Item - 2019.HL9.11

The Board of Health recommends to the Budget Committee that:

1.  City Council authorize the Medical Officer of Health to increase the Toronto Public Health 2020 Operating Budget Request by $0.065 million gross, $0 net in order to receive a Planning and Dissemination Grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, subject to approval of the application.

The Board of Health:

1.  Referred the report (September 23, 2019) from the Medical Officer of Health to the Budget Committee for consideration during the 2020 budget process.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) has announced a call for proposals for a Planning Grant for Implementing Healthy Urban Policy. The maximum amount awarded for each grant is $0.065 million. The purpose of the grant is to design active transportation and public space interventions. In addition, the grant aims to design an evaluation of the health effect of these interventions.

Toronto Public Health (TPH) with Transportation Services is seeking to apply for $0.065 million of this funding in 2020. TPH will apply as the lead applicant and will coordinate the funding to be assigned to the activities within the grant proposal.

The grant opportunity is composed of two parts: a five-day workshop in a leading healthy city and a post-workshop planning and knowledge translation event. The post-workshop event in Toronto will be an invitational event to apply the findings from the first workshop and develop a set of specific intervention and evaluation of activities.

This work will advance the mandates of both TPH and Transportation Services as well as key initiatives such as the Vision Zero 2.0 Plan and the Complete Streets Guidelines.

This report provides a summary of the Planning Grant and seeks City Council approval for the Medical Officer of Health to increase the 2020 Operating Budget of TPH by $0.065 million to receive the CIHR Planning Grant, subject to approval of the application.