CIHR Operating Grant: Indigenous Gender and Wellness – Knowledge Sharing

Sponsor

This funding opportunity is led by the Institute of Gender and Health (IGH) in partnership with the Institute of Aging (IA); the Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health (IHDCYH); the Institute of Indigenous Peoples Health (IIPH); and the Institute of Population and Public Health (IPPH).

For More Information

Please visit CIHR's website for more information about:

• Program guidelines
• Application forms
• Evaluation criteria

Webinar:

CIHR is hosting a webinar to provide interested applicants with information on the requirements of the “Operating Grant: Indigenous Gender and Wellness Phase 4 - Knowledge Sharing” funding opportunity and to answer questions on how to apply.

When: Thursday June 19, 2025, at 1:00 PM ET | Join
Duration: 2 hours
Language: Bilingual presentation followed by a period of questions and answers in both official languages, English and French

Description

Gender plays an important but often overlooked role in shaping health and well-being. Gender can be defined as the socially and culturally constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and gender-diverse people. There is considerable diversity in how individuals and groups understand, experience and express gender through the roles they take on, the expectations placed on them, relations with others and the complex ways that gender is institutionalized in society. The term gender often has different meanings for different people and different cultures. For instance, in this funding opportunity, we use the term gender broadly to include Indigenous concepts of Two-Spirit, which includes Indigenous Peoples who embody diverse sexualities, gender identities, roles and/or expressions.

In Canada, Indigenous Peoples’ (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) understandings of gender and its role in health and wellness have been disrupted by colonial policies and frameworks. As a result, the critical relationship between Indigenous understandings of gender and wellness has been under-examined in health research, with insufficient opportunities to share existing and emerging knowledge about gender and wellness to generate change.

We want to know: What if we paid closer attention to gender in all its forms? Could we improve wellness among Indigenous Peoples?

This guiding question led to the creation of the Indigenous Gender and Wellness (IGW) Initiative, to support the development and implementation of Indigenous-led and community-based projects examining the health and wellbeing of First Nations, Inuit and/or Métis People through a gendered lens. The IGW initiative was designed to address the need for health research that is gender-inclusive and incorporates culturally grounded approaches that reflect the lived experiences, identities, and knowledge systems of Indigenous Peoples.

The first phase of the IGW initiative supported travel grants to attend a 2019 Idea Fair and Learning Circle. The second phase (2020) supported Idea Fair attendees to continue building relationships with community members and partners through a one-year development grant. The third phase provided three years of Team Grant funding (2021-2024) for Indigenous-led teams to implement their ideas through research and action-oriented, community-based participatory projects aiming to improve wellness by, with, and for Indigenous People from a gendered perspective.

The current funding opportunity focuses on Knowledge Sharing, and is the fourth phase of the IGW Initiative. By focusing on Knowledge Sharing, this funding opportunity will deliver on a vision to share knowledge and learnings about Indigenous Gender and Wellness from health research, with Indigenous individuals and communities, clinicians, decision-makers, the research community, research funders, trainees, the public, and beyond.

For further information on how the current funding opportunity considers concepts of Knowledge Sharing, gender, and wellness, please refer to Additional Information.

CIHR recognizes that First Nations, Inuit and Métis are rights-holders as First Peoples of Canada and may not consider themselves to be part of equity-seeking groups. Emphasizing a rights- and distinctions-based approach to Indigenous self-determination in research is crucial for enhancing Indigenous health and well-being. CIHR’s commitment to supporting Indigenous self-determination in health research is available in the CIHR Strategic Plan 2021–2031 and the Action Plan: Building a healthier future for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.

While this funding opportunity builds conceptually on earlier phases of the IGW, applicants are not required to have been involved in earlier IGW-funded work. All eligible applicants are encouraged to apply.

Purpose

This funding opportunity focuses on Knowledge Sharing about the outcomes and knowledge of Indigenous Gender and Wellness research using strengths- and distinctions-based, community-engaged approaches. This focus aims to ensure that research learnings about First Nations, Inuit and Métis Gender and Wellness effectively reach those who need to hear them – including First Nations, Inuit and Métis individuals, communities and community partners, clinicians, decision-makers, the research community, research funders, trainees, and the general public, among others. This funding opportunity encourages the use of culturally relevant and/or arts-based methods to acknowledge and uphold Indigenous approaches to Knowledge Sharing in Gender and Wellness, and support work that is meaningful and culturally safe for First Nations, Inuit and/or Métis communities. In this context, wellness should be broadly defined to encompass an Indigenous, holistic view of health.

