Alberta Medical Foundation Charitable Fund Project Grants

The objective of the Alberta Medical Foundation Charitable Fund Project Grants is to promote interest in Alberta’s medical history by providing research grants of up to $10,000.00 to qualified scholars for original projects in the history of medicine and health care in Alberta. The financial support will be directed towards specific projects with defined outcomes (including but not limited to books, other publications, documentary film projects and programmatic activities that enhance the history of medicine and health care landscape in Alberta), with the amount of the award depending on the approved budget for the project.

Eligibility

Applicants must:

1. Reside in the province of Alberta.
2. Be a health care professional (active or retired) in a relevant field OR have a research appointment in a relevant area at a recognized publicly-funded post-secondary institution in the province of Alberta OR hold a research or archivist position in a health care related agency or regulatory body, or at an Alberta Museums Association Recognized Museum.
3. Health care professionals must be members in good standing with their relevant professional licensing organization in Alberta, or must have retired in good standing. Health care professionals must not have had their professional license revoked in any jurisdiction in Canada for professional misconduct.

Application

Applications are due May 15 annually

Applications must be submitted electronically to Ali Taliani – ali.taliani@albertadoctors.org. Funds not used according to the research proposal and budget within the allotted time will be forfeited.

Applications must be submitted on the provided template (please include all three pages when submitting your application). Margins and font sizes should not be changed, and documents must be saved and submitted electronically as PDF files.

Applications will include:

1. Signed application, confirming eligibility and accuracy of the application.
2. Applicant’s CV, formatted to be no longer than two pages in length, including a statement of the applicant’s relevant track record and experience to complete the project.
3. Project Description – includes title, key words, objectives, methodology, sources of data and other materials to be used, and expected contribution to the field of study. This should include the project’s potential impact, audience and relevance to the province of Alberta.
4. Methods and Research Plan - including reasonable and achievable timeline, methodology, resources to be used, and team members, if any. This should also address whether or not ethics approval will be necessary for the project, and approval or application plans and timelines. Any projects requiring ethics approval will not have funds released until documentation of ethics approval is provided to the History of Medicine Committee.
5. Budget – for total project. Details should be provided about projected expenses in areas including personnel, professional or technical services, equipment and supplies, meeting expenses, travel, and any other projected expenses. Include other sources of funding, both in application process and secured, sufficient to fund the complete project
6. Outcomes – description of the final manuscript or project, including plans for presentation and dissemination. The support of the Alberta Medical Foundation Charitable Fund must be acknowledged in any publications.
7. The total application (sections 3-7) will not exceed six pages in 12 pt font, not including the CV.
8. A one page progress report is due within one year after the actual funding period has ended.

Assessment of Applications

Applications will be assessed and voted on by the members of the History of Medicine Committee. In the case of a Board member having a personal relationship with an applicant, being in any way involved in an application, or having any other conflict of interest, the member will abstain from the evaluation of and voting on the proposal.

Voting may have one of three outcomes:

1. Approval of application for a specific amount of funding, up to a maximum of $10,000.00. Disbursement of the funds will be made October 1 annually.
2. Non-approval, but with suggestions for change in some aspect of the application. Applicants can choose if they wish to resubmit with the suggested changes within a specified period of time to be eligible for reconsideration of funding in the same award cycle.
3. Non-approval. Unsuccessful applicants may reapply in the next annual funding cycle. Specific feedback about the unsuccessful application’s merits will be provided.

Successful applications are non-renewable. Once a researcher has been awarded a grant, they will not be eligible to reapply for a different project for a period of two years.