Deadline: 21-Jul-21
The Government of Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) are launching the Intersectoral Action Fund (“the Fund”) to build capacity in communities to advance ISA on social determinants of health, particularly as they move towards the difficult work of recovering from the pandemic.
Projects may propose new intersectoral initiatives to address gaps or respond to challenges exposed by COVID-19, or they may propose activities to build on or advance existing intersectoral initiatives, to expand their reach or impact.
Objective
- The objective of the Fund is to support action on social determinants of health by building capacity in communities to advance intersectoral action, in ways that improve population health and reduce health inequities.
- Applicants must demonstrate how their proposal aligns with this objective in their application.
Principles
The solicitation is guided by the following principles:
- Health equity: Projects integrate health equity principles that consider and address unfair and avoidable differences in social determinants of health, health outcomes, and the impact of interventions for different or specific populations groups.
- Intersectoral approach: Projects engage with partners and stakeholders from diverse sectors to take action on crosscutting issues, often, but not necessarily in collaboration with the health sector. Together partners explore barriers and facilitators to working together, adopt openness and humility in learning from each other’s experiences, and seek win-win scenarios and mutual benefits in collaborative problem solving.
- Lived experience: Projects ensure that diverse community members, including people with lived experience, are authentically and meaningfully engaged in the project at the conception, design, governance, and implementation stages. Target populations are meaningfully engaged and resourced to participate in initiatives aimed at improving social determinants of health.
- Social determinants of health: Projects focus action on one or more social determinants of health, according to local context and needs. Examples of social determinants of health that may be advanced through intersectoral action include: housing, precarious work, food security, income security, racism and discrimination, education, early childhood development, and others.
Funding Information
- Proposed projects must be within specified funding limits, between $25,000 and $250,000.
- Funds will be issued through grants no earlier than fall 2021. It’s expected that applicants will complete the proposed project within 12 months. A final report will be due within 1 month of the project’s end.
Eligible Activities
Projects must align with one of the following three streams of capacity building for ISA. The stream selected should reflect the primary focus of the proposed project activities. The examples listed within each stream illustrate possible activities, but proposals are not limited to these areas of work.
- Stream 1: Identify priority areas for collective action on social determinants of health and wellbeing – Examples: community needs assessment; analyses of how programs, policies, or other issues impact diverse groups, assessments to improve how sectors work together to improve health; translating evidence into policy effectively; develop a community vision, agenda, or action plan.
- Stream 2: Foster transformative partnerships to facilitate action on social determinants of health and wellbeing – Examples: hire dedicate staff, initiate peer-to-peer coaching or mentorship for undertaking intersectoral work; support partnerships with new sectors; involve people with lived experience in decision-making processes; establish a network of intersectoral community partners.
- Stream 3: Build capacity to take action on social determinants of health and wellbeing – Examples: cross-sectoral training to advance common goals among partners; build internal capacity for data analysis and interpretation, or other essential areas; communicating health information to diverse audiences and sectors, social marketing campaigns that support health equity; develop tools to support leaders to undertake intersectoral work.
Eligibility Criteria
- Only applicants in the following categories may be considered for funding:
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- Canadian not-for-profit voluntary organizations and corporations
- organizations and institutions supported by provincial and territorial governments (regional health authorities, community health centres, schools, post-secondary institutions, etc.)
- Indigenous organizations, including Indigenous government organizations
- regional and municipal governments and agencies
- for-profit organizations (must apply in partnership with a not-for-profit organization)
- Small organizations are welcome to apply.
- For-profit organizations must apply in partnership with a non-profit organization, to ensure the project meets the needs of the community of interest, and is delivered with input from that community and the organizations who serve it. Applicants from for-profit organizations will be asked to demonstrate meaningful and appropriate community partnerships in their request for funding and will be required to submit Letters of Support from community partners with their application.
For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3uOs3F1