CIHR Health System Impact Fellowship
Well-being, Health and Biomedical Discovery
Deadlines
Academic Unit: Inquire with unit
Memorial Deadline: Wednesday 7th, January 2026
External Deadline: Monday 12th, January 2026
Description
An information webinar for prospective applicants and health system organizations will take place on November 4, 2026, from 12:00–1:00 p.m. ET. Register here.
The Health System Impact (HSI) Fellowship provides an embedded research opportunity for highly qualified doctoral trainees and post-doctoral researchers studying health services and policy research (HSPR) (or related fields). This is a unique opportunity for awardees to:
- – develop their embedded research experience and apply their research and analytic talents to critical health system challenges that are being addressed by health system organizations (e.g., public, private for-profit, not-for-profit, and Indigenous health organizations) outside of the traditional university setting, and
- – develop and expand professional experience, enriched core competencies, networks, and potential to make an impact in a range of sectors and roles.
While embedded in a host health system organization for the duration of their fellowship, awardees are exposed to how a health system organization works, how decisions are made, and how research and analytic skills contribute to an organization’s rapid learning and improvement. Accordingly, the program also aims to build embedded research capacity in health system organizations to support the advancement of learning health systems (LHSs) across Canada.
The HSI Fellowship contains a stream for doctoral trainees and a stream for post-doctoral researchers:
- Doctoral trainees receive a paid one-year experiential learning opportunity where they are embedded in their host health system organization with at least 60% of their time focused on an impact-oriented embedded research project of direct relevance to their host organization. The remaining time (up to 40%) is protected to continue with their doctoral program commitments*.
- Post-doctoral researchers receive a paid two-year experiential learning opportunity where they are embedded in their host health system organization with at least 70% of their time focused on their impact-oriented embedded research program of work. The remaining time (up to 30%) is protected for academic research*.
- Both doctoral and post-doctoral awardees also receive:
- Co-supervision and mentorship from a health system leader within the host health system organization and an academic supervisor at the awardee’s affiliated university.
- Professional development training in a set of enriched core competencies and networking opportunities by way of participation in the HSI Training Platform and annual National Cohort Retreat.
*Flexibility in the time commitment will enable awardees to make meaningful contributions to a health system organization while also protecting time to continue with doctoral program commitments or post-doctoral academic research with an academic supervisor.
Overall, to support achievement of the program objectives, the HSI Fellowship fosters research and professional competency development through practical, experiential learning and embedded research experience within health system organizations. This training environment is complemented with protected time for academic research, a dyad mentorship model, leadership and professional skills training, and engagement within a pan-Canadian cohort of emerging and seasoned leaders via the Health System Impact Training Platform and its National Cohort Retreat.
To learn more about the program and its suite of funding opportunities, and to view examples of previously funded HSI Fellows, their host health system partner organizations, and programs of work, visit the HSI Program webpage.
See ResearchNet for more information.
Competition: 202701HIF
Application Deadline: 2027-01-12