CCS Health Equity Research Grants

Quick view: CCS strategic plan, grant streams and special calls

CCS Strategic Plan and Priorities	CCS released a new strategic plan in 2026 (learn more below), with 3 goals to increase cancer survival, stop cancer before it starts, improve the lives of people affected by cancer. These goals are known to systematically affect different populations in differential ways and therefore carry direct equity implications.
Letter of Intent	Mandatory submission; Proposed co-creation of team and project
Grant Stream 1: Authentic Community Engagement / Partnership Development	Complex community engagement, partnership development, Indigenous engagement, or governance development.
Grant Stream 2: Community-Engaged Research Projects	Teams with established relationships and mature project ideas.
Special Calls	Population Health / Policy – Reducing Environmental Cancer Inequities Data Transformation – Advancing the Pan-Canadian Cancer Data Strategy CCS Strategic Priority – Lung Cancer Action Plan

Program summary

The purpose of this funding program is to support research projects that address unfair, avoidable and unjust differences in cancer-related health outcomes between groups. Burdens of disease, quality of life, and access to early prevention and screening are characterized by inequities among people who navigate intersecting layers of (dis)advantage in society. Projects must be collaborative, co-created with people who have relevant lived/ living experience and designed to address factors that contribute to these differences in Canada.

This funding opportunity recognizes that differences in cancer-related experiences and outcomes are shaped by the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age, as well as the systems and institutions that shape these conditions and access to cancer care. Applications should take an intersectional approach, recognizing that individuals and communities may experience multiple and overlapping forms of marginalization that influence their cancer experiences, access to care and outcomes.

This program is focused on resourcing projects that generate actionable knowledge and contribute to meaningful improvements in cancer prevention, screening, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, survivorship, supportive care and/or cancer outcomes.

CCS Strategic plan and priorities

In 2026, CCS launched a bold new strategic plan to lead the way to a future without cancer. Doing so requires direct equity action across the entire spectrum of cancer research, prevention, care, and programming. Our strategic plan is a commitment to working together for even greater impact and transformational change. Together we can save and improve lives and drive collective action to make a difference for everyone affected by cancer. CCS is committed to applying a health equity lens (for example; 1 & 2) by funding research, advocating for equitable cancer care or healthy public policy, reducing barriers to accessing our programs and services and partnering with communities to help ensure everyone has a fair opportunity to achieve the best possible cancer outcomes. These commitments enable the greatest opportunities and impacts for people in Canada. To learn more about our goals, priorities and strategic plan, visit: https://cancer.ca/en/about-us/strategic-plan.

NOTE: CCS launches multiple research funding opportunities per year. At this time, there are Health Equity Research Grants, Workplace Cancer Research Grants, and Environmental Cancer Research Grants available. Topic areas may overlap; for example, Environmental Cancer Research Grants also include exposures such as radon and solar UV. Applicants should select the funding opportunity that best fits their proposed project. See the Multiple applications/multiple sources of funding section below for more details. We encourage research teams to contact research@cancer.ca if they are unsure which funding opportunity may be the best fit for their proposed project. Different applications may be submitted to multiple funding opportunities; however, the same application cannot be submitted more than once.

Important dates

Program launch (EGrAMS):

November 12, 2026

Letter of intent deadline:

March 9, 2027

Letter of intent results and funding:

end of May 2027

Full application deadline:

January 26, 2028

Results announcement:

June 2028

Anticipated start date:

July 1, 2028

Background

Across Canada, people do not experience cancer care in the same way. Access to prevention, screening, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, and support can vary significantly depending on where people live, the communities they are part of and other barriers they face.

These differences are not random, and are a consequence of unfair, avoidable and unjust conditions that create inequities in cancer care and outcomes. These conditions are shaped by historical and ongoing forces, including colonization, racism and other forms of discrimination and exclusion, which influence how systems and institutions are designed, how resources and opportunities are distributed, and how people experience and access cancer care.

