Interior Universities Research Coalition (IURC) BC Interior Region Seed Grant Research Fund: Seventh Call for Proposals

Program Description

The Interior Universities Research Coalition (IURC) and the BC Ministry of Health (Ministry) have established a BC Interior Region Seed Grant Research Fund, through the Ministry’s Research Seed Grant Program. This fund aims to encourage inter- institutional research, in health-related areas, between researchers at Thompson Rivers University, the University of Northern British Columbia, and the University of British Columbia (Okanagan) and foster collaboration with Ministry on research-related program areas.

This seventh call for proposals is focused on research relating to the following questions identified by the Ministry:

1. What are the barriers and challenges that impact enrollment in health occupations (nurses, allied health, and physicians), prevent program completion, and lead to workforce attrition within five years of employment post-graduation for Indigenous Peoples?
2. What has the impact been of integrating new allied health assistant roles on workforce optimization and access to care?

Full-time faculty with ongoing or tenure-track appointments are eligible to apply. Those holding sessional or term appointments may contribute to and receive funding from an approved project, but they are not eligible to apply as Principal Applicants.

Full Program Terms

Proposal Development Support

For support in preparing a UBCO-led application, please get in touch with the contact below:

How to Apply

The first step in this process is to prepare a brief (150-200 words) Expression of Interest (EOI) that identifies the Principal Applicant and their institution, which of the above-noted research questions they are interested in pursuing, and a brief description of the research project they are proposing. The EOI must be submitted electronically to rcomms@tru.ca by 4:00 pm Pacific Time on January 23, 2026.

All eligible EOIs received by the above-noted deadline will then be provided to a member of the Ministry’s Research and Technology Branch, who will arrange meetings with each EOI proponent and the Ministry program area who submitted the research question. Meetings will be held in late January and early February, to discuss the proponent’s EOI in advance of preparation of a full proposal.

Those invited to submit a full proposal are to submit as a single PDF document, prepared according to the following guidelines and must be submitted electronically to rcomms@tru.ca by 4:00 pm Pacific Time on February 13, 2026.