Solutions for Workplace Change The WSIB's research grants initiative, Solutions for Workplace Change, demonstrates our strong commitment to high quality occupational health, safety and workers' compensation research in Ontario. The basis for this current research program goes back to a July 1997 proposal made by the Task force on Research Strategy to the WSIB’s Board of Directors. Read the Solutions for Workplace Change proposal (54k, pdf). Purpose of the Research Grants Program The program supports research that will assist employers, workers, health professionals, health and safety professionals, policy makers and other people interested in the workplace safety and insurance system. We fund research that will lead to: improved prevention of work-related injury and illness better diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, return to work, fair compensation of injured workers and fair premium assessments of employers. We encourage and fund high impact research projects that lead to practical results. We will also support basic research required to move applied research forward. Types of Grants Solutions for Workplace Change offers two types of grants: full grants and development grants. Full Grants are for fully developed proposals. These grants are for a maximum of two years, with a maximum budget of $150,000 per year. Development Grants are for a maximum of 12 months and a budget of no more than $30,000. These grants are for developing novel approaches to health and safety research, developing new or untested measurement tools (including reliability and validity) for feasibility studies, or doing preparatory work needed for a full proposal. A development grant should lead to the submission of a full grant proposal once the initial work has been completed. Program Objectives The objectives of the research program are to: Develop research directions to reflect the needs of Ontario workplaces that can then be applied to make effective changes Develop a program that meets international standards of research quality Promote the development of both individual and "centres of excellence" research capacity to meet Ontario's needs Coordinate WSIB-supported research in Ontario We want to make Ontario’s research activities compare with the best anywhere. To do this, we have made a long-term commitment to establishing continuity and providing realistic amounts of research funding necessary to match needs and priorities. General Research Themes In Ontario's changing economy, many unique issues and questions emerge that require solutions from researchers. In general, we invite well-designed proposals to: Evaluate effectiveness of interventions for preventing or reducing injury or disease or minimizing disability, e.g., develop and validate predictive, process, and outcome measures of effectiveness Improve understanding of the possible impact of the changing workplace and work force on work-related injury and disease, e.g., small work-places, an aging work force, increasing work force participation by women Help understanding of factors that improve continuity of employment of people with disabilities. Public Participation in Needs and Priorities The Research Advisory Council and its initiatives provide ways for people with an interest in Ontario’s workplace safety and insurance system to participate in identifying and setting research needs priorities. This involvement continues through the research grant proposal review and through active dissemination of results through the Health and Safety Associations and this Web site. Specific Priorities In addition to general research themes, the WSIB may determine more specific research priorities for grant competitions. See the WSIB’s research priorities. Research Grants 2009 Request for Proposals The WSIB Research Advisory Council has issued its Request for Proposals for 2009. The deadline for applications is 4:00 p.m. Monday February 9, 2009. 2005 Competition Thirteen new projects, that are currently completed or in progress, received funding under the 2005 Solutions for Workplace Change research grants competition. The total funding for the 20 projects is almost $2 million. 2004 Competition Twenty new projects, that are currently completed or in progress, received funding under the 2004 Solutions for Workplace Change research grants competition. The total funding for the 20 projects is almost $3 million. 2003 Awards Nine new projects, that are currently completed or in progress, received funding under the 2003 Solutions for Workplace Change research grants competition. The total funding for the 9 projects is almost $1.9 million. 2002 Awards Sixteen new projects, that are currently completed or in progress, received funding under the 2002 Solutions for Workplace Change research grants competition. The total funding for the 16 projects is over $1.7 million. 2001 Awards Ten new projects, that are currently completed or in progress, received funding under the 2001 Solutions for Workplace Change research grants competition. The total funding for the 10 projects is over $1.5 million. 2000 Awards Sixteen new projects, that are currently completed or in progress, received funding under the 2000 Solutions for Workplace Change research grants competition. The total funding for the 16 projects is over $1.7 million. 1999 Awards Approximately $3 million in grants were awarded in the first round of funding in 1999. Sixty applicants were invited to submit full proposals and 20 were awarded grants. See descriptions of the 20 projects funded in 1999. RAC Newsletters Learn more about research projects funded by Solutions for Workplace Change in the RAC Newsletters. May 2002 (784k, pdf) October 2001 (521k, pdf) E-mail: research_secretariat@wsib.on.ca