000
Deadline
Closed
Location
British Columbia, Canada
Who can apply
VCH clinicians and/or health care professionals who are regular part-time or full-time (>0.5 FTE) and in a permanent position for at least one year.
See full eligibility
Overview
The Research Challenge supports Vancouver Coastal Health health care professionals, staff and clinicians who are new to research to develop clinical practice projects that improve patient care across Vancouver Coastal Health, with up to $10,000 for operating expenses. Eligible work includes applied health, community-based and patient-oriented research, with patient-family partner honorariums also supported.
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At a glance
Funding available
Financing goals
- Develop strategic partnerships
- Increase social or community impact
- Conduct research and development activities
Eligible Funding
- Maximum amount : 11,000 $
- Minimum amount : 8,000 $
Eligible candidates
Eligible Industries
- All industries
Location
- British Columbia
Legal structures
- All legal structures
Annual revenue
- All revenue ranges
Organisation size
- All organization sizes
Audience
- All groups
Next Steps
1
Determine your project
2
Validate your eligibility
Activities funded
- Applied health research
- Community-based research
- Patient-oriented research
- Clinical practice projects that improve patient care within VCH
Documents Needed
- Biographical Sketch
- Patient Engagement Module, if applicable
Official resources
Application form
Eligibility
Who is eligible?
- VCH clinicians and/or health care professionals who are regular part-time or full-time (>0.5 FTE) and in a permanent position for at least one year.
- Teams that include at least one point-of-care staff member.
- Teams that include an experienced researcher who agrees to be the Co-Principal Investigator.
Who is not eligible
- Medical residents, clinical/academic research fellows, and academic researchers.
- Casual, contract, or consulting staff.
- Applicants who have held or currently hold external peer-reviewed research funding as the PI or Co-PI.
- Applicants who hold assistant professor, associate professor, professor, clinical associate professor, or clinical professor appointments.
- Applicants who are the PI on a currently funded Research Challenge project or who have an outstanding final report from past VCHRI internal award competitions.
Eligible expenses
- Operating expenses
- Patient-family partner honorariums
Ineligible Costs and Activities
- Projects that have already started.
- Adding the project as an amendment to another existing REB approval.
- Multi-organizational projects, where VCH is one site on the project.
Eligible geographic areas
- Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH)
Selection criteria
- Proposals are reviewed by a multidisciplinary selection committee, including patients.
- Applications are assessed on the strength of the PI/Co-PI’s research and healthcare practice experience, team roles and collaborations, letters of support if applicable, and the team’s capacity to do the proposed work.
- Applications are also assessed on the rigour, importance, applicability, and feasibility of the research proposal, including consideration of equity, diversity and inclusion and Indigenous Peoples, communities, lands or partnerships.
How to apply
- Register for a Survey Monkey Apply account or use a CWL to login.
- Complete the registration form.
- Submit the completed application through the online submission link by the specified deadline.
Processing and Agreement
- Proposals will be reviewed by a multidisciplinary selection committee, including patients.
- Notification of results will be available in late spring 2026.
- Funding will be made available as of September 1, 2026.
- After September 1, 2026, funds will be released to the successful applicants as soon as the required ethics and VCH approvals have been obtained.
- It is strongly encouraged applicants request ethics approval as soon as they receive notice of funding, since projects must be initiated before December 31, 2026.
Additional information
- Funding partners include VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation, Richmond Hospital Foundation, Lions Gate Hospital Foundation, and Organ Donation and Transplant Research Foundation of British Columbia.
Contacts
Frequently Asked Questions about the Research Challenge Program
What is the Research Challenge?
The Research Challenge supports Vancouver Coastal Health health care professionals, staff and clinicians who are new to research to develop clinical practice projects that improve patient care across Vancouver Coastal Health, with up to $10,000 for operating expenses. Eligible work includes applied health, community-based and patient-oriented research, with patient-family partner honorariums also supported.
How much funding can be received?
Research Challenge Funds up to $11,000 of admissible expenses.
Who is eligible for the Research Challenge program?
To be eligible for the Research Challenge program, you must:
Each team must include at least one point-of-care staff member.
The PI must be a regular part-time or full-time (>0.5 FTE) VCH clinician and/or health care professional in a permanent position for at least one year, and the team must have an experienced researcher as Co-Principal Investigator.
The project must be a new practice-based or patient-oriented research project directly applicable to care or service at VCH.
What expenses are eligible under Research Challenge?
Applied health research
Community-based research
Patient-oriented research
Clinical practice projects that improve patient care within VCH
Who can I contact for more information about the Research Challenge?
You can contact Organ Donation and Transplant Research Foundation of BC (ODTRF) by email at education.award@vch.ca.
Where is the Research Challenge available?
The Research Challenge program is available the province of British Columbia.
Is the Research Challenge a grant, loan, or tax credit?
Research Challenge is a Grant and Funding