Our programs have grown and evolved to meet the needs of our stakeholders and align with the desire to find Saskatchewan-grown solutions to the health challenges facing our province and beyond.
Let’s take a look at this evolution:
In the Beginning…SHRF had a limited scope of support.
It was not long ago that SHRF only had two main funding programs; what is currently our Establishment grant and Research Fellowship.
Though these programs were foundational in building the capacity of new and budding researchers, and they continue to meet these needs in the province today, there was inherently a limited number of those who could apply.
We recognized a need to expand our programs and look for ways to support more research in the province. This was accomplished through partnerships and the development of new programs.
Today…SHRF is responsive to the needs of the province.
Recognizing the need to expand our programs beyond early-career researchers, SHRF introduced new funding programs that supported collaborative groups of researchers to do more. These programs were informed by the needs of the province and strengthened by the involvement of partners and other stakeholders.
SHRF responded to the need to get new ideas off the ground with the introduction of the Collaborative Innovation Development grant in 2014. This seed funding fosters creativity, novelty and innovation and represents first steps for researchers to pursue further funding. It has spurred the creation of new collaborative groups, strengthened researcher success in moving new ideas forward and brought increased funding into the province.
New programs meant new groups of researchers could apply to SHRF, including researchers working in the health system who are on the front lines of services and the engagement of patients as part of the research team. Our patient-oriented research programs are meeting the needs of not only the province, but the Canada-wide strategy to focus on research that is beneficial to patients and driven by patients.
SHRF’s focus is on finding Saskatchewan-grown solutions to Saskatchewan’s health challenges through targeted, partnered and capacity building funding opportunities for health research.
Moving Forward…SHRF will enable researchers to have a greater impact.
SHRF will continue to strategically grow our suite of funding programs in a way that will:
• strengthen research capacity and competitiveness;
• increase the investment in research in Saskatchewan; and
• align research with the needs of our stakeholders.
We will continue to hold ourselves and our funded researchers accountable to the highest standards, work with partners to bring more hope to important causes and find more ways to measure and share the stories of the impact that health research is having on Saskatchewan citizens and beyond.