Promoting Health Equity: Mental Health of Black Canadians Fund - Incubator stream

On this page

• Section 1: Overview
• Section 2: Objectives and principles
• Section 3: Funding details and requirements – Incubator Stream
• Section 4: Eligibility
• Section 5: Application and assessment process
• Section 6: Other considerations
• Section 7: Contact us
• Section 8: Glossary of terms

Section 1: Overview

The Promoting Health Equity: Mental Health of Black Canadians Fund ("Fund") supports Black people in Canada to develop more culturally focused knowledge, capacity and programs to improve mental health in their communities.

1.1 Context

Mental health refers to an individual's emotions, psychological and social state of well-being and is an important part of overall health. In 2023, the Canadian Mental Health Association Report noted that the social determinants of health have a significant impact on mental health, and that inequities in income, housing and employment, among others, can negatively affect the mental health outcomes of people in Canada.

Growing evidence shows that Black people in Canada face significant social and economic challenges that have negative implications for their mental health. These challenges include experiences of interpersonal and institutional anti-Black racism and discrimination; and economic and social disadvantage. This includes lower education attainment, higher levels of poverty and social exclusion, more frequent interactions with law enforcement, criminal justice, and child welfare systems; a lack of access to culturally appropriate and culturally competent services; and stigma related to mental health and accessing support services.

In response, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is launching a funding opportunity for organizations to put forward project proposals through the Fund's Incubator Stream.

• 3.1 Funding Details and Requirements

This is an anticipatory solicitation process. Final funding decisions will be subject to available funds.

Section 2: Objectives and principles

2.1 Objectives

The objectives of the Promoting Health Equity: Mental Health of Black Canadians Fund are to:

• Increase understanding of the unique barriers to and social determinants of mental health for Black people in Canada
• Increase knowledge of effective, culturally focused approaches and programs for improving mental health and addressing its key social determinants for Black people in Canada including a focus on priority populations (see glossary)
• Increase capacity within Black communities in Canada to address barriers to mental health services

2.2 Principles

The Fund is guided by the following key principles. Applicants to the Incubator Stream must apply all of these principles to their proposals when submitting a request for funding:

• Black Leadership: Projects are led by, or developed in close collaboration with, Black community groups in Canada, not-for-profit organizations, and/or researchers. Projects are delivered in, and are of primary benefit to, Black communities in Canada.
• Evidence-based: Projects are based on meaningful data and evidence that demonstrates positive impact on mental health among Black people in Canada. Applicants are required to consult scholarly and other available evidence to assess effective interventions and approaches that improve mental health.
• Social determinants of health approach: Projects address one or more social determinants of mental health for Black communities in Canada, such as anti-Black racism, education, housing, policing and criminal justice systems, poverty, and/or social exclusion. Projects can be based in a range of settings related to these determinants of health, including schools and post-secondary institutions, workplaces, community health care settings, community centers, police departments, and detention and correctional institutions.
• Health equity lens: Projects integrate a health equity lens that considers and addresses unfair and avoidable differences in determinants of health, health outcomes, reach and impact of interventions for various subgroups within diverse Black communities throughout their design, implementation and evaluation. For example, it recognizes and responds to differences based on sex and gender, age, ethnic/cultural backgrounds, migration histories, geographic locations, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status.^{Footnote 1}
• Cultural competence and safety: Where applicable, projects recognize and challenge the unequal distribution of power between organizations and project participants by building equitable, two-way relationships characterized by respect, shared responsibility and cultural exchange. Project participants must have their culture, values and preferences taken into account in the provision of programming.
• Partnerships and collaboration: Projects are informed by, and benefit from, in-kind and/or financial support provided by partners from various sectors (for example, not-for-profit sector, academic/research sector, private sector, organizations within and outside of the health sector and other levels of government).

Section 3: Funding details and requirements – Incubator Stream

3.1 Funding details and requirements

This funding opportunity aims to support projects through the Incubator Stream of the Fund.

