Safety Grants Learning Day: Application Tips and Stories

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Did you know that HIROC offers seed funding opportunities to our Subscribers?

“Subscribers are always asking about the HIROC Safety Grants Program and they often give us a sneak preview of their potential ideas. It's so great to see the excitement and engagement around the program,” said HIROC CEO Catherine Gaulton. “The safety projects HIROC Subscribers are working on inspire our team at HIROC and motivate us to continue living our vision of partnering to create the safest healthcare system,” she added.

The HIROC Foundation Safety Grants Program supports Subscribers with safety and risk initiatives by providing funding and opportunities to share learnings. Each Safety Grant awards up to $13,000 to recipients, and eligible applicants may be considered for an additional $7,000 up to a total of $20,000.

Since its inception in 2018, the program has awarded 64 grants totaling almost $1 million.

During the Safety Grants Learning Day we heard from three HIROC Subscribers: Isomi Henry, Community Access Midwifery Program (CAMP) at Guelph Community Health Centre; Consuelo “Coty” Ong, Alberta Health Services (AHS); and Terry Landry, Providence Care Centre. They discussed the projects they used their Safety Grants for and general tips to help Subscribers submit a successful grant application.

Watch the talks from the Learning Day below!

 

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Here’s a few takeaways from the Safety Grants Learning Day.

 

Tips for applications

  • Build team of staff, project partners, subject matter experts, etc. (internal/external) to write and review application at beginning, but more people may be included at any time
  • Although one year is stated in application guidelines as the recommended project length, the presenters all agreed that projects usually take longer
  • Ensure you have clear goals, deliverables, and measurable progress
  • Use clear and concise language that’s the same as language in application guidelines
  • Know your landscape and similar projects and don’t repeat ones that have already been done
  • Identify key problems and your target group early

Top Subscriber takeaways

From CAMP:

  • Build on similar work already done by other organizations rather than trying to redo something others have already done well; for instance, CAMP is adopting “eat, sleep, console” care approach to treat substance-exposed newborns

From AHS:

  • It’s important to engage patients with safety work and create connection between patient safety work and the patients and families in those areas of hospital
  • AHS created new definition of “safety” that is proactive, rather than reactive, and includes elements of psychological safety

From Providence Care Centre:

  • Providence introduced living safety plans that can help suicidal patients stay safe while staying in the community

Learn more about the HIROC Foundation Safety Grants Program here.

Applications open July 10 and close September 12, 2024.