Call for Collaborators:
CASCADES Innovation RFP

This opportunity is currently closed

Please contact [email protected] for information on how you can partner with CASCADES

CASCADES is seeking innovations in one of 10 priority action areas that reduce the climate impact of healthcare or the healthcare system or that increase climate resilience in care settings.

Expression of Interest form active: Oct 24, 2023 – Jan 31, 2024

Expression of Interest Deadline: Jan 31, 2024

Anticipated notice of decision: Mar 31, 2024

Submit an expression of interest

On this Page

Request for Proposals

CASCADES is seeking proposals from teams of health professionals, administrators, and/or leaders in the Canadian healthcare system who wish to collaborate with CASCADES on innovations within one of the 10 priority action areas where there is evidence and experience to justify decisive movement forward. The proposed innovation must be evidence informed and have the potential to reduce (directly or indirectly) the climate impact of healthcare or the healthcare system or increase climate resilience in their settings. Submissions are divided into the following two categories:

  • Innovation prototypes: Innovation partnerships to develop and implement sustainable healthcare projects to produce a playbook, which provides ideas, examples and resources as a step-by-step guide for innovation implementation and assessment of innovations aimed at reducing carbon impacts of care; financial support can be up to $25,000. Selected innovation prototypes will be feasible, impactful, and have the potential for spread to other settings across the country.
  • Innovation sparks: Smaller innovation partnerships that create tools and resources to contribute to playbooks and can be utilized by other health teams to create awareness and interest in healthcare sustainability and/or to inform changes in their setting. The financial support for an innovation spark will be less than $5,000.
    For example:
    • Small tests of change based on examples from local settings that lead to a case study or a completed CASCADES Project Charter, a quality improvement poster or video-clips, and/or a business case for change.
    • Policy or literature reviews that leads to the creation of a primer, infographic, a quality improvement poster, and/or a business case for change.
    • Sharing experiences and efforts by producing toolkits and templates with a set of workplans, details on meeting environmental stewardship requirements, or a strategy for creating a sustainability committee.

Forms of Support

Successful teams will receive one or more of the following services to support their innovation project. Innovation prototype budgets may be up to $25,000. Innovation sparks budgets may be up to $5,000. All budget expenses must be paid for directly by CASCADES. CASCADES cannot provide direct funding to other organizations.

  • Part-time Project Assistant or Trainee salary
  • Professional Services (ex. expert mentorship/guidance to advise on strategy, content, implementation, evaluation; translation; graphic design; software development)

Eligibility Criteria

Innovation prototypes:

  • For an application to be eligible:

    • The applicants must have a team consisting of the following:
      • Health professionals, administrators, and/or leaders in healthcare settings (health authorities, hospitals, primary care clinics, community service providers).
    • The primary outcome of the project is not the collection of data for a life cycle analysis.
    • The innovation can be developed (or has been developed), initiated, and produce prototype outcomes that can be used to inform spread to other settings within a one-year time frame, including publication of a playbook on the CASCADES website by February 28, 2025.
    • The applicant must have relevant organizational support (CASCADES will seek a collaboration agreement with successful teams).
    • The innovation must have the potential to spread to other healthcare settings within Canada.
    • CASCADES funding does not exceed $25,000.

Innovation sparks:

For an application to be eligible:

  • The applicants must be an individual or team consisting of the following:
    • Health professionals, administrators, and/or leaders in healthcare settings (health authorities, hospitals, primary care clinics, community service providers), and their teams.
  • The innovation can be developed (or has been developed) and will produce resources or tools within a one-year time frame (all products will be published on the CASCADES website and, if relevant, other online resources).
  • Produces a tool or resource that can be utilized by other innovation champions to increase awareness or interest in healthcare sustainability or support their efforts to create change in their setting.
  • CASCADES funding does not exceed $5,000.

Submission Timeline

There is a two-step submission process:  

  1. Step 1: Interested teams should submit an expression of interest summarizing their proposed innovation prototype or spark. An external Scientific Evaluation Committee will review all submissions. Applicants will be notified on the status of the application by no later than March 31, 2024.
  2. Step 2: Applications that are of potential interest will be invited to provide additional information detailing their proposed innovation prototype or innovation spark.

If you do not believe your idea is ready to be implemented this year, please email us at [email protected] to see how CASCADES’ can help you prepare to apply for collaboration opportunities in future years.

Step 1: Expressions of Interest

Please submit an expression of interest using the online form by Jan 31, 2024.

Applicants will need to provide the following information in the Expression of Interest online form:

Innovation Prototypes:
  • The innovation project team members’ full names, professional roles, places of work, and affiliations and primary applicant’s email address
  • Project title
  • Priority action area
  • The innovation project, using the format of the CASCADES Project Charter, including goals, scope, problem/opportunity statement and the current conditions of the system. Reference evidence that the innovation will address healthcare’s role in the climate crisis (mitigating harms or improving resilience) and not negatively impact health outcomes (max 300 words)
  • If applicable, climate adaptation and resilience strategies (max 100 words)
  • Affirmation that the project can be developed, initiated, and produce a playbook within a one-year time frame
  • Details on how the success of this innovation can be assessed
  • All the anticipated services that will be required to support the innovation project
  • An estimated budget range (<$25,000), plus, if applicable, in-kind support provided by your team and/or organization
  • Any relevant experience with this subject matter and undertaking projects of this nature
  • Indication of the presence of organizational support (CASCADES will seek a collaboration agreement with successful teams)
Innovation Sparks:
  • The innovation spark individual applicant or project team members’ full name(s), professional role(s), place(s) of work, and affiliation(s) and primary applicant’s email address
  • Project title
  • Priority action area
  • The innovation project, using the format of the CASCADES Project Charter, including goals, scope, problem/opportunity statement and the current conditions of the system. Reference evidence supporting the innovation’s potential to address healthcare’s role in the climate crisis (mitigating harms or improving resilience) and not negatively impact health outcomes (max 300 words)
  • If applicable, include climate adaptation and resilience strategies (max 100 words)
  • Affirmation that the spark can be produced within a one-year time frame
  • Details on how you plan to validate the accuracy of the innovation spark
  • All the anticipated services that will be required to support the innovation project
  • An estimated budget range (<$5,000), plus, if applicable, in-kind support provided by your team and/or organization

If you have any questions, feedback or technical issues with the online form, please email CASCADES@utoronto.ca.

Submit an expression of interest

Step 2: Shortlisted applicants

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to provide a more detailed proposal (in consultation with a CASCADES staff member).

About CASCADES

CASCADES is an initiative of four founding partners: the University of Toronto Collaborative Centre for Climate, Health & Sustainable Care, the Healthy Populations Institute at Dalhousie University, the Planetary Healthcare Lab at the University of British Columbia, and the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care. In Quebec, CASCADES is a partner in the Réseau d’action pour la santé durable du Québec. The initiative is funded for a five-year term by Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Climate Action and Awareness Fund for Community-Based Climate Action Projects.

CASCADES strengthens the capacity of the healthcare community across Canada to transition towards, high-quality, low-carbon, sustainable and climate resilient care.

In addition to capacity-building through continuing professional development and community engagement, CASCADES seeks to collaborate with members of the healthcare community in the development of new – or the refinement of existing – tools, resources, and strategies that can improve the sustainability of health services and systems. CASCADES’ activities are organized to address 10 priority action areas, where there is evidence and experience to justify decisive movement forward.

CASCADES is a quality improvement initiative, not a research project. Therefore, the focus of its collaborations with health teams are projects that effectively impact the sustainability of healthcare systems rather than research-specific activities.  

To learn more about CASCADES events and collaboration opportunities, join our mailing list.