Funding Research

Funding Research

Making the Shift funds research projects that focus on youth homelessness prevention, demonstrate research excellence, and align with one of five themes outlined in the research agenda.

Making the Shift will invest over 10 million in funded research projects across Canada. Proposals are subjected to a rigorous peer review process, which is overseen by the Making the Shift Research Management Committee – a diverse group of experts representing a variety of subject areas related to homelessness prevention. Peer review committees are composed of researchers and practitioners with expertise in youth homelessness prevention. We administer two types of calls for proposals: open calls for proposals and targeted calls for proposals. See below for information on eligibility requirements, current calls for proposals, and previous calls for proposals. Contact mtsfunding@yorku.ca for specific inquiries related to funding.

Eligibility requirements

Making the Shift abides by the funding rules of the Tri-Council Agencies (Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)).
The applicant’s host institution must be eligible to hold Tri-Council funding.

  • Applicants can be individuals or institutions
  • Applicants must be affiliated with an eligible Canadian institution, meaning Canadian postsecondary academic institutions. Principle Investigators must be tenure stream faculty or adjunct faculty members.
  • Not-for-profit organizations can also apply for funding provided they meet Tri-Council requirements and submit the supporting documentation, which includes affiliation with an academic institution.
  • Indigenous not-for-profit organizations wanting to administer the grant funds can apply for institutional eligibility.

All projects must:

  • Adhere to the definitions of: a) Homelessness Prevention, b) Youth Homelessness, and c) Indigenous Homelessness, as articulated by the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness.
  • Involve partnerships between researchers, not-for-profit organizations, government and/or private sector partners. All funded projects must include at least one researcher who holds a faculty position at a recognized Canadian post-secondary institution and one practitioner.
  • Produce knowledge clearly designed to support shifts in policy and practice.
  • Assemble a proposal that is collaborative in nature, meaning that a variety of partners from differing backgrounds and areas of expertise will participate in project design and execution.