Equity is a high priority for funders
Funding institutions want to see how equity is being dealt with and are asking for tools such as the Health Equity Impact Assessment (HEIA) to be used.
Learn more about the HEIA
Increasingly, calls for proposals include requests for how issues of diversity, equity and inclusion will be addressed in proposed interventions and research. For instance, one of the assessment criteria in the call for applications for the Government of Canada’s Intersectoral Action Fund is that applicants must consider gender-based analysis, key equity, diversity and inclusion factors, including official language minority communities (Government of Canada, 2022a).
There are also calls for grant applications specifically focused on marginalized populations. For example, the Mental Health of Black Canadians Fund supports Black-led, community-based initiatives in mental health promotion that aim to increase equity and address the underlying determinants of mental health, including a focus on anti-Black racism.
Although funders may have different criteria for scoring how an organization is working from an equity lens, organizations can focus on the following areas to ensure that they can genuinely speak to issues of equity when responding to calls for proposals:
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Ensure the organization’s leadership and program staff reflect the communities served.
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Collaborate with impacted communities on program planning, implementation and evaluation.
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Create a work plan and/or logic model to show how the organization’s activities address inequity.
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Compensate community partners appropriately for their time and expertise.
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Consider data, cultural considerations, lived experience and/or other evidence that are effective for target communities.