Community-Based Research Grants

To be eligible, the projects must:

• Be co-led by a regular full-time University of Ottawa professor, which includes APUO professors, affiliated institute scientists and clinician scientists with an academic appointment at uOttawa at the rank of assistant, associate or full professor, for the purpose of this grant, “the nominated principal applicant (NPA)”.
• Be co-led by a community-based applicant who is affiliated to a community-based organization working with equity-deserving or marginalized groups, for the purpose of this grant, “the co-principal community applicant (CPCA).”
• Involve community-based partners working with Indigenous, equity-deserving or marginalized groups.

AND meet the following stream-specific requirements:

• For Stream 1 (planning grant): Recipients commit to developing a community-based research grant proposal and submitting it to another funding opportunity within 18 months of receipt of funds.

OR

• For Stream 2 (research support): Have received REB approval and other sources of funding for their current research project.

Applications for these grants must include the following (please also refer to the Evaluation Criteria): 

1. Completed application form (PDF, 174 KB)
2. Proposal (max. 2.5 pages for applications submitted in English and 3 pages for applications submitted in French)

For Stream 1 (planning grant) the proposal should include:

• Brief description of the proposed CBR activities that will be supported by this planning grant, including:
  • Objectives and purpose
  • The research team:
    • The community-based partner(s) and the equity-deserving or marginalized groups they work with
    • The strategies to address power imbalances between academic and community partners
  • Equity, diversity and inclusion, accessibility, and intersectionality considerations, including:
    • Relevance and appropriateness of the equity-deserving or marginalized groups
    • Meaningful engagement and fair compensation of participants with lived experience
  • Anticipated outcomes and outputs (related to the objectives), including indicators of success. For example:
    • The governance structure (including roles and overall contributions of the co-applicants, trainees, collaborators, and other team members)
    • The plan to develop a CBR grant proposal to be submitted to another funding opportunity
    • Timeline

For Stream 2 (research support grant) the proposal should briefly describe:

• The current research project, including its objectives
• The research team, including:
  • The community-based partner(s) and the equity-deserving or marginalized groups they work with
  • The governance structure
  • The roles and overall contributions of the applicants, trainees, collaborators, and other team members
• The CBR activities that will be supported by this research support grant, including:
  • Equity, diversity and inclusion, accessibility, and intersectionality considerations, like the meaningful engagement and fair compensation of participants with lived experience
  • Anticipated outcomes and outputs, including indicators of success (qualitative or quantitative)
  • Timeline

3. Budget and budget justification, including other sources of funding, if applicable (max. 1 page for applications submitted in English and 1.5 pages for applications submitted in French). See next section for details.
4. The Request for Funds form (RE form) completed and signed by all parties. This form confirms the approval of the application by the faculty.
5. Two letters of support:

• One letter from the dean, vice-dean or associate dean of research confirming:
  • The Faculty’s support for the proposed project
  • The Faculty’s contributions to the amount being requested (i.e., cash, in-kind, teaching release), if applicable
• One letter from the community-based organization (signed by the organization’s president of the board, executive director, or any authority figure, other than the CPCA), confirming their participation in proposed CBR activities that will be supported by the grant, including:
  • The organization’s anticipated role
  • The CPCA’s anticipated role
  • The organization’s or the CPCA’s role in drafting this application
  • Other in-kind contributions, if applicable

General presentation of the application

Proposals (including supporting documents and attachments) must comply with the formatting and presentation standards generally accepted by funding councils:

• Single-spaced, with no more than six lines per inch
• Sans Serif font (like “Arial” or other “sans” fonts), in black, 12 points, or any other comparable font – no smaller

Information session

Applicants who have not conducted CBR in the past are strongly encouraged to attend a 45-minute information session on this funding opportunity. The information sessions will be held on:

In French: Thursday, April 11, 2024, at 1 p.m. on Microsoft Teams

In English: Thursday, April 11, 2024, at 2 p.m. on Microsoft Teams

For questions regarding this session, please contact [email protected].

Faculties are encouraged to match the funds received from this grant.

The budget section should describe the entire budget, including the faculty contributions, if any, for the duration of the award. 

