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CCS Workplace Cancer Research Grants: Preventing occupational cancers 

CCS Workplace Cancer Research Grants are available to support high impact cancer research that will drive risk-reduction and cancer prevention efforts for workers in Canada.
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  5. 2027 Workplace Cancer Research Grants

Highlights of the program

CCS Workplace Cancer Research Grants will support high impact research that advances understanding of workplace cancer risks and translates evidence into effective prevention approaches. By addressing critical knowledge gaps and informing policies, practices and interventions, the program aims to create safer workplaces and ultimately reduce the risk of cancer for people across Canada. 

CCS Strategic Plan and Priorities 

In 2026, CCS launched a bold new strategic plan to lead the way to a future without cancer. Our strategic plan is a commitment to working together for even greater impact and transformational change. Together we can save lives, improve lives and drive collective action to make a difference for everyone affected by cancer. One of our priorities is stopping cancer before it starts; and to do this, CCS is committed to both driving discoveries in cancer prevention and understanding cancer risk. In particular, CCS will focus on occupational risks and actions to improve survival, prevent cancer, and improve quality of life of those affected by cancer. 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 to more than once.

Important dates 

Program launch:
October 28, 2026
Abstract registration deadline:
January 13, 2027 (5:00 PM ET)
Full applications due:
April 7, 2027 (5:00 PM ET)
Results announcement:
August 2027
Anticipated funding start date:
September 1, 2027

Background

Workplaces can pose a significant risk to health through repeated exposure to carcinogens and other risks, including asbestos, solar UV, diesel exhaust, crystalline silica, radon, and shift work. Every year, an estimated 10,000 Canadian workers are diagnosed with occupation-related cancers, but workplace cancer research comprises less than 1% of cancer research funding in Canada. 

In 2021, the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) embarked on a unique fundraising mission – to engage and work with partners in healthcare, business, industry and labour unions to raise funds that would have a meaningful impact on worker health and safety through the Workplace Cancer Research Fund.

Current partners include: 

  • Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions 
  • Canadian Labour Congress 
  • Canadian Union of Public Employees 
  • International Union of Operating Engineers 
  • Labourers International Union of North America 
  • National Union of Public and General Employees 
  • NL Teachers Association 
  • UNIFOR 
  • Union of Taxation Employees - Public Service Alliance of Canada 
  • United Food and Commercial Workers Union 
  • United Steelworkers District 6 
  • WorkSafe BC 
  • Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board 
  • WorkSafe Ontario 
  • Workers’ Safety and Compensation Board - Yukon 

Representatives from the Canadian labour movement have worked with CCS as part of a Labour Advisory Committee (LAC) to advise and support the development of this research funding opportunity and will be involved in ongoing knowledge translation activities as the research progresses (see Reporting and engagement requirements below).  

Program description

The CCS Workplace Cancer Research Grants support high impact research that advances understanding of workplace cancer risks and translates evidence into effective prevention approaches. Aligned with CCS’s new strategy and ambition to improve the lives of people in Canada, funded projects will address critical knowledge gaps and inform guidelines, policies, practices and interventions that create safer workplaces and ultimately reduce the risk of cancer for people across Canada. 

Proposed projects must demonstrate a specific and defined potential for impact on the prevention of workplace exposures to risk factors, ultimately leading to a reduced incidence of workplace-related cancer. Relevant interest holders who can apply the research findings should be meaningfully engaged as members of the research team from the earliest stages of idea development, helping to ensure the research is relevant, actionable and positioned to inform changes that create safer workplaces and reduce cancer risk. 

Occupational risk factors include, but are not limited to: 

  • Air pollution 
  • Asbestos 
  • Crystalline silica 
  • Diesel engine exhaust 
  • Emerging technologies (electrification, nanotechnology) 
  • Occupational exposure to toxic/hazardous medications/diagnostic technologies/chemicals 
  • Radon 
  • Shift work
  • Solar UV radiation

Eligible research includes population-level and mechanistic studies that focus on: 

  • The causes of workplace-related cancers 
  • Mitigation/reduction of workplace-related exposures/risk factors 
  • How best to raise awareness of risk and/or implement policy change 

Projects will be accepted in two streams: (1) biomedical research examining biological or mechanistic pathways, and (2) research addressing health system, policy, or population-level questions. Research teams are encouraged to consider sectors (i.e. professions) where less research has been focused historically, such as border services (e.g. diesel exhaust) and first responders working alongside firefighters (e.g. air pollution).  

Funds available

It is anticipated that at least 4 grants will be awarded in this competition. Consideration for a wide range of topics will be given during the review process to maximize program scope. 

Applicants may request up to $300,000 over a maximum of 3 years. Requests may not exceed $150,000 in any one year. 

Funding will be provided to support the direct costs of research, including supplies, salaries, publication and other end-of-grant dissemination costs, and equipment associated with the proposed work. Equipment requests cannot exceed 15% of the requested budget. Indirect costs are not eligible. 

