External Funding

Sponsored research funding - ranging from local industry, associations and foundations to provincial and federal and international granting councils - provides critical resources essential to continued development of research across disciplines at Western. Many funding opportunities are available through:

Applications for all research funding requiring institutional approval are to flow through Western Research prior to submission and require a ROLA proposal through our electronic system.

Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement

CFHI plays a unique, pan-Canadian role in supporting healthcare delivery innovation. By supporting organizations across Canada to lead, implement and spread evidence-informed, patient-centred solutions, we accelerate improvements in health and care. We can help you implement the change you need – using appropriate evidence, engaging providers, patients and families, and evaluating and measuring performance – to address your organization’s pressing challenges.

International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

IDRC funds developing-country researchers, institutions, and Canadian researchers through our grants, fellowships, and awards.

Throughout the year, IDRC programs issue competitive calls for concept notes and proposals for research funding. We look for innovative proposals with the potential to be scaled up to improve more lives in developing countries.

National Institutes of Health

NIH offers funding for many types of grants, contracts, and even programs that help repay loans for researchers. Learn about these programs, as well as about NIH's budget process, grant funding strategies, and policies, and more.

National Science Foundation (USA)

The National Science Foundation funds research and education in most fields of science and engineering. It does this through grants, and cooperative agreements to more than 2,000 colleges, universities, K-12 school systems, businesses, informal science organizations and other research organizations throughout the United States. The Foundation accounts for about one-fourth of federal support to academic institutions for basic research.

NSF receives approximately 40,000 proposals each year for research, education and training projects, of which approximately 11,000 are funded. In addition, the Foundation receives several thousand applications for graduate and postdoctoral fellowships.

The agency operates no laboratories itself but does support National Research Centers, user facilities, certain oceanographic vessels and Antarctic research stations. The Foundation also supports cooperative research between universities and industry, US participation in international scientific and engineering efforts, and educational activities at every academic level.

Spencer Foundation

We believe that cultivating knowledge and new ideas about education will ultimately improve students’ lives and enrich society. The Foundation pursues its mission by awarding research grants and fellowships and by strengthening the connections among education research, policy and practice through its communications and networking activities.

Wenner-Gren Foundation

The Wenner-Gren Foundation has three major goals: to support significant and innovative anthropological research into humanity's biological and cultural origins, development, and variation; to foster the international community of research scholars in anthropology; and to provide leadership at the forefronts of the discipline.

Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB)

We're committed to providing exceptional programs and services to Ontario’s workers and employers. The objective of the WSIB Grants Program is to enhance workers’ compensation system outcomes by supporting innovative proposals that are aligned to the WSIB's strategic mandate. The program will accomplish this through highly practical, expert research studies and training initiatives delivered by professional individuals and organizations that address current and emerging challenges, and strengthen Ontario's workers' compensation system now and in the future.