Health Equity Research Grants
The purpose of this funding program is to support research projects that seek to advance cancer-related health equity. Projects must be collaborative, co-created by people both affected by cancer and by structural marginalization, and designed to address the systemic, structural and institutional factors that sustain health disparities in Canada. Applications should take a social determinants of health perspective in identifying and defining both the health equity need and the community of focus, taking care to consider the intersectionalities of such communities.
Visit the Canadian Cancer Society website for more information on the Health Equity Research Grants.
This program is currently closed. Updates will be posted as soon as the next round is announced.
Value and Duration
Letter of Intent (LOI): Up to $8k per team will be awarded to successful LOI applicants for development of the full application.
Full application: $450k per grant over three years (max. $150k per year). Appropriately justified equipment costs up to $10,000 may be included in the application budget.
Eligibility
Research teams must include relevant partners as integral members from the outset:
- Principal Investigator (PI) and team — co-PI(s), co-applicant(s), people affected by cancer, implementers and decision-makers, additional authors and collaborators — whose clear focus is on health equity and who collectively bring the appropriate level of experience and expertise to achieve the research objectives.
- People affected by cancer are people both impacted by structural marginalization and at risk of cancer, as well as patients, survivors and/or caregivers.
- Implementers and decision-makers include professionals (healthcare, community-based, administrators, policymakers) who may be involved in implementing the proposed approaches to enhance health equity.
Deadlines
Dates are anticipated and therefore subject to change.
| Deadline | Date |
|---|---|
| External Letter of Intent | March 2026 |
| Letter of Intent results | April 2026 |
| Internal cuResearch Approval Form | One week prior to sponsor submission |
| Submission of application to the Canadian Cancer Society | September 2026 |
| Application results | December 2026 |
Special Considerations
- Applicants are encouraged to involve Canadian Cancer Society mission leaders to explore mutually beneficial opportunities to leverage the Society’s priority areas.
- Applications for authentic team building initiatives (up to one year of funding) will be considered with a subsequent application (in a future competition) for the research itself.
How to Apply
- Submit an internal Carleton Approval Form through our central awards management database cuResearch.
- Submit an external application via the Canadian Cancer Society portal in accordance with the dates above. Review the LOI guide and full application guide for navigating the portal.
Contact Us
Katie Harriman: katie.harriman@carleton.ca