Verified

Global Child Health Catalyst Grant

The Hospital for Sick Children

The Global Child Health Catalyst Grant is a strategic initiative of the SickKids Centre for Global Child Health (C-GCH). The SickKids C-GCH encompasses a multi-disciplinary and interprofessional group dedicated to improving Global Child Health through innovative research, sustainable capacity building, sound knowledge translation (KT) strategies and evidence-based advocacy. The Global Child Health Catalyst Grant aims to support the exploration of new ideas that may benefit children and their families in resource-constrained settings globally.

The competition welcomes new ideas that align with the C-GCH strategy and pillars of research, capacity building, and KT/advocacy/policy development. Multi- and inter-disciplinary collaboration is strongly encouraged. Applicants should be creative and think broadly. To this end, submissions to this grant competition should only be made for new project ideas; the continuation of an existing project will not be supported.

Even though your long-term goals for the project may extend beyond the means and timeline of this grant, within one-year the results of funded catalyst grants projects should enable and strengthen the development of new funding proposals that are eligible for submission to national or international funding competitions.

The C-GCH will fund up to two awards of up to $50,000 each for the most promising proposals. Designated members from the C-GCH will screen applications and assign reviewers to evaluate each application (see Appendix 1 for Scoring Matrix). Reviewers will not be provided with the identity of the principal applicant or co-applicants. The applicant’s level of experience will be evaluated a priori to assign applicants as ‘Senior’ (defined as applicants who are able to independently apply for Research Ethics Board approval at SickKids) or ‘Junior’ (defined as applicants who are not able to independently apply for Research Ethics Board approval at SickKids). See below under “Applicant Classification” for more information about Junior vs. Senior classification. All applicants are encouraged to collaborate with C-GCH core faculty, staff, and/or trainees. In the case of a tie between application scores, applications which have engaged at least one co-applicant from the C-GCH will be allotted 10% bonus points of the total score of the application after blinded review. The C-GCH is not obligated to fund any grants should the reviewers find the applications do not meet the requirements of the competition.

Budget

• Applications may request up to $50,000 CAD with justification for each budget category in the Research/Project Plan.

• The funds may be used to leverage other funds, but not overlap with what is currently funded.

• Eligible expenses include supplies, project-necessitated travel, equipment, and salaries (e.g., students, research or clinical fellows, project managers, research or clinical coordinators/associates, technical and professional assistants, statisticians, etc.).

• Ineligible expenses include administration, conference registration fees, travel to conferences, faculty salary, and overhead.

• Please consider resource and environmental stewardship in identifying eligible expenses.

• All line items will be at the discretion of the committee.

AI Based Application Success Predictor

The ranking below is an evidence-informed assessment of what makes applications competitive across SickKids research and trainee funding mechanisms. It is not an official universal scoring rubric; individual awards use their own criteria.

1

★★★★★

Direct relevance to child health — Critical

The project should address a meaningful pediatric health question, from infancy and development to childhood cancer, genetics, neuroscience or clinical care. Strong proposals explain how the findings could improve outcomes for children and families.

SickKids

2

★★★★★

Scientific merit and originality — Critical

Present a clear hypothesis, important knowledge gap and a credible advance over existing research. Explain why the study matters and what new evidence it is expected to produce.

3

★★★★★

Potential for clinical impact — Critical

Show how the research could improve diagnosis, treatment, prevention, clinical decision-making or developmental outcomes. SickKids emphasizes translating discoveries into better patient care.

SickKids

4

★★★★★

Methodological rigor and feasibility — Critical

Use suitable study designs, valid measurements, appropriate controls, robust analysis and realistic milestones. For clinical research, address recruitment, sample size, ethics and access to relevant patient populations.

5

★★★★☆

Applicant potential and research achievements — Very high

Demonstrate academic performance, relevant research experience, publications or other evidence of promise. For trainee awards, the applicant's contribution and potential for research growth are particularly important.

6

★★★★☆

Mentorship and institutional environment — Very high

Identify an appropriate supervisor, define their mentoring role and demonstrate access to the facilities, expertise and resources required. SickKids' trainee programs are structured around research training and career development.

SickKids

7

★★★★☆

Alignment with the specific funding program — Very high

Match the application to the award's purpose, whether basic science, clinical research, precision child health, cancer research, brain and mental health, or a specialized travel award. Eligibility and review criteria differ by program.

