Regional Professional Development Grant

The Royal College regrets to inform you that due to an overwhelming demand, funding in all the regions is now depleted. Please come back March 1, 2024, for the next funding cycle.

Professional development grants are for self-learning activities that are prospectively planned by individual Fellows in collaboration with a mentor, supervisor or instructor. These self-learning activities are planned to achieve a defined set of learning objectives and qualify as planned learning projects within Section 2 – Planned Learning (two credits per hour) of the Royal College’s Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Program. Professional Development grants can be developed as individual traineeships to learn a skill or expand an area of competence relevant to their scope of practice or to support participation in formal courses offered by a university, college or institute as part of a personal learning project. Funding cannot be applied to Section 1 – Group Learning Activities – such as conferences.

General policies

• Fellows are eligible to apply for funding for a Professional Development grant.
• All Professional Development grants must be structured to meet the self-learning requirements of traineeships or personal learning projects (which may include formal courses) as defined by the Royal College’s MOC Program.
• This grant is not applicable to observerships (due to the lack of formal, structured feedback and evaluation) nor is it applicable to research projects.
• Professional Development grants can be developed to address a relevant professional practice need within any domain of clinical practice.
• Professional Development grants can be designed to achieve or enhance competencies across one or more of the CanMEDS Roles.
• The learning plan, the selection of activities and evaluation strategies must be developed in collaboration with a mentor, supervisor or instructor and structured to provide each Fellow with feedback on the achievement of the intended learning objectives.
• Professional Development grants are eligible for study within Canada and abroad.
• Applicant must provide acceptance letter and course curriculum.

Grant eligibility

• Applicant must be a Fellow of the Royal College.
• Applicant must be practicing in the region at the time of application and intending to return to practicing in the region following the completion of the professional development activity.
• Applicant is eligible to receive a Professional Development grant once every 5 years.
• Professional Development grants are not open to individuals registered/ registering in a postgraduate program accredited by the Royal College. All programs listed on the Information by Discipline webpage are not eligible for a PD grant.

Application process

A Royal College Professional Development grant application form via our online platform, must be completed and submitted to the appropriate Regional Advisory Committee by the applicant at least 4 weeks in advance of the start of the planned period of professional development. We will not accept applications after the start date of the course, funding is not retroactive.

Grant conditions

Within 3 months of completion of their professional development activity, the applicant must provide the Royal College with the following documents:

• A completed report using a standardized report template provided by the Royal College that summarizes their experiences and achievements.
• Evidence they have documented their professional development findings and outcomes in MAINPORT using the Self-Learning (Section 2) planned learning template for traineeships/PLPs or formal courses.
• To be completed by mentor, supervisor or instructor: A completed evaluation report using a standardized report template (provided by the Royal College) providing feedback on the achievement of the applicant’s identified learning objectives.

Grant amount

• All successful applicants will receive funding based on estimated total learning hours multiplied by a daily rate (8 hours) of $300, up to a maximum of $4,000.
• 50% of the approved grant funds will be distributed at the time the application is approved.
• The balance of the funds will be distributed once the professional development activity has been completed and all required documents have been provided.

Please note: if final documentation is not submitted within three months of completion of the PD activity, any outstanding funds will be reallocated to the grants budget and the grant recipient will be responsible for reimbursing the funds already disbursed.

Additional funds for Fellows in rural/remote practice

In recognition of the additional challenges of meeting CPD requirements for Fellows practising outside of major academic centres, you may apply for additional travel funds of $500 if:

• You live and practice a minimum of 200 KMs driving distance from the nearest University Faculty of Medicine (not including distributed learning centres); and
• the PD activity you are undertaking involves a face-to-face component.

Please note: The first $500 of an educational grant is exempt from income tax; grants in excess of $500 must be included in income in the year received. The Royal College will be issuing a T4A Supplementary for grant income received within each calendar year. Please refer to Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Income Tax Folio S1-F2-C3: Scholarships, Research Grants and Other Education Assistance for an explanation of taxation of scholarships. Successful applicants in receipt of one or more grants/awards exceeding $500 within the calendar year will receive a T4A.

Important funding notice

Funding for regional grants is calculated annually on a per capita basis. Funding in any region may be depleted before the end of each fiscal year. Applications are reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Questions about this funding opportunity? Please contact us at awards@royalcollege.ca.

Regional Continuing Professional Development Activity Grant

The Royal College regrets to inform you that due to an overwhelming demand, funding in all the regions is now depleted. Please come back March 1, 2024, for the next funding cycle.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) grants are provided to physician organizations to assist in the development of accredited learning events (excluding self-accredited activities). These learning events must be developed to meet the educational and ethical standards established by the Royal College for accredited activities within Section 1 or Section 3 of the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Program.

General policies

All learning activities must:

• Be reviewed and approved by a Royal College Accredited CPD Provider, (therefore self-approved activities such as rounds and journal clubs are not eligible for this grant);
• Have a defined target audience that includes Royal College specialists; and

CPD activity grant eligibility

• Each applicant must be a national, regional or provincial organization that meets the Royal College definition of a physician organization;
• If national, the organization must apply for funding from the region in which the activity will take place;
• To conform to Canada Revenue Agency requirements, physician organization applicants that do not hold charitable status may receive CPD Activity Grants only where a signed Agency Agreement is in place. The Royal College will provide a template for this agreement.
• Each department within a faculty is considered an individual applicant;
• The activity must meet the accreditation standards of the Royal College for Section 1 (group learning) or Section 3 (assessment activities);
• The activity must occur in the region where the application was sent for review; and
• The applicant is eligible to receive a CPD grant once every 2 years.

Application process

• A Royal College Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Activity Grant online application form must be completed and forwarded to the Royal College by a Fellow in good standing who is the chair or member of the planning committee.
• This application form must be submitted at least 4 weeks in advance of the start (or launch) of the planned event/activity.
• Please include the following documentation with your application:
  • A copy of materials describing the event/activity, including specific learning objectives and selected educational strategies;
  • A copy of the accreditation letter of approval from an Accredited CPD Provider.
  • Names of Planning Committee members;
  • A copy of the preliminary or final budget for the event/activity outlining anticipated revenue from registrants and industry sponsors and overall expenses for the event and
  • The evaluation form developed for the event/activity.

Acknowledgment

Where applicable, all successful applicants must agree to acknowledge the Royal College’s grant in support of the event/activity by displaying the Royal College logo, or, if logos are prohibited, by listing the Royal College name on the sponsor page of the program (or website), separate to the scientific content. Where permitted, Royal College logo files will be provided to successful applicants.

Grant amount and conditions

All successful grant applicants will receive up to $2,000. The amount awarded will be based on the following criteria:

• The total amount of industry funding;
• The anticipated expenses in relation to anticipated revenue; CPD Activities that have a budgeted surplus of 25% or more over total expenses, or a budgeted surplus of at least $25,000 are still eligible for the grant, however the funding will be capped at $500.

Within three months of the activity’s conclusion, the organizers will forward to the Royal College’s Membership Services and Programs, a summary of the evaluation forms outlining the feedback provided by registrants, a final budget and a final program. The allocated funds will be distributed in full on receipt of this documentation.

Important funding notice

Funding for regional grants is calculated annually on a per capita basis. Funding in any region may be depleted before the end of each fiscal year. Applications are reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Questions about this funding opportunity? Please contact us at awards@royalcollege.ca.