The Incubator Stream provides short-term funding to support community-based applicants that operate with limited organizational capacity and resources to undertake steps to increase their capacity to design, develop, implement, and evaluate culturally focused programs that promote mental health and address its determinants for Black people in Canada. This may include, but is not limited to, development of project networks, collaborations, and partnerships; community-based knowledge and mobilization activities; program concept development and feasibility testing; and short-term mental health promotion interventions.

• 3.2 Eligible activities

Applicants under this stream must demonstrate the need for initial funding to support capacity-building activities.

Interested applicants to the Incubator Stream are invited to submit an Advanced Screening Form.

• 5.1 Application process

Incubator Stream funding decisions will be based on the results of a competitive proposal assessment process and available funds. Not all eligible applications will be funded.

3.2 Funding amount and duration

Applicants to the Incubator Stream may request funding of up to $100,000 for capacity-building activities.

All Incubator Stream activities must be completed by March 31, 2026.

Section 4: Eligibility

To be eligible for funding under the Incubator Stream, proposed projects must align with the Fund's objectives and principles, described above. Applicants must also clearly demonstrate how their funding request meets the following eligibility criteria for recipients and activities.

4.1 Eligible recipients

The following types of applicants are eligible for funding under Incubator Stream:

• Canadian not-for-profit organizations and unincorporated groups, societies and coalitions, with priority given to those led by and serving Black communities in Canada
• Non-federal Canadian public institutions such as boards of education, schools, colleges and universities, chambers of commerce, law enforcement and police agencies, hospitals and other health care institutions (must apply in partnership with at least one not-for-profit organization)
• Crown Corporations as defined in the Financial Administration Act (must apply in partnership with at least one not-for-profit organization)
• Provincial, territorial, regional and municipal governments and their agencies (must apply in partnership with at least one not-for-profit organization)
• Research organizations and academics affiliated with post-secondary institutions (must apply in partnership with at least one not-for-profit organization)
• Private sector organizations (must apply in partnership with at least one not-for-profit organization)

In all cases, projects must be led by, or developed in close collaboration with, Black community groups in Canada, not-for-profit organizations, or researchers.

4.2 Eligible activities

All projects under Incubator Stream must be delivered in, and be of primary benefit to, Black communities and populations in Canada. The following activities are eligible for funding:

• Building and strengthening community-based engagement, networks, collaborations and partnerships
• Gathering and analyzing data and information from diverse sources (for example, community consultations and needs assessments, peer and key informant interviews, focus groups, secondary data)
• Consolidating knowledge of what works through knowledge synthesis, mobilization of evidence or community resources and assets, and analysis of relevant data;
• Assessing past and present mental health promotion programs for lessons learned and promising practices
• Developing the design or methodology for a novel, culturally focused mental health programs

Note: Activities can be small-scale, one-time interventions or projects.

4.3 Eligible expenditures

Funding is limited to cash expenses that are pertinent, reasonable and essential to accomplish the objectives of an eligible project. Eligible expenses include, but are not limited to:

• Salaries, benefits and consultant fees directly related to the project
• Rental of office space and equipment not normally used in your organization's daily operations
• Travel expenses and accommodation within Canada, which must not exceed the rates permitted for travel on government business
  • National Joint Council Travel Directive
• Meetings, events and workshops – expenses associated with meeting space rental, transportation, accommodation, and meals must not exceed the rates permitted for government business
  • National Joint Council Travel Directive
• Honoraria to recognize the voluntary participation of diverse groups in project activities, including people with lived experience
• Cost associated with audio visual production or website/smartphone application development when integrated as part of project goals and activities
• The development of dissemination, promotion, and communications products
• Insurance (recipients must ensure that any public events funded by the Fund are covered by appropriate insurance)
• Third-party project evaluation and audit services
• Other costs related to the approved project

In all cases, project-related administrative expenses (for example, rental of office space) are limited to a maximum of 15% of total project funding.

A detailed budget will be required as part of the application process.

