What are the IMPaCT training awards?
IMPaCT training awards facilitate participation in a 1-year immersive learning experience with assigned mentors and deliverables. The program is designed to give you the skills and network to design, conduct, and communicate about clinical trials with pregnant people and children (neonates through adolescents).
For the 2026-27 competition there are awards available for PhDs ($35,000), Postdoctoral Fellows ($50,000), and Early Career Researchers ($70,000). This includes 2 dedicated awards per year for applicants that identify as Black or Indigenous at any career stage.
Award information is available in a PDF in English and French.
Priority Awards:
Neurodevelopmental disorders co-funded by the Canadian Neurodevelopmental Research Training Platform (CanNRT)
Additional award requirements include attending the CanNRT summer school.Pandemic readiness co-funded by Pediatric Outcome imProvement through COordination of Research Networks (POPCORN)
Rare diseases co-funded by the Pediatric Rare Disease Clinical Trials and Treatment Network (RareKids-CAN)
Additional award requirements include attending the RareKids-CAN annual meeting.
Provincial Awards:
Research Manitoba will co-fund one training award for a Manitoba-based researcher.
Health Research BC will co-fund one training award per award category for BC based researchers.
BC Children's Hospital Research Institute will co-fund one Early Career Researcher training award specifically for pediatric research conducted by a BC based researcher.
What does an IMPaCT training award mean for you?
Assigned 2 or more mentors (including youth or parent partners).
Deliverable: complete a funding proposal based on the trial idea submitted in your application using the CIHR 10-page template* or an acceptable equivalent.
Participate in elevator pitch competition at the in-person summit.
Complete 5 self-paced online courses with certificates of completion.
Introduction to Clinical Trials and Regulations
Family Engagement in Pediatric and Perinatal Clinical Trial Research
Clinical Trial Design
Clinical Trial Operations
Clinical Trial Communications and Knowledge Translation
In-person mentoring and networking (travel and accommodation for participation in 2-day summit).
Self-selected and IMPaCT-funded immersive learning opportunities including cultural safety training, government advocacy, trial methods, integrated learning opportunities with ongoing clinical trials. leadership training, statistics, family engagement in research and more.
A network of trialists to support you throughout your career!
Our expectations for fellows and mentors are available here.
What does a year look like for an awarded IMPaCT Fellow?
Location of awardee: The award must be held at a Canadian Academic Institution, and/or research institute or hospital affiliated with a Canadian University.
Career stage: Candidates must be enrolled in a doctoral program, in a postdoctoral program (any year of program) or an Early Career Researcher defined using CIHR definitions at the time of accepting the award. This includes 2 dedicated awards (per year) for applicants that identify as Black or Indigenous at any career stage.
Citizenship: This program is open to Canadians and permanent residents of Canada.
Eligible clinical trial questions: Candidates must be interested in designing perinatal and child health clinical trials. As the primary IMPaCT fellowship deliverable is to develop a funding proposal based on a new trial, the clinical trial question you submit must be in the idea/protocol development phase. The population must either include children (neonates to 18 years old) or include people who are pregnant or in the postpartum period. The condition must be specific to pregnancy or postpartum or use a novel design to otherwise include pregnant people. The intervention can be any type (drug, behavioural, vaccine, device) and can include any trial phase including early phase and pragmatic trials. Adaptive and innovative approaches are encouraged!
If you have questions about your eligibility, email us at impactrials@gmail.com
Who is eligible for a training award?
How are awards evaluated?
Please see our IMPaCT training award evaluation criteria in the shared folder that will be used to score each complete application received. Trainees will receive copies of their evaluation forms including de-identified comments from the review committee.