2024-25 Inlight Research Development Grants

Inlight is dedicated to transformative research in the field of post-secondary student mental health and well-being. This year’s research development program will address key priority areas through a phased approach that will support the development of collaborative teams that connect across campuses, divisions and disciplines.

The objectives of the 2024-25 program are to:

• Build multi-disciplinary, inter-sectoral research teams that engagement researchers and knowledge users across all of the UofT campuses and Divisions, and include the breadth of expertise and experiences needed to deliver on priority areas;
• Ensure research is conducted in alignment with Inlight’s guiding principles, including integration of student engagement, knowledge translation and equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility and Indigeneity considerations; and,
• Build teams and programs that have a trajectory to delivering extensive research impact.

The program will be developed through the following phases:

Phase 1 – Team identification (November/December)

In this UofT wide expression of interest (EOI) phase, researchers and knowledge users highlight their relevance to one or more of the priority areas, and those who meet the relevance and eligibility criteria are invited to join the the development phase.

Phase 2A – Team and project development (January to May)

Teams will have access to up to $10k/team of funding to support the development of the team, as well as collaborations and partnership, and visioning of projects with objectives and timelines designed to grow the research area and access multi-year team grant funding.

Phase 2B – Inlight Support Activities (January to March)

Inlight (leadership team and Student Advisory Committee) will support the development of the teams and projects through activities designed to introduce skills and research design considerations that are unique to post-secondary student mental health, grow collaboration and partnership with essential experts and knowledge users, and consulting on elements key to the success of the project including student engagement and integration of EDIAI considerations.

Phase 3 – Application for catalyst funding (February to April, adjudication in May)

Teams will apply for up to $70k in catalyst funding to support the activities needed to realise this vision and access external funding pools, funding to be available for an up to 2-year period.

Phases of the 2024-25 program

Expected Outcomes:

It is anticipated that teams will apply for external funding from agencies and organizations relevant to the focus and vision of the priority project.

To guide the focus of this competition, Inlight has undertaken an extensive priority setting process. This involved both an environmental scan of key institutional documents and consultations, including with students, faculty and staff, as well as knowledge user partners and senior leadership, both at UofT, in Canada and globally. In response to this, Inlight is supporting the development of teams in the following priority areas:
  

• How does the academic experience (e.g., requirements, policy, staff) impact student mental health and wellbeing?
  
• How do cultural or other identity variables impact pathways to mental health services both within and outside the university?
• What is the evidence for uptake, reach, acceptability and outcome for peer support mental health initiatives?
• How can we determine effective and dynamic communication pathways regarding mental health information both within and outside the university?

In the first ‘team identification’ phase, we invite UofT-affiliated researchers and knowledge users who are interested in leading and/or being involved in one of these teams to complete a brief expression of interest (EOI). We are looking for EOIs from individuals across all disciplines, divisions and campuses at UofT whose research or area of activity aligns with one or more of the identified priority areas. This includes faculty, staff and student life professionals, librarians, clinicians and healthcare providers.

In this EOI, individuals should describe how their role and/or research activities intersect with one of the four identified priority areas in post-secondary student mental health and wellness.

Individuals who are successful at the EOI stage will be invited to join the team development process where, with support from Inlight, multidisciplinary research teams focused on the key priority areas will be developed. Participation by team members will be according to their capacity and in line with the responsibilities of their role at UofT. 

Individuals who are submitting an expression of interest must hold a faculty, staff or librarian role at the University of Toronto. This includes (but is not limited to) research, teaching, CLTA and adjunct faculty, librarians, and staff including student life professionals, administrators, clinicians and healthcare providers across all disciplines, divisions and campuses at UofT. Although the individual who becomes the team lead will need to be eligible to receive and hold funding at UofT, you do not need this eligibility to join one of the collaborative teams.

Students who are interested in joining the teams are invited to reach out to Inlight separately at studentmh.research@utoronto.ca to express their interest in becoming engaged.

Please submit your EOI through this survey by December 11th, 2024, and include

• Your full name and UofT email address
• Your role, campus, and Division/area at UofT
• Your selected priority area, and
• A brief summary of your research interests and/or research activities and interests

Please submit a separate EOI for each area of relevance to your research activities and interests.

Q: Is this EOI phase only for individuals interested in leading a team?

A: No, this phase is open to anyone interested in becoming involved with the research. This can be in a leadership, supporting or guiding role, with participation according to the capacity of the individual. 

Q: Do I need to be eligible to hold grant funding to participate in the EOI phase?

A: No, all faculty, staff and librarians are eligible to participate in the EOI phase. However, the team lead and principal applicant will need to be eligible to hold grant funding at UofT. 

Q: Can an adjunct faculty member submit an EOI?

A: Yes, the team composition is intended to encompass the full breadth of research experiences and community partnership in the UofT ecosystem. We therefore welcome adjunct faculty members to join the teams. 

Q: Is submitting an EOI making a commitment with respect to my participation?

A: No, submission of the EOI is not a commitment, either to joining a team or to taking on specific roles within a team. Team members will be invited to participate according to their capacity and in line with the responsibilities of their role at UofT.