SickKids

8

★★★★☆

Interdisciplinary collaboration and research infrastructure — High

Use complementary expertise across genetics, molecular biology, clinical medicine, neuroscience, engineering, data science or population health where appropriate. Explain why the collaboration strengthens the project.

9

★★★☆☆

Future funding and research independence — High

Explain how the project could generate preliminary data, publications, new collaborations or a foundation for independent research. For external grants, describe how the proposed work advances the field beyond the current funding landscape.

10

★★★★☆

Eligibility, budget and submission compliance — Essential gate

Meet the degree, trainee status, supervisor, institutional and application requirements. Follow the correct internal and external deadlines and ensure the requested funding is allowable. SickKids requires awards paid through the institution to be reviewed by its Research Training Centre where applicable.

SickKids

Ranked summary table

Rank	Predictor	Importance
1	Child-health relevance	Critical
2	Scientific merit and originality	Critical
3	Clinical impact	Critical
4	Rigor and feasibility	Critical
5	Applicant potential	Very high
6	Mentorship and institutional support	Very high
7	Funding-program fit	Very high
8	Interdisciplinary collaboration	High
9	Future research potential	High
10	Eligibility and compliance	Essential gate

Specialties

Global Health

Pediatrics

Eligibility Requirements

The eligibility criteria for the 2027 C-GCH Catalyst Grant competition are:

• One principal applicant only. Principal applicant must be a:

▪ SickKids staff member (including scientists, investigators, research associates, directors/managers/coordinators and clinical staff)

▪ SickKids graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and clinical fellows (staff appointment is not required)

• Unlimited co-applicants can be listed per application

• A single principal applicant can submit only one application per annual competition (but may be named as a co-applicant in other submissions)

• The principal applicant cannot have been awarded a C-GCH Catalyst Grant in the previous year’s competition (i.e., 2026 Catalyst Grant). This criterion is meant to encourage and develop capacity among new applicants.

• Collaborations (particularly multi- and inter-disciplinary) are highly encouraged, but must be justified

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: The Hospital for Sick Children

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: 555 University Avenue, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8

Legal & Affiliation Disclaimer

Affiliation Disclaimer: Trialect operates independently and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or supported by any sponsors or organizations posting on the GrantsBoard platform. As an independent aggregator of publicly available funding opportunities, Trialect provides equal access to information for all users without endorsing any specific funding source, content, organization, or sponsor. Trialect assumes no responsibility for the content posted by sponsors or third parties.

Subscription Disclaimer: Upon logging into Trialect, you may choose to SUBSCRIBE to GrantsBoard for timely notifications of funding opportunities and to access exclusive benefits, such as priority alerts, reminders, personalized recommendations, and additional application support. However, users are advised to contact sponsors directly for any questions and are not required to subscribe to engage with funding opportunities.

Content Ownership and Copyright Disclaimer: Trialect respects the intellectual property rights of all organizations and individuals. All content posted on GrantsBoard is provided solely for informational purposes and remains the property of the original owners. Trialect does not claim ownership of, nor does it have any proprietary interest in, content provided by third-party sponsors. Users are encouraged to verify content and ownership directly with the posting sponsor.

Fair Use Disclaimer: The information and content available on GrantsBoard are compiled from publicly accessible sources in alignment with fair use principles under U.S. copyright law. Trialect serves as an aggregator of this content, offering it to users in good faith and with the understanding that it is available for public dissemination. Any organization or individual who believes their intellectual property rights have been violated is encouraged to contact us for prompt resolution.

Third-Party Posting Responsibility Disclaimer: Trialect is a neutral platform that allows third-party sponsors to post funding opportunities for informational purposes only. Sponsors are solely responsible for ensuring that their postings comply with copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. Trialect assumes no liability for any copyright or intellectual property infringements in third-party content and will take appropriate action to address any substantiated claims.

Accuracy and Verification Disclaimer: Trialect makes no warranties regarding the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information provided by sponsors. Users are advised to verify the details of any funding opportunity directly with the sponsor before taking action. Trialect cannot be held liable for any discrepancies, omissions, or inaccuracies in third-party postings.

Notice and Takedown Policy: Trialect is committed to upholding copyright law and protecting the rights of intellectual property owners. If you believe that content on GrantsBoard infringes your copyright or intellectual property rights, please contact us with detailed information about the claim. Upon receipt of a valid notice, Trialect will promptly investigate and, where appropriate, remove or disable access to the infringing content.

View Funding Opportunity