Updated Funding Priorities

Max Bell Foundation seeks to support work that has a strong likelihood of informing public policies and practices. One way we try to ensure that happens is by focusing our grants on issues that decision makers are grappling with today and into the foreseeable future. We periodically conduct a series of formal interviews with decision makers from different sectors and regions to learn what those issues are. Based on our most recent interviews, in May 2017 the Foundation updated our funding priorities as follows.

It’s important to note these priorities are not rigid rules about what we will support. Rather, they are guides, reflecting what our research indicates are the current main concerns of decision makers.

Health & Wellness

The Foundation is interested in good health in the broadest sense. We are particularly interested in identifying practical, effective, and efficient approaches to reducing illness and improving wellness, especially among those most vulnerable.

Current Priorities:

  • Development and implementation of strategies to encourage wellness and reduce illness among Canadians whose health might be expected to decline due to age-related factors. Of particular but not exclusive interest are initiatives that focus on the most vulnerable populations.
  • Development and implementation of effective strategies to promote good mental health among children and youth.
  • Development and implementation of effective strategies to improve “value for money” in health care, especially in terms of spreading innovations and mobilizing of knowledge.

Education

Canada’s education institutions face many challenges as changing needs, attitudes, economies, and technologies shift the ground in which they are rooted. The Foundation seeks to support projects that focus on innovative ways in which our education institutions meet those challenges.

Current Priorities:

  • Development and delivery of strategies and programs that ensure school success among sub-populations where low levels of success persist.
  • Development of programs and strategies that ensure efficient and effective transitions between parts of the education system (early childhood, K-12, and post-secondary), and between the post-secondary education system and the labour market.
  • Development and implementation of strategies and programs in K-12 schools that will contribute to improving the mental and physical health and wellness of learners.

The Environment

We are interested in supporting projects that take account of the social and economic contexts in which environmental concerns emerge as public policy and practice.

Current Priorities:

  • Development and implementation of strategies for resolving conflicts between ecological integrity and growth and development of the economy.
  • Development and implementation of strategies that assist communities as they adapt to the effects of climate change.
  • Development and implementation of effective strategies to promote and encourage the wise management of fresh water resources.

These program priorities are not rigid rules about the kinds of work we may support. Rather, they are guides reflecting what our research indicates are the current main concerns of decision makers.

If you are interested in applying for a grant from Max Bell Foundation, please visit our Types and Programs page or Apply for Support page for more information.