Graham Seed Fund

Scope

Ideally, proposals should address any of five readiness dimensions: 

• Value & Impact – outcome measures, evaluation design, scale criteria, practicality 

• People & Culture – skills, change capacity, adoption practices 

• Strategy & Governance – decision rights, oversight, alignment to goals 

• Data & Infrastructure – data quality, access, security, interoperability 

• Ethics & Privacy – responsible-AI principles, fairness, transparency 

Because these dimensions are broad by nature, projects can involve workforce development, policy and governance, data practices, ethics frameworks, evaluation methods, or technology enablement — among other areas. The focus is on initiatives that build capacity and lay the groundwork for future AI adoption in community care. AI-specific pilots are welcome when they address a readiness gap under one or more dimensions.

 Seed Fund Alignment

• Early-stage, high-potential ideas – The fund supports work that can grow into larger initiatives

• Portable outputs – Methods, templates, agreements, and models that can be adopted widely

• Grounded in lived needs – Problems identified by clinicians and partners, not imposed top-down

Examples of Projects

Value & Impact 

• What simple, meaningful ways can we measure the benefits and risks of AI in community care? 

• How might early lessons from pilots inform policy, practice, and investment at a broader system level? 

People & Culture 

• How might we strengthen confidence and trust in AI among staff and patients in community care? 

• What approaches best support teams in learning, adapting, and leading through change when AI tools are introduced? 

Strategy & Governance 

• How can community organizations create light-touch but effective governance for responsible AI use? 

• What leadership capabilities are needed to make sound, transparent decisions about AI adoption? 

Data & Infrastructure 

• What foundational data practices enable safe and equitable AI use in smaller or resource-limited settings? 

• How might community organizations prepare their information systems for interoperability with AI tools? 

Ethics & Privacy 

• How can community care organizations put fairness, privacy, and equity into practice when experimenting with AI? 

• What safeguards best maintain patient and community trust as AI tools are tested? 

Awards

The GSF has a total annual funding envelope of up to $235,000. The GSF provides funding in the amount of up to $35,000 per project for a one-year period, with a one-year no-cost extension available on request. Projects funded under GSF are expected to lead to other sources of follow-on external funding.

Allowable Expenses

The fund is primarily intended to cover the cost of hiring HQP. The allowable expenses are direct costs related to the research project including: 

• Salaries, benefits and student payments 

• Costs to support the participation of hospitals, clinicians, patients or community members in the research (explicitly budgeted) to a maximum of $10,000 

• Minor equipment 

• Materials and supplies  

• Travel and knowledge mobilization 

This opportunity is applicable to all faculties at Waterloo. The primary applicant or principal investigator (PI) must be a tenured or tenure-track faculty member or hold a definite-term research professor appointment, where the primary affiliation is with University of Waterloo. Each project must have only one lead PI. With the goal of developing talent, teams are encouraged to nominate early career researchers (within the first five years of their appointment) as the lead PI. 

The research project must include collaborations with at least one regional hospital, Ontario Health Team or community health organization (for example, Waterloo Regional Health Network or KW4OHT). As part of the research team, these clinical, healthcare, community and patient collaborators should actively participate in defining the research question, the design of the study, the knowledge mobilization plan, and/or preparation of the project budget as appropriate.  

Collaborations across disciplines, faculties, departments and NSERC/CIHR/SSHRC related fields are strongly encouraged.  

A PI can apply as a lead for only one proposal within a cycle. However, there is no limit to the number of proposals on which they are listed as collaborators. 

PIs who currently hold a GSF award are not eligible to apply for another award until that award has been completed. However, they can be listed as collaborators on new proposals. 

All proposals should include specific short to medium-term objectives, evidence of detailed planning including community engagement in the choice of the research project, sound budget justification, intended approaches including community involvement in the research, milestones, deliverables, plans for appropriate knowledge sharing both scientific and with community partners, and plans to advance the project through future research and funding. For the 2025 round, proposals must include a detailed budget for associated project costs at their partner institution.  Projects without partner institution costs must justify why no partner budget is requested in their budget justification. 

Application Process

The third cycle opens on October 31, 2025. Proposals must be electronically submitted using the OJS Grant Portal Submission System by 11:59pm EST on January 12, 2026. To submit a proposal, the lead PI must first be registered on the Portal. If the PI does not have a user account, register through the OJS Grant Portal (one registration per proposal). Late submissions will not be accepted. There will be a networking event on Friday, October 31, 2025. PIs will receive written notice of the funding decision by March 10, 2026.  

The electronic proposal submission process: 

1. Register user account as the lead PI

2. Log in to user account (*if PI already has a user account created for another UW grant in the OJS Grant Portal System, email cberardi@uwaterloo.ca)

3. Start a new proposal 

4. Upload proposal files (Seed Fund Application Form and 2-paged CV detailing only recent activities within the last 5 years) 

5. Enter proposal details (project title, abstract, and list of collaborators) 

6. Submit your proposal 

7. Acknowledgement of receipt 

Details are explained in the electronic submission guide, which is also available in a printable pdf format (PDF – electronic submission guide).

For more information, you may contact the Graham Seed Fund Team.

For assistance on developing collaborative research partnerships with clinicians and healthcare providers, you may contact Nadine Quehl, Senior Manager, Knowledge Mobilization & Partnerships, Office of Research. 

Review the evaluation criteria below for the key elements of a successful project. 

