Team Grant: National Evidence Platform: Youth Mental Health 2026

Eligibility

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

1. The Nominated Principal Applicant (NPA) must be an independent researcher 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).
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 demonstrate independence of any conflicts of interest with respect to interventions, programs and practices, particularly those available through for-profit organizations (see How to Apply for more details).
5. The core team must be comprised of no more than ten (10) Principal Applicants (PAs) and/or Principal Knowledge Users (PKUs) including the NPA, identified as Key Participants. Note that an individual can fulfill multiple participant roles below. Inclusion of other applicant roles (i.e., Co-Applicants, Knowledge Users (KUs), and collaborators) is optional.

Key Participants must include:

6. At least two additional independent researchers in the role of Principal Applicant (PA) must be identified
7. At least one key participant must be clearly identified for each of the roles below in the Participant Table (see How to Apply). Applicants are strongly encouraged to develop a diverse and equitable team. Team members are expected to work collaboratively to integrate their respective design elements into the Platform's design, development and implementation. The roles below must be served by a NPA, PA, or PKU, note that an individual can fulfill multiple roles:                           
   1. A Knowledge Mobilization Champion who has experience developing and implementing integrated approaches to knowledge mobilization. The Knowledge Mobilization Champion will be expected to collaborate with knowledge users, federal, provincial and territorial policy and decision-makers, youth and families and PWLLE for co-production of the Platform, and in alignment with the CIHR's Knowledge Mobilization Strategy and Action Plan.
   2. An EDI Champion who has experience developing and integrating EDI approaches that will be applied across all developmental stages of the Platform, including in leadership and governance, design and implementation, Framework, capacity building and knowledge mobilization. See Additional Information for wise practices on including an EDI Champion and defining their potential roles in the research.
   3. At least two (2) Indigenous Health Champions, who either self-identify as Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit or Métis) and/or who provide evidence of having meaningful and culturally safe involvement with Indigenous Peoples (see How to Apply section).
   4. A Digital Health Champion, who will provide the relevant expertise on digital products related to youth mental health, such as e-MH interventions, and the appropriate considerations for their review and development of standards of evidence.
   5. A Capacity Building Champion, who will design, develop and implement targeted capacity building initiatives to strengthen the skills of community-based practitioners, as well as policy and decision-makers, as described above.
8. The NPA and EDI Champion 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 have submitted a Certificate of Completion (see How to Apply section: Select and complete the training module most applicable to your research project).

Notes:

• An individual cannot submit more than one (1) application to this funding opportunity as an NPA and cannot participate on more than two (2) applications as PA or PKU. If the NPA submits more than one application, CIHR will automatically withdraw the subsequent application(s) submitted based on timestamp of submission.
• Project participants can be concurrent members of other ongoing initiatives, including but not limited to the Integrated Youth Services-Network , the SPOR Evidence Alliance, Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Matters, or the National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools. If that is the case, applicants must clearly explain how they will contribute to the National Evidence Platform independently from their other funding, research, initiative or network involvement, and how conflicts of interest will be managed (see Most Significant Contributions under Task Identify Participants in How to Apply).

Summary

The current funding opportunity is part of the Youth Mental Health Fund (YMHF), supported by the Government of Canada's strategic investment to create lasting and meaningful improvements in the mental health of youth and their families through enhanced mental health services across diverse communities in Canada. It will support a National Platform for Evidence-Based Programs and Practices for Youth Mental Health (the Platform), that, supported by its representative governance structure, will:

1. define and operationalize evidence standards, and ways of knowing (Evidence Framework) for youth mental health interventions, programs and practices;
2. review and rate evidence on mental health interventions, programs and practices according to the Evidence Framework;
3. host a publicly accessible registry of reviewed and rated interventions, and
4. mobilize learnings to support policy and decision-makers, practitioners, youth and families in making evidence-informed decisions regarding youth mental health interventions.

It will respond to the unique mental health and knowledge mobilization needs of our diverse population, including French-speaking youth; Black youth; Indigenous youth; young women and girls; youth who identify as 2SLGBTQI+; youth living in low-income households; refugee, newcomer or immigrant youth; youth residing in rural and remote areas; youth experiencing systemic discrimination and racism; and to the unique context of social welfare and public health systems across jurisdictions. Youth mental health interventions include interventions, programs and practices that aim to prevent, and/or reduce the symptoms of mental health, substance use, and/or neurodevelopmental conditions, including clinic-, school- or community-based, psychological, pharmacological, eMental-Health (e-MH) interventions, and strategies to increase access and adherence to these interventions.

Overhead

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 September 24, 2026. No RMS needed for this step.

Full application, plus approvals in RMS, will be required by RSO by noon on October 5, 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 October 5, 2026.

Webinar

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

When: Monday, July 6, 2026 at 11:00 AM MT | Register
Duration: 90 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