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The Call for Proposals for The Frugal Biomedical Innovations Catalyst Grants is now open.

Program Overview

Western’s Frugal Biomedical Innovations Program (FBIP) is now receiving applications to its Frugal Biomedical Innovations Catalyst Grants on a rolling basis.

Through the School of Biomedical Engineering, the catalyst grants will provide funding to Western investigators and their partners in Canada and/or internationally to co-create, develop, test and advance toward distribution medical devices that will meet patients’ needs in remote and low resource communities, towards commercialization. The grants will support innovations that are designed to perform diagnostic or therapeutic functions, while minimizing costs of operation, maintenance, and the need for specialist personnel, in constrained environments.

Program Objectives

The FBIP Program’s overarching objective is to advance prototype devices into real-world settings by collaboratively creating and field testing these innovations with Indigenous communities, under-resourced communities internationally, and healthcare providers.

(See these resources for context: What is Frugal Design? Three Defining Criteria, Unraveling ‘low-resource settings)

The Frugal Biomedical Innovations Program is committed to ensuring that considerations for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Decolonization and Indigeneity are incorporated, in all the funded projects, and applicants are therefore required to incorporate them, in all sections of their proposals, as appropriate.

(Consult these resources for definitions and context: Indigenous Cultural Safety Training, EDI Research Toolkit, Tri-Council EDI Resources)

The FBIP will also pay attention to the diversity of awardees, specifically those from underrepresented groups – including, those who self-identify as Black, Indigenous, Racialized, living with Disabilities, LGBTQ2S+ and women, and this is in line with Western’s commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion (EDI), decolonization and Indigeneity (DI).

Eligibility: This funding is open to researchers from all disciplines at Western, who are eligible to hold a Western Research account.

Criteria: Projects must be applicable to remote or low-resource contexts and applicants must demonstrate capacity to implement them in relevant contexts.

Other considerations include:

• innovations that improve health access and equity; 
• incorporation of frugal design principles (guide: What is Frugal Design? Three Defining Criteria); 
• incorporation of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Decolonization and Indigeneity considerations (guide: Indigenous Cultural Safety Training, EDI Research Toolkit, Tri-Council EDI Resources) 
• innovations that are usable within low-resource environments (guide: Unraveling ‘low-resource settings)  

 

Funding: We anticipate funding grants of $30,000 or less through this catalyst program. Justification for budget requests should be detailed through the budget section of the full application form. 

Award Duration: One year. Funds will be released at the project's start as one lump sum on relevant approvals. Any unused funds at the end of the project must be returned to the Frugal Biomedical Innovations Program.

Reporting: Presentation at a FBI Showcase, mid-and end of project. A final report detailing project accomplishments and outcomes will be submitted to the Program Director.

Application Process: The application process for this grant opportunity consists of a Letter of Intent (LOI) and Full Application upon invitation.