Program description

This funding opportunity supports research that advances cancer-related health equity through collaborative approaches that address the factors contributing to inequitable cancer experiences and outcomes.

Projects must support work towards one or more of our 3 strategic goals:

Increasing cancer survival
Stopping cancer before it starts
Improving the lives of people affected by cancer

Projects may focus on responding to equity at any point along the cancer continuum, including prevention, screening, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, survivorship and supportive care (including palliative or end of life care). We encourage projects focused on less survivable cancers and cancers with the highest number of deaths (i.e., lung, esophageal, stomach, brain, liver, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, breast and colorectal); we also encourage prevention projects (i.e., focused on cervical cancer and others).

Projects are encouraged to address factors at the structural level (e.g., colonization, racism, laws), health-system level (e.g., how services are funded, organized or delivered), or organizational level (e.g., institutional policies and practices) and to demonstrate creativity and innovation in study design that is responsive to inequities. Provider- or individual-level approaches will only be eligible if combined with or addressing organizational or systemic factors contributing to the inequity. Applicants must identify a clear health inequity affecting a defined community of focus and demonstrate how meaningful engagement and co-creation with community partners have shaped the proposed approach and its alignment with the community’s priorities, experiences and needs.

Funds available

Total funds available, including LOI and both grant streams: $6.5M

Grant Stream	Maximum Amount Available per Grant	Term
Letter of Intent	$10,000	9 months
Authentic Community Engagement / Partnership Development	$150,000	1 year
Community-Engaged Research Projects	$600,000 total ($200,000 / year)	3 years

Letter of Intent Development Funding

Successful letter of intent applicants will receive up to $10k to support the development of a full application.

Additional information regarding eligible expenses is provided in the Application Guide.

Grant Stream 1: Authentic Community Engagement / Partnership Development

Authentic community engagement and relationship development take time and are foundational to equitable, community-engaged research and meaningful health equity outcomes. To this end, funding of up to $150k over one year is available to support community engagement, partnership development, community readiness, relationship repair, Indigenous engagement, governance development or power-sharing and issue identification activities. This approach may be used in instances where complex relationships or issues of trust necessitate a more careful approach to team building than what can be accomplished within the LOI to full application window (approximately 8 months). Development of a co-creation environment to foster project creation that is equitable and meaningful as a foundation for full grant application is welcomed. Teams funded through this stream may apply to a future competition to support subsequent research activities.

Grant Stream 2: Community-Engaged Research Projects
For teams with developed community relationships, funding of up to $600k over 3 years (maximum of $200k per year) is available for project-focused research. This stream is intended for teams with established relationships and mature project ideas. Although ongoing relationship building is expected, teams that need to undergo significant community engagement or team building are strongly encouraged to apply to the Authentic Community Engagement / Partnership Development Grant Stream (above).

Funding for both streams will be provided to support the direct costs of research, including supplies, eligible salaries, community/partner engagement (where eligible, see our Expert Compensation Policy and Procedures) and equipment associated with the proposed work. Equipment requests of up to $10,000 can be included within the proposed budget but must be appropriately justified. For this competition, team building expenses and community-based researcher salaries (prorated to the work specific to the project) are eligible expenses. Indirect costs are not eligible. Review CCS’s Financial Administration policy for details of eligible and non-eligible expenses when creating your budget.

Within this funding opportunity, we are calling for grant applications focused on the intersection of environmental factors and health equity.

