Deadline: 13-Jan-23
Do you have an idea that could help improve workplace health and safety? If yes, then apply for the WorkSpaceBC Grants Program.
Research Priorities
While the merits of all proposals will be considered, preference will be given to proposals that incorporate the following:
- Sex and gender considerations into research questions and study design. For integrating sex and gender considerations, refer to the information on the CIHR website.
- Address the needs and challenges of vulnerable populations including Indigenous workers; aging workers; young workers; transient or migrant workers, immigrant or new workers; small businesses.
- Prevent workplace injury, disease and death
- Preventing psychological injuries, bullying and harassment, and workplace violence
- Reducing occupational exposures to workplace hazards and risks
- Reducing incidence of serious injury, occupational disease and death
- Encouraging worker engagement, and a culture of safety leadership in workplaces
- Innovative approaches for the prevention of injury, disease and death
- Assessing the impact of climate change on workers, employers and workplaces including new and emerging hazards, and exposures
- Maximize recovery and post-injury earnings
- Effective tools, interventions and disability management models (focus on mental health disorders)
- Evidence based medical and rehabilitative interventions (focus on chronic pain, opioid management, mental health disorders, head and brain injuries)
- Evidence based occupational disease etiology, treatment and management
- Innovations in rehabilitation and service delivery
- Provide comprehensive insurance coverage for workplaces
- Deliver stakeholder-centric and inclusive services
- Adapting to the changing nature of the work (focus on gig economy workers, precarious employment, impact of new technologies
- Investigating inclusivity and diversity components within all aspects of the Workers Compensation system to ensure programs and services meet individual needs
- Addressing the needs of vulnerable workers (focus indigenous, and immigrant workers)
Funding Streams
- Applied Innovation
- Applied Innovation (formerly known as Innovation at Work) grants support research projects that solve workplace problems and include projects that develop or apply knowledge and insights to address workplace health and safety issues and/or engage in knowledge transfer and exchange (KTE) activities.
- An Applied Innovation project may seek to understand why and how things occur, evaluate interventions that seek to achieve positive change, or apply evidence directly to the workplace. For example, worker training evaluations, development of interventions to support return-to-work, or examining sex and gender.
- Proof of Principle and Prototyping
- Proof of Principle and Prototyping is a funding stream within Applied Innovation dedicated to research that may lead to novel tools, products, and technology that can be implemented in the workplace to improve health and safety for a broad audience of workers, employers, and workplaces. These grants enable researchers to advance novel inventions forward, towards solutions that would make real improvements for workers, employers, and WorkSafeBC.
- A Proof of Principle and Prototyping project must be in the early stages of development — it can include proof of principle or concept, analytic studies, laboratory studies, concept validation or validation of tools and technology in a laboratory or field setting. Research activities might include developing, refining, and implementing designs, verifying application, conducting field studies, preparing demonstrations, building prototypes, performing beta testing, and conducting efficacy or safety trials.
Funding Information
- Applied Innovation grants are up to $50,000, for a duration of 12 months.
- Proof of Principle and Prototyping grants are up to $100,000, for a duration of 24 months.
- Multiple grants will be awarded each year.
Eligibility Criteria
- Any Canadian resident can apply, including workers, employers, and academic researchers. All applicants must propose research topics that align with their research priorities.
- Please note the following additional eligibility requirements:
- Academic researchers who are affiliated with a college, university, or research institution may apply but require industry member collaborations or a non-academic partner on the research team.
- Full-time employees of WorkSafeBC are not eligible to apply as principal applicants, however, they may participate as co-applicants.
For more information, WorkSpaceBC.