VCHRI Research Challenge and Team Grant

Project Overview

Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI) offers two award programs that enable practice-based research led by health care providers that is directly relevant to their clinical practice.

The Research Challenge supports Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) point-of-care staff to identify a practice area that might be improved and develop a research project to consider how best to improve it.

The Team Grant supports staff and clinicians from VCH and Providence Health Care to conduct applied health research, community based and/or patient-oriented research projects aimed at improving practice.

For both the Research Challenge and Team Grant, clinicians are partnered with experienced researchers who mentor them throughout the entire process. These VCHRI awards build health research capacity to improve health care and the health system in British Columbia.

In 2024, VCHRI partnered with the UBC Faculty of Medicine Digital Solutions Data Management team to launch Survey Monkey Apply as the new platform for these award competitions. This involved building a comprehensive grant platform for applicants, collaborators, mentors, peer reviewers, patient family partners, and administrative staff. The platform supported the entire grant application cycle from the initial letter of intent stage through application submission, administrative review, peer review, and patient family partner review.

“Building the Survey Monkey Apply platform had a difficult learning curve, but the designated FoM Data Management team member Ashley was there to help throughout the entire project. She was responsive, timely, always available to jump on a call (often same day!) and problem solve. If we ran into unknowns together, she would take extra steps and contact Survey Monkey directly to ensure we found answers and solutions. We received positive feedback on use of the platform from longtime grant reviewers, applicants and patient family partners. I couldn’t recommend the FoM Data Management team more and the help they gave. Thank you from VCHRI”

–Krista Glowacki
Research Awards Lead, VCHRI