First Nations Baseline Assessment Program on Health and the Environment

On this page

• About the program
• Primary research projects
• Knowledge integration projects
• Who can apply
• Deadline
• Program review

About the program

The health and well-being of First Nations communities is linked to their cultural, spiritual, mental and physical connection to their traditional territories and ability to engage in traditional activities and cultural practices. Major projects such as mines, oil facilities, bridges, roads, ports and dams can affect this connection and ability.

The First Nations Baseline Assessment Program on Health and the Environment (BAPHE) is a research program that brings together First Nations communities, principal investigators and scientists to gather baseline data on human health and the environment.

A baseline measures how selected human health and environmental indicators are now, so they can be used to show changes over time. Projects supported by BAPHE must include both a human health and an environmental baseline.

BAPHE supports 2 types of projects:

1. Primary research: Community-based research to collect and analyze data on human health and the environment directly through questionnaires, surveys, interviews and sampling.
2. Knowledge integration: Community-based research that compiles, integrates and analyzes existing community information and scientific data on human health and the environment.

Primary research projects

A primary research project should assess the current state of selected human health and environmental indicators in a First Nations community or traditional territory.

A human health baseline could focus on:

• self-reported health status
• social determinants of Indigenous Peoples' health
• community demographics
• food safety
• food security
• prevalence of disease and illness
• public health surveillance
• access to health facilities, services, professionals and programming

Note: Questionnaires or surveys should include voluntary self-identification by gender, including gender-plus categories, to make analysis more precise. Additional information is available at What is Gender-Based Analysis Plus.

An environmental baseline could focus on:

• ambient air quality
• indoor air quality and the state of housing, including issues of overcrowding
• water quality
• water quantity
• soil quality related to a human exposure pathway
• land use
• land cover
• meteorological parameters
• terrestrial and aquatic species (for example, species of cultural importance, country and traditional foods, traditional and medicinal plants)

An applicant can request up to $125,000 for a primary research project for a 2-year period.

Knowledge integration projects

A knowledge integration project should compile, integrate and analyze existing community information and scientific data on human health and the environment in a First Nations community or traditional territory. In addition, the First Nations community or organization should establish contacts and networks with scientists (for example, academic or consultant) that have experience and qualifications to assist in the future development of a primary research project.

Knowledge integration projects could include a combination of the following:

• gathering and analyzing community information (for example, interview transcripts, community engagement meeting records and questionnaire results)
• gathering and analyzing health information (for example, medical records, nursing station records and government datasets)
• compiling and analyzing datasets on certain environmental media
• conducting a literature review (for example, government publications, academic publications and news articles)
• analyzing existing community information and scientific data to create communication and education materials

An applicant can request up to $60,000 for a knowledge integration project for a 1-year period.

Note: An applicant can only apply for one project type (that is, primary research or knowledge integration) per call for proposals.

Who can apply

This program is open to applicants south of the 60° parallel in:

• Alberta
• Saskatchewan
• Manitoba
• Ontario
• Quebec
• Atlantic Canada (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island)

Groups that can apply for funding include:

• self-governing First Nations
• First Nations communities on reserve
• tribal councils and associations
• First Nations organizations
• non-government and voluntary associations and organizations, including non-profit corporations that work on behalf of or in partnership with a First Nations community

First Nations in British Columbia can apply to a similar program through the First Nations Health Authority's Environmental Contaminants Program.

An applicant under the primary research project category must partner with a principal investigator or scientific partner who has a background in public health, population health, epidemiology, statistical epidemiology, contaminant exposure, toxicology or any other relevant field of study to be eligible for funding. The principal investigator or scientific partner must have academic qualifications at the master's level, as a minimum (for example, Master of Science, Master of Public Health).

An applicant under the knowledge integration project category must have or partner with a principal investigator or scientific partner with academic qualification at the bachelor's level (for example, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Education) or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Deadline

The First Nations Baseline Assessment Program on Health and the Environment will not launch a Call for Proposals for the 2026-2027 fiscal year.

Program review

In an effort to ensure that the program is meeting the needs of First Nations and applicants, the BAPHE Secretariat is partnering with an external Indigenous organization to conduct a program review. The information collected through the program review will be used to validate and improve the program's design and implementation.

Interested in sharing your feedback or participating in the program review?

Contact us:

• by email to pebse-pn-fn-baphe@sac-isc.gc.ca
• by mail to:
  
  First Nations Baseline Assessment Program on Health and the Environment
  Environmental Public Health Division
  Population Health and Primary Care Directorate
  First Nations and Inuit Health Branch
  Indigenous Services Canada
  A.L. 1919D
  10 Wellington Street, Suite 1455
  Gatineau QC  K1A 0H4