Overview
The Frank Gavin Patient Engagement Leadership Award is granted annually by the CHILD-BRIGHT Network in recognition of exceptional patient engagement leadership in pediatric brain-based disability research. Established in 2021, the award was named in honour of Frank Gavin, our former Director of Citizen Engagement, for his vital contributions to the network’s impressive growth as a SPOR entity.
This year, we are pleased to announce that we will be granting a Frank Gavin award to not one, but two patient-partners: a parent, caregiver, or family member with lived experience, as well as a youth or former pediatric patient with lived experience.
We are now welcoming applications for the 2024 Frank Gavin Patient Engagement Leadership Awards! You can review the eligibility criteria and submission guidelines below.
Learn all about our previous award recipients:
2023: Carrie Costello
2022: Donna Thomson
Eligibility
Patient-partners can self-nominate or be nominated by another patient-partner or individual. By patient-partner, we mean 1) a youth or adult living with a brain-based developmental disability or 2) the parent, caregiver, or family member of a child living with a brain-based developmental disability. The nominees should have considerable experience participating in patient-oriented research activities and a proven track record of leadership in patient engagement.
Submission
1-2 page(s) describing your reasons for nominating yourself/the patient-partner, your/their experience participating in patient-oriented research activities, and your/their patient engagement leadership in pediatric brain-based disability research
CV highlighting patient-oriented research activities (optional)
2 letters of support
Any other relevant information about yourself or the patient-partner that you would like us to consider
Application procedure
Click on the ‘Apply’ button below to submit your application package by the deadline (specified in the form). Both awardees will receive a personalized plaque and be featured in our patient-partner web series and in our newsletters. The selected parent, caregiver, or family member will receive a registration and travel allowance of up to $800 for a conference of their choice (in Canada or the US). The selected youth will receive up to $800 to attend a POR training event of their choice (e.g., PACER or FER) or to support a POR research project of their choice.
Applications will be reviewed by:
Director of Citizen Engagement
Citizen Engagement Program Coordinator/Project Manager
Lived Experience Lead
A representative of the Central Office team
A representative of the National Youth Advisory Panel
A representative of the Citizen Engagement Council
A representative of the Executive Committee