Notice of Upcoming Funding Opportunity: 2025-26 Partnering for Impact – Catalyst Grant

Introduction

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is pleased to announce the upcoming launch of the 2025-26 Partnering for Impact - Catalyst Grant Funding Opportunity. This funding opportunity is led by CIHR’s Knowledge Mobilization Strategies Unit, in partnership with Canada's Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR), the Centre for Research on Pandemic Preparedness and Health Emergencies, the Institute of Health Services and Policy Research (IHSPR), the Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction (INMHA), the Institute of Population and Public Health (IPPH) and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).

Overview

CIHR’s mandate prioritizes the mobilization of knowledge into improved health, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened Canadian health care system. Since its inception, CIHR has helped shape the field of knowledge mobilization and bridge the knowledge-to-action gap. In addition, CIHR’s Strategic Plan includes a commitment to further optimize the mobilization of agency-funded research and its impacts. Following the release of CIHR’s Strategic Plan, the agency undertook extensive engagements to inform how it could optimize and modernize its approach to knowledge mobilization. During these engagements, the health research community expressed a prioritized need for dedicated funding to support the creation and strengthening of partnerships between researchers, knowledge users and knowledge holders. The 2025-26 Partnering for Impact – Catalyst Grant funding opportunity is a first ‘early action’ in response to this externally-identified knowledge mobilization priority, in recognition of the importance of time, trust, sustained and meaningful engagement, and the involvement of diverse perspectives in sparking research co-production. This funding opportunity aligns with CIHR’s Research Excellence Framework and embodies an inclusive approach to research excellence by emphasizing the importance of knowledge mobilization; equity, diversity and inclusion; Indigenous Rights; and patient-oriented research.

The objectives of this funding opportunity are to:

1. Foster the creation and/or strengthening of partnerships that reinforce trust and mutual understanding between researchers, communities, community organizations, people with lived and/or living experience, knowledge holders, policy- and decision-makers and health providers.
2. Support the time and enablers required for meaningful co-production activities that are driven by the needs of communities and/or organizations, and that will advance any or all of the Quintuple Aim goals^{Footnote *}.
3. Evaluate co-production activities as part of a learning approach that contributes to the field of knowledge mobilization.

Examples of eligible co-produced activities that could be supported through this funding opportunity include:

1. Conducting iterative engagements with a diversity of partners, sectors and/or rights holders to co-produce a funding proposal for future research or knowledge mobilization
2. Undertaking rigorous research prioritization and/or consensus building processes (e.g., James Lind Alliance)
3. Scoping, synthesizing or collecting data to identify areas needing more research and/or knowledge mobilization
4. Evaluating implementation, spread and scale of knowledge
5. Co-designing rapid learning and improvement projects within health system and public health system organizations to advance learning health system capacity
6. Fostering partnerships with industry and exploring commercialization potential
7. Co-producing activities with historically excluded groups including, but not limited to, women, Black and racialized communities, persons with disabilities, First Nations, Inuit and Métis, and members of 2SLGBTQI+ communities. First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples are also distinguished as rights-holders.
8. Planning and executing pilot projects or feasibility studies to generate proof of concept and/or preliminary data

These co-produced activities must address an issue of significance/importance to warrant partnership attention, must be prioritized by a knowledge user or knowledge holder (with community and/or organization buy-in), and must result in a useful and useable product or outcome.

Partner Linkage Tool

CIHR is providing a Partner Linkage Tool that is intended to facilitate connections between researchers, communities, people with lived and/or living experience, knowledge holders, policy- and decision-makers, health providers, community organizations and health organizations, should there be interest. This is not a mandatory tool. Information is provided on a volunteer basis and does not confer any advantages in the evaluation and funding of applications. The table will be updated weekly until the application deadline. If you would like to use this tool, please complete a short survey. The information you provide will appear on CIHR’s website. Please note that potential applicants are not required to use the linkage tool or contact those who have submitted their information.

Funds Available

The total amount available for this funding opportunity is anticipated to be $4,750,000, enough to fund approximately 31-38 grants. Up to $125,000 is available per grant for up to one year, and applicants may request an additional $25,000 (with justification) to ensure the meaningful and equitable involvement of communities or populations that require additional resources to reach (e.g., rural, remote, northern, youth).

Of this $4,750,000:

• $1,000,000 is available to fund applications relevant to the overall objectives of the funding opportunity (General Pool)
• $1,250,000 is available to fund applications relevant to Canada’s Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) – specifically projects focused on building relationships among or convening members of communities that experience health inequities (people with disabilities; Black and racialized communities; First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, 2SLGBTQI+ communities, etc. and intersections thereof).
• $150,000 is available to fund applications relevant to the Centre for Research on Pandemic Preparedness and Health Emergencies.
• $500,000 is available to fund applications relevant to the mandate of the Institute of Health Services and Policy Research (IHSPR), in the area of primary care.
• $250,000 is available to fund applications relevant to the mandate of the Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction (INMHA).
• $600,000 is available to fund applications relevant to the mandate of the Institute of Population and Public Health (IPPH), in the areas of global health, climate justice, structural determinants of health (Moving Upstream), and public health systems.
• $1,000,000 is available to fund applications relevant to Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), in the area of impacts of school food programming.

Anticipated Timelines

Launch: Summer 2025
Application Deadline: Fall 2025
Funding Start Date: Spring 2026

The official CIHR funding opportunity will be posted on ResearchNet in the coming weeks.

For a full list of CIHR funding opportunities, please visit ResearchNet.

Contact Information

For general inquiries please contact:

CIHR Contact Centre
Telephone: 613-954-1968
Email: support-soutien@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

Date modified:

2025-05-26