Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Challenge

The Challenge

The Public Health Agency of Canada (“PHAC”) has committed to helping prevent diabetes through several activities, one of which is the Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Challenge (“the Challenge”), which was announced and funded through Budget 2021. In partnership with Impact Canada, PHAC is launching this Challenge to attract innovators to develop and implement community co-designed approaches that address the barriers and determinants of health that lead to having an increased risk for Type 2 Diabetes (“T2D”). Thus, this challenge seeks innovative approaches to type 2 diabetes prevention for people before they require entry into the medical system.

Through the Challenge, PHAC is seeking concepts that use a combination of community strengths and resources from inter-sectoral partnerships to overcome the barriers to type 2 diabetes prevention for communities in Canada. By expanding on the knowledge and skills held by communities in Canada, we aim to find approaches and models that are meaningful to community members, the ways that new partnerships can develop these approaches, and the ways to adapt these approaches for a diverse number of communities in Canada.

The Challenge seeks to:

To be considered for the Challenge, a proposed concept must be:

• new for the community in which it is deployed, or a new application of a previously successful approach (it must not replicate existing initiatives/projects already in place in a community);
• specific to a community that is at an elevated risk to develop T2D;
• specific to early intervention, addressing risks and barriers most relevant to the community before community members require entry into the medical system and;
• not solely for skills development, building capacity, communications, promotions, scaling up/replicating existing activities, or commercial research and development.

Note: Provision of services that are the responsibility of other levels of governments (e.g., health care) and pure research in any discipline will not be considered.

The applicant must also demonstrate that a lead/co-lead for the design, implementation, and direction of the concept is an organization whose mission represents a community within Canada (attestation and details of community organization that is a legal entity are required on application).

Challenge Principles

The multiple interacting sets of barriers and determinants of health that hinder how people in Canada can address the risks that lead to T2D vary greatly by each community. Removing these barriers aligns to core principles that represent several of PHAC’s T2D prevention priorities. Applicants must use at least one of these principles to guide their concept and, where possible, illustrate the extent to which their approach creates meaningful outcomes related to these principles for a Canadian community.

Note: Focusing on all principles does not increase the chance of becoming a prize winner - we welcome concepts with outcomes that have a significant impact on one or two principles as well as those that touch on all principles.

Challenge Statement

The Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Challenge has been conceptualized using a Grand Challenge design. Grand Challenges are different from Challenge Prizes, which are used to solve specifically defined problems. Grand Challenges are open and thematic competitions, designed to fund a broad range of potential innovations on a prospective basis and which focus on rigorous evaluations of effectiveness. As such, a challenge statement is not defined by PHAC for this Challenge.

Applicants are asked to define their own challenge statement to tailor their concept to the most meaningful outcomes that address type 2 diabetes prevention barriers that the community experiences and is guided by Challenge principles.

For Example:

"Our remote community will overcome access barriers to healthy food, physical activity, and type 2 diabetes stigmatization by combining a trusted and familiar location with community-led food growing, activity spaces, and places to dialogue."

Assessment Criteria

The assessment a concept/approach will be based on the following:

• Innovation: Overcoming barriers/problems to type 2 diabetes prevention in ways that existing approaches consistently cannot
• Applicability to Canadian Communities: Showing how to tailor type 2 diabetes prevention to a specific Canadian community with the potential for adaptation in additional communities and contexts
• Concept Design (Model): A concept with projects, activities, and/or ideas that address barriers to prevention of type 2 diabetes for a community in Canada, creates outcomes aligned to Challenge principles that are bespoke to the needs of that community, and has the potential continue supporting the community post-challenge
• Partnership Development and Strengths-based Approach: Showing how to combine community strengths with assets and resources from inter-sectoral partnerships to better meet the type 2 diabetes prevention needs of a community
• Community Member Engagement: Demonstrating how to design and adapt a concept based on the voices and needs of community members in a way that is inclusive and represents their diversity
• Outcome Measurement: Defining ways to measure the risk for type 2 diabetes and barrier reduction outcomes that are meaningful to community members using social, participation, or other measures

For more information on the assessment criteria, please see the Applicant Guide.

Overview of Challenge Stages:

• Stage 1: Proposed Concept – The Challenge is launched and application intake remains open until March 1, 2023. Up to 21 semi-finalists with the most promising proposed concept will receive CAD $35,000 in Summer 2023 and move automatically on to Stage 2.
• Stage 2: Concept Development – Beginning in Summer 2023, semi-finalists will develop their concept to become implementable and formalize their partnerships to demonstrate how they will work towards the outcomes they aim to achieve for their community. Up to 7 semi-finalists with the most promising developed concepts from stage 2 will receive CAD $600,000 each in Winter 2024 and will move on to become stage 3 Finalists.
  Note: Participants who do not proceed to subsequent Challenge stages can consider continuing collaborating and partnering with those that do.
• Stage 3: Implementation and Evidence Generation – Over an 18 - 21 months period beginning in Winter 2024, finalists in this phase will implement and generate evidence that their developed concept/approach is effective in helping address the risks and barriers that lead to being at an elevated risk for type 2 diabetes. Up to two finalists with the most impressive results from stage 3 will receive CAD $1.25M in Winter 2026 and become the Grand Prize Winners for The Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Challenge.

Note: The number of winners and Canadian prize amounts may vary depending on the applications received. For each phase, prize amounts will not be less than the amount per winner indicated above.

Who Can Apply to the Challenge?

The Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Challenge is open to for-profit or not-for-profit organizations and individuals registered to do business in Canada. Specifically, you can apply if you are:

• Not-for-profit organizations;
• Businesses or other for-profit organizations;
• Indigenous organizations and groups located in Canada;
• Post-secondary/academic institutions;
• Individuals, groups, societies, or coalitions (non-incorporated); and
• Municipalities or local/regional governments located in Canada.

In order to receive funding, applicants are required to be a Canadian legal entity (such as a company or a corporation or a not-for-profit organization) capable of entering into binding agreements in Canada or establish one. International organizations may submit an application provided that these requirements are met. It is recommended to begin this process upon submitting an application, if required.

The applicant must demonstrate that a lead/co-lead for the design, implementation, and direction of the concept is an organization whose mission represents a community within Canada (attestation and details of community organization that is a legal entity required on application)

Please see the Applicant Guide for detailed instructions about applying to the Challenge.