Virtual Innovations in Care (VIC) Grant Program

With the mental health and substance use system across Canada needing to move quickly to develop, accelerate and implement virtual responses to the COVID-19 pandemic our system has evolved rapidly to meet the need for virtual care for youth and their families.

This has resulted in innovative responses as well as challenges for the mental health and substance use community in implementing virtual services. To support learning and understanding about the process of implementing virtual services, Frayme will be providing formative evaluation grants to youth mental health and substance use (YMHSU) service providing organizations across Canada to support the implementation of virtual mental health and substance use supports for youth.

The grants can support formative evaluations that explore one or more of the following themes:

Youth Engagement and Peer Support

• Understanding impact on youth advisory/advisors and peer support workers.
  Exploring how the initiative continued to engage with youth and integrate their expertise into virtual program design and delivery.
• Exploring the impact on formal youth roles and structures (i.e. peer support workers) and how their roles evolved during the move to virtual care.
• Identifying innovative practices and elements of youth engagement and peer support during virtual care service that will be sustained.
• Understanding the impacts from the perspective of those using service and those providing service

Family Engagement

• Understanding the impact on family advisors and/or families supporting youth receiving services.
• Exploring how families have been impacted by the move to virtual service.
• Identifying innovative practices and elements of family engagement support during virtual care service that will be sustained.
• Understanding the impacts from the perspective of those using service and those providing service

Service Design and Delivery

• Understanding the change in service delivery and the impact on programming as services move to virtual care.
• Exploring what services moved virtually and the evolution of service design.
• Identification and capturing of evidence-based established and/or emerging virtual services that have serviced the needs of youth and their families.
• Exploring the differences between services designed for virtual delivery and those that transitioned rapidly to virtual delivery.
• Understanding the impacts from the perspective of those using service and those providing service

Implementation Process

• Understanding the administrative and site processes required to implement virtual services.
• Identification and exploration of impact on service provision teams how these groups work together to evolve the service model to include virtual service.
• Capturing of learnings about implementing virtual service.
• Identifying some of the barriers and gaps to available service/ service gaps
• Understanding the impacts from the perspective of those using service and those providing service

Reception of Expression of Interest form: June 30, 2020

What is the purpose of this program?

Through the VIC Grant Program, Frayme intends to support the system to:

• Better understand impacts of rapidly moving to virtual service for service providers, youth and their families.
• Identify approaches, practices and programming that have arisen in response to the move to virtual services and how these will be implemented, evolved and/or sustained over time.
• Better understand the difference and/or limitations of services rapidly transitioning to virtual delivery comparatively to services that were designed for virtual delivery.

Who is eligible to apply for VIC?

If you are an established or emerging YMHSU service provision organization operating in Canada and actively serving youth and their families, then you are eligible to apply. Due to Frayme’s mandate to support the implementation of integrated youth services, priority will be given to organizations who are:

• Associated with the implementation of an integrated service model for youth.
• Have adequate security and safety policies and procedures in place demonstrating nature and length of experience in delivering youth programs and/or virtual YMHSU supports for youth.

If you are an IYS site applying that is associated with a provincial initiative, please connect with your provincial initiative for support on the application. Multiple groups may submit one application in partnership - if a group is part of a larger provincial or municipal initiative, a letter of support from the backbone administration may be required.

How much funding is available through VIC?

Each grant will provide up to $70,000 in funding. Only one application per group is permitted. An applicant may be asked to collaborate with another applicant if their applications are aligned in scope and mandate in order to avoid duplication of efforts. 

What are integrated youth services?

Integrated youth services (IYS) address youth needs across multiple domains of their lives (e.g., mental health, substance use, health, education, housing, etc.) with multi-sectoral partners (e.g., primary care, schools, addictions) included in the service delivery structure. You can learn more about integrated youth services here.

When will funding be awarded?

Expressions of interest will be accepted until June 30, 2020 at 5:00pm EDT. Frayme will be convening an expert review panel that will then review each application and selected applicants will be announced before the end of August 2020.

What can the funding be used for?

Selected candidates will be able to use funding to support project–based evaluation and associated personnel. Applicants will be expected to submit a complete budget demonstrating allocation of funds.

Capital expenses are not eligible expenses through this funding.

Who will be reviewing the applications?

Applications will be initially reviewed for eligibility and alignment with the call for interest. Following that your application will be evaluated by a Review Committee comprised of youth experts, family experts, and service experts that represent diverse experience and expertise.

What criteria will be used to review applications?

Frayme will evaluate all eligible applications using the following criteria:

• Strength of evaluation strategy and outline;
• Youth and Family engagement in design, delivery and knowledge mobilization aspects of the evaluation outline;
• Diversity of partners and roles informing the evaluation design, delivery and knowledge mobilization;
• Track record and demonstrated ability to manage the project;
• Reasonableness of the project budget;

Frayme is responsible for determining the eligibility of each applicant, its project and project-related expenses. Even if you are eligible, submitting an application is not a guarantee of funding.

I have more questions about this opportunity

If you have any questions that are not answered in this F.A.Q, please feel free to reach out to Frayme here.

The application process is now closed. Thank you for your interest.