Oral Health Access Fund: Call for proposals

On this page

• Overview
• Stream 1 application requirements: Oral health education and training
• How to apply
• Contact us

Overview

The Oral Health Access Fund (the Fund) is a grants and contributions program led by Health Canada, and designed to complement the Canadian Dental Care Plan. The Fund aims to expand access to oral health care by supporting projects that reduce or remove non-financial barriers to accessing oral health care for targeted populations. The Fund will support projects that aim to improve training and capacity for oral health care providers, connect people to oral health care, and deliver prevention and education efforts to improve oral health.

Targeted populations could include groups such as:

• children
• Indigenous Peoples
• newcomers to Canada
• official language minority communities
• people who experience homelessness
• persons with disabilities
• rural and remote communities
• seniors

Budget 2023 committed $250 million in funding over 3 years, starting in the 2025 to 26 fiscal year, and $75 million ongoing to establish the Fund.

Funding will be delivered through two streams.

Stream 1: Oral health education and training

This stream will support projects submitted by oral health training institutions that aim to address:

• competency gaps related to the treatment of targeted populations
• training adaptation to ensure sufficient hands-on training opportunities

Applications for Stream 1 are now open.

Stream 2: Oral health access and prevention of oral diseases

This stream will support projects that aim to improve prevention of oral diseases and access to person-centered oral health care. Submissions will be accepted by a wide variety of applicants, including:

• non-profit organizations
• oral health practices
• municipalities
• provinces and territories

Applications for Stream 2 are anticipated to open in June 2024.

Stream 1 application requirements: Oral health education and training

Who can apply

Accredited and non-accredited Canadian oral health training institutions that are either:

• not-for-profit
• publicly-funded
• privately funded

Funding priorities

Funding will be prioritized for projects that relate to training and capacity building. Specifically, funding through this stream will support projects that:

• address competency gaps in the knowledge and skills of students and/or oral health care professionals related to the treatment of targeted populations, and/or
• help oral health training institutions adapt to provide students with sufficient hands-on training opportunities

Examples of projects

Examples of possible projects could include:

• curriculum development for oral health training programs to improve students' knowledge and skills for treating targeted populations
• professional development opportunities for oral health professionals to develop the knowledge and skills for treating targeted populations
• internships and partnerships with community-based, government or social service organizations for oral health students to gain experience providing treatment to targeted populations in underserved areas
• design adaptations to ensure students continue to have access to sufficient hands-on training opportunities that are also accessible to patients.

Eligible expenditures

Examples of eligible expenditures include:

• contractual services
• travel and accommodation
• personnel salaries and benefits
• equipment, materials and supplies
• performance measurement and evaluation
• rent and utilities
• capital expenditures, such as rental or purchase of capital needed to carry out the project activities
  • Purchase of land and buildings are not eligible.

How to apply

There are 3 steps to follow when applying to stream 1:

1. Read the Stream 1: Oral health education and training applicant guide for details on how to apply.
2. Download the application form (PDF) and complete it.
3. Email the completed application form and supporting documents to ohaf-fasb@hc-sc.gc.ca.

Applicants will be notified with our final decision via e-mail once all of the assessments are complete.

Submitting a proposal does not guarantee approval. This is a competitive process. Projects will be selected based on various factors, including innovation, potential reach or impact of the proposed project, number of successful proposals, regional representation and/or availability of funds.

The deadline to submit a call for proposals is 11:59 pm PDT on July 31, 2024.

Contact us

Contact us with your questions or requests for more information.

Email: ohaf-fasb@hc-sc.gc.ca