Possible topics or project themes might include, but are not limited to:

• Gender and wellness across the lifespan, including in children, youth, adults and Elders
• Gender, wellness, and aging
• Gender, storytelling and intergenerational learning
• Two-Spirit and/or Indigenous LGBTQI+ wellness
• Gender expansive identities, roles and wellness
• HIV and/or other STBBI
• Men, boys, masculinities and wellness
• Women, girls, femininities and wellness
• Matriarchs and wellness
• Perinatal and child health and wellness
• Gender, family relations and/or parenting (e.g. fatherhood, motherhood, parenthood)
• First Nations, Inuit and/or Métis understandings of gender, and how they relate to wellness
• Gender, language and wellness
• Gender-based violence prevention and resilience
• Prevention and resilience to the effects of colonization on Indigenous health and wellness, through a gendered lens
• Gender and Land, body and spirit connections
• Climate change and wellness, through a gendered lens
• Gender and physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and/or cultural health and wellness
• Gender and wellness considerations for health services and/or in the context of a specific health condition or outcome

This funding opportunity does not support conducting of Clinical Trials.

Research Areas

All projects must have a focus on Knowledge Sharing about Indigenous Gender and Wellness research in Canada. Within the overarching research area of Indigenous Gender and Wellness Knowledge Sharing, specific funds to support one grant each will be reserved for applications that align with each of the following priority research areas:

• Gender and Wellness in First Nations communities
  • This pool will support applications where the primary focus of proposed activities is with First Nations communities.
• Gender and Wellness in Métis communities
  • This pool will support applications where the primary focus of proposed activities is with Métis communities.
• Gender and Wellness in Inuit communities
  • This pool will support applications where the primary focus of proposed activities is with Inuit communities.
• Gender and Wellness among First Nations, Inuit and/or Métis youth
  • This pool will support applications where the primary focus of proposed activities is with youth among First Nations, Inuit, and/or Métis communities, as per IHDCYH’s mandate

The specific objective(s) of this funding opportunity are to:

• Support Knowledge Sharing activities from ongoing or recently completed, community-engaged research projects that aim to improve the wellness of Indigenous Peoples in Canada from a gendered perspective, including how Indigenous concepts of gender affect wellness;
• Promote the use of culturally relevant Knowledge Sharing activities and approaches and/or arts-based methods, among other possible Knowledge Sharing approaches, to share learnings about Indigenous Gender and Wellness;
• Encourage strengths- and distinctions-based Knowledge Sharing that will build lasting relationships and improve shared learning and understanding, application, and opportunity to increase wellness for Indigenous individuals and communities using a gendered lens;
• Bridge capacity of the next generation of Indigenous health researchers and community partners in Knowledge Sharing focused on Indigenous Gender and Wellness;
• Support the evaluation of Knowledge Sharing activities and approaches, to support ongoing learning with the goal to improve the wellness of Indigenous Peoples in Canada from a gendered perspective, including how Indigenous concepts of gender affect wellness.

Eligibility

For an application to be eligible, all the requirements stated below must be met:

1. The Nominated Principal Applicant must be one of the following:
   • an Indigenous non-governmental organization in Canada with a research and/or knowledge translation mandate;
     OR
   • an individual affiliated with an Indigenous non-governmental organization in Canada with a research and/or knowledge translation mandate;
     OR
   • an individual (an independent researcher or a knowledge user) affiliated with a Canadian postsecondary institution and/or its affiliated institutions (including hospitals, research institutes and other non-profit organizations with a mandate for health research and/or knowledge translation);
     OR
   • an individual (an independent researcher or a knowledge user) working in a municipal, provincial or territorial government in Canada where the activity which forms the subject matter of the funding is not being funded by specific programs of those municipal, provincial and territorial governments.
2. The Nominated Principal Applicant (individual) must either self-identify as Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit and/or Métis) and/or provide evidence of having meaningful and culturally safe involvement with Indigenous Peoples (see How to Apply).
3. The team must include each of four (4) participant types listed below, in any role, as appropriate, including collaborator. Note that an individual can fulfill multiple participant types. This will need to be detailed in the Participant table (see How to Apply).
   • an Indigenous Elder and/or Indigenous Knowledge Holder/Keeper/Guardian,
   • a Trainee
     1. must either self-identify as Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit and/or Métis) and/ or provide evidence of having meaningful and culturally safe involvement with Indigenous Peoples (see How to Apply).
   • a knowledge user (who can be, but is not limited to, a practitioner, policy maker, educator, decision maker, health care administrator, Indigenous community leader, or an individual in a health charity, patient group, private sector organization or a media outlet)
   • a person with lived or living experience (PWLLE) relevant to proposed activities and in alignment with the overarching research area of Indigenous Gender and Wellness Knowledge Sharing (e.g., Two Spirit person, Indigenous father, Elder)
     1. For applications applying to the Gender and Wellness among First Nations, Inuit and/or Métis youth funding pool, the PWLLE must be a youth
4. The Nominated Principal Applicant must have their substantive role in Canada for the duration of the requested grant term.
5. The Nominated Principal Applicant and all the Principal Applicants/Principal Knowledge Users must have successfully completed module 2 or 3 of the sex- and gender-based analysis training modules available online through the CIHR Institute of Gender and Health, and attach the Certificate of Completion by the full application deadline. Applicants are encouraged to review the “How to integrate sex and gender in research” section on the CIHR website.
   • Organizations as Nominated Principal Applicant: For organizations applying as the Nominated Principal Applicant, a representative of the organization must complete the training module (either module 2 or 3) on the organization's behalf.
6. The Institution Paid receives and administers the funds on behalf of the NPA and therefore must be authorized by CIHR before the funds can be released.
   • If the Institution Paid is not on the List of CIHR Eligible Institutions, they are encouraged to contact the Contact Centre, in advance, to enquire about the authorization process and timelines.
7. An individual or an organization cannot submit more than one application as the Nominated Principal Applicant. If the Nominated Principal Applicant submits more than one application, CIHR will automatically withdraw the last application(s) submitted based on the timestamp of submission.