Eligible expenses must be direct costs of research. Please review the uOttawa Guide on the Management of Research Expenditures (which complies with the Tri-agency Guide on Financial Administration).

Budget justification

The justification must briefly state:

• the need for the CBR funds relative to other funding available. You must disclose all sources of funding the project has received, describe how these funds are used and how the requested funds supplement other funding, and why are they needed.
• how the costs were established for each item in the budget (i.e. collective agreement rates; community-member stipends).
• how the funds contribute towards the direct costs of the CBR project and the engagement of equity-deserving or marginalized groups.

Examples of eligible expenses:

• Honoraria for community participants
• Reimbursement to the community-based organization for costs incurred in compensating individuals for time spent on the grant activities
• Expenses related to accessibility
• Expenses related to traditional Indigenous practices or contexts (i.e.: ceremonies, gifts, protocols for Elders and Knowledge Keepers, Indigenous research methods, honoraria for community members)
• Materials, fees and supplies for research activities, including community engagement
• Conference fees or research-related travel for the co-principal community applicant (CPCA), trainees or community members
• Research assistant or student salaries
• Trainee placements or training to learn about community-based research
• Other direct research or research planning costs incurred by community partners (i.e.: hospitality, providing devices to allow engagement)

All anticipated expenses must be specified and justified in the budget.

Examples of non-eligible expenses:

• Professional or consulting fees to the grantee or other academic team members
• Administrative fees, standard monthly connection or rental costs of telephones, connection or installation of lines (telephone or other links), voice mail
• Education costs: thesis preparation, tuition and course fees, thesis examination / defence fees
• Cell phones, Blackberry devices, and/or personal digital assistant devices
• Library acquisitions, computer and other services already provided by the University
• Cost of alcohol
• Expenses related to the buy-out of a company

Other expenses not included on this list will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Funding requirements

• The funds will be released once all certification requirements are met by the NPA (ethics of research with human subjects and/or stem cells, animal care, radiation safety, etc.), where applicable.
• Any unused funds at the end of the project must be returned. To request a time extension (not funds) or other requests, please contact RMS with appropriate justification.
• At the end of the funding period, the NPI and the CPCA will be required to participate in an exchange session with Research Management Services (RMS) to discuss and describe progress and share reflections on lessons learned. Recipients are expected to be available during promotional product development that showcases their work, and for evaluation of future rounds of the competition.

Applications must be submitted by 4 p.m. on May 31, 2024.
Send your request in a single PDF file.
Subject: CBR Grants 2024
Send your application to [email protected].

Applications will be evaluated by a multidisciplinary selection committee whose members are appointed by the vice-president, research and innovation (VPRI) or a delegate.

The decisions of the committee are final.

Applications will be assessed according to the following criteria:

1. Relevance and clarity (20%)

• Relevance of the proposed activities to be funded by the grant, in relation to the values and principles of community-based research (examples of CBR values and principles)
• Ability to conduct the project in a way that is accessible for the equity-deserving or marginalized groups and for the CPCA

2. Expected outcomes (20%)

• Anticipated outcomes and outputs of the project (according to stream)
• Measurability of outcomes with indicators of success, as appropriate (qualitative and/or quantitative)

3. Participatory process and EDI (40%)

• General CBR approach and participatory process
• Meaningful and equitable engagement of equity-deserving or marginalized groups, including fair compensation for their participation
• Intersectional approach
• Respectful adaptation of the project to community practices and values
• Depth and honesty of reflection surrounding power dynamics

4. Creativity and feasibility (20%)

• Creative nature of the proposed activities
• Feasibility of implementing the activities according to budget and timeline

Other considerations:

The committee could also consider the applicant’s discipline, as well as faculty representation, when deciding on applications.

Given the objectives of these grants, a particular emphasis could be placed on early-career researchers and those new to community-based research.

What is an equity-deserving group?

The government of Canada Guide on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion terminology defines an “equity-deserving group” as: “A group of people who, because of systemic discrimination, face barriers that prevent them from having the same access to the resources and opportunities that are available to other members of society, and that are necessary for them to attain just outcomes.”