No project expenses may be incurred prior to the acceptance of the funding agreement by all parties.

4.4 Ineligible activities and expenditures

The following activities and expenses are not eligible for funding under the incubation Stream:

• Provision of mental health services or clinical treatment for mental illnesses (for example, psychological counselling)
• Provision of services that are the responsibility of other levels of government
• Core operating expenses, including those incurred by the organization in its normal or daily conduct of business (for example, rent)
• Capital costs or expenditures (for example, purchase of land, buildings, vehicles)
• Any type of Director's fees for volunteer members of Boards or other governing bodies
• Annual general meetings or regular executive board meetings of an organization or association, including related travel
• Ongoing production of newsletters, newspapers, magazines, journals, or radio and television broadcasts
• Pure research in any discipline (pure research is original investigation undertaken to gain new scientific or technical knowledge and understanding, but without specific applications)
• Project-related travel and hospitality expenses that exceed the National Joint Council rates
• Unidentified miscellaneous costs
• In-kind expenses

Section 5: Application and assessment process

Informational webinars will be scheduled to support applicants in completing application materials for the Incubator Stream. An English session will be held on October 29 and a French session on October 30. To obtain details about the webinars, and a copy of the Advanced Screening Form template, please contact: cgc.solicitations-csc@phac-aspc.gc.ca.

5.1 Application process

The application process for the Incubator Stream consists of two stages. The first stage is the submission of an Advance Screening Form (ASF). The ASF provides a brief overview and outline of the proposed project. Submitted ASFs will be assessed to determine best fit with the overall objectives of the Fund. Selected ASF applicants will be invited to complete the second stage, which includes the submission of a Full Proposal. Applicants with ineligible, incomplete or unsuccessful ASF submissions will not be invited to submit a Full Proposal.

The maximum length of the ASF is 10 pages. As appropriate, appendices that document the supporting evidence base are permitted in addition to the 10 pages maximum. Examples of possible appendices include literature reviews, needs assessments and past evaluation results.

To obtain a copy of the ASF template, or for additional information about this funding stream, please contact: cgc.solicitations-csc@phac-aspc.gc.ca

The deadline for submitting completed ASFs is November 15, 2024 at 5:00 PM ET. All ASFs must be submitted via email to: cgc.solicitations-csc@phac-aspc.gc.ca.

Receipt of ASFs will be acknowledged via email. Please ensure that your email address is included in your ASF application.

All applications will undergo a competitive review process. This applies to both the Advanced Screening Form and the Full Proposal.

PHAC is under no obligation to enter into a funding agreement as a result of this invitation to submit ASFs.

PHAC reserves the right to:

• Reject any submission received in response to this invitation
• Accept any submission in whole or in part
• Cancel or re-issue this invitation at any time

PHAC will not reimburse an applicant for costs incurred in the preparation or submission of an ASF or a Full Proposal in response to this invitation.

5.2 Assessment criteria

The following criteria will be used to assess applications under the Incubator Stream:

• Best fit with the overall Fund's program objectives and guiding principles
• Eligibility criteria as listed in Section 4
• Quality, clarity and completeness of the application
• Responsiveness to, and anticipated impact on, needs identified by Black communities in Canada
• Proposed use of resources (for example, cost-efficiency, value for money)

Funding decisions are made to ensure a diversity of projects. This means, in addition to meeting the eligibility criteria and the quality requirements, PHAC may base funding decisions on:

• Location of project
  • province or territory
  • urban or rural and remote communities
• Priority population(s)
• Size of the organization

Section 6: Other considerations

6.1 Official language requirements

The Government of Canada is committed to enhancing the vitality of English and French linguistic minority communities in Canada (Francophones living outside the province of Quebec and Anglophones living in the province of Quebec), supporting and assisting their development, and fostering the full recognition and use of both official languages in Canada. Projects must be accessible in one or both official languages depending on the reach and audience. For additional information, consult the Official Languages Act.