Funding Availability

The total amount available for this funding opportunity is $2,400,000, enough to fund approximately 12 grants.

Of this $ 2,400,000:

• $1,600,000 is available to fund eight (8) applications relevant to the overall purpose of the funding opportunity
• $200,000 is available to fund one (1) application relevant to Gender and Wellness in First Nations communities
• $200,000 is available to fund one (1) application relevant to Gender and Wellness in Métis communities.
• $200,000 is available to fund one (1) application relevant to Gender and Wellness in Inuit communities.
• $200,000 is available to fund one (1) application relevant to Gender and Wellness among First Nations, Inuit and/or Métis youth

Applications relevant to each pool will be funded top down in order of ranking. Remaining applications in the competition will be pooled together and funded in rank order.

If a pool is undersubscribed or lacks fundable applications, funds will be rolled into the general competition pool.

For more information on the appropriate use of funds, refer to Allowable Costs.

Maximum Project Value

The maximum amount per grant is $200,000 per year for up to 1 year, for a total of $200,000 per grant.

Special Notes

Conditions of Funding

In addition to the general conditions of funding governing CIHR grants, the following are the program-specific conditions of funding applicable to this funding opportunity:

• Data related to First Nations, Inuit or Métis communities whose traditional and ancestral territories are in Canada must be managed in accordance with data management principles developed and approved by those communities, and on the basis of free, prior and informed consent. This includes, but is not limited to, considerations of Indigenous data sovereignty, as well as data collection, ownership, protection, use, and sharing.
• All information intended for public consumption, including for the purposes of informing and engaging partners (e.g., website content, information pamphlets, guidelines, promotional and event-related material, etc.), must be provided in both official languages (English and French), accessible to screen readers, and should be developed using plain language practices. See Allowable Costs for more details.
• CIHR reserves the right to terminate or suspend funding if there is a determination of unacceptable national security risk by the Government of Canada.
• The Nominated Principal Applicant (NPA) is responsible for the following reporting requirements:
  • A final manual report consisting of a summary of the Knowledge Sharing activities and evaluation findings is due 16 months after the grant end date. The template and instructions for this report will be provided by CIHR.
  • An electronic Final Report is due 28 months after the grant end date. This online report will be made available to the NPA on ResearchNet at the beginning of the grant funding period and can be filled in as the research progresses.
  • In order to facilitate relationship building and knowledge sharing with other recipients of the IGW Knowledge Sharing grant:
    • the Nominated Principal Applicant and at least one other applicant are expected to attend an online 2-3 hour workshop at the end of the granting period to share an update on their Knowledge Sharing project (winter 2026).
    • Successful applicants are required to set aside funds in their budgets to cover costs associated with the Nominated Principal Applicant and at least one other team member to participate in an in-person meeting to be held in winter 2027/spring 2028.
• The Principal Applicants who are successful in this competition are strongly encouraged to actively participate in peer review, and as members of the CIHR College of Reviewers, when invited.

How to Apply

The application process for this funding opportunity is comprised of two steps: Registration and Full Application.

• To complete your Registration, follow the ”Specific Instructions” and where applicable, consult the Grants - Registration Guidelines. Note that section A. Complete a Canadian Common CV in the Registration Guidelines is not applicable for this funding opportunity. Note that a Registration must be submitted to be eligible to submit a full application.
• To complete your Full Application, follow the “Specific Instructions”, and where applicable, consult the Grants – Application Guidelines.
  • Note: This funding opportunity is using the Tri- Agency CV.
  • For applications written in French, additional pages will be permitted for the Research proposal and Tri-Agency CVs. See tasks for details.
• All participants listed, with the exception of Collaborators, are required to:
  • Have/obtain a CIHR PIN
    • Organizations applying as Nominated Principal Applicants for the first time must contact CIHR's Contact Centre for guidance in creating a ResearchNet account and registering for a CIHR PIN.
  • Complete the Tri-Agency Self-identification Questionnaire.
  • Keep your information up to date: Regularly review and update your My CIHR Profile, including confirming the correct Primary Affiliation is linked.
    • The Primary Affiliation field of the My CIHR Profile is important for various funding related activities, including eligibility assessments and Research Support Fund calculations (if applicable). Your My CIHR Profile can be accessed by clicking on your name in the top right-hand corner of the ResearchNet screen. If your Primary Affiliation name is not available in the drop-down menu, contact the CIHR Contact Centre (support-soutien@cihr-irsc.gc.ca).