An overview of our funding priority process

Calgary Health Foundation funds health projects that make breakthroughs possible for the thousands of people in the Calgary Zone and southern Alberta who rely on the health system every day.

Calgary Health Foundation (CHF) invites requests for funding that intend to demonstrate health care excellence by improving patient experiences, delivering higher-than-average outcomes, expanding system capacity and preventing injury and illness.

What are Calgary Health Foundation’s funding pillars?

The purpose of CHF’s funding priority process is to evaluate and select projects for funding that go beyond the standard of care and align with CHF’s mission of inspiring the community to engage and invest in building a healthier future. CHF funds breakthrough and innovative projects that:

  • Address, respond to, and advance CHF’s and AHS’s funding priorities;
  • Show the substantial impact on patient outcomes and/or the overall health index of the Calgary Zone and southern Alberta and on patient experiences;
  • Have a great potential to be financially sustained in the medium and long term by the Alberta health care system itself.

CHF funds project requests focused on at least one of its identified three main pillars:

  1. Care: project creates better outcomes for patients or has a direct impact on quality of life.
  2. Wellness: project supports reduction in acute care need and/or admissions, prevention, care in the community and/or healthy living.
  3. Research: project directly addresses a problem impacting a quantifiable group of individuals and seeks to inform the improvement of current care delivery; short-term benefits are clear, and outcomes are directly applicable to clinical care.

What are Calgary Health Foundation’s funding criteria?

In addition to the main pillars, CHF considers and funds breakthrough projects that:

  • Address, respond to and advance CHF’s and AHS’s funding priorities
  • Impact a considerable number of the targeted patient group(s) in the Calgary Zone and southern Alberta with a clear value proposition to those groups
  • Impact the health and quality of life of the targeted patient group(s)
  • Have a great potential to be financially sustained in the medium and long term by the health care system itself
  • Implement new and innovative technology with a demonstrated impact on improving patient care (i.e. state-of-the-art equipment)
  • Show substantial impact on patient outcomes and/or the overall health index of the Calgary Zone and southern Alberta and on patient experiences
  • Align with CHF’s mission of inspiring the community to engage and invest in building a healthier future
  • Ensure that adequate due diligence has been applied during the co-design process in developing the funding recommendation

Who is eligible to apply for funding?

CHF invites applicants to submit their requests from all four Calgary adult acute care hospitals (Foothills Medical Centre, Rockyview General Hospital, Peter Lougheed Centre, South Health Campus), Carewest and the numerous community health centres and programs. It is highly recommended that applicants submit bundled requests per site and/ or health portfolio.

What is eligible for funding?

Examples:

  • Initiatives to advance the top strategic priorities of the Calgary Zone Healthcare Plan or government strategy
  • Cutting-edge equipment and technology to advance care, access, improve health outcomes and save lives
  • Renovations and initiatives to improve patient and family experiences, introduce new programming and advance care to new standards
  • Programs that remove barriers to access to care
  • Programs that decrease hospital readmittance or long-term care health complexities
  • Pilot programs
  • Education (i.e. conference attendance)

What is NOT eligible for funding?

Examples:

  • Broken equipment replacements
  • Standard of care programs and equipment
  • Regular building maintenance or renovations that are not linked to a larger strategy to improve health outcomes
  • Stand-alone research projects that are not part of a strategic research program
  • Health care providers or administrative salaries
  • Conference or event sponsorship

How can I apply for funding?

Please contact us to talk about your initiative to also ensure due diligence when co-developing your project idea. Our team will provide guidance and advice on the next steps.

If you are invited to submit an application, our team will give you access to the password-protected area of this web page to download the required template.

What are the submission deadlines?

Funding requests will be accepted on an ongoing basis. Our team will provide guidance and advice on the submission and assessment timeline.

The 2024 dates will be announced soon.

What is the assessment process for the submitted funding requests?

  • The requested amount and the availability of funds will define CHF’s internal process.
  • Our team will provide guidance and advice on the submission and assessment timeline. Please contact us by email.

What will happen after I submit a funding request?

  • A confirmation email will be sent for all funding requests received within a few days of submission
  • CHF will perform a preliminary administrative and relevance review to ensure completeness and alignment
  • CHF will provide feedback to the applicant to either request additional information and/ or complete the application’s sign-off
  • Complete and aligned requests will then be reviewed by CHF’s responsible entity(ies) depending on the request’s categorization (i.e. project value, thematic priority)
  • The applicants will be informed about the funding decision’s timeline

What are the main responsibilities of successful applicants?

Successful applicants will be required to:

  • Sign a Funding Agreement (as needed depending on the type of project and amount threshold)
  • Prominently acknowledge the support received from Calgary Health Foundation in all communications related to the project, including published papers, reports, promotional activities, public presentations and electronic materials and/or orally at outreach opportunities, including seminars, workshops and conferences
  • For more information about CHF’s communication materials and brand acknowledgment guidelines, please visit CHF’s brand website
  • For support with media relations, social media, strategic communications, writing, editing, and event planning, you are advised to contact our communication team
  • Submit project impact progress report(s) using the template provided by CHF
  • Share any additional supporting documentation (i.e. statement of expenditure, knowledge transfer products etc.)

 

For all inquiries, or if you have an initiative and you want to learn more about the funding process, please contact us at: funding@calgaryhealthfoundation.ca.

 

If you are invited to submit an application or if you are a grantee, please access the required documentation for your application and/ or approved grant.

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