Healthcare workers collaborating around a desk.

Health Workforce Innovation Challenge

Canada’s health workforce is struggling with shortages. There are also impactful solutions emerging in healthcare organizations that can be supported and scaled. Healthcare Excellence Canada’s new innovation challenge is here to help.

Program overview :

If you work on the frontlines, you probably have experienced it firsthand: Canada’s healthcare workers are facing high levels of stress and burnout leading to increased turnover, critical staffing shortages and impacts on the safety and quality care of patients, residents and clients across the care continuum.

Despite these ongoing challenges, those working in Canada’s healthcare sector have proven to be creative and resourceful. Many dedicated people, teams and organizations are working on innovative approaches that address health workforce issues head on. To support and help scale these important efforts, Healthcare Excellence Canada has launched the Health Workforce Innovation Challenge.

Win monetary awards and build your capacity

Are you and your colleagues trying—or wanting to try—new approaches to promote staff retention and support of your current health workforces? For example:

Fostering physically safe work environments
Enhancing sustainable staffing
Building flexible work structures
Providing equitable and appropriate compensation
Ensuring supportive and inclusive workplaces
Supporting career advancements

If the answer is “yes” to any of these questions, then this challenge is for you. Win monetary awards, build your capacity and join a community with shared goals for mutual support and learning.

This outcomes-based challenge features opportunities for monetary awards over 12-months, to recognize and reward the success of teams in moving the dial on improving the retention and support of their current workforce.

In addition, the challenge will help teams go farther, together, through networking and knowledge-sharing. Specifically, it will:

Connect your team with like-minded innovators across Canada
Provide expert coaching supports and a wide array of resources
Share evidence-informed tools and best practices
Help raise the profile of your team and initiatives
Support your team in tracking its progress

How it works

Teams can access resources and awards in order to improve retention and support of their health workforce.

How to join

Teams can register anytime up until April 30, 2024. But the sooner teams join, the more award opportunities they will have!

Over 100 teams across Canada are already participating in the challenge!

A map of Canada in light pink with darker pink circles with white numbers demonstrating the number of participating teams in each province or territory. 15 in British Columbia, 6 in Alberta, 4 in Saskatchewan, 4 in Manitoba, 54 in Ontario, 11 in Quebec, 4 in New Brunswick, 10 in Nova Scotia, 2 in Prince Edward Island and 2 in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Virtual Q&A session

Did you miss the virtual Q&A sessions to learn about the challenge and explore the opportunities?

No problem! You can watch and listen to them. Plus, you can peruse our FAQs.

Watch the recording

To get all the details on the Health Workforce Innovation Challenge, check out our FAQs, Key Dates, and Terms and Conditions. Still have questions? Contact us at challenges.defis@hec-esc.ca.