For the purposes of this special call, environmental factors include aspects of the physical, natural and built environments that may influence cancer risk and outcomes, as well as the social and structural conditions that shape how environmental risks are distributed, experienced and addressed. Environmental exposures can contribute to cancer risk, but these exposures are not experienced equally across populations. Factors such as geography, housing, income, colonialism, racism and other structural determinants can influence exposure to environmental cancer risks and access to prevention resources. Environmental cancer risk is often disproportionately larger for structurally disadvantaged communities and more research is needed to understand how exposures intersect with inequities and how policy change can reduce health inequities. This special call seeks to support research that examines the intersection of environmental determinants and cancer-related inequities and generates evidence that can inform policy, systems, practice or community-level change.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

environmental cancer risks disproportionately experienced by structurally disadvantaged communities
environmental justice and structural drivers of unequal cancer risks or outcomes
community-led approaches to reducing environmental cancer risks
policies, programs or interventions designed to reduce environmental cancer inequities

A minimum of 1 project will be funded in this special call. CCS is committed to the strategic growth of this research area. Projects focused on inequities and environmental risks must include actionable outputs with the potential to inform policy, systems, practice or community-level action.

Within this funding opportunity, we are calling for grant applications focused on intersectionality in data and health equity research.

High-quality, actionable data are essential for understanding and addressing inequities. However, many populations and communities remain underrepresented, misrepresented, or unrepresented in cancer data systems due to gaps in data collection, linkage, accessibility, governance and stewardship. As a result, inequities in cancer prevention, screening, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, survivorship care, and end of life / palliative care, and consequently health outcomes, may remain hidden or poorly understood. Structural determinants influence both cancer outcomes and the extent to which populations are represented in data systems. Strengthening cancer data systems is therefore critical to advancing health equity. This special call seeks to support projects that examine how cancer data can be improved, governed and used by and with communities to better understand and address inequities across the cancer continuum. Consistent with the priorities of the Pan-Canadian Cancer Data Strategy, particular emphasis will be placed on projects that address data governance, accountability, stewardship, access and action to advance health equity.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

intersectional, disaggregated or equity-focused approaches to cancer data and analytics to enable community-led analysis and action (for example; 3)
First Nations, Inuit and Métis data sovereignty and distinctions-based approaches to cancer data governance
governance, stewardship and accountability frameworks that support equitable collection, access, interpretation and use of cancer data by and for communities
policies, programs, interventions or system improvements that enable the use of cancer data by communities to reduce inequities and improve outcomes
approaches that identify and mitigate risks of re-identification, stigmatization, deficit-based interpretation, inappropriate secondary use or other potential harms

A minimum of 1 project will be funded in this special call. CCS is committed to the strategic growth of this research area and advancing priorities of the pan-Canadian Cancer Data Strategy. Projects focused on the intersection of cancer data and health equity must address data governance, stewardship, accountability and action in their proposals.

Lung cancer continues to be the leading cause of cancer-related death in Canada. Despite significant advancements in treatment options and methods for screening and diagnosis, much work remains to be done to reduce the number of lives lost to this disease. There are inequities in lung cancer risk, access to care and outcomes tied to social determinants of health. CCS encourages projects that improve equitable access to care for low mortality cancers, including lung cancer. You can see more in the Lung Cancer Action Plan. CCS is committed to the strategic growth of this research area and advancing priorities of the Lung Cancer Action Plan, but no additional funds are allocated beyond the funding envelope for this call and grants focused on lung cancer will be funded in the general pool in rank order. Projects focused on health equity in lung cancer must address governance and accountability in their proposals.

Eligibility criteria

Please review carefully to ensure research team eligibility.

A maximum of 1 application per Principal Investigator is permitted in this competition.
Researchers who have not traditionally worked in cancer but are focused on health equity research (e.g. social scientists, arts-based researchers, community-engaged researchers) are encouraged to apply.
Teams are encouraged to have a Co-Lead with lived experience of cancer from the community of focus for the LOI and Authentic Community Engagement / Partnership Development Stream; for the Community-engaged Research Projects Grant Stream, teams must have a Co-Lead with lived experience from the community of focus at the full application stage.
Each team must have a meaningful governance structure designed to mitigate power imbalances to ensure shared decision-making.
People affected by cancer are people both affected by structural marginalization and at risk of cancer, patients, survivors and/or caregivers. Most of these individuals must be from the community of focus and all must be an integral part of the team and meaningfully involved in co-creating all aspects of the research plan.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to engage individuals and groups who will be responsible for, or influence, the implementation of research findings. This may include healthcare professionals, community organizations, policy-makers, administrators, community knowledge holders, leaders, and people with lived or living experience to help ensure findings are relevant, feasible, and positioned for uptake.

