• 3 awards available (1 First Nations‑led, 1 Métis‑led, 1 Inuit‑led)
• ~$100,000 per award
• First submission (mandatory): July 7, 2026
• Final submission: August 18, 2026

The specific objective of this funding opportunity is to:

• Establish a national evidence platform focused on the review of evidence on youth mental health interventions, programs and practices, relevant to the Canadian context, including but not limited to YMHF-funded and e-MH interventions. The platform must incorporate all the key design elements described above (which includes a distinct Indigenous youth dimension), as well as the development of required collaborations with broader system partners to support the uptake and application of evidence-based youth mental health interventions.

Young people across Canada are struggling with their mental health with reported increases in anxiety, depression and overall mental or psychological distress. In 2024, the Government of Canada established the Youth Mental Health Fund (YMHF) to create lasting and meaningful improvements in the mental health of young people and their families through increased access to evidence-based mental health services. There is an urgent need to bridge the gap between research and practice and to develop prevention and intervention strategies that effectively respond to local needs, with a focus on First Nations, Inuit and Métis (Indigenous) Peoples and equity-denied populations. Although a number of Evidence Based Practices (EBPs) are shown to improve access, quality of services and outcomes in youth mental health, it is unclear to what extent and with what fidelity these are implemented in Canada, how well they adapt to continuously evolving psychosocial contexts and new technologies, including e-Mental Health and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled tools, as well as how well they respond to the growing need for integrated care, prevention and culturally relevant approaches.

The current funding opportunity aims to support high-quality evaluation and/or implementation science research on youth mental health interventions, as they are being scaled through the YMHF, and through other initiatives, across the research-to-scale continuum in Canada. For evaluation research, the focus is on generating robust evidence on feasibility, efficacy, or effectiveness of evidence-informed interventions adapted for new contexts or with under-studied populations using rigorous methodological designs. For implementation science research, the focus is on interventions with established efficacy or effectiveness and are ready to be sustained, optimized or scaled out/up. This research will examine strategies to improve or maintain outcomes, while optimizing adoption, integration, scale-out/up, sustainability and equity across real-world environments.

The objective of Idea to Innovation (I2I) grants is to accelerate the pre-competitive development of promising technology originating from the university and college sector, and to promote its transfer to a new or established Canadian company. I2I grants provide funding to college and university faculty members to support research and development projects with recognized technology transfer potential. This is achieved through defined phases by providing crucial assistance in the early stages of technology validation and market connection.

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) invites applications for initiatives that promote the natural sciences and engineering (NSE) to Canada’s young people, particularly to groups that are underrepresented in NSE careers.

PromoScience encourages a wide variety of organizations to apply for funding to help young Canadians in elementary school and high school (including the equivalent first year of college in Quebec) develop skills and an interest in science and engineering, as well as to support their teachers or educators in delivering the programming. Activities that will encourage Indigenous undergraduate students to pursue graduate studies in the NSE are also supported through this funding opportunity.

Applications must be submitted to NSERC by September 15, 2026, before 8:00 p.m. (ET).

The maximum grant amount is $200,000 per year for 3 years. Only one application may be submitted per organization or department within a post-secondary institution in a given competition year.

For more information, visit NSERC’s website or join us for a Microsoft Teams information session:

2026 PromoScience information session

English webinar – July 23, 2026, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. (ET)

The specific objectives of this funding opportunity are to:

• Evaluate the effectiveness, sustainability, and contextual factors influencing performance of established community-based programs and/or social innovations that support aging in the community.
• Identify evidence informed opportunities for spread and scale, as well as any necessary adaptations, as appropriate.
• Generate actionable evidence to inform policy, strengthen community health systems, and improve the health span and overall well-being of older persons living in the community.
• Foster partnerships between academic institutions and community-based organizations to enhance the relevance, objectivity, and uptake of evaluation findings.

The CSPC Trailblazer Awards recognize individuals who have positively and significantly impacted Science, Technology, and Innovation and Policy in Canada through leadership, vision, courage, and commitment in a novel and creative way. These individuals have been instrumental in boldly spearheading change via one or more transformative initiatives, while blazing a trail and inspiring others to follow in their footsteps. 

If you would like to be nominated for one of these awards, please contact the Office of Research (ahacquo1@lakeheadu.ca).