Operating Grant: Advancing 2S/LGBTQI+ Health Through Research (2026)

Eligibility

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

1. The Nominated Principal Applicant (NPA) must be one of the following:
   • 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 mobilization).
     OR
   • an individual affiliated with an Indigenous non-governmental organization in Canada with a research and/or knowledge mobilization mandate.
     OR
   • a Canadian non-governmental organization (including Indigenous non-governmental organizations, community organizations and regional health authorities) with a research or knowledge mobilization mandate in 2S/LGBTQI+ health.
2. The NPA must have their substantive role in Canada for the duration of the requested grant term.
3. 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.
4. The NPA* must have successfully completed one of the sex- and gender-based analysis training modules available online through the CIHR Institute of Gender and Health and submit a Certificate of Completion (see How to Apply for more details). Please select and complete the training module most applicable to your research project. For additional information on sex, gender and health research, applicants are encouraged to review the "How to integrate sex and gender in research" section on the CIHR website.
   *Organizations as NPAs: For organizations applying as the NPA, a representative of the organization must complete the training module on the organization's behalf.
5. Co-Applicants may be independent researchers; knowledge users; trainees; people with lived and living experience (PWLLE); or other.
   • Inclusion of a trainee as a Co-Applicant is required.
   • Inclusion of additional Co-Applicants is optional.
6. Any applications involving Indigenous Peoples must include one applicant, in any role, who self-identifies as Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit or Métis) or provides evidence of having meaningful and culturally-safe involvement with Indigenous Peoples and must submit a one (1) page attachment describing how they meet this requirement. (see How to Apply section)
7. For the Two-Spirit, Indigiqueer, and Gender Diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis pool, the applicant team must include at least one Principal Applicant who self-identifies as Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit or Métis) or can provide evidence of having meaningful and culturally safe involvement with Indigenous Peoples, and must submit a one (1) page attachment describing how they meet this requirement (see How to Apply section).
8. In order to be eligible to receive funds from Michael Smith Health Research BC, the Nominated Principal Applicant must be from a British Columbia-based institution.
9. An individual or an organization cannot submit more than one application as an NPA. If the NPA submits more than one application, CIHR will automatically withdraw the last application(s) submitted based on timestamp of submission.

Summary

The overall purpose of this funding opportunity is to advance, strengthen, and enhance inter-disciplinary, high-impact, and community-engaged health research that addresses the health priorities of 2S/LGBTQI+ individuals and communities in Canada.

As we continue to advance 2S/LGBTQI+ health research, several critical gaps must be addressed. This includes the need for studies that directly confront the limitations of existing epidemiological evidence – particularly given that much of the current data is mixed, inconclusive, or not rooted in Canadian contexts. To better understand the root causes of health inequities, mechanistic studies are needed to explore the specific pathways through which these inequities emerge and persist. Strengthening research methodologies and improving measurement tools will be essential to generate more rigorous and actionable evidence. Importantly, this funding opportunity emphasizes the need to move beyond simply including 2S/LGBTQI+ populations in broader studies toward research that is intentionally designed to centre the unique experiences, perspectives, and priorities of 2S/LGBTQI+ people.

A wide range of research approaches are eligible, including community-based and participatory research, Indigenous methodologies, epidemiological studies, clinical studies, health systems research, biomedical research, economic and policy analyses, population-based cohort studies, comparative and measurement studies, and health surveillance. Interdisciplinary research is encouraged, drawing from fields such as biomedical science, public and population health, health systems and services, gender and health studies, Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, and/or Métis) health, Artificial Intelligence (AI) disciplines, sociology, anthropology, political science, and more. Both original and synthesis research are supported.

Overhead

N/A

Pre-application deadlines

Pre-application program deadline

Application deadlines

RSO final internal review deadline

Program application deadline

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Postdocs, students, and trainees: For fellowships and externally-sponsored research training awards or opportunities, you must complete the Research Funding Application Approval (RFAA) Trainee PDF form, and submit it, along with a complete copy of the application, to Research Services at rsotrainee@ucalgary.ca. Trainees should not use RMS at this time.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via either RMS or the RFAA Trainee form, in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.

Submission Process:

Registration due directly to CIHR via ResearchNet by 6:00PM Calgary time on February 11, 2026. No RMS needed for this step.

Full application, plus approvals in RMS, will be required by RSO by noon on March 16, 2026. Please be sure to select "Submitted for approvals" (Under Save & Progress) in RMS in enough time to allow for approvals from your Department Head and/or ADR prior to the internal RSO deadline. Consult your department and faculty for more information on their approval processes and timelines.

Do not submit through ResearchNet until RSO's signature has been granted!! 

Once institutional signature has been obtained, a copy of the CIHR signature page will be available via the RMS record, under Documents. Upload the CIHR signature page and routing slip in the Print/Upload Signature Pages task in ResearchNet by 6:00PM Calgary time on March 19, 2026.

NOTE: This funding opportunity uses the tri-agency CV (TCV). For opportunities requiring the Tri-Agency CV, a Research Contributions attachment, or a Most Significant Contributions statement, applicants can refer to the Narrative CV Support webpage. 

WEBINAR

CIHR will be hosting the following webinar to support participants with the requirements of this funding opportunity and to answer questions on how to apply.

When: Thursday, December 11, 2025, at 11:00 AM MT | Join
Duration: 120 minutes

RESOURCES

Reminder: The sooner the researcher engages with Research Services, the more help we can be!

Contact the following Research Service units for support with:

Projects Involving Indigenous Research:

Support with incorporating wise practices in Indigenous research, community engagement, and Indigenous data management is available through the Indigenous Research Support Team (IRST).

Applicants can reach out by email to IRST at IRST@ucalgary.ca in advance of the RSO internal deadline. For more information about IRST, please visit the IRST webpage.

Knowledge Mobilization, Research Impact Assessment, DORA:

Support for knowledge mobilization/engagement/translation, community partnerships, research impact, responsible research assessment (DORA), and open science, is available through the Knowledge to Impact team.

Applicants can reach out by email to the KI team at knowledge.impact@ucalgary.ca.

For more information and access to resource archives, please visit the KI team webpage.

Research Data Management:

For information on research data management plans, processes, or best practices for your research program, please contact research.data@ucalgary.ca.

EDI in Research:

RSO can provide resources and support to research teams on the integration of equitable and inclusive practices in research design and research practice.

Contact edi.rso@ucalgary.ca for more information.

Research Security:

The Research Security Division is available to ensure researchers adhere to research security guidelines and policies, including the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships (NSGRP) and the policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC).

Visit the Research Security website to learn more or contact researchsecurity@ucalgary.ca.

Pre-Award Submissions:

RMS: Creating a Pre-Award Application