We connect people with evidence.
Building Strength, Inspiring Hope is a collaborative five-year action plan that focuses on suicide prevention for all youth, with targeted actions for youth who are at the greatest risk of suicide. As the Alberta Youth Suicide Prevention Plan (2019-2024) outlines: it was designed to build strength and inspire hope by outlining evidence-informed actions that will build community capacity, provide supports and services focused on recovery and growth, and ultimately reduced youth suicide in the province.
The Plan was developed with extensive stakeholder feedback and engagement, including Elders, members of First Nations communities and Métis settlements, knowledge keepers, youth and families, individuals with lived experience, subject matter experts in the field of suicide prevention, along with service delivery organizations, community programs, and Provincial and Federal government partners.
PolicyWise for Children & Families (PolicyWise) is requesting applications to increase research partnerships to build a stronger evidence base that will inform youth suicide prevention practices and improve outcomes. Applicants must be Alberta-based researchers engaged in community-based research, specific to and aligned with the Building Strength, Inspiring Hope Action Plan.
Applications may focus on any stage of the research process, from development of the research team to conducting a community-based research project. Grants of up to $40,000 are available for a term of 12 months.
In order to be eligible for funding, applications must:
Applications focused on priority populations will be given preference. Youth who experience more predisposing or contributing risk factors such as marginalization, inequality, racism, harassment, discrimination or isolation are at higher risk of engaging in suicide behaviour and need more protective factors to balance the scales. Indigenous youth, immigrants, newcomers and refugees, youth involved in child intervention, and LGBTQ2S+ youth may experience more of these types of negative experiences that can have a long-lasting impact on mental health and well-being (Government of Canada, n.d.).
To apply, please submit this Application Form and all required appendices by July 31, 2019, at 12:00pm MST.
Your application form and all appendices can be submitted by email to grants@policywise.com
In addition to the application form, include a full current CV of the academic co-PI, a full resume or CV for the community partner co-PI, a (maximum) 4-page condensed CV for all other academic team members, and a (maximum) 4-page resume for all other non-academic team members. As appropriate, these documents should include information on current position, qualifications, experience relevant to the proposed project, funding received in the past 5 years, and publications relevant to the proposed project in the past 5 years.
Please review Terms & Conditions of the Youth Suicide and Prevention Grant.
The following review process will be used to evaluate applications:
Applications will undergo two simultaneous review processes for 1) relevance and fit with the call, and 2) scientific merit. The relevance portion of the application will be reviewed by a committee of community members, youth, youth-serving agencies, and government stakeholders. The relevance committee will assign a score to each application. Applications with a relevance score at or below 75% will not be eligible for funding. A relevance score over 75% does not guarantee funding.
Applications will also undergo a standard peer review process by 3 reviewers for scientific merit and impact. Scores from all 3 reviewers will be averaged and combined with the relevance score to calculate an overall score for each application.
The top-ranked applications will be recommended for funding. Final funding decisions will consider both the relevance score and the scientific score, and will focus on funding applications with priority populations.
Applications will be scored in the following categories:
PolicyWise will manage all communications, questions, and processes related to this funding call, including communicating results to applicants, distributing awarded grant funds, and receiving grant reports.