Applicants are encouraged to assemble teams that collectively bring appropriate expertise in health equity, community engagement, implementation and the proposed area of research. Detailed requirements for team composition and engagement are provided in the Application Guide.

We encourage inquiries about project scope and eligibility of team members. Please contact research@cancer.ca.

Guidance on engagement of people affected by or at risk of cancer

Applications must demonstrate the meaningful engagement of people affected by or at risk of cancer in research development, implementation, and dissemination of research findings. Engagement can mean many things, and all types of research can benefit from the inclusion of diverse perspectives. We have compiled resources on our website to help inform and guide the engagement process and encourage you to consult these. These include a wide range of resources developed and offered by the CIHR Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) support units, but also articles on engagement in different types of research. We recognize that patient or stakeholder engagement will look different for different types of research and encourage both broader forms of engagement (as part of an overall research or learning program/strategy) as well as creativity in devising engagement strategies.

For this specific competition, meaningful engagement at the level of co-creation or higher is expected for team members. Foundational work to be able to do meaningful co-creation within projects is supported through the LOI process and through Grant Stream 1, Authentic Community Engagement / Partnership Development. The LOI and Authentic Community Engagement / Partnership Development Stream are also intended to support the development of meaningful engagement with structurally disadvantaged populations. See below for more details.

Engagement Resources

If you missed it, please watch the recording of our workshop on meaningful engagement of patient partners in research hosted by our team on April 9^th, 2025 here.

Key resources

All applications must be submitted through EGrAMS. Detailed application instructions are available in the application guidelines linked at the top of this page. Additional key resources are provided below.

There will be a 2-stage application and review process:

All applicants are required to submit a Letter of Intent (LOI). The LOI submission process is designed to be low-barrier and acknowledge the co-creation requirements of this funding opportunity. LOIs will undergo administrative review for alignment to CCS’ strategic plan, relevance to the Health Equity Research Grants program objectives, the description of a collaborative approach to full application development, and a justified budget for the work proposed. Successful LOI submissions will be awarded up to $10k per team to co-develop the full application.
All successful LOIs will be expected to submit a full application approximately 8 months after LOIs are awarded.

It is expected that between LOI and full application submission, the project may (and should) evolve due to the co-creation process. Minor changes are encouraged; major changes (such as changing the community or population of interest) are not considered within scope. If you have questions about the changes to your project, please reach out to research@cancer.ca.

An expert review committee will be assembled to review the full applications. The committee will be composed of diverse scientific reviewers and patient/survivor/caregiver reviewers with the expertise necessary to evaluate the full applications submitted.

Applications will be evaluated against the review criteria listed in the rating scales. Two scores – Merit and Relevance and Potential Impact – are averaged together to create a final score upon which applications are ranked. Please refer to the application guides and rating scales when preparing an application.

Please review the LOI Application Guide prior to submission.

LOI includes:

Applicant details (Principal Investigator (PI), Co-Leads, Co-PIs, Co-Applicants, Additional Authors, People Affected by Cancer, Knowledge Users, and Collaborators) that are known at the time of LOI submission. In this competition Co-Leads with lived experience are expected to receive compensation from the project budget or other sources. It is expected that co-development of the full application may result in the addition of new team members for the full application.
Intended grant stream (Authentic Community Engagement / Partnership Development vs. Community-Engaged Research Project). This can be changed at the full application stage if needed.
Alignment with CCS strategic priorities (1,000 characters, including spaces)
Project summary (2,500 characters, including spaces)
Team summary (2,500 characters, including spaces)
Co-creation process (5,500 characters, including spaces)
A detailed budget for up to $10k describing costs associated with the full application development process
Keywords (maximum 10)
Suggested reviewers and exclusions

Please review the application guide and rating scales prior to submitting your application.