Please consult CCS’s Financial Administration policies when developing the budget.

Total budget:
$1.2M
Amount:
$300K (max. $150K / year)
Duration:
Up to 3 years
Equipment:
Up to 15% of the total budget

Eligibilitiy criteria

Please read carefully to ensure research team eligibility. 

  • Applications from any pillar of cancer research (i.e., biomedical; clinical; health services; and social, cultural, environmental and population health) are eligible. 
  • A maximum of one application per Principal Investigator will be permitted in this competition (applicants may be listed as Co-PIs on multiple applications). 
  • Applications are required to meaningfully involve people affected by or at risk of workplace-related cancer and relevant knowledge/end users, such as policy makers, employers or union representatives that may or may not include those affiliated with this call as partners*. Where appropriate, the same individual may fulfill both roles, provided their proposed involvement clearly reflects both perspectives. 
  • Each team is encouraged to include early career researchers, trainees and additional relevant knowledge/end-users, such as policy makers, employers or union representatives that may or may not include those affiliated with this call as partners* as integral parts of the research team. 
  • As a condition of funding, grantees will agree to the reporting and engagement criteria laid out by CCS and partners (see below). 
*Note that individual members of the Labour Advisory Committee are not eligible to join research teams as participants, but members of their organization or union are. 

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

Applications are required to demonstrate the meaningful engagement of people affected by or at risk of workplace-related cancer (i.e., individuals from the workplace of focus) 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. 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. 

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 9th, 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.

Administrative review

Abstract submissions will undergo an initial administrative review by CCS staff. Applications that are incomplete, do not follow the formatting guidelines, do not meet eligibility criteria, or are outside of the scope of the competition (i.e., applications that do not relate to workplace cancer research) will be withdrawn from the competition, and the applicant will be notified.

Applicants with eligible abstract registrations will be invited to submit a full application. Substantive changes that significantly alter the overall goals and aims of the proposal relative to the abstract registration are not permitted.

Expert review

Two expert review committees will be assembled to review the full applications. The committees will include scientist and patient/survivor/caregiver reviewers who collectively have the relevant expertise and experience needed to assess the submitted applications (see review criteria below for more information). One committee will focus on biological or mechanistic projects, with a second committee focused on population or system-level projects.

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.

Abstract registration is mandatory to be able to submit a full application.
 
Note that submitted abstracts will be shared with the CCS LAC to advise the committee of potential application topics, as well as provide an opportunity for general feedback to applicants. Where relevant, LAC members may provide feedback, as potential ‘end-users’ of the research results, that will be collated and shared back to applicants for consideration, as relevant.

Abstract registration includes:

  1. Applicant and (known) team details

    • Principal Investigator (PI), Co-PIs, Co-Applicants, Additional Authors, People affected by cancer (or at risk of), Knowledge/End-Users, Collaborators
    • Additional team members may be added at the full application stage
  2. Project title
  3. Public Summary (2,000 characters, spaces included) 
  4. Scientific Abstract (4,200 characters, spaces included) 
  5. Relevance Statement (2,000 characters, spaces included) 
  6. Keywords 
  7. Suggested reviewers and exclusions 

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

  1. Team member Biosketches or Letters of Collaboration 

    • The research team must include at least one named person affected by, or at risk of, work-place related cancer and a relevant knowledge/end user. Where appropriate, the same individual may fulfill both roles, provided their proposed involvement clearly reflects both perspectives. 
  2. Detailed scientific proposal (21,000 characters, spaces included). An additional 2 pages of figures/tables/charts and associated legends are permitted (and may be embedded in the proposal as images without affecting character count) 
  3. Description of how intersectional identities, sex, gender and/or other dimensions of diversity have been intentionally integrated into the research plan through to dissemination of results/next steps towards implementation (where relevant) 
  4. Timeline and key milestones (1 page) 
  5. Data management plan (maximum 3 pages) 
  6. Knowledge translation/mobilization plan (4,200 characters, spaces included)  
  7. Engagement plan (4,200 characters, spaces included) 
  8. Terms of Reference (ToR)
  9. AI use disclosure 
  10. Detailed budget and justification 
  11. Research tracking information (for administrative purposes)

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.  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 (and 2 years post-grant for progress reports). Principal Investigators will be emailed instructions about completing the report in our online 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. 
  • Report on research progress and results/outcomes to the CCS Labour Advisory Committee (LAC) (virtually or in writing) twice during the reporting period. 
  • Receive feedback and/or questions about their research from LAC members (virtually or in writing). 
  • Engage with CCS staff, where relevant, to identify potential program, policy, and/or advocacy opportunities related to workplace cancer risk. 
  • Participate in an end-of-grant workshop/symposium to share and discuss research results with relevant interested parties. 

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.

It is understood that applications may also be made to other agencies to provide support for grants/programs similar to those submitted to the Canadian Cancer Society.  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 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).