Equity-deserving groups can include, but are not limited to:

• Indigenous persons
• Racialized persons
• Persons with disabilities
• Members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities
• Women

What is a marginalized group?

The government of Canada Guide on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion terminology defines a “marginalized group” as: “A group of people that is excluded from full and meaningful participation in society, typically through discrimination or other means of oppression. […] Members of a marginalized group have reduced acces

A group of people can be marginalized on the basis of factors that include, but are not limited to:

What are community-based organizations?

Also referred to as the voluntary sector or the third sector (neither the State nor the private), community-based organizations are: 

“non-profit, non-governmental, or charitable organizations that represent community needs and work to help them. CBOs may be associated with a particular area of concern or segment of the community” (Carleton University - Community First)

Some researchers have identified key characteristics of community-based organizations: 

“1) organized (i.e., institutionalized to some degree); 

2) separate from government (i.e., in the sense that they are not run or overseen by a government agency and therefore not part of the public sector); 

3) non-profit distributing; 

4) self-governing; and 

5) voluntary (i.e., some meaningful degree of voluntary participation in the organization’s affairs)” 

(Wilson, Lavis & Gutta, 2012: p. 2)

What is Community-based Research (CBR)?

According to the Canadian Association for HIV Research (CAHR), CBR is:

“a collaborative approach to research that equitably involves all partners in the research process and recognizes the unique strengths that each brings. CBR begins with a research topic of importance to the community with the aim of combining knowledge and action for social change […]. CBR brings researchers together with members of the community to: identify the issues; generate and/or collect, analyze and interpret the data; and decide how to use the results to inform policy, change practice and improve conditions in the community.” (CAHR Community-Based Research Program)

What is community?

According to Kara (2020), “community” is:

“hard to define, but may encompass a geographic community, a tribe, an institution, a community of interest, a community of identity, a virtual community and so on.” (p.47)

What is transformative research?

According to Kara (2020), transformative research frameworks are:

“a specific type of methodology that both acknowledge and seek the possibilities for transformation inherent in all research. These frameworks include participatory research, community-based research, feminist research, emancipatory or activist research, queer research, and asset-based research. Many of these frameworks were devised by people experiencing oppression, some of whom were further marginalized by research and researchers. The intention was to make research more equitable and ethical […].” (p.45)

What is participatory research?

According to Kara (2020), “participatory research”:

“also known as participatory action research, focuses on communities or groups and emphasizes the full involvement of participants at every stage of the research process. The research should benefit these communities or groups as well as the researchers. The aim is to empower disempowered groups, communities and individuals.” (p.46)

What is emancipatory research?

According to Kara (2020), “emancipatory research”:

• “is sometimes known as activist research” (p.49)
• “is intended to empower disadvantaged people” (idem)
• “developed new ethical dimensions by questioning how research is conducted and who controls its resources” (p.50)

References and resources

Canadian Institutes for Health Research, CIHR HIV/AIDS and STBBI Community-Based Research Program 
Carleton University, Community First
Carleton University, Centre for Studies on Poverty and Social Citizenship, Community-Based Research Toolkit
Community Based Research Centre (CBRC), CBRC's Research Principles
Government of Canada, Tri-agency Guide on Financial Administration
Government of Canada, Guide on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion terminology.
Kara, Helen. Creative Research Methods: A Practical Guide. Second edition., Policy Press, 2020.
University of Manitoba, Engaging people with lived experiences in patient reported measurement initiatives
University of Ottawa, Equity Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Action Plan for Research
University of Ottawa, Guide on the Management of Research Expenditures
University of Ottawa, Institute of Indigenous Research and Studies
University of Ottawa, Knowledge Mobilization Institutional Strategy
University of Ottawa, Policy 124 - Provision for Indigenous Ceremonial Practices for Events on University Campus
University of Ottawa, Strategic Areas of Research | Research and innovation
University of Ottawa, Transformation 2030
University of Ottawa, uOttawa Guide to Indigenous Protocols
Wilson, M.G., Lavis, J.N. & Guta, A. Community-based organizations in the health sector: A scoping review. Health Res Policy Sys 10, 36 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1186/1478-4505-10-36