When preparing the full application, the following additional information is required:

Participant biosketches and letters of collaboration
Public (non-scientific) summary (2,000 characters, including spaces)
Scientific abstract (4,200 characters, including spaces)
Change statement (4,200 characters, including spaces)
Detailed proposal (21,000 characters, including spaces) – an additional 2 pages of figures/charts/tables and associated legends may be embedded in the proposal as images without affecting the character count
Description of how sex and/or gender and/or dimensions of diversity/determinants of health and their intersectionalities have been intentionally integrated into the study design (4,200 characters, including spaces)
Key milestones and timeline (1 page)
Data management plan (DMP), including integration of OCAP and other principles of reconciliation and other relevant equity practices in data management as appropriate (up to 3 pages)
Terms of Reference (ToR)
AI use disclosure
Knowledge translation/mobilization plan (4,200 characters, including spaces)
Detailed budget and justification
Research tracking information (for administrative purposes)

It is understood that applications may also be made to other agencies to provide support for grants/programs similar to those submitted to CCS. There must not be substantive overlap (more than 50%) with any pending application (including those at the abstract or Letter of Intent submission stage) to any other Canadian Cancer Society Research program as of this competition due date. Duplicate applications will not be accepted. The onus is on the applicant to indicate the extent (or absence) of overlap.

Applicants are reminded to review the Eligibility and requirements section for details on scientific and financial reporting, funder acknowledgement, Canadian Cancer Society policies on open access and tobacco related funding.

CCS understands that achieving equity, diversity and inclusivity requires ongoing reflection, effort and commitment. We continue to take concrete steps to address structural racism and discrimination within the research ecosystem. This involves implementing targeted policies, offering training programs and structuring our funding programs to mitigate biases and actively seeking input from underrepresented communities. By fostering an environment where diverse experiences and narratives are valued, we aim to enhance the quality and impact of cancer research.  CCS commits to including community perspectives, lived experience and health equity expertise, and to undertaking other efforts to mitigate bias in this funding and review process. We encourage research teams to reflect and take concrete steps toward more equitable and inclusive programs and processes where possible.

All grant recipients must

submit annual progress reports and statements of account throughout the grant, including one of each for the LOI. Principal Investigators will be emailed instructions about completing the report in our online grants management system (EGrAMS). Submission of these reports is mandatory. Failure to submit the required reports will result in the future installments of a grant being withheld.
participate in a minimum of one end of grant meeting or workshop during the grant and are strongly encouraged to participate in other opportunities to share learnings and outcomes with each other and relevant interest-holders, including CCS staff. The meeting may be designed as in-person or a virtual event, to be determined. Additional information will be shared closer to the meeting date.

The Notification of Award and Letter of Acceptance will set the final terms and conditions applicable to each grant. Failure to comply with any of the listed expectations during the duration of the award will result in future installments of a grant being withheld.

CCS is a proud signatory of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) and a member of the Impact Funders Forum as well as other coalitions that work to support better research assessment practices and improve how evidence is generated, utilized, and applied across various issue areas and policy sectors. In line with our research strategy, CCS expects to engage with research teams in various ways to promote learning, networking, and knowledge sharing throughout the life cycle of each grant. As part of a successful application, CCS expects that grantees will engage in multiple opportunities as appropriate and able.

Scientific misconduct including, but not limited to, fabrication, falsification, plagiarism or misrepresentation of data will not be tolerated and may result in the rejection of proposals in the current program and possibly from all future CCS programs. Misconduct, including but not limited to, racism, discrimination, bullying, harassment of any form (i.e., sexual) will be treated with the same severity.

CCS reserves the right to cancel the support provided through its program were any of this conduct proven to (have) happen(ed).