Health-related research grants are available for projects that are a collaboration between a community service organization and an institution with access to an ethics board.

Status: Open on September 14, 2026

Key dates:

Sept 14, 2026: At 9 am PT, applications open for Convene and stage 1 Investigate grants via the online grant management system (GMS). 

Sept 10, 2026 11 am to 12pm and Sept 23, 2026 2 to 3 pm: Online information sessions are hosted by PAR grant managers via Zoom. 

Oct 13, 2026: At 5 pm PT, online applications close for Convene and stage 1 Investigate grants  

October to mid-December 2026: Vancouver Foundation staff and Community Advisors review all Convene and stage 1 Investigate grant applications. 

Mid December: Decisions are sent via email for Convene grants final decisions and invitations for stage 2 Investigate grants. 

Dec 15, 2026: At 9 am PT, applications open for stage 2 Investigate grants. 

Jan 18, 2027: At 5 pm PT, applications close for stage 2 Investigate grants. 

January to late February 2027: Vancouver Foundation staff and Community Advisors review all stage 2 Investigate grant applications. 

Late February 2027: Final funding decisions are sent via email to stage 2 Investigate grant applicants.

Overview

This funding supports health-related research projects that use a participatory action research (PAR) method. PAR projects are co‑designed and co‑led by community members and researchers to understand the root causes of pressing issues that negatively affect people's physical or mental health, or clearly defined community‑level health outcomes. 

For this program, PAR projects must focus on a specific health issue or outcome and clearly describe how it affects people's health, explaining the direct link between the issue and its impact on health and well-being.  

Projects may include social determinants of health only if their direct impact on a health outcome is central to the research. The link to health must be clear, well explained, and supported by a logical causal pathway. 

Projects that examine social determinants without clearly connecting them to a specific health outcome are not eligible.

What is Participatory Action Research?  

Participatory Action Research (PAR) is a collaborative approach in which community members and researchers work as equal partners to understand and address a defined health issue. PAR is grounded in the principle that research must be done with people, not on them or for them.  

While PAR can take different forms, strong PAR projects share several core features: 

  • Community members and researchers are active co‑participants in all phases of the research 
  • The team learns from one another, combining lived experience and research expertise 
  • The research process includes ongoing reflection and shared decision‑making 
  • The work is action‑oriented, aiming to influence systems and contribute to meaningful change 

In PAR, "action" is integral to the research itself. Teams gather evidence, reflect on what they are learning, and adjust their approach as they go. Findings are used not only to describe the health issue, but to help transform it. PAR draws on the strengths of both community members and researchers: community members contribute lived experience and contextual insight, while researchers bring methodological and ethical expertise. Together, they co‑design and co‑lead research that supports meaningful action.

Types of grants

We offer two grant streams to reflect the various stages of participatory action research: Convene and Investigate.  

Convene grants are short‑term grants (up to $25,000 for up to one year) that help teams come together to unpack a clearly defined health issue or health outcome. These grants support early work to understand what is driving the issue, including the system behaviors that have created it or are keeping it in place. The goal of a Convene grant is for the research team to develop research questions and a viable research project plan. 

Investigate grants are multi-year grants (up to $100,000 per year over three years, for a total of up to $300,000) that help teams answer a research question, analyze their findings, and share knowledge in a way that supports the community and others to take action on a health issue.   

To find out more about which grant fits your work, download the application guide. 

Eligibility 

To apply for a PAR grant, your project must be co‑led by community members and researchers and meet the following requirements: 

  • The application must be submitted as a partnership between: 
    • a community organization, and 
    • an institution with access to a research ethics board, such as a university, health authority, or other research‑based organization. 
  • Either partner may serve as the applicant organization, as long as it is a qualified donee. The other partner would be listed as the partner organization on the application.  
  • Grant payments will be issued to the applicant organization, which becomes the financial recipient and primary administrative contact. 
  • Partnerships must be clearly established prior to applying. 
  • Each application must have two leads on the research project, one from each organization. They are referred to as co-principal investigators. An individual may serve as a co-principal investigator on only one application to help ensure equitable access to limited funding. 

How to apply

Step 1: Download and read the PAR application guide, PAR FAQs, and complete the eligibility quiz  to determine your research project’s eligibility. 

Step 2: Decide which PAR grant stream suits your research project. 

Step 3: Attend an info session or connect with the PAR grant managers.  

Step 4: Sign in to or create a new user profile via our online grant management system (GMS)  to access Convene and stage 1 Investigate applications. 

  • For new users: If you’ve never applied for a grant using this system, please create a profile by selecting “Register Here” at the top left of your screen. You can also watch our video on how to  create an account on GMS  to walk you through this process. 
  • Returning users: If you’ve applied for a Vancouver Foundation grant before, you can log in with your username and password. 
  • If you can’t remember your login credentials, select “Forgot Password” and follow the instructions when prompted. Please check your spam/junk email folder in case the email containing the reset information was sent there. 

Step 5: In the portal, go to the “Apply” section (top right) and select 2026 Participatory Action Research Grants for the stream you wish to apply for (Convene or Investigate). 

Step 6: Submit your Convene or Investigate stage 1 application by 5 pm PT on October 13, 2026. You will receive a confirmation email from [email protected] once submitted. 

Step 7: Final Convene decisions and Investigate stage 1 decisions (invite to stage 2 / declines) will be emailed to applicants in mid-December 2026. 

Investigate Grants (stage 2) 

If you are invited to submit a stage 2 Investigate application: 

Step 8: Log into the online grant management system to complete and submit the full application between December 15, 2026 and January 18, 2027. 

Investigate stage 2 award/decline decisions will be emailed to applicants by late February 2027. 

Information sessions  

Register to attend one of our information sessions to learn more about eligibility and connect with the granting team. You will need a Zoom account to register. 

Resources

Contact

If you have questions about the Participatory Action Research (PAR) grants, please email us at [email protected]