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Making the Shift to provide grants for research on youth homelessness

young homeless boy sleeping on a bridge in the city
young homeless boy sleeping on the bridge, poverty, city, street

Making the Shift (MtS), a youth homelessness social innovation lab co-led by the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness at York University, is seeking proposals from researchers and community organizations (that can hold Tri-Council funding) for one-time grants.

For full details, including French-language application materials, visit https://makingtheshiftinc.ca/2022-call-for-proposals-seven-new-funding-streams.

Research projects should contribute to MtS’s evidence base of policy and service enhancements that prevent youth homelessness in Canada. Youth homelessness prevention is defined in The Roadmap for the Prevention of Youth Homelessness.

banner of call for proposals with the Making the Shift logo and the following wording: 2022 Open Call for Proposals: Deadline: February 28, 2022

Applications must respond to one of the following funding streams and be submitted by the deadline date of Feb. 28 at 5 p.m. EST:

  • Youth-Focused Harm Reduction
  • Legal and Justice Issues
  • Cost-Benefit Analysis
  • Evictions Prevention
  • Data and Technology: Understanding the Role of Linked Administrative Data in Preventing Youth Homelessness
  • Pathways into Homelessness
  • Open Prevention Topic

Who can apply?

Individuals or institutions can apply. Applicants must be affiliated with a Canadian post-secondary academic institution. Principal investigators must be tenure-stream faculty or adjunct faculty members.

Not-for-profit organizations can apply for funding, provided they meet Tri-Council requirements and submit the supporting documentation, including affiliation with an academic institution. Indigenous not-for-profit organizations wanting to administer the grant funds should apply for institutional eligibility.

Funding amount and duration

MtS will fund between $50,000 and $250,000 per project. Successful projects will receive funds approximately mid-August 2022. Projects should anticipate starting on Sept. 1, 2022. Project activities must be completed by Dec. 24, 2024.

How to apply

Step 1: Download the application guide to determine if your proposal is eligible, and to learn more about how to submit your proposal.

Step 2: Prepare your application and complete the Making the Shift budget template.

Step 3: Register and submit your application through the Making the Shift submission portal. 

Both English and French applications are encouraged. MtS application documents translated into French were posted on Feb. 2.

Do you have questions? Contact the Making the Shift funding team at mtsfunding@yorku.ca for questions regarding your proposal or the submission process.

Learn more about current funded MtS projects here.