Proposal Requirements

Use the Seed Fund Application Form. The proposal must be a maximum of 8 pages, including tables, charts, graphs, diagrams and illustrations. There is no page limit for project references. Use language than can be understood by a multidisciplinary review panel. Provide a 2-paged CV which details only recent activities within the last 5 years. Note that:  

• Pages must be 8 1/2" x 11" (216 mm x 279 mm) 

• All text must use the 11-point Arial font; no condensed fonts 

• Text must be single-spaced, with no more than six lines per inch 

• All page margins must be set at a minimum of 3/4” (1.87 cm) 

Complete and submit the Electronic Coversheet for Sponsored Research for approval prior to submission of the proposal. Do not send a copy of the approved coversheet with the application. In the proposal form, state whether the coversheet has been approved or is in the process of approval. 

Applications will be evaluated by an internal review committee and scored based on the following criteria:  

• Demonstrated relevance to GSF’s objectives and the objectives of CareNext  

• Engagement with healthcare providers, clinicians, patients and/or family member participants  

• Interdisciplinarity of the team– potential collaborations across disciplines and/or Faculties at Waterloo, across NSERC/CIHR/SSHRC related fields  

• Active commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion in the composition of the research team, design of the research, and knowledge mobilization plan 

• Knowledge mobilization and translation throughout the research project. Applicants are encouraged to consult the following sources to review good practices in knowledge mobilization and translation: Strategic Health Initiatives - Knowledge mobilization and translation

• At least one training opportunity (i.e., undergraduate, graduate or postdoctoral involvement, community partners, external partners) 

• Clear description of the appropriate use of the requested funds (i.e., the dollar amount requested should match the scale of activities planned, and the budget outlined should clearly explain how funds will be used), including well-justified and clearly described costs of their partner

• Clear description of how a seed fund award will help facilitate future external research funding, new health care processes, or a healthcare technology that can be developed further through commercialization or other forms of innovation adoption. A plan for applying for external funding should be clearly outlined 

A review committee will be appointed by the Joint VP Innovation and Chief Health Innovation Officer to review applications. The reviewers may include members of the J.W. Graham Trust Committee, Waterloo researchers, and clinical and healthcare partners. Any conflicts of interest will be declared in advance (i.e., co-applicants, primary applicant from own department, etc.) and reviewers will not participate in discussions or decisions related to applications for which they have a conflict of interest. Refer to Waterloo’s Policy 69 on conflict of interest for guidance. 

Applications will be scored according to the stated evaluation criteria and the alignment with the GSF objectives and the clarity of the proposal. Applicants should be aware that this is a multidisciplinary review committee, and the emphasis is on identifying projects of strategic importance that build AI readiness – preparing the health system for future technology adoption while strengthening Waterloo’s partnerships with health care providers. While scientific excellence is important, it cannot be guaranteed that proposals will be evaluated by people with expertise in your discipline, so the onus is on the applicants to justify their scientific advances with arguments that a multidisciplinary committee would appreciate. Approved applications will be ranked from highest score to lowest score.   

Independent of the Waterloo proposal review, health care partner collaborators will be informed of all projects where they are listed as a collaborator. The partner will be asked to confirm their capacity to support the project and, in the case of multiple projects, will provide a confidential ranking of their own projects to the Joint VP Innovation and Chief Health Innovation Officer.  The review committee ranking and the partner rankings will be combined to develop a joint score to ensure the projects that are funded are strong proposals, well aligned with partner priorities. Based on this joint score, funds will be awarded as requested (to a maximum of $35,000 per application), starting with the highest-ranked application and moving down the list until all approved applications are funded or funds are depleted, whichever comes first. Primary applicants will receive notice of the decision by email. 

Successful applicants are required to:  

• Participate in a research event or symposium for GSF recipients 

• Share progress and results with the members of the CareNext coalition and other partners 

• Participate in a review committee for future GSF proposals 

Reporting Requirements

GSF recipients are required to: 

• Report outcomes or milestones resulting from the award. A brief narrative report will be requested at the middle and end of the funding period (i.e., description of the use of funds, update on the team, progress towards external funding, milestones achieved, scholarly outputs, industry engagement, EDI goals, knowledge mobilization, etc.) and further follow-up will occur to track the outcomes of external funding applications. A reporting form will be provided 

• Provide electronic copies of all papers, IP, talks and theses that acknowledge J.W. Graham Trust support via email at httsf@uwaterloo.ca. Where appropriate, these should be accompanied by a brief description and representative figure to enable research translation to a broader audience, including non-scientists 

Funding Acknowledgement

Successful applicants and their partners must acknowledge funding support from the J.W. Graham Trust in all public announcements, presentations and/or publications related to their funded project.   

Suggested acknowledgment statements:  

This research was supported by the J.W. Graham Trust at the University of Waterloo.  

This research was undertaken thanks in part to funding from the J.W. Graham Trust at the University of Waterloo. 

Ethics Requirements

Where applicable and consistent with the University of Waterloo's Guidelines on Research Involving Human Participants and/or Guidelines for the Care and Use of Animals in Research and Teaching, projects must undergo prior ethics review and clearance through the Office of Research Ethics (ORE). This requirement applies to all research involving humans or live, non-human vertebrate animals, regardless of whether the procedures used are invasive or non-invasive. Where applicable, funds will only be transferred after receipt of ethics certification. 

Acknowledgement of Responsibility

Prior to the release of funds, the PI as well as the applicable chair/director must sign an agreement. 

The GSF will maintain a list of milestones, outputs and impact of the recipients for annual reporting to the J.W. Graham Trust. Performance will be monitored for funded projects, where primary applicants will report outcomes and address milestones biannually. Some of the metrics for measuring success of the program are provided below.