6.2 Gender-based Analysis requirements

The Government of Canada is committed to Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus). incorporates consideration of gender as well as other identity factors such as age, education, language, geography, culture and income in the development of policies and programs. Applicants are expected to incorporate these considerations into their submission.

• Women and Gender Equality Canada

6.3 Research ethics approval

All projects that involve an intervention research component involving humans must be approved by a research ethics board that adheres to the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans. In addition, project leads should consult the Tri-Council Policy Statement website before the research portion of the project begins. Research is defined as an activity designed to test a hypothesis or answer a specific research question; permit conclusions to be drawn and extends knowledge through the use of scientific methods and standardized protocols; systematic collection and analysis of data; or other types of inquiry.

Section 7: Contact us

For additional information about this funding opportunity, please contact: cgc.solicitations-csc@phac-aspc.gc.ca with the subject line "MHBC Fund"

Section 8: Glossary of terms

Black Canadians generally includes diverse individuals, populations, and communities in Canada that identify as having African or Caribbean ancestry.

Black-led organization refers to, for the purpose of this funding opportunity, Canadian not-for-profit organizations and coalitions whose mandate and/or priorities include activities specifically designed to serve Black communities and benefit Black people in Canada. Evidence that such organizations are based in, led by, and/or serving Black communities in Canada may include:

• Organizational mission statements, operational plans, and other corporate documents
• Current and previous project work
• Substantive organizational leadership by Black Canadians (for example, Board governance, staff leadership)

Evidence-based refers to the use of the best available evidence in making decisions in how to implement project activities. For example, the design and implementation of interventions may be supported by scientific evidence, evaluation studies, qualitative evidence, or lived experience.

Gender Based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) is an analytical process used to assess how diverse groups of women, men and non-binary people may experience policies, programs and initiatives. The "plus" in GBA Plus acknowledges that GBA goes beyond biological (sex) and socio-cultural (gender) differences. We all have multiple identity factors that intersect to make us who we are; GBA Plus also considers many other identity factors, like race, ethnicity, religion, age, and mental or physical disability.

Health equity refers to the absence of unfair/unjust, systematic, and avoidable differences in health status or social determinants of health. A health equity approach seeks to reduce inequalities and to increase access to opportunities and conditions conducive to health for all. Heightened efforts to address the needs of populations that are at higher risk for poor health outcomes can help reduce health inequities between different population groups. For more information, refer to PHAC's webpage on Social determinants of health and health inequalities.

In-kind contributions are goods or services provided to the project, sometimes by the recipient organization itself, for which no exchange of money takes place. Examples include the use of office space, equipment, materials, supplies and services provided by professionals on a voluntary basis. Donations of money are categorized as "other sources of funding" and not as an in-kind contribution.

Knowledge mobilization includes the synthesis, adaptation, dissemination and active exchange of knowledge.

Mental health refers to a person's state of psychological, emotional, and social well-being. It is a necessary resource for living a healthy life and a main factor in overall health. It does not mean the same thing as mental illness. However, poor mental health can lead to mental and physical illness. Good/positive mental health allows a person to feel, think, and act in ways that help them enjoy life and cope with its challenges. Mental health can be positively or negatively influenced by factors at the individual, family, community and societal levels, including life experiences, social relationships, physical health, and social determinants of health. For more information on risk and protective factors for mental health, refer to PHAC's Positive Mental Health Surveillance Indicator Framework.

People with lived experience: People with lived experience are individuals who have personal knowledge and firsthand experience with everyday events. People with lived experience represent their own understanding and experience of issues, challenges, identity factors, health conditions, or other factors, rather than representations constructed by others.

Social determinants of health are the broad range of social, economic and environmental factors that relate to an individual's place in society (such as gender, race, income, education, or employment) and that determine individual and population health. For more information, refer to PHAC's webpage on Social determinants of health and health inequalities.

Priority populations include youth (generally refers to people aged 15 to 24 years), their family and seniors (generally refers to people aged 65 years and older.)