Spark — Home

What is Spark?

Spark is a grant program for continuing care organizations that want to boost health and safety for their workers. Organizations selected will receive up to $6,500 to support safe handling or violence prevention initiatives.

***Spark is closed for 2019***

Why apply for Spark?

Continuing care workers are more likely to get injured on the job than any other profession in BC — more than construction workers, more than police officers.

The leading causes of injury for continuing care workers are overexertion and acts of violence. These injuries can be very serious, and they affect everyone:

• For organizations, it means higher turnover, more absences, and reduced happiness and well-being of workers, all of which carry a huge cost.
• For workers, it means chronic pain or an inability to do everyday tasks. It means missing or never returning to work. It means temporary or permanent disability.
• For clients and residents, it means a decline in the quality of care, impacting not only them but also their loved ones.

Everyone has a right to a healthy and safe workplace, but limited funding can make that a challenge. So we created Spark.

Tell us how you’d like to improve safe handling or violence prevention at your workplace. If selected, you’ll get up to $6,500 to help pay for education and training, learning tools, and back-filling for staff. Plus, you’ll get guidance from SafeCare BC’s health and safety experts.

Am I eligible to apply?

You can apply if your organization meets the following:

• You are not owned or operated by a health authority; and
• Your WorkSafeBC Classification Unit is 766011 or 766006.

You can find your Classification Unit in your WorkSafeBC paperwork.

What’s the application criteria?

We rate applications based on your ability to say “yes” to the following:

• Need: Does your organization struggle with high injury rates, claims, and days lost? Is this a new health and safety program — or even your first one?
• Commitment: Is everyone, from front-line workers to leadership, committed to supporting safe handling or violence prevention? Will your organization dedicate the time, money, and resources needed to make it a success?
• Attainable: Knowing that time and resources are limited, is this something your organization can do? Is your program SMART – specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound?
• Sustainable: Will your organization support the safe handling or violence prevention program after the funding period? Is your organization committed to maintaining the program over time?

What’s the application process?

Step 1: Online Application

• Complete and submit the online application by May 31.
• Application decisions will be announced on June 12.

If your application is not selected . . .

• We’ll send you an email.
• We’ll suggest other ways we can work together to improve your organization’s health and safety.

If your application is selected . . .

• We’ll send you an email.
• Congratulations! We’ll help you develop a more detailed program proposal.

Note: if your online application is selected, you’ll move to the program proposal. Only program proposals that are selected will receive funding.

Step 2: Program Proposal

• We’ll help you develop a proposal from June 13 to July 24.
• Complete and submit your proposal by July 25.
• Funding decisions will be announced on August 15.

If you do not receive funding . . .

• We’ll send you an email.
• We’ll suggest other ways we can work together to improve your organization’s health and safety.

If you do receive funding . . .

• We’ll send you an email.
• Congratulations! You’ll start implementing your proposed health and safety program.

Questions about Spark? Email Rhys at rhys@safecarebc.ca.